16 children of Richard Jay Swank
Sixteen children were physically abused and deprived of food by their father, Richard Jay Swank. The fourth child, a boy born around 1985, was Swank’s scapegoat; he was tortured, imprisoned, and sexually abused for 18 years. The children’s mother, Monita Swank, was not charged with abuse. After school officials repeatedly called social services about the […]
15 children of Bill and Debbie Rettew
Fifteen children with disabilities were physically abused, medically neglected, and starved by their adoptive parents, Bill and Debbie Rettew. The Rettews had adopted at least nine other disabled children over the years in addition to their biological daughter Deborah Autumn Rettew (age 24) and Debbie’s biological son from an earlier marriage, Wilbur Beddingfield (age 32). […]
Children of Martin and Kathleen O’Brien
Six children, ages 9 to 17, were abused by their adoptive parents, Martin and Kathleen O’Brien. Some of the children were homeschooled. The O’Briens’ three biological children (an adult daughter, Diane, and two minor sons) were forced to participate in torturing their siblings. Four of the children were biological siblings from Russia and two of […]
Children of Kelleen Murray-Auguste
A 10-year-old boy was starved by his mother, Kelleen Deon Murray-Auguste. One of the boy’s eight siblings, a 9-year-old girl, was also 20 percent below her normal body weight. The children were homeschooled. When the boy was rescued, he weighed 35 lbs. and was “extremely dirty, filthy, hair was matted”. The abuse came to light […]
Antonio Rader
Antonio Rader, age 7, was beaten, starved, and tortured by his mother, Mary Rader (right), and her mother and stepfather, Deana (left) and Dennis Beighley. Antonio had several siblings: 11- and 4-year-old sisters and a 9-year-old brother, who was reported to be underweight. Antonio had attended public school until fall 2013, “at which time his […]
3 children of Kate Parker
Katherine G. “Kate” Parker had 7 biological children (Megan, 21; Adam, 20; Emily, 14; Sarah and David, 11; Isaac, 9; and Joshua, 7) and 2 adopted children (Bethany, 5; and Hannah, 4; adopted from the Ukraine in 2010). Parker is accused of medically abusing Joshua, Bethany, and Hannah by lying to doctors and inventing or […]
2 children of Jessica Botzko and John Westover
Two boys, ages 10 and 5, were locked in cages by their parents, Jessica Botzko and John Westover, as punishment for stealing food and whenever Westover was making drugs. The older boy was also sometimes forced to wear a dog’s shock collar; he had previously been “removed from the home in 1998 when Botzko was […]
Child of August and Jeanine Halbesleben
Tommy Halbesleben, age 10, was starved by his father, August James Halbesleben, and his stepmother Jeanine Marie Halbesleben, from the summer of 1999—when the Halbeslebens began homeschooling him due to “conflicts with his second grade teacher and school officials”—until February 2000. Jeanine had been convicted in 1999 of misdemeanor injury to a child after she […]
Rainbow Lord, and 2 siblings
Yahweh Lord (born c. 1983), Rainbow Lord (born c. 1985), and Angel Lord (born c. 1988) were abused by their father, John Lamont Davis (who also went by “Rajohn Lord”), their mother Carrie Lee Davis, and Faye Alice Potts, who lived with the Davises. “The boys were schooled at home, but not under any official […]
Son of Christopher and Trina Pope, and 8 siblings
An 8-year-old boy was starved and chained to a bed for a year by his parents, Christopher Shawn Pope and Trina Pope. The boy’s grandmother, Wanda Zavala, knew about the abuse but did nothing because she believed he “was possessed with evil spirits.” The boy’s 7 siblings (ages 10, 9, 6, 4, 3, 20 months […]
