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Brittany Jacks, 17, Tatianna Jacks, 11, N’Kiah Fogle, 6, and Aja Fogle, 5, were withdrawn from the Washington, D.C., public school system in March of 2007 to be homeschooled by their mother.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 »