On the evening of December 7, 2020, a devastating series of events unfolded in the unincorporated community of Cadet, Missouri, located in Washington County. Emergency responders were dispatched to a residence on Arnault Branch Road following reports of a structure fire. Upon their arrival, firefighters encountered a home fully engulfed in flames, prompting an aggressive effort to extinguish the blaze.
Inside the residence, they discovered the bodies of two victims: 53-year-old Tammy Marie Feverston, a White female, and her 11-year-old grandson, Trevor Cook. While the situation initially appeared to be a tragic residential fire, the subsequent investigation by the Mineral Area Major Case Squad and local authorities revealed a far more sinister reality.
Autopsies and forensic analysis determined that the fire had been set intentionally to cover up a violent crime. Investigators found that both Feverston and her grandson had been shot to death before the blaze was ignited. The inquiry shifted rapidly from a fire investigation to a double homicide case. Law enforcement gathered evidence suggesting that an intruder had entered the home, committed the murders, and stolen various items, including cell phones, before setting the house on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence of the killings.
Two days later, on December 9, 2020, police identified a suspect, 50-year-old Andrew Lige Richards, a man from the Cadet area. When law enforcement officials attempted to initiate a traffic stop on Richards’ vehicle along Highway 21, he refused to yield, leading officers on a high-speed pursuit. The chase concluded when Richards crashed his vehicle on John Smith Road, allowing officers to take him into custody. He was subsequently held at the Washington County Jail.
Prosecutors charged Richards with a litany of serious offenses related to the incident, including two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree arson, one count of first-degree robbery, and four counts of armed criminal action. Additionally, he faced charges for possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest for a felony. The community was left to mourn the senseless loss of a beloved grandmother and her young grandson, while the legal process began against the man accused of ending their lives.
