Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

3 children of Eraca Dawn Craig and Christian Jessica Deanda

Content note: Case narratives include descriptions of severe violence inflicted on children, including abuse and neglect, sexual violence, torture, and murder, as well as mentions of suicide and domestic violence. They also include photos of victims and perpetrators of violence.

eraca dawn craig and christian jessica deanda
Three children—an 8-year-old girl and two boys, ages 5 and 3—were abused, imprisoned, and starved by their parents, Eraca Dawn Craig (left) and Christian Jessica Deanda, who were domestic partners. The children were homeschooled.

The girl had been chained to the wall with shackles around her ankles and a collar around her neck, reportedly to keep her from stealing food. All three children were emaciated and had hardly eaten for months. The 3-year-old boy was the biological child of one of the women and the other two children were adopted. The women were arrested March 15 on charges of felony child cruelty and false imprisonment and the children were placed in foster homes. Craig and Deanda were scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 28.

Date: March 15, 2014
Location: Salinas, California

Documents: Date:
Children found starving, chained and abused in Monterey County home 03-21-2014
Two Salinas women arrested in severe child neglect case 03-21-2014
Women who were arrested in child abuse case were scheduled to be married 03-21-2014