A Fentress County grand jury has indicted a mother and daughter on first-degree murder charges in connection with the August 2024 death of Andrew Willis, a man with developmental disabilities who was in their care. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced the indictments Thursday, saying 44-year-old Deborah “Mae” Viola, Willis’s sister, and 62-year-old Deborah Deloris Laraway, his mother, were both charged with first-degree murder and aggravated neglect of a vulnerable adult.
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, agents gathered evidence indicating that Viola and Laraway failed to properly feed and provide care for Willis, which investigators say resulted in his death. Viola, who also served as his caregiver, faces two additional counts: TennCare fraud and a computer offense. The TBI says Viola billed the TennCare CHOICES Program for services she did not actually provide.
The case traces back to July 2026, when TBI special agents joined the Jamestown Police Department’s investigation into Willis’s death at the request of 8th Judicial District Attorney General Jared Effler, per the bureau’s account. That renewed push, roughly two years after Willis died, led to the grand jury’s indictment this week.
Caregivers Described by TBI as Responsible for His Care
WKRN reports that Willis had developmental disabilities and relied on his sister and mother as his caregivers, a relationship central to the neglect allegations now facing both women. The station identified Viola as 44 years old and Laraway as 62, both named in the indictment alongside Willis as the man they were entrusted to look after.
Court records and an indictment document were not made available publicly as part of the bureau’s announcement, and the exact status of each woman’s legal proceedings has not been detailed. What is known is where the two were found: both Viola and Laraway were arrested with assistance from Ohio’s Franklin Police Department and are being held in the Warren County Jail in Ohio while they await extradition to Tennessee, the TBI said.
Agency Stresses Allegations Remain Unproven
The bureau was explicit that an indictment is not a conviction. “The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law,” the TBI said in its announcement of the charges.
The TBI first shared news of the indictments through a Facebook post Thursday, writing that the investigation was carried out by special agents with its Medicaid Fraud Control Division and had resulted in the indictment of two women connected to the 2024 death of a vulnerable adult. The post directed readers to the agency’s newsroom for additional details on the case.
No further hearing dates or case updates have been released, and it remains unclear what plea, if any, either woman has entered. The investigation into exactly how Willis died, and what role his caregivers’ actions played, remains attributed to TBI investigators rather than an independent medical finding.
