Sarah Richardson (b. 1988, left) and her brother Chris Smith (b. 1990, second from left) were physically abused by their stepfather, TV hypnotist Martin Smith, who also subjected Sarah to systematic sexual abuse for a decade. Their mother, child services employee Lianne Smith, knew about the abuse but did nothing. After Sarah reported the abuse to the police and Martin was arrested, Lianne murdered her two younger children (pictured at right), Rebecca (b. 2004) and Daniel (b. 2009), to prevent them from being taken by child services. Lianne homeschooled her children and was a “Regional Advisor for the home education group Education Otherwise.”
Sarah and Chris’s biological father, John Hope, left the family in 1991. Martin Smith moved in with Lianne in 1992 and began beating Sarah and Chris almost immediately. His sexual abuse of Sarah began in May 1995, shortly after the family had moved to a remote area in Cumbria, UK and Lianne had withdrawn her children from school to homeschool them. Though Sarah repeatedly reported the abuse to her mother, Lianne refused to believe her. Not long after Rebecca was born in 2004, Sarah left home to attend university, and Chris was kicked out at age 16. Sarah, afraid that Smith would start abusing Rebecca, contacted police in November 2007 to report the sexual abuse. Martin and Lianne Smith responded by fleeing with Rebecca to Barcelona, Spain, where Lianne later gave birth to Daniel.
In May 2010, Spanish police finally tracked Martin down and arrested him. Lianne fled again with the children to Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava, Spain, where she suffocated Rebecca and Daniel and then attempted suicide. Martin Smith was found guilty of rape and hanged himself in prison. Lianne Smith was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Date: May 17, 2010
Location: Cumbria, UK; Barcelona, Spain Read More
Posted: November 4, 2015 by clmccracken
4 Children of John Paul and Danielle Woolley
Four children, boys ages 8, 4, and 2, and a 5-year-old girl, were imprisoned, starved, and neglected by their parents, John Paul and Danielle Woolley, and their grandparents Gordon Mark and Barbara Jo Woolley. The children were homeschooled, but had never received any medical care or any kind of education.
The children were kept in a locked room in a house covered in feces. When they were found, all four were “non-verbal with poor hygiene and varying degrees of malnutrition and dehydration.” The children were not toilet trained and were unable to eat normal foods. The oldest boy was reportedly autistic.
The abuse was discovered after authorities received an anonymous tip and went to the home to investigate. The children were hospitalized and John Paul’s 29-year-old brother, who had special needs, was also taken into protective custody. Animal control removed a number of cats from the home. All four of the Woolleys were charged with felony neglect.
Date: October 19, 2015
Location: Clinton, Indiana Read More
Posted: October 19, 2015 by clmccracken
Jacob Davidoff
Jacob Davidoff, age 17, was shot to death by his mother, Dianne Michelle Davidoff. Jacob had health problems which prevented him from attending school, so he was homeschooled.
Davidoff had a history of mental illness and serious financial problems; she and Jacob were in the process of moving out of their foreclosed home when she shot him. Davidoff was charged with murder.
Date: September 24, 2015
Location: Gresham, Oregon Read More
Posted: August 13, 2015 by clmccracken
Girl by Rob and Marie Johnson
A girl (b. 1994) was sexually abused and beaten by her mother’s cousin, Robert Johnson, and his wife Marie Johnson, from the time she was 13 until she ran away from their home at age 18. The girl was homeschooled by the Johnsons, whose four biological sons were not abused.
The girl went to live with the Johnsons after her mother died in 2007. The sexual abuse began within days and continued at least twice a week until the girl’s grandmother helped her escape in 2012. The Johnsons taught Sunday School and used Old Testament passages to justify their actions. Rob Johnson forced the girl to call him ‘master’ and wear a ring to show she ‘belonged’ to him, telling her that “having sex with him and Marie made her part of the family.” Marie beat the girl if she refused the couple’s sexual demands.
The abuse came to light when the girl, inspired by support from other abuse survivors, decided to report it to police in August 2015. The Johnsons were charged with sexual assault of a child.
Date: August 11, 2015
Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Read More
Posted: July 25, 2015 by clmccracken
7 Children of David and April Bever
Daniel (age 12), Christopher (7), and Victoria Bever (5) were stabbed to death, allegedly by their older brothers, Robert (age 18) and Michael Bever (age 16). The children’s parents, David and April Bever, were also killed, and their sister Crystal (age 13) was injured but survived. Their 2-year-old sister Autumn was not harmed. The children were “home schooled and kept on a tight leash.”
The deaths were discovered after police responded to a 911 call made by Daniel. Robert and Michael were arrested and Robert was charged with murder. The investigation is ongoing.
Date: July 22, 2015
Location: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Read More
Posted: June 18, 2015 by clmccracken
Tina Anderson
Tina Anderson was 15 when she was raped twice by Ernest Willis, a friend of her family. When she became pregnant, her mother Christine Dooley and Chuck Phelps, the pastor of Trinity Baptist Church (IFB) in Concord, NH which Tina’s family attended, conspired to hide her from the authorities so that the crime could not be prosecuted. While she was being hidden, Tina was homeschooled.
