Noah, 7, John, 5, Paul, 3, Luke, 2, and Mary, an infant, were drowned in the family’s bathtub by their mother, Andrea Yates, one after another. Yates believed that she had to kill her offspring as children lest they come of age and turn away from God. Yates had long suffered from depression, and was found not guilty by reason… Read more »
Lydia Schatz, adopted from Liberia, was seven when she succumbed to liver failure after being whipped with plastic tubing for several straight hours, interspersed with prayer breaks by her parents. Her parents, Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz, said Lydia was being disciplined for mispronouncing a word. Lydia’s sister Zariah, 11, also adopted, was hospitalized with similar injuries but ultimately recovered. The… Read more »
Seven year old Chandler Grafner starved to death at the hands of his guardian, Jon Phillips. In a case described as “horrific,” Phillips locked Chandler in a dark linen closet where he died of starvation and dehydration, surrounded by his own excrement and screaming for something to eat and drink. Phillips, the father of Chandler’s half brother, Dominic, had developed an… Read more »
Dennis Merryman was 8 years old when he died of starvation. He had been adopted from Russia some years earlier along with four brothers and sisters. His Maryland parents, Samuel and Donna Merryman, devout Christians who served as Sunday school teachers, homeschooled Dennis and his siblings. When Dennis died in January of 2005, he weighed 37 pounds, 2 pounds lighter… Read more »
Samuel Hudson was thirteen years old when he died at the hands of Cynthia Hudson, his adoptive mother. Adoptive father William Hudson was charged with tampering with the evidence. Samuel was beaten to death with a broom handle, rake, computer cord, and baseball bat. Samuel and his siblings, all of whom were homeschooled, were frequently punished with brutal beatings and… Read more »
Brittany Jacks, 17, Tatianna Jacks, 11, N’Kiah Fogle, 6, and Aja Fogle, 5, were withdrawn from the Washington, D.C., public school system in March of 2007 to be homeschooled by their mother. In January of 2008, their bodies were discovered in an advanced state of decomposition by marshals serving an eviction notice. Their mother, Banita Jacks, 33, said that the… Read more »
Thirteen year old Tyler Gene McMillan died after spending two nights tied to a tree in oppressively hot summer weather in North Carolina. The boy was homeschooled by his parents, Brice Bryan McMillan, 41, and Sandra Elizabeth McMillan, 36. Neighbors said the family kept to itself. The couple’s remaining two children, aged seven and nine, were taken into protective custody…. Read more »