Pound Pup Legacy

From 1968 to 1990 the Nasons adopted in total 76 children, most of them having special needs, to form their "Celebration Family".

In 1992 things started to fall apart and they were were alleged to allow three small children to die neglected in their beds an infant girl who died of starvation in 1988, and a boy of about 2 and a girl of about 4 who died of a form of dysentery called shigella in 1985, days apart.

Some of the 76 children they adopted have told of being beaten and being shocked with a cattle prod. Younger children, were allegedly caged in their beds.

A 27-year-old woman adopted when she was 10 said that Dennis Nason, 49, molested her and attempted intercourse, and that she was forced to eat a bar of soap. She also said she had been hit with a belt during meals for eating too slowly and was hit again when the first beating caused her to urinate.

The Nasons were acquitted of abuse charges, but convicted of racketeering and forgery.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1991-05-01

Location

Sisters, OR
US

The girl was sexually abused by her older adopted brother since the age of seven,

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-02-11

Location

Livingston, CA
US

3 year old boy adopted by Tim and Billy Jane King, slain by his adoptive mother, who first claimed he had been kidnapped, later she confessed to killing him. Ahmad had been adopted just a month before his death.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-01-23

Location

Alma, GA
US

At age 6, Alex Pavlis of Illinois, was beaten to death by his U.S. adopted mother, Irma, 6 weeks after his adoption from Russia. He was found to have 32 bruises, scars, and cuts. Irma had a difficult time with Alex. He banged his head on the walls, floors, and defecated and urinated on himself. Reports indicate that his injuries could have been self-inflicted. Irma was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Tree of Life

Date

2003-12-18

Location

Schaumburg, IL
US

21 days old infant shaken to death by adoptive father Bruce Keintz.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2001-02-17

Location

Lombard, IL
US

12 year old girl adopted by Sandra Parker was brutalized kept chained and starving in the basement.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2002-01-01

Location

Gran Rapids, MI
US

Sent by her adoptive mother to the Attachment Center at Evergreen (ACE), Andrea was put through the usual “two-week intensive,” but then diagnosed as so “damaged” that she had to stay on for periodic treatments at ACE, and live with AT-trained therapeutic foster parents (TFPs), at a cost to the family’s insurance company of $3,500 a week. Supposedly, Andrea made slow progress in the arrangement, until the insurance payments ran out. Whereupon, Watkins and the TFPs began pressuring the adoptive family to allow the TFPs to adopt her — and thereby get new insurance coverage.

One day in November 1990, Andrea returned to her foster home from school and reported to the TFPs that she had been sexually molested at school, which they regarded as typical “Attachment Disorder” behavior — false, manipulative, and attention-getting.

The next day, Andrea took an overdose of aspirin. She was in convulsions and delirious the next morning, but the TFPs did not attend her, and instead went bowling that afternoon. While they were gone, a relative visited the house and found Andrea dead in a hallway.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1990-11-09

Location

Tulsa, OK
US

16-year-old boy adopted by a former supervisor for the Administration for Children's Services was sexually abused by his adopter.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1998-11-26

Location

Brooklyn, NY
US

Eight year old boy was scalded in bathwater. His adoptive parents waited six weeks before seeking treatment for him.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-02-17

Location

Green Bay, WI
US

17-year-old former foster child was sexually abused by his adoptive father, who was a Devereux Florida state-contracted foster care facility worker

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-02-08

Location

Orange County, FL
US

11-year-old boy was allegedly punched and slapped regularly, forced to wear a diaper, sleep on the floor and refused food.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-06-23

Location

Troy, NY
US

4 year old girl and 5 year old girl adopted by Richard and Christine Dodson were abused by their adopters. The girl's leg and arms were broken and the boy was being starved and beaten. Both children were home-schooled.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services

Date

1995-07-01

Location

Round Rock, TX
US

At least four out of eleven boys adopted by David Allen Lindsey were sexually molested by him. Lindsey was the first single man in Florida to adopt.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1987-06-06

Location

Boynton Beach, FL
US

John Krueger, a 53-year-old Bakersfield man is accused of molesting four young boys, all children adopted from an orphanage in Ukraine.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-04-13

Location

Bakersfield, CA
US

Two boys adopted by their aunt and uncle in Blackstock Ontario were found caged. One boy was found in a makeshift cage that was strapped to a wall and padlocked.

They were often tied to their beds, sometimes handcuffed. At one time, one brother was forced to sleep in a bare dog cage.

They were kept in diapers because they couldn't get to the washroom, subjected to rectal examinations and often beaten with a variety of household implements.

They lived in such fear, court heard, they ate their own feces to hide evidence of accidents and, deprived of water, felt compelled to drink their own urine. ...

