Prosecutors said the 37-year-old defendant, Andrew, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences after he was found guilty on multiple charges, including: aggravated murder, abduction, child neglect, child abuse, aggravated malicious wounding, assault and possession of methamphetamine. According to the court documents, the 2-year-old child, Harper, was beaten to death by Andrew while Harper’s mother, Amanda, was at work.
On April 16, 2020, the then-boyfriend arrived late to pick up Amanda from work. During an interview with investigators, Amanda reportedly said that she wanted to take her girl to a hospital. Andrew wouldn’t let her and put a gun to her head to dissuade her, court records say. Harper got medical attention after Amanda called Andrew’s mom, who called 911.
First responders rushed the child to the hospital. Per reports, the girl had a visible mark on her forehead and was taken off life support later that week. During an interview with investigators, the 37-year-old man gave multiple excuses, such as: the child fell out of a shopping cart. Andrew also said Harper fell off a four-wheeler. He also added that Harper reacted poorly to something she ate because of a nut allergy and her condition worsened as the day passed.
During the trial, the prosecution called Christopher s a witness. Per reports, he was in jail with Andrew when he was first taken to jail. Christopher reportedly told prosecutors that while in jail, Andrew reportedly told him he would get high on meth while watching the children and believes Harper may have gotten into his bag of methamphetamine and was later unresponsive. Detective Austin said during the interview an argument had started over a potential breakup between Amanda and Andrew, and that injuries to Amanda could be from se* or wrestling with the children.