Sister Of Man Accused Of Killing 3-Year-Old Jordyn Dumont Speaks Exclusively to WCCB
GASTON CO., N.C. – Christina McCullen says she isn’t speaking out to defend her brother. She’s says speaking out to defend Jordyn Dumont. Billy McCullen is charged in the first degree murder of the three-year-old. He has pleaded not guilty.
WCCB NEWS @ Ten anchor Morgan Fogarty asked Christina, “That night, what did your brother tell you?” She replied, “The only thing he told me was, that he tried CPR. I asked him, ‘Does Jaylene know?’ He wouldn’t answer me. He started crying.”
Christina says she went straight to the police department in the early morning hours of August 17th and told them what her brother said. Fogarty asked, “Has anybody from the Gaston County Police Department, or any other law enforcement agency, talked to you since the day you told them what Billy told you?” She answered, “I haven’t talked to anybody.” Fogarty asked, “No one else has contacted you?” Christina replied, “No.”
Christina says she and her boyfriend Tommy Philbeck lived at the house on Bess Town Road, with Jaylene Dumont, Billy, Jordyn and her half-sister Angel for about a year. Christina says she moved out about six months before Jordyn was murdered. Christina says she did witness abuse in the home, but never told police or DSS.
Christina says she was there on at least two occasions when a Gaston County DSS case worker visited. She says, “It was the same guy. He questioned Jordyn in front of all of us. He questioned me in front of everybody he questioned.” Fogarty asked, “So he asked you questions, and he asked Jordyn questions, in front of Jaylene and Billy?” She replied, “Right.” Fogarty asked, “What questions did he ask you?” Christina says, “He just, um, he only asked me if I lived there and I said yes. He said, ‘Do you feel like this is a stable home for the kids?’ I said, ‘Yeah. It’s a three bedroom home, it’s clean. It’s a stable home.’ He said OK.” Fogarty asked, “And you were talking about the actual physical structure of the house?” Christina replied, “Right. And that’s all I was asked. The whole time.”
Fogarty asked, “Why didn’t you tell him the truth when he asked you that?” Christina replied, “I felt like maybe he would come back and ask me by myself or maybe he’d do his job, I guess. He seen bruises on Jordyn. He seen everything I seen, besides behind closed doors.”
Fogarty asked, “Looking back now, do you wish you had done more?” Christina replied, “I do.” Fogarty continued, “What would you have done differently?” Christina began to cry when she replied, “I guess I would have took the DSS worker outside and just told him by himself, I guess. That there’s more investigation he needed to do.”
Fogarty asked, “Do you think your brother is completely innocent in all of this?” Christina replied, “I don’t believe he’s completely innocent. But I don’t believe he’s completely guilty, neither. I feel like they both should be locked up, honestly.”
WCCB asked the director of Gaston Co. DSS if it is policy to question family members together. He said sometimes, yes. We asked the Gaston County Police Chief why detectives haven’t further questioned Christina McCullen. The chief didn’t reply. The gag order is still in place.
Jordyn Dumont’s father, Josh Kinnett, sent WCCB a statement Monday that says he, “…wants people to go to the authorities with information…we want to get all the information we can, every [little] clue.”