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2004-07-20

Location

Blackstock, ON
CA

9-year-old Brian Edgar, died when he was bound like a mummy in duct tape by his adoptive mother as a punishment for stealing cookies. The boy was left overnight with only his nose uncovered and suffocated on his own vomit at the family's home in Overland Park, west of Kansas City.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2002-12-31

Location

Overland Park, KS
US

Four New Jersey boys who had been systematically starved by their adoptive parents, while state child welfare workers, in a bewildering series of errors, failed to make the most basic checks on the children over a dozen years.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

DYFS' Southern Adoption Resource Center

Date

2003-10-10

Location

Collinswood, NJ
US

Candace Elizabeth Newmaker (19 November 1989 — 18 April 2000) was a victim of child abuse, killed during a 70-minute treatment session supposedly to treat reactive attachment disorder. The form of diagnosis and the treatments used were unvalidated and non-mainstrean methods practised within the field of attachment therapy.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2000-04-18

Location

Durham, NC
US

Four-year old Cassandra adopted by Jennette and Richard Killpack died after they forced her to drink a gallon of water, which caused her brain to swell.

The Killpacks maintained it was a form of therapy to help Cassandra with her emotional problems that she had from being abused before they adopted her.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2002-06-01

Location

Springville, UT
US

18 month old adopted son of Charles Thomas McEntire Jr. and Edrina Gibson McEntire. His adoptive father stabbed him to death with a kitchen knife.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Hand in Hand Foundation (Santa Cruz)

Date

2004-11-22

Location

Richmond, CA
US

11 year old girl adopted by her grand parents Charles and  Rita Mensinger. After having shot her husband Mensinger fled, bringing Chelsea with her. She later shot Chelsea and herself. Charles Mensinger survived his wife's attack on him.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2000-09-15

Location

DuPont, PA
US

Four children adopted from Guatemala, allegedly abused by their adoptive father.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-05-09

Location

Orlando, FL
US

Eight children from foster care were abused by Marjorie; she punched children, hit them with a wooden paddle, locked them outside for hours with no food or water, held their heads under hot water, and threatened them with a gun.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2000-01-01

Location

Plant City, FL
US

Three adopted boys were found severely malnourished, a 5-year-old boy who weighed less than 20 pounds, an 8-year-old who weighed less than 40 pounds and a 7-year-old brother who weighed about 32 pounds when police found. The boys also were treated for bruises, scratches, burns and head lice. The boys told officers they were tied up to be kept from food in the mobile home.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-07-01

Location

Lyman, SC
US

In November of 1999 the half-naked disabled adoptive son of Emily Miller was found tied to a plastic bucket partially filled with urine. During the examinations, it was revealed two children in the care of  Emily Miller had died earlier. First in January 1993, 4-month-old Ieisha Dyson died after being born with a significant birth defect and in April 1995 DuJuan Miller, Emily Miller's 2-year-old adopted son died, supposedly of sudden infant death syndrome.

---

All material kindly provided by Jack Kresnak President & CEO of Michigan's Children

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1999-11-02

Location

Detroit, MI
US

Five children and two disabled women were locked in a basement cell, fed meager food and rarely allowed to bathe. The couple were paid $9,000 a month to care for the seven.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-09-19

Location

Lancaster, PA
US

Three boys and two girls were beaten with sticks, belts, shoes, fists and hammers; burned with a clothes iron, the stove, and a curling iron; bitten; kicked; stabbed with knives, forks and sticks; urinated on; forced to eat their own excrement; forced to drink urine; fed rotting food as well as cat food; forced into the clothes dryer and the dryer turned on; beaten while naked; duct taped to a chair or their beds for days; strangled with a belt; held under water; held over a banister by their feet and dropped; made to drink hot sauce with red hot peppers; made to drink from the toilet; forced to go without food for days; forced to wear urine soaked clothing on their heads; and body slammed, along with other abuses.At least two of the victims also detailed sexual abuses and assaults using a toilet plunger.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-08-15

Location

Springfield, OH
US

A 12-year-old girl who weighed 40 pounds and her 10-year-old brother, who weighed 45 pounds, were found unattended near a church playground in Union County, South Carolina. Both children were adopted from Estonia eight years before.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-09-23

Location

Jonesville, SC
US

Five children adopted by the Dollars who starved them, shocked them with electricity, pulled out their toenails with pliers, bound them with chains and strips of plastic and struck their feet with hammers.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2005-02-04

Location

Beverly Hills, FL
US

During 1999 - 2003 DiMaria and her husband, John DiMaria, lived in Jericho and operated the Gypsy Grace Ranch, advertised as "North America's Largest Breeder" of Gypsy horses, an expensive English draft horse. The DiMarias adopted 21 girls from third-world countries. The adopted girls were all impaired; most were deaf. In February, 2003, the State of Vermont learned that John DiMaria had been sexually abusing the older girls for years. He was convicted and jailed by the State.

