EDENTON, N.C. (WAVY) — 10 On Your Side is learning new information about the investigation into the death of a toddler whose body was found outside an Edenton, North Carolina church.
The Chowan County Sheriff’s Office and the Chowan County Social Services Department (CCSSD) are conducting separate investigations into 2-year-old Dinari Lindsey’s death. Chowan County Sheriff Edward Basnight requested assistance in the case from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) on Wednesday, according to a news release.
No charges have been filed in this case.
Dinari’s mother, CorNyeah Lindsey, says a Chowan County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputy found her son upside down and unresponsive in a bucket outside the Open Arms Christian Ministries on Virginia Road on Oct. 7.
Dinari had autism and turned two years old on Oct. 5.
Lindsey says Dinari was in the care of Effie and Cliff Beaman, who run Open Arms Christian Ministries from their home on Virginia Road. The Beamans founded Open Arms Christian Ministries as a home ministry in 1999. The couple “began providing a home with a spiritual emphasis for children and youth who were orphaned” in 2003, according to their Facebook page.
Open Arms Christian Ministries was once a nonprofit organization, but its status is currently listed as “suspended.” It was registered to Effie Beaman at her address on Virginia Road. It is not recognized by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as a childcare facility.
10 On Your Side’s investigative team spoke with CCSSD representatives via phone on Wednesday. Those representatives could not comment directly on Dinari’s death, but confirmed that Open Arms Christian Ministry is not a licensed daycare provider or foster home in Chowan County. CCSD representatives said their agency has never referred anyone to Open Arms Christian Ministries, but that they have worked with community members receiving resources from the church.
CCSSD representatives could not disclose if the agency has ever investigated Open Arms Christian Ministries.
County Manager Kevin Howard told 10 On Your Side that there have never been code violations at Open Arms Christian Ministries and the church does not receive funding from the county.
10 On Your Side has reached out to Effie and Cliff Beaman for comment multiple times, but has not received a response.
