BALTIMORE (WBFF) — The mother of a 16-year-old Maryland foster child who died while living in a Baltimore hotel is suing Governor Wes Moore, Marriott International and more than a dozen other defendants, alleging widespread failures to protect her daughter despite repeated warnings about the dangers of housing vulnerable children in hotels.
Brooke Ward, the mother of Kanaiyah Ward, filed a 114-page federal civil rights and wrongful death complaint in federal court, accusing state officials, contractors and hotel operators of failing to provide adequate supervision and safeguards before her daughter’s death on September 22, 2025
FOX45 News was first to report Kanaiyah’s death on September 24, 2025, and has continued investigating the circumstances surrounding her placement, the state’s oversight of foster care contractors and the failures identified in subsequent investigations.
“Kanaiyah Ward did not fall through a single crack in the system. She fell through every one of them,” said Thomas Doyle, one of the attorneys representing Brooke Ward. “The State knew her history. The agencies knew the risks. The contractor knew what protections were required.”
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The lawsuit alleges those failures extended from the employees directly responsible for Kanaiyah’s care to senior officials in Moore’s administration.
“Every institution with a hand in Kanaiyah’s care knew what she needed, and every one of them failed her,” the complaint states.
Gov. Moore is named in his individual capacity, along with former Maryland Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael López, Social Services Administration Executive Director Alger Studstill, Prince George’s County officials, Fenwick Behavioral Services and companies connected to the Residence Inn by Marriott near Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The lawsuit alleges Moore knew children were living in dangerous, unlicensed hotel placements but failed to order emergency protections before Kanaiyah died.
Attorneys point to a September 10, 2025, Board of Public Works meeting, just 12 days before her death.
During that meeting, López acknowledged that 11 foster children remained in hotels as of September 5, telling Moore and other board members the administration was “determined to get to zero.”
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Comptroller Brooke Lierman described extended hotel and hospital stays for foster children as “cruel” and “unnecessary.”
The board approved contracts totaling up to $465 million, including renewal options, to expand foster care placement capacity.
However, the lawsuit alleges Moore and López failed to order emergency safety audits, additional supervision requirements or other immediate protections for children still living in hotels.
“The executive mechanism that ended the hotel placement program after September 22 was available to the Governor but was simply not invoked,” the complaint states.
One month after Kanaiyah’s death, DHS directed local departments to stop placing foster children in unlicensed settings. By November 2025, the department reported no foster children remained in hotels.
The lawsuit argues that action could have been taken earlier.
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“It should not take the death of a 16-year-old girl to make a government do what it was already obligated to do. Kanaiyah should be alive today,” Doyle said.
Kanaiyah had been living at the Residence Inn by Marriott Baltimore at the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus since August 4, 2025.
She had a documented history of mental health challenges, self-harm and previous suicide attempts. According to the complaint, several residential treatment facilities declined to accept her because of the severity of her needs.
Her mother repeatedly warned caseworkers that Kanaiyah needed an appropriate treatment placement, the lawsuit alleges.
Instead, the state contracted with Fenwick Behavioral Services to provide around-the-clock, one-on-one supervision at the hotel.
Following Kanaiyah’s death, a Maryland Department of Human Services investigation found neglect involving three Fenwick employees.
Investigators determined that a caretaker was assigned approximately 53 consecutive hours after another employee became unavailable. The investigation also identified failures involving medication security.
According to the lawsuit, the caretaker failed to conduct required hourly wellness checks, leaving more than four hours between checks on the morning Kanaiyah died.
When the caretaker discovered Kanaiyah unresponsive, she told a 911 dispatcher she did not know how to perform CPR.
The medical examiner determined Kanaiyah died from diphenhydramine intoxication, the main ingredient in Benadryl, and ruled her death a suicide.
DHS stopped referring children to Fenwick two days after her death.
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“We all have a right to have our children protected,” said DeMaurice Smith, a former federal prosecutor and former executive director of the NFL Players Association who is representing Ward. “Kanaiyah didn’t have to die, and she certainly didn’t have to die alone.”
