Alex Pavlis
Irma and Dino Pavlis adopted two children from Russia, Alex, aged 6, and his biological sister, aged 5. Only six weeks after the adoption, the boy died in the hospital of injuries sustained from beatings he suffered at the hands of his adoptive mother. Irma said she beat Alex because the child was difficult and […]
Eric Cottam
14 year old Eric Cottam died of starvation in January 1989. Eric’s parents, Jay and Leona Cottam, claimed that the Seventh-Day Adventist family of four had been fasting since the previous November, saving their money to be tithed. Four years previously, the Cottams had withdrawn their children from school. School board officials were so concerned […]
Chrystal Ramirez and Sister
Chrystal Ramirez, 8 years old, died of abuse suffered at the hands of her adoptive parents, Rubin Stephen and Bettie Ramirez. She was beaten with a cane until her brain bled, and was also starved and severely malnourished. She was often restrained, taped at the wrists and ankles and chained to her bed. Her mouth […]
Brian Edgar and 2 Siblings
Brian Edgar, aged 9 years, died of asphyxiation after a sock was put in his mouth and he was covered from head to toe in duct tape as a punishment for stealing cookies. Doctors found that the boy had been bound extremely tightly around the chest and that he had vomited after being bound. Brian’s […]
Adam Herrman
Doug and Valerie Herrman are accused of abusing their adopted son, Adam, and of not reporting he was missing after his 1999 disappearance at age 11 or 12. The couple continued to collected adoption subsidy payments until what would have been Adam’s 18th birthday, but told family that Adam had returned to state custody. The […]
Jeanette Marie Maples
Jeannette Marie Maples was 16 when paramedics arrived at her home to find her dead. A Department of Human Services worker described the girl’s death as “horrific” and her mother, Angela Darlene McAnulty, and stepfather, Richard Anthony, were both subsequently charged with aggravated murder. Jeannette had attended school until she graduated from 8th grade in June 2008. Her […]
Raijon Daniels
8 year old Raijon Daniels was unresponsive in his bedroom when police and paramedics reached him, his body covered with chemical and rope burns, sores, and other injuries. The vomit around his mouth suggested that he may have died from swallowing household cleaner or another poison. Raijon’s school had become suspicious when his mother, Teresa […]
Zahra Baker
Zahra Baker, a ten year old cancer survivor and amputee living in North Carolina, was reported missing in October 2010. When allegations of child abuse had surfaced the previous year, her parents had withdrawn her from public school at the end of the term, telling officials that they were going to homeschool her. They never […]
Austin and Edward Bryant
In 2000, Edward and Linda Bryant adopted two foster children, Austin and Edward Bryant. Both children were classified as special needs and the Bryants received government subsidies for their care. Over the years, the Bryants took additional foster children and adopted seven other children. In 2011, a young man who had know the Bryant children […]
Andrew Burd
Andrew Burd was 4 years old when he died of salt poisoning. Exactly what happened the day of his death and why he was overdosed on salt remain a question. In her trial, the prosecution argues that Andrew’s foster mother, Hannah Overton, forced him to drink a mixture of water and Cajun spices as a […]
