Background: N. Caraway Road in Jonesboro, Ark. (Google Maps). Inset: Tyliah Andrews (Craighead County Sheriff”s Office).
An Arkansas mother faces incarceration after allegedly abandoning her three young children at home alone.
Authorities have charged 22-year-old Tyliah Andrews with three counts of endangering a minor’s welfare following a police response to her residence in Jonesboro on Monday. As per an affidavit reported by NEA Report, 911 operators received an early morning call at 5:23 a.m. from a child claiming his parents were not present. During the officers’ journey to the scene, another call from the same location was made by a different child.
Upon arrival, officers discovered the children had been left unattended in the house.
The arrest report, accessed by Law&Crime, detailed how officers arrived at the N. Caraway Road address to find the front door secured. From inside, sounds of cartoons and a “young child making noises” were audible. A 1-year-old child briefly peeked through the window blinds but was unable to open the door despite police gestures.
Gaining entry through an unlocked back door, officers found the toddler seated on the living room couch, surrounded by popcorn scattered across the floor and furniture. While searching for a guardian, they located a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old in a separate room.
Officers eventually contacted Andrews’ grandmother using a phone found in the home, who then provided them with Andrews’ contact number. When reached, Andrews explained that her 14-year-old nephew was supposed to be supervising the children. She mentioned that she was at another apartment complex approximately 15 minutes away.
Officers said that while they waited for Andrews to return home, they saw vomit on the kitchen floor as well as “live roaches crawling on the floor and on the walls.” The sink was full of dirty dishes and the heat was turned up to a “high setting.” Police said there was garbage throughout the home. Police contacted the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and a representative arrived to take custody of the three children.
One of the officers spoke to the 5-year-old, who told police that the children had been “home alone all day.” A phone found near the 1-year-old was determined to have been the source of several 911 calls that began at 3 a.m. that day. During a post-Miranda interview with Andrews, she told police that her 5-year-old made the calls because “he wants to be a police officer when he grows up.” She said she taught him “how to call the police if he needs help.”
Andrews told police that she contacted her nephew to come watch her children and he told her he was on his way over, “so she left.” Police said she also told them she left after the nephew arrived. After their initial communication, Andrews claimed that she never heard from her nephew again. An investigator who spoke to the 5-year-old said that Andrews’ nephew was never at the home.
Police determined that Andrews’ nephew “was not involved” with watching Andrews’ children, and his mother said he was at their home all night.
Andrews was charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and criminal impersonation. She remains in custody at the Craighead County Jail, where she is being held on $5,000 bond. Her next court date was scheduled for March 20.
Police said Andrews’ children are now in the custody of her grandmother.
