Who’s Saving Clayton? Custody battle spurs more investigations, blame

By John Dobberstein, Editor

Weary of living in an allegedly abusive guardian’s home, Clayton Woolley ran 3 miles into the arms of his family last Sunday, scared, tired and hungry.

The 14-year-old rang the doorbell of the Broken Arrow home where his siblings are cared for. After being welcome inside he ate two cheeseburgers and a plate of fries and, according to emergency protective order requests filed by his family, confided to conditions in the guardian’s home being unsafe.

The woman raising Clayton’s half-brothers who welcomed in the teen — Julia Evans, a former veteran Oklahoma Department of Human Services permanency worker — was required to call Broken Arrow police about Clayton’s presence there. But first she called the boy’s family to give them a chance to visit.

It was the first time immediate family had laid eyes on Clayton since he was whisked away from his grandparents’ Broken Arrow home in 2018 by the state of Oklahoma.

“We got to touch and hug him, and we all cried like babies,” said Clayton’s grandmother, Lisa Woolley.

Family members filed for an emergency protective order to have him removed from the guardian’s home, but it was dismissed by a Tulsa County judge since a similar request from his mother is pending in July.

After Clayton was checked out by paramedics, he was transported by Broken Arrow police to another location to be interviewed by DHS. As of late Tuesday night, neither Evans nor the Woolley family know for certain where the child is.

New probe initiated

For the last several years, Clayton’s life has, according to court records and statements, been defined by alleged physical and emotional abuse, isolation and despair.

After his grandparents, Lisa and Bill Woolley, faced criminal charges in the death of his brother Elijah in 2018, Clayton was taken from the family’s custody. The charges were eventually dropped in 2021 by Wagoner County District Attorney Jack Thorp, but members of Clayton’s family have not been given visitation rights.

In April, Clayton’s mother, Desiree Woolley, filed for a protective order in Tulsa County District Court seeking to have her son removed from guardianship and placed in a “safe” location away from the three adults living in the guardian’s home.

Affidavits submitted with the protective order allege Clayton has been repeatedly locked in a dark closet, restrained by 3 adults and beaten with a wooden spoon, bitten by pitbull dog in the house several times, and has been forced to sleep on a bare wooden floor with no blankets or pillows.

Witnesses also report Clayton talking about wanting to commit suicide, and that he’s confided to school officials about his tumultuous home environment numerous times. 

The defendant in the protective order is Clayton’s guardian, Amanda Lindstrom, Clayton’s paternal aunt who works for the Broken Arrow Police Department at the animal shelter. Court records show a new investigation was initiated by DHS last month over allegations of physical abuse, and there have been at least 14 referrals to DHS over incidents at the home.

Numerous attempts to reach Lindstrom for comment on this story were unsuccessful.

A protective order filed in 2024 by Evans on behalf of Clayton’s two siblings in Lindstrom’s home, alleging similar abuse, was granted by a judge and has been renewed 7 times. Although the two siblings were removed from the home, Clayton was not.

Lisa Woolley’s emergency request for a protective order filed Monday alleged that Clayton told the family he is “cussed out in his face” by the adults in the home, not fed regularly, and yanked painfully by the ears.

Court records show concerns about potential abuse and neglect of Clayton have been relayed to the Broken Arrow Police Department and school officials, Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office, Attorney General Gentner Drummond and DHS. Stitt’s father, John Stitt, is among those who has been advocating for the child.

“Petitioners urgently state that Clayton Woolley remains in a home where there has been a persistent, wanton disregard for his safety,” Clayton’s mother, Desiree Woolley, said in the filing.

Police, schools informed

An affidavit filed in Tulsa County District Court, Evans and State Rep. Gabe Woolley (R-Broken Arrow), Clayton’s uncle, met with Broken Arrow Police Chief Lance Arnold about Clayton’s sleeping environment.

Arnold responded to a call from the school district, and he told Woolley and Evans he was aware of the allegations.

Eric Cullen, a private detective who has been working with the Woolley family for several years, said he has reviewed records, witness statements, agency communications, court materials, investigative reports and other information relating to the Woolley family and Clayton.

