Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Raysate Knight

Raysate Chain Knight, age 6, was starved, imprisoned, and beaten to death by her stepfather, Raymond Jefferson, and her mother Connie Knight. Knight had four other children, girls ages 16, 13, and 8 and a 4-year-old boy. Raysate was homeschooled. Raysate was born addicted to cocaine and removed from her mother’s custody. She lived with […]

Thomas Elberling

Thomas Elberling, age 11, was shot to death by his father, Jens Elberling, who then committed suicide. Thomas had been homeschooled for the past two years. Thomas was recognized internationally as a chess champion and was ranked fifth in his age group in the US. Jens Elberling and Thomas’s mother, Kate Chou, filed for divorce […]

Shane Alan Coffman and 5 Siblings

The body of eight-year-old Shane Alan Coffman was discovered in a freezer in a trailer home in February 1996. His five siblings, ages seven to twelve, were taken into protective custody. All of the children had been abused, and two were so malnourished they had to be hospitalized. Authorities believe Shane died due to excessive […]

Aaron Norman

Aaron Norman, age 10, died of untreated juvenile diabetes after a beating intended to heal him. His parents, Bobbie and Judith Norman, who were members of a new religious movement known as the No-Name Fellowship or Champaign-Urbana Ministries, believed in faith healing and failed to seek medical assistance for him. Aaron was homeschooled. Bob Norman […]

Dayna Broussard, and 53 children by Eldridge Broussard

Dayna Lorrae Broussard, age 8, was beaten to death by four adults—Willie K. Chambers, Brian J. Brinson, Constance Zipporah Jackson and Frederick Paul Doolittle—in the Ecclesia Athletic Association, a new religious movement run by Dayna’s father, Eldridge Broussard Jr. After her death, 53 other children were removed from the compound, showing signs of systematic beating […]

Jessica Crank

Jessica Crank, age 15, died of bone cancer which her mother, Jacqueline Crank, and stepfather Ariel Ben Sherman left untreated. When she died, she had a tumor the size of a basketball. Jessica was homeschooled. Sherman, who had been convicted of child abuse in Oregon in 1987, was the leader of the Universal Life Church, […]

Benson, Emery, and Zion Strack

Benson (age 14, left), Emery (age 12, center), and Zion Strack (age 11, right) were victims of a murder-suicide committed by their parents, Benjamin and Kristi Strack. The children were homeschooled. The Stracks suffered from mental illness—one of them had substance abuse problems, and Kristi had severe depression. The children were poisoned by their parents, […]

Raashanai Coley

Raashanai Coley, age 11 (left), was starved and beaten to death by her mother, Nicholette Lawrence (right). Her stepfather Robert Lawrence, who lived in the home, has not been charged. Raashanai was homeschooled and, according to some reports, autistic. She had two  two younger half-siblings who attended school. Around the time of Raashanai’s 2003 birth […]

Justin Carlos, and 6 siblings

Justin Gerard Carlos, age 14, was starved and medically neglected by his parents, Mark S. Carlos and Julie L. Carlos. Justin died of pneumonia and sepsis complicated by malnutrition; when he died he was emaciated, covered with bedsores, and showed signs of traumatic brain injury. Justin’s 16-year-old brother was also medically neglected during a similar […]

9 children of Peter Lucas Moses Jr.

Nine children ages 8 and under were abused by their father, Peter Lucas Moses Jr., and his three wives Vania Rae Sisk (second from left), Lavada Quinzetta Harris (far right), and Larhonda Renee Smith (second from right). Four of the children were Sisk’s and five were Harris’. The children were homeschooled and home-churched in the […]