In 2002 and 2003, after the DiMarias had exhausted Marian DiMaria's trust fund of over $7 million, they deceived the Mellon Bank in Pennsylvania, a trustee of the adopted girls' trusts, into sending them $168,000 for fictitious expenses. Further investigation revealed that DiMaria had received and spent $96,000 from one adopted victim's trust, and had defrauded the Social Security Administration of approximately $13,000, after she learned that her husband had been sexually abusing the children.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2003-02-01

Location

Jericho, VT
US

Three children adopted a year before, had allegedly been abused and tortured by their adopters.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-06-08

Location

LaRue County, KY
US

Nine teenagers and young adults were held like prisoners in Judith Leekin's home in what appeared to be a decades-long scheme to line her pockets with the government payments she received for adopting and raising them.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Four separate New York City agencies among which: HeartShare Human Service and St. Joseph’s Children’s Services

Date

2007-07-30

Location

Port St Lucie, FL
US

Former foster parents of the year Bessie and Mechelle Saffold, neglected and battered five children they adopted.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-02-28

Location

Indianapolis, IN
US

Liggins' children, ranging in age from 8 to 17, were discovered a month ago at the Nigerian orphanage by an American missionary. The children, some of them suffering from typhoid and malaria, told the missionary they were from Houston and wanted to go home. The church's pastor told two U.S. congressmen and arrangements were made to return them to Texas.

Liggins said her only mistake was trusting her brother-in-law to care for the children in Nigeria. The relative took money she sent for the kids' benefit, causing the children to be kicked out of their boarding school and put in the squalid orphanage, she said.

The children initially were taken to Nigeria in October so she could take a job in Iraq, working for Houston-based Hallilburton subsidiary KBR.x  

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2004-03-01

Location

Houston, TX
US

11 children adopted by Michel and Sharen Gravelle were found to be kept in cages.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2005-09-01

Location

Clarksfield, OH
US

20 children adopted by Gainesville, Fl woman were beaten with sticks, pipes, belts, extension cords and paddles during more than 10 years of abuse.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Shepherd's Care Ministries

Date

2001-09-01

Location

Gainesville, FL
US

Two boys and a girl, all 9 or 10 years old, were sexually abused by their adoptive father.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-01-15

Location

Kearns, UT
US

Four children between 3 and 9 being beaten with boards, locked in a basement without food and doused with cold water as punishment.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Arapahoe County Department of Social Services

Date

1999-03-14

Location

Brush, CO
US

A 6 year old girl and an 8 year old boy were deprived food and water, which resulted in severe malnourishment.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-02-26

Location

Gardnerville, NV
US

Scott Francis, a 41-year-old Northville, MI man, lived with his two adopted children despite a plea agreement that was supposed to stop him from having unsupervised contact with any child, after his previous conviction on two offenses of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

The registered sex offender was convicted of violating probation, and also was charged with new counts of sexual assault involving an adopted son. A judge's written order had failed to mention the plea agreement that forbade contact with any child, and a probation officer also admitted to failing to enforce the deal.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2003-08-26

Location

Northville, MI
US

Three teen age children adopted from the foster care system were refused food, beaten and made to stand on a milk crate for hours by their adoptive mother. Shirley Allen received on top of her $600 disability income, $1,500 per month in compensation for each of the three children

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-05-28

Location

Loganville, GA
US

Steven Sueppel, indicted for embezzling from the bank that he worked for, killed himself, his wife, and their four adopted Korean children, Ethan (10), Seth (7), Mira (5), and Eleanor (3),in Iowa City, Iowa.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Holt Children's Services Inc.

Date

2008-03-23

Location

Iowa City, IA
US

Theresa and Reed Hansen, of Saratoga Springs, had been accused of felony and misdemeanor charges for withholding food, sometimes for days at a time, from two of their three children adopted from Russia, who were of pre-school age at the time. All three adoptees were removed from the home in 2002 and have reportedly thrived since in new adoptive homes.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2002-10-02

Location

Saratoga Spring, NY
US

Four boys and two girls, between the ages of 7 and 16 were being locked up in the basement of their house.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-11-22

Location

Colorado Springs, CO
US

Three year old Colombian girl adopted by Nancy Jane Montalbano on on Oct. 28, 1996. Almost a year later she was beaten to death by her.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1997-10-21

Location

Perkiomenville, PA
US

8-year-old Christopher Forder stricken with pneumonia, heavily bruised and nearing death, only to call 911 after he had dies.Kimberly Forder, Christopher's adoptive mother abused and neglected him to the point of death, never seeking outside medical help as his pneumonia grew worse.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2002-11-22

Location

Seabeck, WA
US

8-year-old girl, adopted by Rubin and Bettie Ramirez, was starved, had her arms and legs tied with tape, and was beaten with a cane to the point her brain and skull began bleeding.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-08-24

Location

San Antonio, TX
US

9 year old boy, adopted from Romania, had been sexually abused by his adopted William Peckenpaugh.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Tree of Life

Date

2004-12-01

Location

Silverton, OR
US

Two adopted daughters of a pastor in Ocala, Fl were sexually abused by their adopter. The eldest has a child from the pastor.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2001-01-11

Location

Ocala, FL
US

In October 2000, less than four months after arriving in County Armagh, one of the boys died in the care of his adoptive parents Gwen and Geoffrey Briggs - his tiny body covered in multiple fractures.

