Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

4 Children of Elizabet Estrada

A 16-year-old boy, P., was starved and medically neglected by his mother, Elizabet Estrada. No charges were filed on behalf of Estrada’s other children, two of whom were 18 or older and one of whom was younger than P. All four children were homeschooled. P. was born in December 2002 and last saw a doctor […]

Raylee Browning

Raylee JoLynn Browning, age 8, was murdered by her father, Marty Browning, Browning’s partner Julie Dawn Titchenell, and Julie’s sister Sherie Titchenell. The family also lived with Julie Titchenell’s three children, including a girl, V. Raylee and V. were homeschooled. Raylee was born in 2010. Her biological mother was not actively involved in her life; […]

4 Children by Ryan and Sheila O’Leary

Four children—M., an 11-year-old girl; J., age 5; C., age 3; and K., an 18-month-old boy—were starved by their parents, Ryan Patrick O’Leary and Sheila O’Leary. K. died from complications of malnutrition. The children were homeschooled. M. was Sheila’s child from a previous relationship. She was removed from Sheila’s care as a baby in Virginia […]

Takoda Collins

Takoda Collins, age 10, was tortured, raped, and murdered by his father, Al-Mutahan McLean. Takoda was homeschooled. McLean’s girlfriend, Amanda Hinze, and her sister Jennifer Ebert, who both lived in the home, knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it. McLean also abused Takoda’s 13-year-old brother. A 3-year-old who lived in the home […]

Antonio Juan Gonzalez Jr.

Antonio Juan Gonzalez Jr., age 14, was murdered by his father, Antonio Gonzalez, and Gonzalez’s roommate, Paul Bacorn. Antonio was homeschooled. Antonio’s 4-year-old sister was not reported to be abused. In September 2019, the family moved from Allegheny County to a trailer on a rural property in Mercer County; Bacorn lived in another trailer on […]

9 Children of New Zealand woman

Nine children, born between approximately 1995 and 2005, were starved and tortured by their mother, X. The children were homeschooled. The family were active in their local “conservative Christian” church. At some point X. separated from her husband, who was not charged in connection with the abuse. X. began abusing the children in 2000. They […]

9 Children of Scott and Cherry Blattert

Nine children—the oldest being S., a 15-year-old girl; the youngest being toddlers—were systematically physically abused by their parents, Scott and Cherry Blattert. The children were homeschooled. Scott Blattert worked at the NSA Crane Naval Base and the Blatterts were religious. Scott experimented with beating his children with various implements including wooden spoons and dowel rods […]

Girl by Margaret and Charles Breeze

An 11-year-old girl, K., was starved, imprisoned, and abused by her legal guardians, Margaret and Charles Breeze. K. was homeschooled. Other children in the home were not reported to be abused. K. went to live with the Breezes in 2013. Margaret Breeze was the third cousin of K.’s biological mother, who claimed that K. had […]

5 Children of Betty Nicolicchia-Allen and Dennis Allen

Five children—G., a 14-year-old girl, and siblings ages 12, 9, 8, and 6—were abused and neglected by their parents, Dennis Allen and Betty Nicolicchia-Allen. The children were homeschooled. G. reported that “she was being homeschooled but wasn’t taught anything.” Instead, while Allen and Nicolicchia-Allen worked full-time, they forced G. to be a full-time caregiver for […]

3 Children by Greg Nelson, Susan Nelson, and Melissa Hamilton

Three girls, ages 10, 9, and 8, were abused by their parents: Greg Nelson, his wife Susan Nelson, and his girlfriend Melissa Hamilton, who lived with them. The girls were homeschooled. The family lived with 245 animals in “deplorable” conditions, with rotting food and animal urine and feces throughout the house. The police were called […]