Tammi Bethel
Tammi Bethel
Tammi Bethel is the mother of five kids in Franklin, Ohio. She hails from the small suburb of Germantown, Ohio. The ages of her five kids are: 7, 11, 12, 15, and 17. [1]
Child Endangerment
On August 7th, 2016, Tammi's 7 year-old left the house and headed to the nearby CVS. In front of the store he began trying to sell his teddy bear for food. Officer Steve Dunham received a call of the young boy wandering around the busy streets. The officer decided to take the little boy to dinner at the local Subway restaurant before driving over to the police station. The officer admitted that he felt "heartbroken".
Two other police officers visited the Bethel residence and witnessed a home where the children were living in squalor.
They report that the home was full of garbage, cat urine and liquor bottles.
Here's a section from the report: "a substantial risk of health and safety by neglecting the cleanliness in the residence, having a large amount of bugs and spoiled food throughout the residence, not having properly prepared and packaged food for the minor children to eat, and allowing a 7-year-old child to wander from the residence without their permission or knowledge, in an attempt to locate food."
The parents admitted they did not know that their 7 year-old was missing.
Warren County Children Services exercised an emergency removal of the kids from the Bethel home, and they are now staying with relatives.
Tammy and her husband, Michael, are charged with five counts each of child endangering, all first-degree misdemeanors.
They have an arraignment scheduled on September 16th.
The parents are not allowed to have contact with their children.