Two weeks after the death of David Briggs, his brother Samuel was brought to hospital with a fractured skull. Geoffrey Briggs had punched the child for refusing to take some medicine.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2000-10-01

Location

Armagh, ARM
UK

David Polreis, Jr: age 2, of Greeley, Colorado was beaten to death. Over 90% of David's body was covered in cuts, which his adoptive mother, Renee Polreis, claimed was due to the boys severe RAD. Renee stated that David would hit himself with a wooden spoon. Husband, David Polreis, Sr. was out of town at time of attack and was not implicated. Rene Polreis was convicted of child abuse resulting in death and sentenced to 18 years in prison. David was adopted 6 months before his death.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Rainbow House

Date

1996-02-09

Location

Greeley, CO
US

Dennis Craig Jurgens (December 6, 1961 – April 11, 1965) was the most famous and only fatal victim of prolific child abuser Lois Jurgens, who abused a total of six adopted children during a period spanning the 1950s to 1970s. The eventual trial of Lois Jurgens for his murder made national headlines and was the top news story for the state of Minnesota in 1987.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1965-04-08

Location

White Bear Lake, MN
US

Dennis Merryman: age 8, born Dennis Uritsky, of Harford County, Maryland died after suffering cardiac arrest brought on by starvation. He weighed 37 pounds. Both parents, Samuel and Donna Merryman, were arrested and charged with manslaughter and first degree child abuse resulting in death and reckless endangerment. He was adopted almost 5 years ago.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2005-01-22

Location

Harford County, MD
US

13 year-old boy adopted by Michael and Karen Diehl was beaten to death by the couple as result of their fundamentalist Christian belief in strict discipline.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1986-10-29

Location

Virginia Beach, VA
US

Murdered by her adoptive mother Patricia Blackmon.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1999-05-01

Location

Dothan, AL
US

20 month girl Adopted from China by Jennifer Alvey, eight months earlier, was shaken to death by her adoptive mother.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Bethany Christian Services

Date

2005-10-19

Location

Spring Hill, TN
US

2 year old adopted daughter of Janet and Ramon Barreto, one of nine children adopted by the couple, died Monday, May 19, 2008, at LeBonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis. Preliminary autopsy report proved that the child's death was not an accident. Ramone and Janet Barreto were initially charged with two counts of child neglect and with the new information could be charged with a more severe crime.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-05-19

Location

New Albany, MS
US

After only being adopted a year before from Czechia, four year old Eric died of untreated pneumonia and blood poisoning. His body was covered with bruises and festering wounds.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2005-01-01

Location

Jönköping,
SE

14 year old girl was beaten with PVC pipe by adoptive father.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2004-08-03

Location

Oneida, TN
US

Gilmore sexually abused his 9-year-old adopted daughter. Gilmore and his wife have four biological children under the age of 10 and three children adopted from Russia.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2005-01-22

Location

St Paul, OR
US

After having fought a gay couple from adopting a girl, Earl Kimmerling was later found to have sexually molested her.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1998-05-01

Location

Anderson, IN
US

Over a period of 2 years the girl was sexually abused by the couple. As age 14 she reported the abuse to Children Youth and Families officials.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-05-01

Location

Los Lunas, NM
US

15-year-old  girl is taken in by a man who works for a state agency charged with protecting children. He sexually assaults her on several occasions while she is living with him and his family and, after adopting her, impregnates her when she is 17.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-01-10

Location

Berkley, MI
US

12 year old girl was stripped and tied to a bed with rope for several days. She was beaten with multiple objects, inflicting injuries that covered her entire body. She was locked in a room without food. Eventually she broke out of the house, flagged a motorist who took her to a near by McDonald's restaurant.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-06-20

Location

Silver Spring, MD
US

6 year old adoptive daughter of former NFL player Rich Tylski and his wife was brought to the hospital with a broken femur. Doctors concluded the girl was abused and the Tylski's admitted to spanking the girl with a belt, slamming her head on a table and other abuse that left the girl with broken bones in her hands and leg.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-04-21

Location

Jacksonville, FL
US

7 year girl from Ukraine was adopted by Delaware man. He abused her sexually for six years. In 2005 the girl told former Ukrainian foster family about the abuse. Karpov fled and was eventually found in 2007 by Mantega, CA, police.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-07-07

Location

Newark, DE
US

Less than 17 year old girl adopted by Wanda and Bobbie Holmes was sexually abused by her 72 year old adoptive father with permission of her adoptive mother.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2003-08-01

Location

Roxana, IL
US

The same day he resigned amid a criminal investigation into whether he sexually abused two of his adopted daughters and a nanny, St Petersburg, Fl, City Councilman, John Bryan commited suicide.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-09-05

