(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — An El Paso County woman is facing child abuse charges after she allegedly used nicotine patches on a 4-year-old in her care to try and treat his behavioral issues.
According to an arrest affidavit, 53-year-old Tammy Eddings-Dion is facing charges of felony child abuse and crimes against an at-risk juvenile. The affidavit states that a 4-year-old boy was in the care of Eddings-Dion on April 3 before being picked up by a family member. After being picked up, the affidavit states that the boy was extremely lethargic and began vomiting.
After being taken to the hospital, the boy was almost unresponsive and could not stay awake or hold his head up. While in the hospital, a nicotine patch was found on the boy’s leg. He was treated for nicotine poisoning, and the day after being discharged, the family member found another patch on the boy’s back that was missed in the hospital.
The family member suspected it had been Eddings-Dion who put the patch on the boy, because Eddings-Dion was reportedly under the belief that nicotine would cure his behavioral issues. The boy’s diagnosis is redacted in the affidavit, but it states that he has the brain development of a 2-year-old. The documents state that he “struggles with understanding social cues, cannot form complete sentences, exhibits repetitive behaviors, has sensitivity to loud noises, has difficulty adjusting to new places, and has continued behavioral episodes due to not being able to regulate his emotions.”
According to the affidavit, Eddings-Dion had allegedly sent text messages to the family member in March stating that she had ordered a 30-day supply of 24-hour release nicotine patches and that the 30 days should be enough time to “see if the treatment is working.” The family member responded and asserted that they did not want to use nicotine patches on the boy.
Following the boy’s hospitalization, the family member called Eddings-Dion and recorded the conversation, in which the family member yelled at Eddings-Dion and accused her of making the boy sick and putting him in danger. Eddings-Dion could reportedly be heard in the recording profusely apologizing and saying she would never have hurt the boy. When the family member reiterated that Eddings-Dion did in fact hurt the child, Eddings-Dion replied, “It was not intentional.”
A deputy with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) spoke with a forensic nurse at Memorial Hospital Central who had examined the boy when he was brought to the hospital on April 3. The nurse attested that a child exposed to nicotine would present with nausea, vomiting, and severe agitation, and had he not received medical intervention, could have suffered dehydration and electrolyte imbalance that could have caused severe bodily harm.
Courtesy: El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
Courtesy: El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
The EPSO deputy also followed up with an interview with Eddings-Dion, who reported that the boy was awake and lucid when he left her house. Eddings-Dion admitted to buying the nicotine patches because, according to her own research, nicotine would help the boy with his behavioral issues. However, Eddings-Dion asserted that she never opened the patches and had forgotten where she put them in the house, though she told the deputy the patches would have been out of the boy’s reach.
Eddings-Dion alluded to the boy having played with “Band-Aids” that day in her care.
The affidavit states that there was probable cause to arrest Eddings-Dion on charges of child abuse and crimes against an at-risk juvenile. She is due to appear in El Paso County court on April 28.
