Eight year old Christina Glenn died of severe food deprivation and medical neglect. At the end of her life, starvation left her bones as brittle as twigs. Christina ultimately died from lack of medical care after her femur shattered, likely on its own. After her death, her two siblings, aged 6 and 7, were taken into protective custody and hospitalized… Read more »
Makayla Norman had cerebral palsy and was unable to walk, talk, or care for herself. Her mother homeschooled her and occasionally hired a nurse to help with her care. Makayla’s condition at the time of her death at age 14 was described by the homicide detective as “horrific.” Makayla’s hair and eyebrows were infested with lice and her body was… Read more »
Hana Williams was adopted from Ethiopia in 2008; three years later, at 13 years old, she was dead at the hands of her parents. Hana was denied food by her adoptive parents as a punishment, leaving her too thin to retain sufficient body heat when her parents put her out of the house in the cold Washington state weather as… Read more »
After abuse concerns were raised at his school, Christian Choate’s parents removed him from school and told neighbors that they were homeschooling him. He was kept inside a locked dog cage and was routinely kicked and beaten by his parents. Sometimes Christian’s parents chained his hands to the top of his cage. As his health deteriorated, he lost control of… Read more »
After abuse reports were lodged by teachers, Nubia and Victor Barahona, twins who had been adopted by Jorge and Carmen Barahona, were withdrawn from their Florida school by their parents, who told officials that they were going to homeschool the children. In the months that followed, Jorge and Carmen systematically and horrifically tortured the children, sometimes tying them up and… Read more »
Nathaniel Craver, who was adopted from Russia along with his twin sister, was hospitalized at age seven for physical injuries suffered at the hands of his parents, Michael J. Craver and Nanette L. Craver. Nathaniel died not long thereafter, having suffered irreparable brain injury. Nathaniel and his sister were homeschooled and the family lived in Pennsylvania. After Nathaniel’s death, his sister was… Read more »
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 »