Location

St Petersburg, FL
US

Two girls under fourteen were sexually abused by their adoptive father who filmed the assault.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2008-06-17

Location

Las Vegas, NV
US

Adoptive parents were found guilty of abusing 2 Russian children they adopted, on the plane ride on the way home from Moscow. The girls were returned to live with Karen and Richard Thorne of Phoenix. The Queens Family Court Judge ordered that the Thornes would be subject to unannounced visits by Arizona Child Welfare authorities and undergo psychological evaluation as a condition of regaining custody.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1997-07-03

Location

Phoenix, AZ
US

6 month old boy adopted from Guatemala by Steven D. Showcatally and Gail Hunt was dropped to the floor by his adoptive father and died three hours later.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2004-03-19

Location

St Paul, MN
US

On September 2005, Haleigh Poutre, was hospitalized with severe brain injuries after she was allegedly beaten into a coma by Jason Strickland and Holli Strickland, her step father and maternal aunt respectively, who had legally adopted her. Defying all odds, the brain-damaged girl who was days away from a state order to remove her from life support in 2006, started communicating about the horrific abuse that nearly killed her.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2005-09-11

Location

,
US

Nine your old girl, adopted by Debra Liberman was severely abused by her adoptive mother.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2004-02-01

Location

Carrick, PA
US

Four children adopted by Kathleen and Timothy Carroll die under suspicious circumstances.

Chronology

• 1991 Anne Marie, 19,  placed with the Carrolls in 1985. She attempts to burn family home in Madison Twp. and and subsequently placed in custody of the Ohio Department of Youth Services. She claims most of the care for 10 children in the house hold lies on her shoulders and her biological brother James.
• Sept. 21, 1992, the first death: Hannah, 6, a Down syndrome child, dies. Parents say she was "doing fine" after household bleach was spilled on her three days earlier, but evidence showed the child suffered horribly, with chemical burns inside her lungs and over nearly one-third of her body. Until this incident, Greene County Children Services is unaware of the family, which had 10 adopted children, all with physical, mental or emotional problems. Originally from Massachusetts, they moved to Madison Twp. in 1990, and then to Cedarville two months before Hannah died. The agency's attempt to get emergency custody of the remaining children is denied.
• October-December 1992, three more deaths: A 1-month-old child, Chloe, who was born with only a brain stem and no brain, dies Oct. 19 in the care of the Columbus adoption agency that had placed her with the Carrolls. On Nov. 15, Noah, 3, a "crack" baby who suffered brain damage and seizures, dies. Officials express extreme concern after Mollie, a 3-year-old with mental retardation and severe allergies, appears to have been dead for 12 hours before she was found Dec. 9. County Juvenile Judge Robert A. Hagler removes the remaining children from the home, but returns them two days before Christmas.
• January 1993, a guilty plea: Kathleen and Timothy Carroll, originally charged with involuntary manslaughter, plead guilty to child neglect charges in Hannah's death, admitting they should have sought medical treatment for her burns. They are placed on five years' probation and they agree to adopt no more children without prior court consent.
• June 1993, the fifth death: After several months of little activity in the case, Josiah, a 12-year-old with cerebral palsy, dies. Again, officials become alarmed and ask for removal of the remaining children, but the request is denied.
• July 1993, the inquest: The county's first inquest in a decade produces inconsistencies between experts' testimony and family members' stories about the deaths, and Judge Hagler removes himself from the case, citing innuendos about his objectivity.
• August 1993, the charge and the removal: The family's eldest son, James, then 17, is charged with delinquency by reason of involuntary manslaughter because he was supervising Hannah at the time of the injury that caused her death. The new judge in the case, Richard T. Cole, orders Samuel, then 5, and Isaiah, then 11, removed from the Carroll home and placed in foster care.
• October 1993, the exhumations: Despite the Carrolls' protests, the bodies of Mollie and Josiah are exhumed from their Preble County graves to allow further investigation of their deaths.
• November 1993, the trial: After a three-day trial, Cole acquits James of all charges. The family then spends several days trying to convince Cole to return Samuel and Isaiah to the home.
• December 1993, the custody ruling: In a harshly worded decision, Cole tells the Carrolls that their two handicapped children will stay in foster care at least for a while because the Carrolls have no plan to care for them and have refused outside help.
• April 1994, the battle resumes: The Carrolls again argue to get their children back, and they also ask that their probation be lifted. They're denied on both counts.
• May 1994, home visits begin: Previously visiting Samuel and Isaiah at the Children Services Board's office, the Carrolls are elated to have their children come to their home for visits.
• June 1994, a new accusation: Officials file for permanent custody of Samuel and Isaiah and ask that James be kept separate from them. Prosecutors say Isaiah, who cannot speak, implicated James in Josiah's death. After a lengthy custody hearing, Cole rules that home visits can resume as long as James is not present.
• November 1994, in court again: Questions linger about the deaths. Meanwhile, officials try to get permanent custody of Samuel and Isaiah, saying that the Carrolls, even after more than a year of working with Children Services, still fail to acknowledge how much care the youngsters need. The Carrolls say, however, that they're determined to demonstrate that the children would do best living with them.
• May 1995, Samuel and Isaiah return to the Carrolls
• October 1997 Carrolls regained the right to home school Samuel and Isaiah

Despite being called a homicide, no one was ever charged in the case of Noah.

