Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, and 11 relatives

Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj (pictured), age 3, died as a result of medical neglect by five of his family members. Their compound also housed 11 related children, ages 1 to 15, who were malnourished and neglected. The children were homeschooled. Abdul-Ghani, who had hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, was the child of Siraj Wahhaj and Hakima Ramzi of Jonesboro, […]

Sarah Dubois-Gilbeau

Sarah Dubois-Gilbeau, age 5, was beaten to death by her father, Brandon Reynolds. Sarah was homeschooled. Sarah liked fishing at Tingley Beach and once won a fishing contest. Her favorite colors were pink, purple, and blue. Reynolds had sole custody of Sarah due to her mother’s drug use. Neighbors described him as “very strict” and […]

A.S. and L.S. by Wayne Bent

Two girls—A.S., age 16, and L.S., a.k.a. Healed Travesser (pictured), age 14—were sexually abused by Wayne Bent, a.k.a. Michael Travesser (pictured). The girls were the children of John and Elsa Sayer, who were members of the Lord Our Righteousness Church or Strong City, a new religious movement led by Bent, who claimed he was the […]

4 Daughters of Kenneth Yaw and Rita Starceski

Four girls—15-year-old twins Kelly and Colleen, Michaela (age 13), and Bridget (age 11)—were imprisoned and deprived of food by their father, Dr. Kenneth Yaw. The girls’ stepmother Rita Starceski knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it. The girls were homeschooled. Yaw and his first wife, Maureen, had 10 children, including one other […]

Holly, Kyla, and Corrie Snyder

Wesley Snyder shot his wife, Ruth, and his three daughters, Holly, 12, Kyla, 10, and Corrie, 8, before turning his gun on himself. The family was found dead by Ruth’s mother, who lived in a mobile home 100 yards away from the family’s mobile home. The family ran a ranch and homeschooled. Neighbors described Wesley […]

Child of Todd and Lisa Mortensen

Todd Mortensen is alleged to have sexually abused a 12 year old girl placed in his home. The girl was in the process of being adopted by another family, but when this family began to struggle with caring for her they made private arrangements to place her with the Mortensens. Todd and Lisa Mortensen homeschooled […]