Cullen said he, Jerry Dillon and John Stitt also met previously with BAPD to express concerns about Clayton’s safety.

“We were met with what I perceived to be extreme hostile and unprofessional response,” Cullen said in his affidavit. “Based on the information available to me during the relevant time period, the Broken Arrow Police Department failed to take meaningful corrective action,” regarding the guardian and, “failed to adequately protect Clayton Woolley after receiving notice of concerns involving one of its own employees.”

Cullen said his review of public records showed several calls for service had been made to Lindstrom’s residence regarding Clayton Woolley’s well-being, welfare or concerns relating to the lack thereof.

“It was my expectation that any credible allegation involving abuse or mistreatment of a child, particularly where one of its own employees was implicated, would be promptly, professionally, and independently investigated,” Cullen said.

Dillon, an Oklahoma businessman, civic leader, and founder of youth treatment and behavioral health programs, also filed an affidavit with the protective order about the case and testified to similar observations about BAPD’s handling of the case.

“I found the response dismissive, hostile and resistant to meaningful action,” Dillon said in the affidavit. “Rather than focusing on Clayton’s safety, officers appeared more concerned with questioning why we were there and who had provided information.”

BAPD spokesperson Hannah Perry said the department is aware of the complaint made about Clayton’s safety and each has been investigated and referred to a district attorney for review.

“At this time, no allegations have been substantiated,” Perry said in a statement. “While complaints may be filed, complaints alone are not criminal convictions or findings of wrongdoing. Regarding Amanda Lindstrom’s employment, she remains employed with the department, as there have been no substantiated findings that would warrant termination.”

Additionally, Cullen said, officials at the Broken Arrow Public Schools reported they had been “threatened with loss of employment and … criminal investigation because of their attempts to assist Clayton Woolley regarding abuse and neglect concerns.”

Cullen said he was informed that in 2024, BAPD requested the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, “investigate school personnel who were attempting to protect Clayton Woolley.” When asked specifically about this allegation, and whether the department’s Office of Professional Standards investigated, Perry referred the question to the city’s attorney’s office.  

Last February, Cullen said he received information that Clayton, “had been confiding for years (to) certain officials at Broken Arrow Public Schools regarding abuse occurring in the home,” and the child worried he would be placed in foster care, “and discarded.”

“I was informed the matter came to a head when Clayton refused to board the bus and told school personnel he was not going home,” Cullen said. His grandmother arrived at the school and a school administrator questioned where Clayton was being taken. The affidavit says the grandmother stated she was taking Clayton to meet with a DHS child welfare worker.

Dillon said he was told BAPS personnel had been “deeply concerned” about Clayton’s welfare, as school personnel, “observed Clayton frequently coming into the school office displaying distress, behavioral problems, fear and emotional instability,” and they believed Clayton was being abused or neglected in the home where he was placed.

Dillon said he was told school personnel made reports to child welfare authorities seeking intervention.

BAPS Chief Communications Officer Tara Thompson said school staff are considered “mandatory reporters” under state law, so if they hear about or have reason to suspect abuse or neglect at home, they are legally required to act. The district’s Board of Education follows the same law in its policies, she said.

“The district has not received any reports from staff regarding threats or job loss as a result of performing their legal duty to report on this or any other case,” Thompson said.

No Action from DHS

Dillon said he also sought help from the state’s child welfare system, but his request to meet with former DHS Director Deborah Shropshire was denied. Dillon’s affidavit also states he met with Gov. Kevin Stitt and, “presented written concerns regarding Clayton.

“I advised that Clayton should be immediately removed from the current home and placed temporarily in a safe, already approved foster placement while a full evaluation was conducted.” Despite those efforts, Clayton remained in the same home.

“Based on everything presented to me, and my decades of experience with troubled youth and family systems, I believed Clayton Woolley was in a dangerous and deteriorating situation requiring immediate protective action,” Dillon said.

Shropshire resigned in August 2024 after serving less than 2 years in her role. Neither DHS nor Stitt’s office returned emails seeking comment on the case.

