Brother of boys allegedly shot dead by mom says CPS were repeatedly told about concerns

The adult brother of two boys who were allegedly shot dead by their mom in Kentucky says that the family repeatedly called child services with their concerns — and he now wishes he’d just “snatched” the boys to keep them safe.

Tiffanie Lucas, 32, has been charged with two counts of murder in the shocking deaths of her sons, Jayden, 9, and Maurice, 6, who were found bloodied inside their Shepherdsville home with a gun nearby, police said.

On Thursday, Lucas showed no emotion and said nothing when she appeared before a judge with her hands folded across her chest before she was ordered held on a $2 million bond, WLKY reported.

The young victims’ older brother, Durrell Howard, said several family members had contacted child protective services over the years to voice their concerns about Lucas.

“We wanted them. We would have taken them with open arms. We loved them so much,” Howard told WLKY, without detailing if any action was ever taken by authorities.  

“I should have did more. If it came to me snatching the boys out of the house, I should have and I will hold that on my back for the rest of my life — for both them boys,” he added.

Howard and Jayden shared the same dad who died in 2019. He said that’s when he became even more involved in the lives of Jayden and Maurice, known as “Peanut.”

Asked what he would say to his mom, Howard said: “You scarred everybody with this one. You scarred everybody with this.”

He recalled the last time he saw his brothers before they were slain. “We just played a card game, just a card game. It was as simple as that and we had the best time. The best time ever,” Howard told the outlet of the boys who wanted to play football like he had.

“I just know Jayden and Peanut they’re together. And I know our father was probably waiting on them, waiting on both of them,” Howard told WLKY.

Lucas previously spent a month in jail for a drug possession conviction, WLKY reported, citing court records. The report did not say if CPS ever acted on the concerns.

Col. Alex Payne, chief deputy with the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office, said police did all they could but could not save the victims, who were discovered by a neighbor.

“Whether you think it’s mental illness, just pure evil, a combination of both, it could be substance abuse, any combination thereof. Pick your poison. None of it’s good. The result is horrific,” he told the outlet.

The community has been left reeling by the double homicide.

“It’s just burden and heartbreaking not just for that family, but obviously there’s a circle of teachers and other students in people in the neighborhood,” Little Flock Baptist Church pastor Nate Ashbaugh told WAVE.

“It’s an extreme loss and suffering,” he said.

A neighbor, Steve Steier, said: “It just breaks my heart and I hope she gets what’s coming to her.”