Pridine Fru
Actress and talk-show host Pridine Fru (right) was imprisoned and physically and sexually abused by her adoptive parents, Joseph (seated) and Evelyn (left) Djoumessi, from the time she was illegally adopted at age 14 until she was rescued at age 17. During this time, she was forced to live in the Djoumessis’ basement and work […]
Raysate Knight
Raysate Chain Knight, age 6, was starved, imprisoned, and beaten to death by her stepfather, Raymond Jefferson, and her mother Connie Knight. Knight had four other children, girls ages 16, 13, and 8 and a 4-year-old boy. Raysate was homeschooled. Raysate was born addicted to cocaine and removed from her mother’s custody. She lived with […]
Boy by Jennifer Yanke and Stephan Alcox
A 13-year-old boy was neglected and deprived of food by his mother, Jennifer Yanke, and his stepfather Stephan Alcox. The boy had been pulled out of school and was reportedly homeschooling himself. The boy was left alone in a feces-strewn vacant house for a month while his parents lived in a nearby hotel. The boy […]
7 Children of Sonia Kubisak
Seven children, ages 7 to 17, were neglected by their mother, Sonia Kubisak, who claimed to be homeschooling them. In March 2014, Kubisak moved the children to a campsite in Oklahoma, reportedly to escape an abusive relationship in Pennsylvania. Kubisak starved the children and medicated them with cattle wormer and flea treatment. When the children […]
Stacy and Jeremy Beckman
Stacy Beckman, age 10, and Jeremy Beckman, age 8, were imprisoned, starved, and physically and sexually abused by their foster parents, Shane and Judy Huxoll. The children had been pulled from school to be homeschooled, which “mostly consisted of crossword puzzles, math problems and learning how to tell time…Every wrong answer resulted in a beating […]
Thomas Elberling
Thomas Elberling, age 11, was shot to death by his father, Jens Elberling, who then committed suicide. Thomas had been homeschooled for the past two years. Thomas was recognized internationally as a chess champion and was ranked fifth in his age group in the US. Jens Elberling and Thomas’s mother, Kate Chou, filed for divorce […]
Granddaughter of Steve and Joetta Sells
A 15-year-old girl was beaten, imprisoned, and nearly starved to death by her grandfather, Steve Sells, his wife Joetta Sells, and Steve’s daughter Crystal Sells. The girl, who had special needs, was withdrawn from school in 2010 to be homeschooled. The girl’s 4-year-old sibling was not reported to be abused. Steve Sells got custody of […]
3 Children of Jaileen Soliman
Three children, ages 10, 7 and 1, were neglected and deprived of food by their mother, Jaileen Lorraine Soliman. The two older children had been homeschooled for the past two months after the 7-year-old girl was suspended for a week and Soliman chose to withdraw them both. The children were deprived of meals if they […]
Son of Charles Wingate and Sharon Starkey
A 13-year-old autistic boy was imprisoned in a filthy home by his parents, Charles E. Wingate and Sharon Starkey. Wingate was a former City Council member and Starkey was an employee at a United Methodist child care facility. The boy was homeschooled online and told police he did not remember ever going outside. The abuse […]
4 Children of Raymond and Ida Thurmond
Four children, ages 14, 13, 12, and 9, were beaten, imprisoned, starved, and medically neglected by their father, Raymond Daniel Thurmond, and their mother, Ida Thurmond. (The two oldest children were Raymond’s from a previous marriage; the 12-year-old was Ida’s from a previous marriage; and the youngest child was their biological child.) Though Ida claimed […]
