Jessyca Mullenberg
13-year-old Jessyca Mullenberg was kidnapped from her father’s home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, by her writing teacher, Steven Oliver, on September 16, 1995. Oliver and Jessyca drove to Kansas City, Missouri, and then flew to Houston, Texas. Oliver took Jessyca from motel to motel, presenting himself as her father and physically, sexually, and mentally abusing […]
Shawn Hornbeck
11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck was kidnapped on October 6, 2002, while he was out riding his bike. His abductor, Michael Devlin, kept Shawn captive at his home fifty miles away for four years, sexually assaulting the boy and creating pornography of their encounters. Neighbors were led to believe that the two were father and son. When […]
5 Children of Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Harper
Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Harper were arrested on child abuse charges after they handcuffed their 11-year-old foster son to the porch in November in his underwear with a dead chicken tied around his neck. The foster child and four other adopted children, aged 8, 9, 13, and 14, were removed from the home, which […]
Michaela Watkins
Michaela Watkins, aged 10, was found dead in her family’s apartment on March 11, 2007. Her body was severely bruised and burned. Michaela’s father, Patrick Watkins, and her stepmother, Joy Watkins, claimed that Michaela’s death was an accident—that she had burned herself in hot water in a bathtub and then fallen down the stairs. Michaela […]
4 Children of Wayne Sperling and Lorinda Bailey
The four boys ranged in age from 2 to 6. None of them were verbal, and none were potty trained. They communicated only in grunts, and lived with their parents, Wayne Sperling and Lorinda Bailey, in a filthy apartment. Flies covered every surface, cat poop and urine covered the floor, and the smell of decay […]
Hannah, Noah, Mollie, and Josiah Carroll
On September 21, 1992, six year old Hannah Carroll died of severe bleach burns, which covered one third of her body and were left untreated for three days. Hannah, who had Down syndrome, was one of ten special needs children adopted by Kathleen and Timothy Carroll, a fundamentalist Christian homeschooling couple. In the three months […]
Christina Corrigan
On November 19, 1996, Marlene Corrigan called 911 to report that she could not wake her 13 year old daughter, Christina. Investigators found the girl dead, covered in bedsores, and surrounded by filthy conditions. In response to her daughter’s growing weight, Marlene had withdrawn her from school to homeschool her over a year earlier. Marlene […]
Child of Jacole Prince
On June 22, 2012, child welfare workers responding to a child abuse tip found a child locked in a small closet. At ten years old the girl, called LP in court records and news reports, weighed only 32 pounds. While her younger sister attended school and was well fed, LP was kept home and spent […]
4 Children of Alisa S.
Alisa and Andrew, residents of Utah and the parents of four children (known in court documents as A.S., C.S., L.S., and J.S.) divorced in 2008. Alisa was granted sole custody. After a substantiated child welfare referral regarding child neglect in February 2009, a voluntary services case was opened, but Alisa was uncooperative and moved to […]
Two Children of Mother and J.S.
Savannah and Selena, both adopted, were subjected to horrific sexual abuse at the hands of their adult brother, Michael, who was also adopted. The couple, described only as Mother and J.S. in court documents, had three additional young adopted children and four additional older biological children. When Selena told their mother about her abuse at […]
