A teen girl who was in the custody of Maryland’s Department of Human Services (DHS) died from suicide in a Baltimore hotel, the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday. 

Kanaiyah Ward, 16, was found dead in the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel on North Wolfe Street on September 22, according to police. 

Ward died from Diphenhydramine intoxication, according to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office. The over-the-counter antihistamine is often sold under the brand name Benadryl. 

The DHS said it was investigating after Ward’s death. Earlier on Tuesday, the department said it paused work with Fenwick Behavioral Services, the service hired to provide one-on-one aid to Ward. 

Ward’s death raises concerns

Ward’s death raised numerous concerns for state leaders from all political backgrounds. 

Her death came weeks after an audit slammed DHS and the Maryland Social Services Administration, alleging they failed to protect some children in their care from sex offenders and provide basic medical needs to thousands of minors. 

The audit also highlighted that children were being housed in hotels, and detailed a case where a contracted worker in one of the hotels had a prior murder conviction. 

 “We take the findings of this audit with the utmost seriousness,” Maryland’s Secretary of Human Services, Rafael López, said in response. “In the one-and-a-half years of the four-year audit period during which I served as Secretary, our leadership team has moved with urgency and challenged the status quo not only with the Social Services Administration, but across the entire department.” 

According to the audit, the state put 280 foster care children in hotels in 2023 and 2024. 

In early September, López said the state had made significant progress in getting children out of hotels. 

Since Ward’s death, multiple state leaders have raised concerns about the practice of housing children in hotels and called for accountability. 

“Are there other children in hotel rooms? How much are we spending on this? Why can’t you place them in a home? What is the reason for this? Why wasn’t somebody there? Who is responsible for watching them? The questions are endless,” Del. Jesse Pippy said.