Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

4 Children of Patricia Hyler

A 14-year-old boy, M., and his three adopted siblings, were abused by their adoptive mother, Patricia Hyler. The children’s adoptive father, Tommy Hyler, worked long hours outside the home and was not charged in connection with the abuse. The children were homeschooled. Hyler adopted M. around 2012. She worked as a teacher at a church […]

Girl by Margaret and Charles Breeze

An 11-year-old girl, K., was starved, imprisoned, and abused by her legal guardians, Margaret and Charles Breeze. K. was homeschooled. Other children in the home were not reported to be abused. K. went to live with the Breezes in 2013. Margaret Breeze was the third cousin of K.’s biological mother, who claimed that K. had […]

Girl by Melissa Keister

W., a girl born in 2009, was starved, imprisoned, and abused by her foster mother, Melissa Lin Keister. No charges were filed involving Keister’s husband, Allen Keister, or the six other children who lived in the home. W. was homeschooled. Keister was active in her church and Milton Little League. Keister’s abuse of W. began […]

10 Children of Mark and Melissa McGregor

Twin 14-year-old girls, R. and K., were starved, physically abused, and imprisoned by their adoptive parents, Mark and Melissa McGregor. The girls were homeschooled. The McGregors’ eight other biological children who also lived in the home were not reported to be abused. The girls were adopted from Bulgaria around 2012. The McGregors previously lived in […]

2 Children of Mary Heller

Two girls, L. (b. 1998) and M. (b. 2002), were starved and neglected by their adoptive mother, Mary Heller (pictured). The girls were homeschooled. The girls were adopted as young children, L. from China and M. from Mongolia. Both attended public school until approximately 2006, when Heller pulled them from school to homeschool them, allegedly […]

2 Children by Samuel and Brandi Hollie

A boy and girl, ages 8 and 10, were starved and tortured by their adoptive parents, Samuel Earl Hollie II and Brandi Rae Hollie (both pictured). The children were homeschooled and “isolated from others”. Their younger sibling, the Hollies’ biological child, was not reported to be abused. The children were in foster care before they […]

Girl by the Smiths

A 9-year-old girl was beaten, starved, and imprisoned by her uncle, Joel Smith (pictured left), Joel’s wife Amanda Smith (pictured center), and their 19-year-old daughter Allison Smith (pictured right). The girl was homeschooled. It is unclear how the girl came to live with the Smiths, but she thought of them as her parents and sister. […]

Boy by Lyubov Korotkova

VK, an 11-year-old boy (pictured), was starved and medically abused by his foster mother, Lyubov Korotkova. VK was homeschooled. Korotkova also had an adult son who lived with them and an adult daughter. Korotkova became VK’s foster mother and removed him from an orphanage in 2009 when he was 3 years old. For eight years, […]

11 Children of Machelle Hobson

Seven children, ages 15 to 3, were starved, imprisoned, and physically and sexually abused by their adoptive mother, Machelle Hobson (pictured left). The children were homeschooled. Hobson’s four adult biological children were not reported to be abused; her sons Logan and Ryan Hackney (pictured center and right) knew about the abuse but did nothing to […]

6 Children of Joseph and Samantha Ferguson

A girl, Jane*, was imprisoned, physically abused, and medically neglected by her adoptive parents, Joseph and Samantha Ferguson. The girl’s sister, Jean*, was also imprisoned. The girls’ four siblings were not reported to be abused. All six children were homeschooled. Jean and Jane, biological sisters both adopted by the Fergusons, “were undergoing trauma therapy for […]