1 Child of Rene Tibucio Valenzuela
A 14-year-old girl was physically and sexually abused by her father, Rene Tibucio Valenzuela, and locked in a small, dark empty bedroom for 15 months. The girl was only let out of the room for brief bathroom and meal breaks, and was occasionally allowed to shower. The girl escaped in 2005 by kicking in the bedroom […]
3 Grandchildren of John Pierre Baker and Betty Jo Miller
In 1997, two children, a boy and a girl, clawed a hole in the room of their trailer home prison and escaped into the Arizona desert. Their story began ten years before, when their mother went to prison for theft and forgery and they were placed in the custody of their grandfather, John Pierre Baker. […]
5 Children of Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Harper
Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Harper were arrested on child abuse charges after they handcuffed their 11-year-old foster son to the porch in November in his underwear with a dead chicken tied around his neck. The foster child and four other adopted children, aged 8, 9, 13, and 14, were removed from the home, which […]
Michaela Watkins
Michaela Watkins, aged 10, was found dead in her family’s apartment on March 11, 2007. Her body was severely bruised and burned. Michaela’s father, Patrick Watkins, and her stepmother, Joy Watkins, claimed that Michaela’s death was an accident—that she had burned herself in hot water in a bathtub and then fallen down the stairs. Michaela […]
4 Children of Wayne Sperling and Lorinda Bailey
The four boys ranged in age from 2 to 6. None of them were verbal, and none were potty trained. They communicated only in grunts, and lived with their parents, Wayne Sperling and Lorinda Bailey, in a filthy apartment. Flies covered every surface, cat poop and urine covered the floor, and the smell of decay […]
Child of Jacole Prince
On June 22, 2012, child welfare workers responding to a child abuse tip found a child locked in a small closet. At ten years old the girl, called LP in court records and news reports, weighed only 32 pounds. While her younger sister attended school and was well fed, LP was kept home and spent […]
Child of Wilson and Brenda Sullivan
Wilson and Brenda Sullivan’s 17 year old mentally handicapped adopted son was found caged in a crib by investigators responding to an anonymous tip. He was severely malnourished and weighed only 49 pounds, less than what he weighed when the couple had adopted him at age 7 ten years prior. Two other adopted children, aged […]
6 Children of Zion and Glenda Lea Dutro
Zion Dutro tortured and molested his four biological daughters and two adopted nieces over the course of two decades, with the assistance of his wife, Glenda Lea Dutro. Glenda would choose one of the girls and tell her it was her turn to “cuddle” with Zion. The abuse involved sodomy in addition to other sexual […]
Child of Ardee Verlon Tyler and Penny Sue Tyler
Ardee Verlon Tyler and Penny Sue Tyler adopted five girls from Liberia in 2005. The couple had two older biological children. The second adopted daughter, age 8 when she first arrived in the family and 10 when the children were finally removed, was singled out for abuse by her adoptive parents. They tied her with […]
2 Children of Ingrid Brewer
Ingrid Brewer adopted two children out of foster care, and reported them missing on January 15 less than a year later. The children, an 8 year old boy and a 7 year old girl, were found laying by a road not far from their home, wearing only light clothing in the mid-20s weather and hiding […]
