Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Child of Robert Hohn and Shannon Watterson

A 12-year-old boy was locked in a bare room for three months by his father, Robert Hohn, and his stepmother, Shannon Watterson. The windows were screwed shut, the door handle was installed backward, and the boy was only let out for small meals and brief bathroom visits. The abuse came to light when the boy […]

Child of Samuel and Diana Franklin

Diana and Samuel Franklin confined their 15 year old adopted daughter to a chicken coop, required her to wear a shock collar, and restricted her food and water. The girl was adopted in 2007, five years before the abuse was discovered, and was homeschooled. She reported that her long stints in the chicken coop (up […]

Joseph Beebe

8 year old Joseph Beebe was beaten to death with a bamboo rod by his adoptive mother, Edith Beebe. Joseph was one of six disabled children adopted by Edith and her husband Brian; all were homeschooled. The Beebes were deeply religious and believed that they must discipline their children with what they called a “holy […]

Lucas Ciambrone

7 year old Lucas Ciambrone was forced to sleep in a bathroom with neither towels, toilet paper, or light bulbs. He was fed via a bucket, was thrown to the floor, kicked in the genitals, punched, and had his head held under water. His ears were nearly torn from his body. According to a medical […]

Stephen Hill and 1 Sibling

Stephen Hill was 13 years old but weighed only 55 pounds when he died—having gained only 1 pound and grown only 1 inch since he was removed from school to be homeschooled four years earlier at age 9. Stephen’s parents had kept him chained in order to deprive him of food, and he died 13 […]

Ricky Holland

Lisa Holland struck her 7 year old adopted son Ricky in the head with a hammer and didn’t seek medical help while he slowly died. Lisa and her husband Tim dumped Ricky’s body in a swamp and said he had disappeared. Police found the body six months later, and Lisa and Tim were charged in […]

Markea Berry

16-year-old Markea Berry, who was mentally disabled, weighed only 40 pounds when she was found dead in her mother’s home. Relatives reported that Markea’s mother, Ebony Berry, was abusive toward her when the family had lived in Michigan. The family left Michigan for Georgia to avoid investigation by child protective services. Ebony homeschooled Markea along […]

Valerie Smelser

At age 12, Valerie Smelser was beaten to death by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. Her emaciated body was dumped in a ditch. Valerie’s mother claimed a religious exemption from public schooling and kept the girl home. She requested an application for homeschooling but never returned it. Child abuse tips were lodged against the […]

Child of Tammy Renea Andrews

Tammy Renea Andrews allegedly tortured her 10 year old adopted son, whom she homeschooled while sending her biological children to school. Andrews is charged with routinely tying the boy up or chaining him, denying him food, and beating him with a baseball bat and a hammer. She also allegedly pinched his tongue with a staple […]

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 […]