Foster mom arrested for child abuse

By Jon Johnson
Assistant Editor
Published on Sunday, February 28, 2010 9:41 AM MST

Children who are orphaned or are victims of cruelty by their biological parents often find themselves placed in foster care. Recently, a foster parent was accused of victimizing a child placed in her care.

Tammy Renea Andrews, 39, of Safford turned herself in to authorities and was arrested Wednesday on charges of child abuse, unlawful imprisonment and aggravated assault. A felony warrant for her arrest was issued by Justice of the Peace District 1 Judge Gary Griffith.

According to a press release from the Safford Police Department, officers were dispatched to residence in Safford on Feb. 11 in regard to a report of a 10-year-old boy being stabbed in the hand by his foster mother.

Tammy Andrews

Officers Brian Avila and Sherri O'Neal responded to the address and observed the youth had blood on his hands and pants as well as several old scars throughout his body.

Subsequent investigation revealed the victim lived with Andrews at her residence on Santa Fe Street and had fled the home after he was attacked. He said Andrews stabbed him in the hand because she caught him stealing food from one of the cabinets.

Some of the other numerous allegations from the youth include being tied up with string and/or chains after Andrews' other children leave for school. He said Andrews refuses to feed him if he urinates or defecates on himself when he is tied up. Officers noted ligature marks and a swollen left shoulder, which the victim said was sore from being hogtied. The victim was also apparently dressed in the same clothing for the past week.

He said Andrews took him out of school and home-schools him, but he doesn't do any of the work. The workbooks are unused and Andrews does all the schoolwork on the computer, according to the victim. He is supposed to be in the third grade.

The victim was observed being covered in bruises and scars and stated Andrews repeatedly hits him with closed fists, a small baseball bat and a hammer. He said he has several loose teeth due to his beatings, and Andrews would get brown paper bags and put them over his head when he was tied up.

She allegedly did this so he could not see when she was going to hit him, according to the victim.

Additionally, it was discovered the victim had a BB lodged in his abdomen from when Andrews had allegedly shot him. He said he bled from the wound, but Andrews would not take him to receive medical attention.

During his interview with Safford detectives, the victim noticed a staple puller and said Andrews had used one like it to pinch his tongue.

He said she would take the staple puller and a pair of pliers and use them to pinch opposite sides of his tongue at the same time.

The victim's wounds matched his descriptions of the beatings, and items he said were used were found at the home during an execution of a search warrant. Some of the items listed in the search warrant include a ball-peen hammer, a cord with a knot tied in it, a movement alarm, numerous allegedly unused schoolbooks from a hall closet, a red rope leash, a choker chain collar, a black pellet gun and metal BBs.

After his interview, the child was placed into the care of Child Protective Services.

A thorough medical examination of the victim allegedly validate allegations of a long history of "significant abuse and neglect of the child" by Andrews.

A second warrant was served on the residence Feb. 24. Additional items were seized, and Andrews was arrested. The police investigation is ongoing.

Andrews was booked into the Graham County Jail on four charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, three charges of child abuse, unlawful imprisonment and an additional aggravated assault charge. Her bond was set at $100,000.

Print this story Email this story Post A Comment

Comments

13 comment(s)

nick wrote on Jul 4, 2010 9:33 AM:

" Tammy is evil and should be locked up! Thankfully she was caught before she killed that poor boy. "

Aldeena wrote on Mar 3, 2010 9:06 PM:

" Just a little note to the FATHER yes some LOVE the Children but some take the child and abuse them. Trust me this baby has not had a chance since the beginnig and not to mention his other siblings did not ethier. I can tell you not knowing who you are tells me you have NO idea what he has been through. And tryiing to keep him with his sibilings was a living nightmare. Since CPS was not seeing it that way. But the real question is why is it just the Father's what about the Mother's? sometimes its both!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

a mom wrote on Mar 2, 2010 11:05 PM:

" I personally know all about C.P.S. removing kids in care of a foster family!! They are not their to help the children! they are constantly placing kids in a bad situation into another bad situation! I could go on but wont!! CPS needs to stay out of peoples lives!!! "

FATHER wrote on Mar 2, 2010 7:08 PM:

