A Maryland teenager died while in foster care, and the story has outraged both lawmakers and those who loved her. Police found Kanaiyah Ward, 16, dead inside her room at the Marriott Hotel on North Wolfe Street in Baltimore on September 22, 2025. Authorities did not release Kanaiyah’s cause of death, but many wonder how such a tragedy occurred while in the state’s custody.
NBC 4 reported that Kanaiyah’s family shared her story with attorney Thomas Doyle. The teen reportedly had mental health struggles and lived in the hotel as part of a temporary solution.
“This wasn’t a situation where she had abandoned her daughter – quite the contrary. She was fighting for her daughter to get the help she needed and do everything she could from the position she was in,” Doyle told NBC 4.
The family expected Kanaiyah to receive one-on-one care while in the state’s custody, and they want to know what happened. Authorities have not disclosed a cause of death, but the 911 caller apparently suspected a drug overdose.
“The department is investigating this incident. If we find that our standards for care were not met, we will hold our contractors accountable,” the Department of Human Services stated in a release shared with NBC 4.
“Mom was diligently trying to get her out of there and into a facility – because she was not getting any care for the mental health. That much we know, other than medication,” Doyle said.
Delegate Jesse Pippy, the House minority whip, told WJZ that Maryland’s practice of housing foster children in hotels needs to end.
“It sounds as bad as it actually is. What was this child doing in a hotel room? How did she die? Are there other children in hotel rooms?” he said. “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,” Pippy continued, per WJZ. “But it all comes back to something very terrible that a minor child in state custody has died, and we’ve still heard nothing.”
The Department of Human Services told WJZ that the agency would be as transparent as possible while maintaining family information confidentiality.
“We want to know what the hell is going on with this agency, and we want to know now,” Pippy said. Kanaiyah’s death remains under investigation.
