Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Joseph Chaney

Cynthia Guthrie abducted 14-year-old Joseph Chaney from his mobile home in Tennessee and went on the run with him, first to Colorado and then to New Mexico, where she was caught. Guthrie was a friend of the boy’s mother, Susan Smith, who had asked Guthrie to homeschool her two sons. Guthrie’s sexual abuse of Joseph […]

Lauren Kavanaugh, and 5 siblings

Lauren Kavanaugh, also known as Lauren Calhoun, was freed at age 8 from a six-year imprisonment in a closet where she was systematically tortured, raped, and starved by her mother and stepfather, Barbara and Kenneth Atkinson. The Atkinsons’ other children, who ranged in age from 22 months to 10 years, were also neglected; they did […]

Jesse and Deonna Briggs

Jesse Briggs, age 10, and his sister Deonna, age 7, were murdered by their parents, Thomas and Dawn Briggs, while on vacation in Oregon. The children were poisoned, then their bodies were returned to the family’s Washington home, where Dawn also died of poisoning and Thomas shot himself to death. The Briggses belonged to the […]

Shenna Grimm

Shenna Grimm was 16 in 1998 when her mother and stepfather, Narda and John Goff, inseminated her with a syringe full of John’s sperm. Shenna had been withdrawn from school in fourth grade to be homeschooled, but instead she was forced to work as a servant for the Goffs. John Goff had also repeatedly raped […]

Son of Michael Marshall and Sharon Glass

A 12-year-old boy, the son of Michael Marshall, was starved and imprisoned by his father and his father’s girlfriend, Sharon Glass, reportedly for stealing food. Two other children, Marshall’s 10-year-old daughter and Glass’s 5-year-old son, also lived in the home. The abuse began in 2009 when Glass moved in with Marshall. Glass’s ex-husband, Tony Glass, […]

3 children of Eraca Dawn Craig and Christian Jessica Deanda

Three children—an 8-year-old girl and two boys, ages 5 and 3—were abused, imprisoned, and starved by their parents, Eraca Dawn Craig (left) and Christian Jessica Deanda, who were domestic partners. The children were homeschooled. The girl had been chained to the wall with shackles around her ankles and a collar around her neck, reportedly to […]

Luis Frank Moreno

Luis [or Louis] Moreno, who went by Franky, was 5 years old when he was shot and killed by his father, Roland Ramirez Moreno. Moreno also killed his pregnant wife, Maria Burton Moreno, and himself. Franky was homeschooled. Newspapers reported that the Morenos were a seemingly happy churchgoing family. However, Moreno had allegedly been blacklisted by […]

Amanda Bates

Amanda Bates, age 13, died from medical neglect. She had diabetic ketoacidosis, as well as an infection that had turned gangrenous in her genitals and buttocks. Amanda and her 12 siblings were homeschooled. Her parents, Colleen and Randy Bates, did not graduate from high school. They belong to the General Assembly Church of the First […]

Bradley Warren and 2 siblings

Bradley Warren, age 13, was shot to death by his 14-year-old brother, Brandon Keith Warren. Brandon also shot and killed their 19-year-old stepsister Marnie Rose Warren and then shot himself. Both Bradley and Brandon were homeschooled, and Marnie and their older brother Ellis (age 21) had also been homeschooled. The mobile home where they lived was […]

Mallory Anne Evans

Mallory Evans, age 15, was shot to death by her brother, Jacob Evans. Jake also shot and killed their mother, Jami Evans. Mallory had been homeschooled since January 2010, and Jake had been homeschooled since January 2012. Jake was charged with capital murder and is currently awaiting trial. Date: October 4, 2012 Location: Aledo, Texas