MITCHELL — Two Mitchell parents are facing multiple felony neglect charges after local police serving a search warrant discovered three children and nearly a dozen animals living in what authorities described as a home layered in feces and overrun with cockroaches.
Mary Andrews, 46, and Michael Andrews, 53, are facing three Level 6 felony counts of Neglect of a Dependent. They are also facing seven Class A misdemeanor counts of Neglect of an Animal.
The investigation, spearheaded by Mitchell Police Officer Cody Blackwell, began on May 22, 2026, when a local couple approached authorities with concerns after their 10-year-old son tested positive for marijuana on a home drug test.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the 10-year-old boy told his parents he had been visiting the Andrews’ home to hang out with his girlfriend when a 16-year-old relative in the home threatened him and forced him to smoke marijuana.
The child detailed seeing approximately 50 small bags of a green substance resembling “broccoli” stored in a cardboard box inside a closet, right next to a black handgun case matching the description of a Glock pistol. The young boy was also able to accurately identify multiple styles of glass marijuana smoking pipes, commonly known as bongs, to police officers.
Armed with this information, Mitchell Police secured a search warrant for the Andrews residence.
When Officer Blackwell and Officer Bailey executed the search warrant, they reported that the interior of the home presented a severe health hazard.
In his sworn affidavit, Officer Blackwell detailed the environment:
- Feces-Covered Floors: A near-complete layer of animal feces covered the entire floor of the house.
- Non-Functional Bathrooms: Both bathrooms were out of order, non-functional, and completely filled with human waste, creating what police called an “abhorrent smell.”
- Insect Infestation: Cockroaches were observed crawling on nearly every surface of the home, heavily concentrated in the teenagers’ bedrooms.
- Severe Hoarding: Officers had to climb over massive piles of filthy clothes, cardboard boxes, and scattered furniture just to navigate from room to room.
While clearing the residence, the executing officers accidentally stepped into fresh animal feces inside the home. According to the affidavit, when a Lawrence County Sheriff’s Deputy pointed out the feces on the officer’s boot, the mother, Mary Andrews, simply “chuckled at the situation.”
While searching the teenager’s room, officers did not locate the large stash of marijuana baggies, but they did find several hidden vape pens stuffed underneath a heavily damaged mattress. They also observed dozens of open cups and bottles filled with used cigarette butts strewn across almost every surface, including the bedroom shared by two younger children, identified as Juveniles Three and Four.
Police noted that while the firearm described by the 10-year-old was loose inside the home, Michael Andrews claimed it never left his sight and that he took it to work with him daily.
Furthermore, police discovered between 7 and 10 neglected animals living in the squalor, including three adult dogs, two puppies under two months old that could barely walk, and three adult cats—one of which was notably blind in one eye.
The Indiana Department of Child Services was immediately contacted and responded to the scene that night to intervene and assist with the safety of the three children. Both were detained on Tuesday, June 16.
Those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
