Greybull woman pleads guilty to aggravated child abuse

by Nathan Oster

Greybull Standard

Via Wyoming News Exchange

GREYBULL — A Greybull woman whose 5-year-old son nearly died of starvation earlier this year pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony charge of aggravated child abuse.

Tammy Ann Hannon, aka Tammy Earl, faces a possible sentence of up to 25 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000 following her guilty plea in the Fifth Judicial District Court of Big Horn County.

The case against her dates to the period between Dec. 1, 2023, and Feb. 16, 2024, when Hannon was living in Greybull with her boyfriend, Ty Myers, and Hannon’s five children, including the 5-year- old referred to as “B.R.” in court documents. Myers is not B.R.’s biological father.

Law enforcement received its first tip about B.R.’s condition Feb. 16, 2024, from a Department of Family Service worker, who stated that an “unresponsive and lifeless” child had been brought to the Three Rivers Health emergency room.

Hannon, who had taken the child there, told medical staff that the child began losing weight about two months earlier and had “tripped on a toy and hit his head on the floor” the previous day.

Soon after, the child was transported to a hospital in Utah.

Dr. Margaret Russell, a child abuse pediatric fellow at Primary Children’s Hospital, would later challenge Hannon’s account, saying “there was no way he could have been playing or otherwise active” on Feb. 15, 2024 and that the child “presented with shock, dangerously high levels of sodium, extremely low oxygen levels resulting in respiratory failure, acute kidney injury, cachetic (severely malnourished as exhibited by obvious loss of muscle and fat mass) and a subdural hemato-hygroma.”

Russell said the 5-year-old weighed 18 pounds on arrival — the equivalent of an 8-month-old infant.

In court on Tuesday, attorney Timothy Blatt led Hannon through a series of questions to establish a factual basis for the guilty plea.

Speaking softly, Hannan said “yes” when asked if she had failed to provide nutrition and fluids to her son, if she realized his condition was a result of her actions and that he would be dealing with the residual effects - specifically brain injuries resulting from swelling and dehydration — for the remainder of his life.

Marcia Bean, the Big Horn County attorney, asked several questions of her own.

Hannon acknowledged that Ty Myers had not been feeding the child either, that the child was choking on a chicken nugget when he was taken to the TRH emergency room, that the child’s internal organs were starting to fail and that the starvation occurred over a period of time, not just a day or two.

Hannon also admitted that her child hadn’t been up, playing around and acting like a normal child on Feb. 15, 2024, as she suggested to investigators, and that prior to that day, she had lied to family members about whether she’d taken the child to a doctor. She admitted Tuesday that she had not.

Hannon also admitted to leaving the Utah hospital with Myers, in the process abandoning her child. Hannon and Myers were arrested March 1 in Riverton.

At the conclusion of Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Bobbi Overfield ordered a presentence investigation and for Hannon to remain in the Big Horn County Jail, where bond is $250,000.

Myers, meanwhile, remains in the Big Horn County Jail on charges of probation violation/ revocation, child abuse/ physical injury and possession of a controlled substance in powder or crystalline form. His bail is set at $105,000.