When asked about the status of investigations involving Clayton, Tulsa County District Attorney Steven Kunzweiler’s office asked for specific case numbers. Broken Arrow police would not provide the case numbers and said any further inquiries into the matter would have to be answered by the city attorney’s office.

‘Come See Your Baby’

Evans was sitting in the office of her home in Broken Arrow last Sunday finishing paperwork for a project when the doorbell “started going crazy.” She looked at her doorbell camera feed and thought it was a yard person at first.

“I go to the front door and it’s Clayton, and I haven’t seen him in a year and a half. He’s sweaty and real thin. He doesn’t look like he’s grown at all,” Evans recalled. “I grabbed his hands and pulled him inside and I said, ‘Baby, are you okay?’ He was thirsty and hungry, and I immediately called his family, who hasn’t seen him in 8 years.

“I’m like, ‘You guys come and see your baby.’”

Evans said Clayton had some scratches on his arms, the area around his ears was red and he was dirty. A signed statement from Desiree Woolley said Lindstrom and her mother living had threatened Clayton they would “beat him to an inch of his life.”

Evans called her attorney and Broken Arrow police, who had Clayton come outside and sit in a police cruiser after he was checked out by emergency personnel. “(Police) told us they would let us know if he was going back to Amanda’s or DHS custody, and I stayed up until after midnight to get an answer and they never called.”

Evans said she found out the next day that Lindstrom was under investigation by DHS.

Lindstrom and Evans had a co-guardianship of her grandchildren, but in July 2024 she received a call from a supervisor at DHS about a referral over alleged abuse in Lindstrom’s home and asked her what was going on in the home.

During a regular visit, Evans said the boys told her what was happening in the home, so she kept the children with her and emailed her supervisor saying she would need to get a protective order and a lawyer would be needed, explaining Clayton was also in the house and it was a potentially high-profile case.

When Evans’ day came in court in Tulsa County, she was forced to represent herself and the only attorneys in the courtroom were for Lindstrom, who technically was still a co-guardian. Evans said she was stunned DHS would not provide an attorney for her.

“For some reason, nobody was coming to my rescue. I didn’t get it,” said Evans, who hadn’t met the Woolley family at that time. A request by Lindstrom’s attorneys for a gag order in the case, and to move the case to guardianship court — out of the public — was granted.

Several months later, Evans resigned from a job she said she loved, “because of what they allowed to happen to my grandkids and Clayton. I was on the same team that had investigated what was going on in that home and I was not informed in a timley fashion.

“The supervisor over that investigation had just worked other cases with me in Tulsa County and she never mentioned she was doing anything in that home. Ethically speaking, I can’t work for an agency that won’t even protect kids and even their own employees. It was very traumatizing.”

Evans asserted DHS violated its own policies and protocols numerous times in handling Clayton’s case, including where and how he was placed. In Oklahoma, DHS deems the safest place for a child to be is with a mother or father, with grandparents falling second in line and then an aunt or uncle that has known a child from birth.

“Amanda did not know Clayton when he was born. She was distant,” Evans said. “DHS reaching out to her for placement shouldn’t have been an option because she had no bond with that side of the family.”

When DHS interviews child during investigations it’s typically only done once or twice, Evans said, to avoid unnecessary traumatization, but Clayton was interviewed numerous times.

Evans also said DHS case workers investigated allegations of abuse and neglect in the home numerous times but concluded every time they hadn’t found all the criteria necessary to substantiate abuse. “But once they do two or three of those massive child abuse investigations, they’re supposed to pull the child. You don’t leave a child in a home like that,” Evans said.

Evans notes that DHS investigations don’t stop at the agency, as reports are signed by supervisors and sent to Juvenile Court for review by district attorneys, who have discretion on whether prosecution will occur. If investigations have taken place in the same home previously, that information is listed on the report the district attorney’s office reviews, “so that the DA can have the full picture,” Evans said.  

“No matter what, DHS calls the shot on placements, but the DA’s office calls the shot on placing him in state custody.”

A hearing over Desiree Woolley’s petition for a protective order asking Clayton to be removed from Lindstrom’s home is set for July 9 in Tulsa County District Court.