In July 2019, Tim and Amy Martin asked The State newspaper to look into their son’s death.

So we did.

We reached out to former Lexington County Sheriff’s Department staff who were involved in the case such as Marty Longshore, Tricia Chandler, Oscar McIntosh, Scottie Frier, Keith Kirchner, and prosecutors Donnie Myers, Suzanne Mayes, Rick Hubbard and Heather Weiss. Most were still working in law enforcement and criminal justice when The State tried to reach them.

Some investigators and prosecutors couldn’t forget the case. Others said they didn’t remember it. Some said they can’t legally talk about it. Others declined to comment but gave no reason.

In a phone call, Longshore, Lexington County’s lead detective in the Brooks Martin case, said he remembered the investigation before telling a reporter he wouldn’t talk about the case and ending the call.

Former Lexington County Sheriff Jimmy Metts talked multiple times with The State, but remembered few details of the case. (Metts pleaded guilty in 2014 to a federal immigration violation unrelated to Brooks’ death.)

After months of calls, emails and texts, Patsy Lightle agreed to meet for an interview. She was the lead South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigator on the Martin case.

Through her investigation into Brooks’ death, she had concluded that he died by abuse, not an accidental fall down the stairs, according to documents and sources close to the inquiry.

In 1993, Lightle helped form SLED’s Department of Child Fatalities, now part of the Special Victims Unit.

Lightle retired from a decorated law enforcement career in 2013 and began teaching the intricacies of spotting and investigating suspected child abuse and neglect cases.

In December 2019, Lightle sat across from us at a conference table in The State newspaper’s former offices.

She read a statement that said none of her words should be construed to be about her investigation into Brooks Martin’s death. Like several other people involved with the case, she was gagged by a state law that prohibits information about certain child deaths from becoming public.

“At no time during this interview will I answer any questions about the Brooks Martin case,” she read. “Don’t take my words out of context and create a context for the Brooks Martin case.”

For the next hour, Lightle talked about the challenges of her work.

“Child deaths are complex,” Lightle said. “We have to make sure that who is caring for the child has done everything that they should do and that they are held accountable for neglect or abuse.”

Young children can’t express themselves like young adults or grown ups, making it difficult to know what they experienced.

To make up for that lack of first-person information, investigators have to pick up as many clues as possible. At the scene of a questionable child death or injury, police have to take hundreds of photographs to document every detail, Lightle said.

Investigators also have to look at children’s bodies differently. A dead child may not show any signs of outward injury.

An investigator has to question caregivers and parents and ensure their answers match up with what doctors are saying and what the injuries and evidence shows.

To fully examine a child’s death, an investigator needs to know the specific ways a child was injured. Investigators need to know what is typical with those injuries and what isn’t, Lightle said.

Despite Lightle’s extensive experience and deep involvement in the Brooks Martin case, she repeatedly declined to comment on the case when she sat down with us. SLED spokesperson Tommy Crosby sat by her side.

Did she have any regrets about the Brooks Martin case?

“I can’t talk about that case at all,” she said.

Could she clarify the time frame of the investigation?

She and Tommy shared a look.

No, she couldn’t.

We asked about how faith fits in with her work.

“When you see the trauma that I’ve seen to children, my faith, and exercise, has gotten me to continue through this,” she said.

“I have to say I’ve done everything and give it up to Him and go to the next case,” she says. “But I have to feel like I’ve done everything I can possibly do, because that’s what SLED hired me to do is investigate these cases, be a neutral fact-finder.”

She answered one question about the Brooks Martin case directly. She became involved with the case after a forensic pediatrician called her and told her about Brooks’ death.

We asked her if she believes families should have access to the investigative files in their children’s death — an ongoing battle for the Martins who were denied both times they asked SLED to give them access to the dossier on their son’s death.

“I will tell you this, as a human being to a human being, that if something happened to my child, I would want to know what happened,” Lightle said.

Does she still carry a picture of Brooks in her Bible like Tim Martin said she did? Would she verify that?

She spoke a little quieter.

“I can’t answer any questions about the Brooks Martin case,” she said.

This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 5:00 AM.

David Travis Bland

The State

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David Travis Bland is The State’s editorial editor. In his prior position as a reporter, he was named the 2020 South Carolina Journalist of the Year by the SC Press Association. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2010. Support my work with a digital subscription