Shane Graham, age 11, disappeared in 1999 or 2000. He had autism, Down’s Syndrome, and sickle-cell anemia. His adoptive mother, Judith Leekin, is believed to have murdered him and buried him in the yard of one of her houses, although his body has not been found. Leekin also abused 10 other adopted special needs children. Leekin adopted eleven times between 1988 and 1996 in New York before moving her family to Florida in 1998. Neighbors reported Leekin for child abuse in 1999 and the police attempted to substantiate the reports, visiting her houses multiple times, but were never able to observe the children. The abuse was eventually discovered in 2007 when police found adopted daughter Tracey Wells, age 18, abandoned in the parking lot of a supermarket. The police then conducted a search of Leekin’s house. Most of the children were scarred and missing teeth. None could read or write. The children said that Leakin had threatened to shoot them or cut off their heads if they ever revealed her secrets. Neighbors reported hearing Leekin screaming at the children, “cursing at them, the ‘whacks’ of her hitting them and the cries of the children.” Leekin constructed an elaborate surveillance system which allowed her to keep watch on a closed-circuit monitor. Tracey Wells reported “being forced to hide in secret rooms when someone would come to the house.” Leekin homeschooled the children. Leekin was tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Stephen Wells (born in 1987) reported that he was handcuffed, tied up, and forced to sleep on a cold tile floor in a locked hallway, where he soiled himself because he wasn’t allowed to use the bathroom. He was denied education, medical care and food, and spent his entire life indoors. Jamel Wells (born in 1988) reported that Leekin used a billy club to beat him and the other children. He was also handcuffed to a crib and pistol-whipped by Leakin’s biological son, Desmond Leekin, who then put the gun in Jamel’s mouth and threatened to shoot him. Tracey Wells (born in 1989) said Leekin once punished her by burning her hand on a stove. She also reported that Desmond Leekin frequently beat the children “including with shoes, belts and sticks.” Another of Leekin’s children was an autistic and developmentally disabled girl adopted at age 7. Though she cannot describe her abuse, her siblings have described “her pulling her decaying teeth from her own mouth, the result of a childhood of no dental care.” Another of Leekin’s children was an autistic and developmentally disabled boy adopted at age 5. He is now blind and missing teeth, and his disabilities also prevent him from expressing what happened to him.
Date: July 4, 2007
Location: New York City and Port St. Lucie, Florida Read More
Posted: February 15, 2014 by rachel
Tyler Raines
11-year-old Tyler Raines was found dead in his home, covered with bruises and malnourished. Prosecutors say he was tortured to death, and have charged Tommy and Amanda Raines, the boy’s father and stepmother, with capital murder and felenous child abuse and neglect. While the couple’s other children attended school and were frequently seen playing outside, Tyler was homeschooled and was rarely seen by neighbors. The boy had been homeschooled for two years, and had been kept away from relatives, including his biological mother.
Date: February 6, 2014
Location: Horn Lake, Mississippi Read More
Posted: February 15, 2014 by rachel
Conrad and Ricky Morales
On December 25, 2005, Raul and Cathy Sarinana stomped, kicked, and tortured their 11-year-old nephew, Ricky Morales, resulting in his death. Police found the body of Ricky’s 13-year-old brother, Conrad Morales, encased in concrete in a trashcan outside the home. Raul admitted to causing his death as well. In 2004, with their mother in and out of jail on various charges, first Conrad and then Ricky had been sent out of California to live with their aunt and uncle in Washington state. Raul had reported that the boys were flourishing and doing well in school. The reality was far different. Ricky was never enrolled in school and Conrad was withdrawn from school and enrolled in homeschooling in May 2005, after suspicions of abuse were reported but found unsubstantiated by child protective services (whether Ricky was homeschooled legally or under the radar is unclear). Raul murdered Conrad in October 2005, reported him as a runaway, and then moved his wife, two young children, and remaining nephew, Ricky, to California. Raul gave Ricky’s mother, who was ready for him to come live with her again, a fake address. After Ricky’s death and the discovery of Conrad’s body, Raul and Cathy Sarinana were tried in California for Ricky’s murder and given the death penalty. There was some talk of also trying the couple in Washington for Conrad’s murder. There were also allegations of sexual abuse of both boys.
