US News Metro Long Island Politics

Sports NFL MLB Olympics NBA NHL College Football College Basketball WNBA

Entertainment TV Movies Music Celebrities Awards Theater

Lifestyle Weird But True Sex & Relationships Viral Trends Human Interest Parenting Fashion & Beauty Food & Drink Travel

Health Wellness Fitness Health Care Medicine Men’s Health Women’s Health Mental Health Nutrition

Science Space Environment Wildlife Archaeology

Today’s Paper Covers Columnists Horoscopes Crosswords & Games Sports Odds Podcasts Careers

Email Newsletters Official Store Home Delivery Tips

Switch between CA and NY editions here.

Deadly child-abuse ‘torture’ exposes NY’s willful blindness

See more of our coverage in your search results.

Little Jor’Dynn Duncan should never have gone to live with Emily Kelly, the Long Island woman who allegedly tortured the 7-year-old girl to death.

Kelly, along with her mother and her adult daughter, all deserve to be jailed for life after they tied up Jor’Dynn in a bathtub and left 90 injuries on her body before the child ultimately suffered cardiac arrest in December.

It was a house of horrors — and Suffolk County Child Protective Services placed her there.

Of all the foster homes in New York, why did child welfare officials and family court judges think Kelly’s was appropriate?

Because even though she was not Jor’Dynn’s blood relative, Kelly was deemed “kin” under CPS rules.

Jor’Dynn’s mother lost custody of the child a few years ago, and her father is serving up to four years at Sing Sing for burglary.

More From Naomi Schaefer Riley

Wokeness in higher education is still alive and kicking

Why we may never know of child-welfare workers’ fatal mistakes

Zohran Mamdani’s ACS choice puts ‘racial equity’ above keeping NYC kids safe and alive

Kelly is the father’s fiancée, so CPS placed Jor’Dynn in her home in December 2024.

A month later, CPS was already investigating maltreatment there — yet a judge granted Kelly full custody in April 2025.

When Jor’Dynn missed approximately 40 days of school that year, Kelly made up a string of excuses........

© New York Post