Homestudy agency

Montgomery County Children Services

Placement agency

Project Impact of Boston, Cuyahoga County Children Services Board, Adoption by Gentle Care

Date

1992-09-21

Location

Cedarville, OH
US

On 4 September  2007, Hei Min Chung, a 13-month-old girl being adopted by Rebecca Kyrie and her husband, David Kyrie, was killed in a fit of rage by her adoptive mother.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Bethany Christian Services

Date

2007-09-04

Location

Sheridan, IN
US

Helen Gillin, the 25 year old, mentally retarded, adopted daughter of James and Roberta Gillin, was stomped to death and her body was burned in a backyard fire pit in 1992.

Roberta Gillin made her adopted daughter drink a mixture of bleach and heart medication after finding out her husband was having sex with Helen.When Helen started to vomit, James stomped her to death. The couple dumped the body into a fire pit in the back yard of their Bear Rocks home, about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. The body was then doused with gasoline and set on fire.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1992-01-01

Location

Bear Rocks, PA
US

9 months old boy adopted by Lillie May Caldwell Gasaway was beaten to death by her, two more adopted children were assaulted. Salient detail: she adopted a fourth child while awaiting trial on the murder charge.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1979-09-01

Location

Washington, DC
US

53-year-old UAE national A.S. was yesterday sentenced to eight years in jail for molesting his illegally adopted minor daughter repeatedly and for misrepresentation of facts to obtain her birth certificate. His wife, M.K., 30, was awarded a three-year jail term for helping him to obtain the certificate.

The child's Iranian biological mother, M.A., 30, and an Emirati housewife, M.B., 30, who mediated between the couple and the Iranian, were sentenced to five years in jail followed by deportation for helping A.S. to get the birth certificate.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-07-12

Location

Dubai,
AE

Jacob Lindorff: age 5, of Gloucester Twp, New Jersey died of blunt force trauma to head. Also suffered from 2nd degree burns on feet, hemorrhaging in 1 eye; bruises, and seizures. Adoptive mother Heather Lindorff, was found guilty of 2nd degree endangering, aggravated assault and sentenced to 6 years. Adoptive father, James, sentenced to 4 years probation and 400 hours of community service for child abuse. Adoptive mother claimed that the injuries were accidents. Jacob was in the US 6 weeks before his death.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Open Door, Thomasville, Georgia

Date

2001-12-14

Location

Gloucester Township, PA
US

As the youngest of two children adopted by Audry Chatmon, Jada was repeatedly submerged in scalding water, causing second- and third-degree burns. She was also hit with a belt, pulled her hair, hit in the face and body, scratched and burned her with fire.

Audry Chatmon was arrested in 2004, convicted of child abuse and sentenced to 15 years in state prison.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2004-01-01

Location

Los Angeles County, CA
US

10 year old boy adopted by Vicky Lynn Hulsey who beat him to death.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-04-03

Location

Mesa, AZ
US

Three boys adopted by an unordained priest from Huntsville Alabama were sexually abused by him. Circuit Judge Karen Hall sentenced Jerry Wayne Love, 51, to 15 years on each of three first-degree sodomy charges. But she followed the prosecutors' recommendation, ordering Love to spend five years on probation and undergo treatment in a sex offender program.

In the 1990s Love and his wife were named as adoptive parents of the year by the Madison County Department of Human of Resources

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-07-09

Location

Huntsville, AL
US

Jessica Albina Hagmann: age 2, died from smothering. Adoptive mother, Patrice Hagmann claimed that she accidently killed Jessica while trying to stop her from having a tantrum. Patrice was sentenced to probation and to 2 suspended 5 year terms.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2003-08-11

Location

Prince William County, VA
US

John Smith, died with 54 bruises, including three adult bite marks, on his body. The boy, was seen with injuries in four of the six months he spent with his prospective adoptive parents Simon and Michelle McWilliam. His penis was cut, his face burnt and his body bruised from head to toe, injuries seen by social workers who never once sought medical help for him. 