Date: October 8, 2005, and December 25, 2005
Location: Winlock, Washington, and Corona, California Read More
Posted: January 11, 2014 by clmccracken
Bryant and Alexis Morris
Bryant (age 10), Alexis (age 8), and Johnathan (age 4) Morris were murdered by their father, Edward Morris, who also killed their pregnant mother Renee Lynn Morris. The murders were premeditated—Morris arranged a family trip to the Tillamook State Forest, where he shot Bryant and Johnathan, shot and stabbed Renee, then drove to a more secluded area and stabbed Alexis 18 times. He dumped the bodies in the woods, then attempted to flee the state, intending to go on a killing spree in Phoenix, AZ. After a two-week manhunt, Morris was captured and confessed. Renee homeschooled the children, and the Morrises were active in their local homeschooling group and at St. Johns Weslyan Church. Morris described his motive for the murders by saying “I haven’t been a very good provider lately.” Morris had recently suffered a business failure. In September 2004 Morris pleaded guilty to seven counts of aggravated murder, and in November 2004 he was sentenced to life without parole.
Date: December 21, 2003
Location: Tillamook State Forest, Oregon Read More
Posted: January 11, 2014 by clmccracken
Shane Graham and 10 Siblings
Shane Graham, age 11, disappeared in 1999 or 2000. He had autism, Down’s Syndrome, and sickle-cell anemia. His adoptive mother, Judith Leekin, is believed to have murdered him and buried him in the yard of one of her houses, although his body has not been found. Leekin also abused 10 other adopted special needs children. Leekin adopted eleven times between 1988 and 1996 in New York before moving her family to Florida in 1998. Neighbors reported Leekin for child abuse in 1999 and the police attempted to substantiate the reports, visiting her houses multiple times, but were never able to observe the children. The abuse was eventually discovered in 2007 when police found adopted daughter Tracey Wells, age 18, abandoned in the parking lot of a supermarket. The police then conducted a search of Leekin’s house. Most of the children were scarred and missing teeth. None could read or write. The children said that Leakin had threatened to shoot them or cut off their heads if they ever revealed her secrets. Neighbors reported hearing Leekin screaming at the children, “cursing at them, the ‘whacks’ of her hitting them and the cries of the children.” Leekin constructed an elaborate surveillance system which allowed her to keep watch on a closed-circuit monitor. Tracey Wells reported “being forced to hide in secret rooms when someone would come to the house.” Leekin homeschooled the children. Leekin was tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Stephen Wells (born in 1987) reported that he was handcuffed, tied up, and forced to sleep on a cold tile floor in a locked hallway, where he soiled himself because he wasn’t allowed to use the bathroom. He was denied education, medical care and food, and spent his entire life indoors. Jamel Wells (born in 1988) reported that Leekin used a billy club to beat him and the other children. He was also handcuffed to a crib and pistol-whipped by Leakin’s biological son, Desmond Leekin, who then put the gun in Jamel’s mouth and threatened to shoot him. Tracey Wells (born in 1989) said Leekin once punished her by burning her hand on a stove. She also reported that Desmond Leekin frequently beat the children “including with shoes, belts and sticks.” Another of Leekin’s children was an autistic and developmentally disabled girl adopted at age 7. Though she cannot describe her abuse, her siblings have described “her pulling her decaying teeth from her own mouth, the result of a childhood of no dental care.” Another of Leekin’s children was an autistic and developmentally disabled boy adopted at age 5. He is now blind and missing teeth, and his disabilities also prevent him from expressing what happened to him.
Date: July 4, 2007
Location: New York City and Port St. Lucie, Florida Read More
Last Updated: July 3, 2021 by rachel
Minnet and Jasmine Bowman and Sister
Minnet (age 9) and Jasmine (age 7) Bowman were murdered in 2006 by their adoptive mother, Renee Bowman, their bodies stored in her basement freezer. The murders were discovered two years later when their then-7-year-old sister jumped out of a second-story window to escape imprisonment in her room. She was found by authorities with open sores and lesions on her buttocks and lower thighs, marks on her neck made by a cord, rope or other item and bruises on her hands and lips. Renee Bowman had adopted Minnet in 2001 and Jasmine and the youngest girl (who were biological siblings) in 2004. She received $2,400 total per month in adoption subsidies for the girls since they were considered to be special needs children, and continued to collect subsidies after their deaths. Minnet was originally enrolled in preschool, but after an employee began to suspect neglect Bowman withdrew the girl and decided to homeschool all three of the girls. Bowman claimed that Minnet died of starvation and that Jasmine died in an argument when Bowman pushed her and her head hit the wall. However, Bowman later told a cellmate that she had smothered both of her daughters with a pillow, and autopsy results showed both girls had died of asphyxiation. Minnet died with broken bones in her arms and hand while Jasmine suffered lacerations to her scalp. While the dates of their death are unknown, Bowman’s boyfriend Joe Dickerson claimed that Minnet disappeared in May 2006 and Jasmine in June 2006. Bowman told Dickerson she had sent the girls to another state to live with a friend. With her daughters’ bodies in the freezer, Bowman moved to Charles County, where CPS investigating an anonymous tip found no evidence to substantiate abuse of the remaining daughter. Then Bowman, freezer still in tow, moved to Lusby, where neighbors were unaware that a child was living in her house. When the girl finally escaped, she was wearing only a t-shirt stained with excrement and she reported that she had been beaten with a hard-heeled shoe. She was taken to the hospital and eventually placed in foster care. Police investigating the allegations discovered the other girls’ bodies in the freezer. Renee Bowman pled guilty in September 2009 to charges of first-degree child abuse in Calvert County and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 2010, she was tried in Montgomery County and convicted of two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse and sentenced to life without parole.