Smith said he’s “coming out of retirement” to work on this case, “because it is right and my entire legal career has been about holding people accountable and challenging power whenever it is unfair.”
In January 2026, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office announced that no criminal charges would be filed.
“We can’t hold this worker responsible criminally from what we could tell,” City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates previously told FOX45 News. “I’m sure some attorneys already jumped on it. I think there are some concerns, and I can understand why a civil attorney would potentially file a lawsuit.”
FOX45 obtained 650 emails detailing the agency’s response to Kanaiyah’s death, including confusion over notifications to senior leadership, the state’s relationship with Fenwick and efforts to determine how many foster children remained in hotels.
The records showed that several hours after Kanaiyah died, a Prince George’s County social services official sent an email about the incident. The following morning, DHS’s principal deputy secretary questioned why Secretary López and other senior officials had not been included in the notification.
The emails also showed the Governor’s Office was looped into internal discussions after FOX45 contacted DHS about Kanaiyah’s death on September 24. The records did not establish when Moore personally learned of her death.
Days later, López expressed frustration with local social services departments that had not responded to instructions concerning Fenwick.
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In a September 29 email, López wrote that offices failing to respond or request additional time “have failed to respond with the urgency and accountability we expect.”
FOX45’s investigation also uncovered conflicting figures within DHS about the number of foster children still living in hotels.
One employee wrote, “I need to know what information is correct.”
The federal lawsuit points to those communications and alleges the state heavily redacted records that could shed light on officials’ response.
DHS previously told FOX45 that ending hotel placements was made possible by modernizing data systems, revising policies and providing staff training over more than 18 months.
The lawsuit also targets Marriott International and companies responsible for owning and operating the hotel.
Attorneys argue Marriott maintained authority to inspect its franchised properties, enforce safety standards and restrict uses that threatened guest safety.
“Children and their families deserve to know that when the State assumes the solemn responsibility of placing a child in foster care, the child will be given a safe and loving home—not warehoused in a hotel room,” said Scott Lerner, a partner at Dechert LLP representing Ward as well. “Hotels are for guests. They are not foster homes.”
The complaint points to a separate 2024 case in which Marriott took legal action against a franchisee for housing migrants and asylum seekers under a New York City contract without the company’s approval.
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Attorneys argue Marriott could have exercised similar oversight at the Baltimore hotel.
The complaint also details the hotel’s troubled financial history, including an approximately $86.6 million development project, financial difficulties and a foreclosure sale months before Kanaiyah’s death.
The lawsuit alleges Marriott and hotel operators failed to assess whether the property could safely accommodate children with significant behavioral health needs.
The complaint references a 2023 federal lawsuit involving another 16-year-old Prince George’s County foster child who allegedly overdosed twice on unsecured medication while living in a motel.
Attorneys argue the earlier case should have alerted Maryland officials to the specific risks Kanaiyah later faced.
The lawsuit also cites a September 2025 legislative audit finding 280 foster children were housed in hotels during fiscal years 2023 and 2024, including 82 who stayed between three months and two years.
FOX45 News has extensively covered the audit findings, Kanaiyah’s death, the state’s subsequent neglect determination and Moore’s response.
In January, FOX45 News questioned Moore about accountability following the state’s findings.
“I believe there needs to be accountability for what happened to Ms. Ward,” Moore said at the time.
ALSO READ | In Depth: DHS staff discussions revealed amid foster care tragedy
The lawsuit now seeks to hold Moore and other officials personally responsible.
Brooke Ward is seeking compensatory and punitive damages through 16 legal claims, including federal civil rights violations, negligence, wrongful death and violations of the Fair Housing Act.
The complaint does not specify a dollar amount and requests a jury trial.
This story may be updated.
Follow Political Reporter Mikenzie Frost on X and Facebook. Send tips to mbfrost@sbgtv.com.
This post was originally published on Fox 45 by Sinclair Media Group.
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