How Could You? Hall of Shame-Andrew and Kellie Warrington

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Davenport, Iowa, adoptive parents, Andrew and Kellie Warrington,”are charged with child endangerment, among other charges. Police say one of the children wound up severely malnourished after being locked alone in a room.”

“Andrew and Kellie Warrington adopted the three children. Now, years later, they’re facing charges, and are being held in Scott County Jail on a $2 million cash-only bond each.”

“Court records accuse the Warringtons of depriving the [10-year-old] child of water, bathroom access and furniture in a locked room for long periods of time, calling what the child experienced “mental and physical torture.””

“The Warringtons are scheduled to appear June 16 in Scott County Court.”

QC adoptive parents arrested: Biological mom speaks out

[Our Quad Cities 6/12/26 by Linda Cook]

“On Monday, the attorney for an adoptive mother accused of child abuse asked a judge to dismiss two of the charges against the Davenport woman, while the state resists the motion.

After allegations of child abuse, Andrew Warrington, 49; and Kellie Warrington, 47; remain in custody on a $2 million cash-only bond each in Scott County Jail, according to Scott County Court records. Each faces charges of first-degree kidnapping, child endangerment, willful injury, and neglect or abandonment of a dependent person, according to Scott County arrest affidavits.

Kellie Warrington was accompanied by her attorney, Seth Harrington. Also in the courtroom was Andrew Warrington, who appeared with his attorney, Troy Smith. The hearing lasted about an hour in Scott County Court, where Judge Patrick McElyea presided.

Both parents sat quietly as Harrington discussed his motion to dismiss the kidnapping and willful injury charges, saying what happened does not constitute a crime.

In his motion to dismiss, Harrington said “The Minutes tell a story of a mother – and a co-defendant father – who adopted a child with highly distressing behaviors, did everything they could to protect him from himself, were denied adequate help from the institutions they turned to, and, when all else had failed, lawfully confined him for his own protection and the protection of others.”

The boy, now 10, at times refuses to eat, and sometimes injures himself by hitting his head, the motion says.

Scott County Court documents say that on Feb. 17, 2023, the Warringtons went to court to have the child committed.

The motion says that “The State alleges that (the child) is healthier now that he has been placed in another home. Even assuming this is true, it in no way established Kellie Warrington and her husband intended hat serious injury come to (the boy.)”

“…no reasonable fact finder could find that the Defendant had the intent to inflict serious injury on (the child,)” the motion says.

“The State could also attempt to prove that the Warringtons attempted to ‘secretly’ confine (the child.) but how does one ‘secretly’ confine someone in their lawful custody when they have no duty to tell anyone of the person’s whereabouts?””

“The motion says the Warringtons had tried for months to get help for the child. In court, Harrington said the parents reached out to “entity after entity” as the boy became more aggressive. The parents wanted to “keep him from hurting himself or others,” Harrington said. They brought the child to an emergency room seeking help, he said.

The parents “tried and tried and tried to get help for the child’s behavior,” Harrington said. He added there was “no evidence that anybody was looking for (the boy) and couldn’t find him.”

The judge will rule on the motion later.”

“A motion to resist dismissal of counts 1 and III says the State disputes the defendant’s assertion that the torture and neglect that she and her co-defendant inflicted upon a child are justified because of the child’s behavior.

Testimony alleges that Kellie Warrington confined the child in a locked room for extended periods of time throughout the alleged time frame. “There was an exterior lock on the child’s door. The light, oftentimes off in the videos gathered from Defendant’s phone, could only be turned on by a taller individual. The Defendant admitted that she would place the child in his room alone for extended periods of time, claiming that he ‘wanted to be alone.’ Video evidence collected from the Defendant’s phone shows multiple videos including long lapses of time during the day when the Defendant would leave the child in the room.”

Additionally, the motion to resist says confinement under the kidnapping statute is required to substantially increase risk of harm to the victim, significantly lessen risk of detection, or significantly facilitate escape of the defendant. Those facts are alleged in the Minutes of Testimony, including the Defendant placing a lock on the door and restricting access to the
bathroom.”

“Parents are not permitted to confine their children for the purpose of torturing them,” says the state’s motion, adding that “The Minutes of Testimony includes references to a number of videos gathered from Defendant’s and co-Defendant’s phones which depict them confining the child to an unlit room with a boarded-up window, a mattress, with feces and other debris on the ground. In some of the videos the child is directed to stand in the middle of the room for an extended period of time. In others he is berated and called names. In some he is engaging in self-harm with no intervention from any adult. In many of the videos the child is crying alone in the room.”

According to the motion to resist, the conduct alleged in the Minutes of Testimony goes much further than “proper discipline.” The motion to dismiss alleges that Kellie Warrington “kept the child from seeing medical professionals for nearly a year.

During that time, she subjected the child to physical and mental torture and malnutrition. The Defendant sent text messages to her husband, the co-Defendant, stating “I hate how much I hate him but I do,” and “We have to fatten this kid up somehow before he leaves!” In many of the videos, the Defendant berates the child and calls him names…”

“All of those facts are alleged in the Minutes of Testimony and, taken as true, constitute the crimes alleged,” says the motion to resist.”

“Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23, 2026, Davenport police responded to … (MercyOne Genesis) for a report about child abuse. according to Scott County arrest affidavits, which say the two “knowingly and secretly confined” a child to an unfurnished bedroom behind a latched door for an extended period of time “without authority to do so and without (the child’s) consent.”

Court records show they deprived the child of water, food, light, bathroom access, and mental stimulus “for large periods of time resulting in both mental and physical torture.”

In affidavits, police say the Warringtons further hid “the deteriorating condition of the victim by removing the victim from church activities, medical and mental health care,” and, as a result of “confinement and torture,” the child suffered serious injuries that required medical intervention at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.”

The child’s injuries included “severe malnourishment and head injuries. Without medical intervention, (the child) was at risk of death,” affidavits say.

According to court records, a jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 26 in Scott County Court.”

Motion to dismiss charges filed in case of Davenport parents accused of child abuse

[Our Quad Cities 8/26/26 by Linda Cook]

REFORM Puzzle Piece