After allegedly abandoning four children, the 24-year-old mother of the two youngest refused to return unless police promised she wouldn’t be arrested.
On Friday, more than a week after the four children were found alone and hungry, police were still looking for the Douglasville woman.
And they have issued arrest warrants, charging Ms. Tiffany Diane Murphy with four counts of first-degree child cruelty and four counts of reckless conduct, Villa Rica police said.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., on Jan. 29, a neighbor called police after seeing the children, three girls and one boy ranging in age from 2 to 8 years old, playing outside without any adult around, police spokesman Capt. Keith Shaddix said.
The mother of the two oldest children, 5 and 8, had left her children in Ms. Murphy’s care after she was arrested.
The children told police Ms. Murphy had gone to a pawn shop and that they were hungry, police said.
“They hadn’t eaten since breakfast,” Capt. Shaddix said.
After the children had been taken to the police department, Ms. Murphy contacted Det. Lynn Seagraves who told her to come to the police station.
But Ms. Murphy had a request of her own. “’I’m not coming unless I won’t be arrested,’” she said, according to Capt. Shaddix.
The detective told her the children would be turned over to the state Department of Family and Children Services unless she came. But Ms. Murphy, whose children are 2 and 4, still refused.
The children were placed in DFACS custody.
Ms. Murphy told Channel 2 she has been falsely accused and that she left the children with an adult.
“I didn’t go to the police station because I wanted to first get legal representation,” she said.
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