Date: September 27, 2008
Location: Lusby, Maryland Read More
Posted: January 10, 2014 by clmccracken
Boy by Merideth Johnson Vincent
A 14-year-old boy was molested by his homeschool teacher, Merideth Johnson Vincent, over the course of a four-week period between September and October 2007. Vincent, a married mother of three, was a main teacher for a private homeschooling group and is suspected of also molesting other children. Vincent was charged with 14 counts of felony child molestation, including seven counts of sodomy of a person under 16, four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, and three counts of sending harmful matter.
Date: October 18, 2007
Location: Van Nuys, California Read More
Posted: January 10, 2014 by clmccracken
Girl by James Monson
A 16-year-old girl was raped approximately 10 times by her homeschooling teacher, pastor James Monson of Gaining Ground Community Church. Pregnant with her boyfriend’s child, the girl ran away from her home in Texas in December 2011 to live with Monson, a family friend. Monson raped her in the bed they shared; she was afraid to say no. The rapes were reported to police by the girl’s mother. Monson was charged with with sexual exploitation by a therapist, sexual assault of a child by a person who works or volunteers with children, exposing genitals or pubic area, and sexual intercourse with a child 16 or over.
Date: February 2012
Location: Sparta, Wisconsin Read More
Posted: January 10, 2014 by rachel
Sarah Neely
11-year-old Sarah Neely’s teachers became concerned when she began losing weight. Then, in October 2004, her father, Jon Neely, removed her from school to homeschool her. Opting for a Home School Assistance Program, one of Iowa’s homeschool options at the time, Sarah’s father and stepmother homeschooled her under the supervision of a certified teacher. In January Sarah’s father began canceling meetings with their supervising teacher because of “family emergencies,” a red flag that ultimately led the teacher to report the family to the police. Police found the girl at home alone, locked in an empty room. The windows were covered with foil and the light fixture had no bulb. Sarah’s father said he was punishing her for stealing food, but she was 30 pounds below the average weight for her age. Sarah spent some time in foster care before being sent to Germany to live with her mother and brothers.
Date: February 18, 2005
Location: De Moines, Iowa
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Posted: January 10, 2014 by rachel
Child of Daniel Ballard
When police went to a trailer park in Louisiana to evict Daniel Ballard, they found a malnourished 14-year-old boy who weighed only 60 pounds and had untreated infected injuries on his arms and foot. The trailer’s conditions were filthy, and had no food or running water. Ballard claimed he was homeschooling the boy, who was his son. Both Ballard and the boy claimed the boy’s injuries had natural causes, but Ballard had not sought medical care for them. The boy was returned to his mother, who lives in Arizona and had sent the boy to live with his father several years before. Ballard was arrested for cruelty to a juvenile.
Date: September, 2009
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana Read More
Posted: January 10, 2014 by rachel
Child by Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser, assistant pastor of a Sound Doctrine Church in Enumclaw, Washington, ordered a family in his church to allow him to move in with them. He lived with the family until they moved to a smaller house and then left the church entirely. During his time living in the home, Fraser raped and molested the family’s 11-year-old daughter. He visited the girl at night, held her down, and threatened her. The incidences occurred between Jan. 12, 2005, and May 31, 2006. Fraser also instituted a boot camp for the girl and her siblings each evening, forcing them to stand at attention and not speak until spoken to in an effort to make the children “100 percent completely obedient without question.” The girl and her siblings were homeschooled by their mother. The girl and her family took the case to the authorities years later, in 2012, and Fraser was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2013.
Date: May 31, 2006
Location: Enumclaw, Washington Read More
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