GA City Council Hopeful Accused Of Forcing Kids To Eat Cat Feces: Reports

EAST POINT, GA — A city council candidate in metro Atlanta is being accused of forcing her three foster children to eat "feces-riddled cat litter" and hitting them with a skillet, media reports say.

Arrest warrants identified the woman as Marie Terry, who is currently running for East Point City Council Ward B At-Large, both WAGA-TV and WXIA-TV reported. Her arrest comes about a month from the Nov. 5 general elections.

Terry fostered two boys and a girl, ages 13-17, for more than a decade, the media reports say.

She is accused of hitting them with a wooden grill scraper, a plastic bat and a skillet, WXIA-TV reported, citing arrest warrants.

Additionally, the media outlet reported authorities accused her of mentally abusing the children, making the children "sleep on a basement floor without a bed and stay in a closet without light or windows, with the outside secured to prevent escape." However, the children were reportedly able to run away from the home.

Fulton County Jail records on Friday showed Terry was booked on charges of three counts of first-degree cruelty to children Monday. She was released the next day on a $15,000 surety bond, jail records showed.

Her attorney, Marcia M. Guinyard, in a statement to WAGA-TV, said Terry surrendered Sunday.

"These allegations are entirely false. On Sunday, Ms. Terry voluntarily turned herself in to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department and was promptly released on bond. At no time was she ever in the custody of the East Point Police Department, despite statements to the contrary," Guinyard said in the report.

"As this matter remains the subject of an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment on the specific facts of the case at this time. What is important for the public to know is that Ms. Terry is a long-standing, respected member of the community. She has dedicated much of her life to serving others—particularly children—through her outreach programs and community initiatives. Ms. Terry remains steadfast in her commitment to her community and will continue her service as she addresses and fights these false allegations."

Terry previously ran for City Council in the November 2024 special election for Ward B but lost the race to Jermaine Wright.