John died on Christmas Eve 1999 from a severe brain haemorrhage, which experts testified was caused by blows normally seen on battered boxers.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1999-12-24

Location

Portslade, WSX
UK

Eight year old boy and one of six children adopted by Brian and Edith Beebe. All children were beaten with a rod, locked in a room without food or water and sometimes dragged by their hair. Joseph died, his body covered with bruises from beating with a bamboo rod.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2000-03-17

Location

Tarkington Prairie, TX
US

A Detroit foster mother who had adopted a girl and was set to adopt two boys from Pontiac was charged Friday with first-degree felony murder in the beating death of one of the boys. The foster mother, Lynda Carol Baker, was named in a murder warrant issued late Friday by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. She is charged in the death on Tuesday of Joshua Causey, 4, who had been placed in Baker's care in August.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2003-01-01

Location

Detroit`, MI
US

Adopted from China at 10 months old, nearly died of brain injuries and swelling consistent with being shaken and struck in the head.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Great Wall of China

Date

2005-10-28

Location

Rochester Hills, MI
US

Adopted by her uncle and aunt, Joginder Singh and Darshan Kaur Bains after her mother had died. At age eight sexual abuse started and lasted for over a decade. She was subjected to oral and anal sex, apart from beatings. To prevent pregnancy when she reached puberty, the couple had an IUD inserted.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

Location

Fraser Valley, BC
CA

Kayla Erlandson, who was adopted from South Korea, died at Harborview Medical Center in April 1991. When she was found unconscious in her mother's arms, the toddler had 65 injuries, including bruises, brain swelling, a lacerated liver, a neck bite and a deep scald on her arm.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1991-04-01

Location

Bothell, WA
US

4 year old girl adopted by Brian Christopher  and LaRae Marara Sullivan. Claiming to have been ordered by god like a modern day Abraham, Brian Chistopher Sullivan stabbed the girl and his wife with a knife. Both died.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2003-02-21

Location

West Valley City, UT
US

Kelsey Hyre age 2, Akron Ohio. Permanently paralyzed September 26, 2002. Spine severed after her adoptive father Gerald Hyre slammed her on the floor. Adoptive mother, Bonnie Hyre, who was at work at the time, took her to hospital when she came home. Ms. Hyre had previously suspected her husband of abusing both Kelsey and her adoptive brother Nathan, 3, and taken photos of other injuries, discussed suspicions with co-workers, but after husband's arrested she destroyed pictures and did nothing. Gerald Hyre sentenced to 16 years for felonious assault and child abuse. Bonnie Hyre sentenced to 2 years for permitting child abuse and evidence tampering and is now out of jail. Kelsey has been adopted by another couple and is reportedly responding well. Nathan was placed with Bonnie Hyre's mother, but Bonnie Hyre now has custody. Kelsey and Nathan were probably adopted from Blagoveshchensk.

Homestudy agency

A Child is Waiting, Akron, Ohio

Placement agency

Building Blocks Adoption Services, Medina, Ohio.

Date

2002-09-26

Location

Akron, OH
US

Between the ages of 6 months and 6 years old she was sexually abused by her adoptive father Luis Ponce, Jr, who filmed the abuse. Almost two decades later, after he was convicted of 16 counts of molestation for abusing two girls under the age of 3, Keri Ponce filed a civil suit against him, which she won.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-02-09

Location

Berkeley, CA
US

Liam Thompson: age 3, of Columbus, Ohio, died from scalding and neglect. His adoptive father, Gary, placed him in a tub of 140 degree water. He recieved 2nd and 3rd degree burns. His LPN adoptive mother, Amy, neglected treatment for 2 days, then treated him with Tylenol and Vaseline. She took Liam to the hospital only after he went into respitory failure. Amy was sentence to 15 years for child endangering and involuntary manslaughter. Gary received 15-life for murder. Liam was adopted 5 months prior.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Tree of Life. Portland, Oregon

Date

2003-10-13

Location

Columbus, OH
US

4 year old girl adopted by John and Sharon Gill was killed by her adoptive mother. She buried the remains and claimed Lillian, who was autistic was sent to Italy for treatment. 2 years later she was arrested for the killing and yet another 2 years later she told police where to find the body.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2002-03-01

Location

Big Bear City, CA
US

Logan Higginbotham of Shelburne, Vermont died of massive head injuries. Adoptive mother Laura Higginbotham, stated that Logan fell and hit her head on the floor of an upstairs bedroom. It took 3 years for the medical examiner to determine whether the case was accidental or homicide. In 2004, Laura Higginbotham pled no contest to a charge of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 1 year in prison. Logan was in US 7 months before her death.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

European Adoption Consultants

Date

1998-11-25

Location

Shelburne, VT
US

Luke Evans: age 1.5 of Lowell, Indiana died of massive head injuries, shaken baby syndrome, and poor nutrition. Adoptive mother, Natalie Fabian Evans, stated that she couldn't wake Luke one morning and so placed him in a tub of water to "stimulate him" where she says he may have bumped his head on the tub. The authorities took a year to investigate the case. Evans is scheduled to stand trial for murder in October 2005. Luke was in the US 6 months before his death.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Small World International/Charity, New York City

Date

2001-11-30

Location

Lowell, IN
US

Maria Bennett: age 2, of Lancaster, Ohio, died from shaken baby syndrome. Adoptive mother Susan Jane Bennett, said that she had tripped while carrying Maria and had dropped her. Medical evidence proved otherwise. Susan Bennett pled no contest to 1 count of reckless homicide and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Maria was adopted 9 months before her death.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Focus on Children, Wellsville, Utah

Date

2002-10-23

Location

Lancaster, OH
US

Masha Allen was adopted at the age of 5 from Russia into the US by a single male pedophile, Matthew Mancuso. Masha was sexually abused for five years and also became the subject of child pornography. In 2006 she testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committy. In 2008 the news broke that abuse supposedly had again taken place by Lynn Ginn, the woman who had adopted her immediately after Masha's "rescue" from Mancuso.

