James Alex Hurley, age 12, who went by Alex, was tortured and murdered by his grandparents, James Sasser, Jr. and Patricia Batts, and their 14-year-old son, J.S. A family friend, Gage Roush, was also charged in connection with Alex’s death. Alex also lived with his 18-year-old aunt M.S. and his 6-year-old uncle H.S. Alex was homeschooled. Alex originally lived with… Read more »
A 6-year-old boy, G., was starved and imprisoned by his grandmother, Esmeralda Lira, and her boyfriend Jose Balderas. Two other children who lived in the home, a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, were not reported to be abused. G. was being educated at home due to pandemic-related school closures. G. told officials that the abuse began shortly after he… Read more »
An 11-year-old girl, D., was allegedly singled out for starvation and torture by her foster mother, Kimberly Howell. D. was homeschooled. Her four siblings, who were also Howell’s foster children, attended school and were allegedly forced to participate in the abuse. D. was allegedly forced to provide childcare for her siblings, including a 1-year-old. She was allegedly forced to cook… Read more »
Two children–Heather “Sophie” Gray (b. 2006) and Jonathan Gray–died in the custody of their adoptive parents, Michael and Shirley Gray. Three other adopted children–M., a boy born in 2005; L., a girl born c. 2007; and T., a boy born in 2009–were imprisoned, starved, and abused by the Grays. The Grays’ adult children, Anthony “Bubba” and Carolyn Gray, lived with… Read more »
A 12-year-old boy, R., was starved, imprisoned, and tortured by his father, Christopher Crets, and his stepmother Nicole Crets. The boy was homeschooled. The other children who lived in the home were not reported to be abused. Christopher Crets had prior felony convictions for statutory rape and drug trafficking. R. was pulled from school to be homeschooled in early February… Read more »
A 14-year-old boy, M., and his three adopted siblings, were abused by their adoptive mother, Patricia Hyler. The children’s adoptive father, Tommy Hyler, worked long hours outside the home and was not charged in connection with the abuse. The children were homeschooled. Hyler adopted M. around 2012. She worked as a teacher at a church daycare center and at a… Read more »
Six children—B. (b. 1988), Danny (b. 1990), Marissa (b. 1992), Tyler “Ty” (b. 1993), Jesse (b. 1995), and Caleb (b. 1996)—were imprisoned, starved, and tortured by their biological mother, Mary Rowles, and her partner Alice “Jamie” Jenkins. The children were homeschooled. Rowles gave birth to B. when she was in high school; B. and Danny were the only two of… Read more »
A boy between ages 9 and 17, identified by the media as Child AB, was starved, imprisoned, and abused by his Stepfather. The boy was homeschooled. The boy’s Mother knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it. Child AB was the second-oldest child when Stepfather entered the family in 2012. Stepfather’s abuse of Child AB began immediately as… Read more »
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 at age three, when he… Read more »
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; Raylee lived with Browning as… Read more »