After Tina reported the rapes to Dooley and Phelps, Phelps alerted the police. However, he immediately arranged for Tina to leave the state and stay with congregants Clovis and Diane Landry in Colorado. The Landrys homeschooled Tina during her pregnancy and for some time afterwards. Tina’s child was given up for adoption. During her senior year Tina was permitted to attend a Christian school as long as she did not tell anyone about what had happened to her. She finally came forward to police in 2010. Willis was found guilty of forcible rape and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Date: October 8, 1997
Location: Westminster, Colorado Read More
Posted: April 26, 2015 by clmccracken
2 Children of Quincy Hazel and Sabrina Golden-Hazel
A 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were beaten, imprisoned, starved, and denied medical care by their parents, Quincy Hazel and Sabrina Golden-Hazel. Golden-Hazel “told investigators she home school[ed] the children, but police did not find any books in the home.”
The children were kept locked in a closet for days at a time with only a bucket as a bathroom. They were beaten with an extension cord. They were often so hungry they had to eat trash. They had never seen a doctor or dentist and the boy had lost most of his teeth.
The abuse came to light when the boy ran away from home in March 2015. He reported the abuse to police about a month later. The Hazels were charged with child neglect.
Date: April 19, 2015
Location: Riviera Beach, Florida Read More
Posted: April 20, 2015 by clmccracken
Son of Charlie Mayes
A 16-year-old boy was physically abused by his father, military veteran Charlie Mayes. The boy was forced to carry a heavy stone for miles in hot weather as punishment for failing to do his schoolwork. The boy “had a history of problems at school” and was homeschooled.
The abuse came to light when a pizza delivery driver saw the boy walking with the stone and reported it to the authorities. Mayes was charged with child cruelty.
Date: May 26, 2014
Location: Douglasville, Georgia Read More
Posted: April 20, 2015 by clmccracken
8 Children of Jondrew Lachaux and Kellie Phillips
A 17-year-old girl was raped and impregnated by her stepfather, Jondrew Lachaux. Lachaux and the girl’s biological mother, Kellie Phillips, then abandoned the girl and her 3-year-old half-sister Bessie Lachaux, who had special needs, for eight months while they took a road trip with their other five children, ages 9, 8, 7, 4, and 1. All the children were homeschooled.
Lachaux and Phillips abandoned their daughters in August 2014 with inadequate amounts of food and medication for Bessie, who had breathing problems. They forbade the older girl from getting outside help. Phillips reportedly did not know that the 17-year-old was pregnant. The girl gave birth at home without assistance and Bessie later died. On hearing of his daughter’s death, Lachaux came home to hide the body and forced the 17-year-old and her 4-month-old child out on the streets.
The abuse came to light when the girl sought shelter at McCarran International Airport. Airport staff noticed that her baby was sick and called the authorities. The baby was hospitalized for malnutrition and dehydration. Lachaux and Phillips were charged with child abuse.
Date: April 1, 2015
Location: North Las Vegas, Nevada Read More
Posted: April 10, 2015 by clmccracken
Isaiah Torres
Maurice Isaiah Torres, age 6, who went by Isaiah, was beaten and raped to death by his parents, Mauricio Alejandro Torres and Cathy Lynn Torres. Isaiah, his twin sister, and their 8-year-old sister were homeschooled. Isaiah had been pulled from school following an abuse investigation.
Isaiah had previously been treated at a hospital for chemical burns and he had an improperly healed broken nose. Cathy Torres reported witnessing Mauricio beating Isaiah with his fists, an electrical cord, and a belt. At the time of his death, Isaiah had heavy bruising and lacerations all over his body. His cause of death was “acute peritonitis due to rectal trauma”. The Torreses were charged with murder, rape, and battery.
Date: March 30, 2015
Location: Bella Vista, Arkansas Read More
Posted: April 6, 2015 by clmccracken
Sarah, Chris, Rebecca, and Daniel Smith
Sarah Richardson (b. 1988, left) and her brother Chris Smith (b. 1990, second from left) were physically abused by their stepfather, TV hypnotist Martin Smith, who also subjected Sarah to systematic sexual abuse for a decade. Their mother, child services employee Lianne Smith, knew about the abuse but did nothing. After Sarah reported the abuse to the police and Martin was arrested, Lianne murdered her two younger children (pictured at right), Rebecca (b. 2004) and Daniel (b. 2009), to prevent them from being taken by child services. Lianne homeschooled her children and was a “Regional Advisor for the home education group Education Otherwise.”
Sarah and Chris’s biological father, John Hope, left the family in 1991. Martin Smith moved in with Lianne in 1992 and began beating Sarah and Chris almost immediately. His sexual abuse of Sarah began in May 1995, shortly after the family had moved to a remote area in Cumbria, UK and Lianne had withdrawn her children from school to homeschool them. Though Sarah repeatedly reported the abuse to her mother, Lianne refused to believe her. Not long after Rebecca was born in 2004, Sarah left home to attend university, and Chris was kicked out at age 16. Sarah, afraid that Smith would start abusing Rebecca, contacted police in November 2007 to report the sexual abuse. Martin and Lianne Smith responded by fleeing with Rebecca to Barcelona, Spain, where Lianne later gave birth to Daniel.
In May 2010, Spanish police finally tracked Martin down and arrested him. Lianne fled again with the children to Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava, Spain, where she suffocated Rebecca and Daniel and then attempted suicide. Martin Smith was found guilty of rape and hanged himself in prison. Lianne Smith was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Date: May 17, 2010
Location: Cumbria, UK; Barcelona, Spain Read More
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