DCF releases few details on child found dead during Hutchinson house fire
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KSNW) – The Kansas Department for Children and Families has released a few details on the death investigation of 4-year-old Naomi Payton, who was found dead in a Hutchinson home that had been set on fire Saturday.
KSN initially put in a Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) request on Monday, asking for records in the case. KSN updated our request on Wednesday after Wendell Payton was charged in the deaths of the 4-year-old and Kalsey Payton, 32.
Wendell Payton, 37, appeared in court on Thursday to hear the charges against him, including two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated arson, aggravated endangering of a child, and two counts of interference with a law enforcement officer. He remains jailed on a $2 million bond.
On Thursday, a DCF spokesperson released a summary to KSN confirming that a 4-year-old child died on Feb. 1:
'The deceased child and her sister were in kinship placement with a paternal aunt and uncle. On Feb. 1, first responders responded to the home for a fire. The child and aunt were found dead inside the house. The case is under investigation by law enforcement. DCF now considers this KORA request closed.'
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The document received Thursday did not say if KSN's request for documents had been denied.
By law, Kansas government agencies are required to respond to the request for public records by the end of the third business day from when the request is made. But it is not required that documents be provided by that time. On Wednesday, DCF gave a standard written response to KSN to note that the requests were received. In it, it said: 'If we determine that we do possess the records, but that the records are closed by law, we will provide you with that information with a written citation to the laws allowing or requiring that type of public record to be closed.'
As that response has not been given, KSN has submitted the KORA request again and reiterated the request for documents, including written and internal correspondence and emails related to the case.
Kansas law protects many details relating to DCF's handling of a case, and the agency will redact details that are not allowed by law to be released. KSN has requested and received documents in child death cases in the past, including in the death of Evan Brewer, the boy found encased in concrete in the home he lived in with his mother and her live-in boyfriend, later convicted in the case.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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