Homestudy agency

Family Adoption Center of Adagio Health Inc.

Placement agency

Reaching out thru Interational Adoption

Date

2003-05-01

Location

Plum, PA
US

Thirteen month old Chinese girl adopted by Lisa Hawkins-Rusch, died because of severe brain injury, inflicted by her adopter.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1992-09-25

Location

Geneva, NY
US

19 month old girl adopted by Melinda Ann Wilkins was abused physically abused. She never recovered from the injuries and lived in residential treatment centers until she died in June 2003.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1995-08-16

Location

Durham, NC
US

Adopted by Marybeth Tinning, who by then had already killed five of her own children, was killed age two and a half.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

1981-03-02

Location

Schenectady, NY
US

Three-month-old Nicholas Rhea Hoffert in Cleburne, Texas, died shortly after he was struck by David Michael Giddens,who was adopting him and his twin brother.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-02-10

Location

Cleburne, TX
US

14-month-old Nikolai, who was adopted in February by Fyodor and Kimberly Emelyantsev— died March 7 at Primary Children's Medical Center. An autopsy determined the child had died from a skull fracture that doctors said was the result of blunt-force trauma, police and court records show. The infant also had a bruised face, head, knee and anus.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Independent

Date

2008-03-07

Location

tooele, UT
US

Nina Hilt: age 2, of Wake Forest, North Carolina died after suffering several blows to her abdomen. Her adoptive mother, Peggy Hilt, born Viktoria Bazhenova, In March 2006, Hilt plead guilty to second degree murder to avoid a charge of first degree murder. She said that she was frustrated due to the lack of bonding between Nina and herself. Hilt's lawyer said that she was an alcoholic and suffered from mental problems. May 25, 2006, Peggy Hilt was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of her daughter. Nina was adopted in 2003 from the Ukraine.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Adoptions International, Dallas, Texas.

Date

2005-07-02

Location

Wake Forest, NC
US

Siblings from Ukraine adopted 5 years prior to the abuse allegations by Georgia couple Earl and Deborah Dinkler. The children had been forced to run 15 laps around the house before breakfast "just about every day" for the last four years. If the parents weren’t satisfied with their children’s performances, they would be spanked with a belt or hit with a miniature baseball bat.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2007-08-09

Location

McDonough, GA
US

5 year old girl adopted by Gerald and Angela Thompson. She was murdered by Angela Thompson who forced an older sibling to sit on her hunched back for more than three hours, squeezing the life out of her. She was convicted for the abuse of two other children she had adopted. In total the Thompsons adopted 11 children. Siblings of Rachel later pressed charges against the adoption agency, which was placed on probation and its founder Audrey Foster has been permanently barred from serving as executive director at any of the agency's five branches around the state. The agency is now run by her daughter Alison Foster,

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Family Connections Christian Adoptions

Date

2000-09-07

Location

Springfield, CA
US

For years Ricky had been maltreated and abused by his adopters Tim and Lisa Holland. In July 2005 he was killed by the couple parents and dumped in a swamp, claiming he had disappeared. Eventually Tim Holland led the police to the body on Jan. 27, 2006. Hours later, authorities picked up in connection with Ricky's death. Lisa and Tim Holland are in prison -- she for life and he for 30 to 60 years. 

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Family Services & Children's Aid in Jackson

Date

2005-07-01

Location

Summit Township, MI
US

Adopted daughter of Edward Walter Smith quickly after she was adopted the sexual abuse started. She was 13 years old at the time. A year later she got pregnant and had a baby in 2000. In 2005 she made a report about the sexual abuse she had endured. Smith was arrested in Transylvania County in 2006 and later indicted. In 2008 he got a 124 year sentence.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-01-01

Location

Brevard, NC
US

10 month old boy adopted by Smitha Chakravarthy and her husband. Allegedly the child was beaten to death and bite marks were found all over his body.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2006-02-16

Location

Mission, TX
US

5-year-old adopted son of Yuki Yoshimura, a 26-year-old housewife, abused Ryuya, damaging his liver and lungs the boy died from loss of blood.

Homestudy agency

Placement agency

Date

2005-12-09

Location

Aichi,
JP

Beaten to death, age 4, by his adoptive mother Lynn Paddock, who had thought Chri