Tokio woman pleads guilty to second-degree murder for death of foster child

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - A Tokio, N.D. woman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Tuesday for the death of her five-year-old foster child.

Forty-seven-year-old Tammy Longie and her husband 44-year-old Erich Longie Jr. were arrested in May of 2020 after Bureau of Indian Affairs and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents say they found the body of a five-year-old child in the basement of their home.

A release from the US Department of Justice says a pathologist found injuries consistent with “multiple episodes of inflicted trauma” and concluded the death was a homicide.

The child’s sibling, another foster child that had been placed in the home in July 2019, was treated for injuries at a hospital for more than a month.

Agents say the investigation revealed two biological children were also abused.

Longie pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, three counts of child abuse, and child neglect in Indian Country.

Chief Judge Peter Welte set her sentencing hearing for April 14 and 15, 2022.

Erich Longie Jr. previously pleaded guilty for similar charges in April 2021.