Crime & Safety

Cherokee County Woman Charged With Killing Father

Andrea Blanton was initially charged with concealing her father's death, but an autopsy found he died of strangulation.

A northern Cherokee County woman has been arrested for allegedly murdering her father after Cherokee County sheriff's deputies discovered his decomposed body inside the home.

Andrea Blanton, 45, remains at at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center with no bond after she was arrested Thursday morning for the crime.

Deputies with the Cherokee Sheriff's Office on Tuesday were dispatched to 515 Northridge Road near Ball Ground to perform a welfare check on James Reece, 77. 

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Authorities located Reece, who appeared to have been dead for several days, according to Cherokee Sheriff's Office Spokesman Lt. Jay Baker. 

Investigators learned Blanton lived at the home with her father and was his primary caregiver.

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Baker said investigators discovered Blanton was staying in the home with her father's body, despite the "advanced stages of decomposition," and was initially arrested on Tuesday for failing to report his death.

She was released on a $11,200 bond from the detention center. However, an autopsy performed on Wednesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Crime Lab revealed Reece died of strangulation.

Blanton was taken into custody Thursday morning and charged with murder. 


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