Inset: Tonimarie Barrett (Pocono Township Police Dept.). Background: The Turkey Hill where police said they found Barrett’s daughter hours after she allegedly abandoned the child (Google Maps).
A 42-year-old mother from New York has been apprehended after reportedly threatening her 13-year-old daughter with a knife and subsequently leaving her at a shuttered convenience store in Pennsylvania.
Authorities detained Tonimarie A. Barrett over the weekend, charging her with felony child endangerment, making terroristic threats, and reckless endangerment, as noted in official statements.
As per a release from the Pocono Township Police Department, officers responded to a call around 5:19 a.m. on Sunday about an abandoned child at a Turkey Hill store on Route 611 in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. First responders found the child at the scene.
Investigations revealed that Barrett and her daughter had departed from Long Pond, Pennsylvania, around midnight, aiming to return to their home in New Rochelle, New York, which is approximately 114 miles away.
During their journey, Barrett reportedly stopped at a “closed gas station” to input directions into her GPS. It was during this pause that tensions flared between Barrett and her daughter, resulting in a conflict.
“An argument broke out between them, leading both to exit the vehicle, during which Barrett allegedly threatened her daughter with a knife,” the police report stated. “Barrett then abandoned her daughter at the closed business and drove to a gas station in Effort, Pennsylvania, where she stayed until police reached out to her after 7 a.m.”
Effort is about 10 miles southwest of the Turkey Hill location.
A copy of the criminal complaint was obtained by the Pocono Record, which provided some additional details about the fight between Barrett and her daughter.
According to the report, the daughter told police that while at the gas station, her mother demanded that she hand over her iPad. The teen refused because she believed her mother would destroy the device. After being refused the iPad, Barrett allegedly threatened to stab her daughter if the teen did not give her the device, which she did.
Barrett’s daughter also reportedly mentioned that she asked Barrett if she could use her cellphone to get directions, but Barrett refused.
The teen then got out of the car and Barrett allegedly drove away. She eventually walked to the Turkey Hill location after staying at the closed gas station for a few hours, the complaint says.
When officers located Barrett, they said she admitted that she “did not attempt to look for the juvenile” after leaving her in Turkey Hill and did not contact authorities to report her missing.
She reportedly told police that after her daughter got out of the car at the closed gas station, Barrett couldn’t find her. Barrett then realized her car needed oil, which is when she decided to leave and wound up in Effort.
After placing her under arrest, police transported Barrett to the Monroe County Correctional Facility where she is awaiting her arraignment before a district magistrate.
