North Dakota woman sentenced to life in prison for death of foster child

Body of North Dakota child was found in the woman's basement

A North Dakota woman has been sentenced to life in a federal prison for fatally abusing her 5-year-old foster child.

Tammy Longie, of Tokio, earlier pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, child abuse and neglect in the May 2020 death of Raven Thompson. His body was found the basement of Longie's home on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation.

Longie was sentenced in federal court Monday in a case that U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl called "tragic and horrifying."

The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs responded the Longies' home and found Raven dead and his 7-year-old brother in need of medical care due to abuse and neglect.

A physician said the bruising on the body of the older child was consistent with abuse, but the primary concern was heart failure due to malnutrition.

The foster children were placed in the couple's home by Spirit Lake Tribal Social Services nearly a year earlier. An autopsy showed the younger boy died of injuries suffered during "multiple episodes of inflicted trauma."