" CPS NEEDS TO OPEN THERE EYES AND SEE THE REAL THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENIN TO ALL KIDZ!!!! THERE ARE ALOT OF THE FATHERS THAT WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THERE REAL KIDS AND PEOPLE LIKE CPS PUT KIDZ IN A PLACE THAT COULD HARM THEM!!!PLACES THEY DONT KNOW!!!!!WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO!!! IF MOTHERS ARE HARMIN THEM THEN FATHERS WILL LOVE THEM!!!! "

12 year old wrote on Mar 2, 2010 6:53 PM:

" I cant belive that cps has a lot of chidren that are still being abused and they will not do any thing about it!! and then they put them in a home that can become death!!!! Also i cant belive that Andrews would do that to kid olny if we could put her in his place. I hope that one day she will be put in his place and see how it fells to be abused!!!!!!!!!!! "

family.. wrote on Mar 2, 2010 4:28 AM:

" he deserves to be back with his family who love him. !!! please keep him in your prayers!! "

missj2u wrote on Mar 1, 2010 10:52 PM:

" I can't believe someone who is suppose to be protecting our children, can do something so hideous.So I asked who is checking the checker.My heart goes out to the innocent little boy,he had no way of knowing he was going to be put in a home with such a sick person.I have no sympathy for Tammy she's grown and she knew better.she was suppose to protect God's children not harm them.I hope now he can rest safely. "

Ray16 wrote on Mar 1, 2010 10:29 AM:

" make a correction to the first sentence, She shouldnt be forgivin. sorry "

Ray16 wrote on Mar 1, 2010 10:18 AM:

" Eddie, I think that she should be forgivin', she knew she was doing that to an innocent little boy. I hope she gets locked up for a long time, she was close enough to kill him. Foster parent(s) are suppose to be better than where the child is from. But when the foster parent(s) are cruel to them, they need help. Im sorry for the little boy but I think Tammy Andrews needs to be hella punished for what shes done to him. "

gunn1 wrote on Feb 28, 2010 10:48 PM:

" Give me a break, I have no sympathy for Andrews. Hopefully they will throw the book at her. Losing your temper and using bad judgmet is one thing, this obviously has gone on for quite some time, and the acts were done with a lot of thought behind them. This child was placed in her trust to be cared for. So before we all start sobbing for Andrews and her family lets remember that. "

eddie wrote on Feb 28, 2010 6:47 PM:

" Love and Preyers for both the little boy and the Andrews family! we all have our oppinions, but the truth shall be revealed, and I hope tht the boy is in a better place,and I hope that Tammy see's what she has done and learns from her mistakes! No one is perfect, and God knows this and that is why he forgives, and as time goes on I hope she will reach out to God and ask for forgiveness from God and the little boy. This is the only way she will become a better person "

eddie wrote on Feb 28, 2010 6:38 PM:

" I think its just a bad situation all the way around! People can be good people and things just happen. Yes our prayers are with the little boy, but our prayers are also with the Andrews family! You have to think what the family is going threw, no one wants to see thier mom, daughter, sister ect. in this situation! If you do a crime you must be punished,and she will be! But the family is not the one that commited the crime, so they shouldn't be punished but that is family and they're going to be by her side "

Leonard Henderson wrote on Feb 28, 2010 10:09 AM:

" Does the statement "the child was placed into the care of Child Protective Services" strike anybody as odd?

Considering he ALREADY WAS in the custody of CPS and that's how he was placed in this woman's home?

CPS kidnapping kids from their REAL homes is the problem.

Leonard Henderson, co-founder
American Family Rights Association
"Until Every Child Comes Home" ©
"The Voice of America's Families" © "

WRITE A COMMENT

READER COMMENTS
* Be respectful of others, the writer and the subjects in the story.

* Be relevant. Keep your comments pertinent to the story that is being discussed.

Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. The Eastern Arizona Courier is not liable for messages from third parties. IP addresses can be subpoenaed and your identity established by individuals who have been hurt by your comments.

We ask that you not post:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity: You can be prosecuted for identity theft.
* Comments unrelated to the story.

Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in www.eacourier.com reader comments represent the individual's own views and not those of the Eastern Arizona Courier. The Courier does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than Eastern Arizona Courier spokespersons.

Thank you for your comments!