Sarah, Chris, Rebecca, and Daniel Smith
Sarah Richardson (b. 1988, left) and her brother Chris Smith (b. 1990, second from left) were physically abused by their stepfather, TV hypnotist Martin Smith, who also subjected Sarah to systematic sexual abuse for a decade. Their mother, child services employee Lianne Smith, knew about the abuse but did nothing. After Sarah reported the abuse […]
Austin, Luke, and Cecilia Riggi
Twins Augustino “Austin” and Gianluca “Luke” Riggi, age 8, and their 5-year-old sister Cecilia, were murdered by their mother, Theresa Riggi. The children were homeschooled. The children’s father, Pasquale Riggi, was an oil company employee; the Riggis, though American, had lived in Scotland for 13 years. The children were born through IVF and Theresa was […]
K.B. by Robert Sanders
A 13-year-old girl known as K.B. was sexually abused by her stepfather, Robert E. Sanders. Sanders forced her to agree to a “covenant” where he assaulted her in exchange for giving her “rewards” such as being allowed to attend social events at church. The girl and her siblings were homeschooled due to the family’s religious […]
6 Children of John and Carolyn Caminiti
Six children—four boys (CM, b. 1993; JC, b. 1995; LK, b. 1998; and KD, b. 2005) and two girls (RJ, b. 2000; and TR, b. 2007)—were abused by their father, John Caminiti (right). Their mother, Carolyn Caminiti, was both a victim and a perpetrator of the abuse. All six children had been homeschooled since the […]
2 Children of Latisha Lawson
Two children—Kierra King, born in 2000, and Jeziah King (right), born in 2007—were physically abused by their mother, Latisha Lawson (left). Kierra was homeschooled. Lawson lived with the children’s father, Lawrence King, until October 2009. After they broke up, she moved in with her friend Natasha Hawkins and Hawkins’ three children. At this time Lawson […]
2 Children of James and Anne Cardona
Two girls, ages 5 and 4, were neglected by their parents, James and Anne Cardona. The Cardonas claimed to be homeschooling them. The 5-year-old had rotten teeth and hair that was matted and filled with lice; the 4-year-old was still in diapers. The girls were severely obese and had difficulty walking: the 5-year-old weighed 158 […]
5 children of Robert Simons and Mary Tittle
Five children, ages 7 to 13, were neglected and denied medical care by their parents, Robert H. Simons III and Mary Ella Tittle. The children’s grandmother, Roberta Sauls, knew about the neglect and did nothing. A woman who lived with the family, Leona Patricia Bentler, also knew about the neglect and did nothing. Her 8-year-old […]
Amber Nicklas
Amber Rose Nicklas, age 13 months, was abducted from her foster parents in Norwalk, California in September 2003 by three of her teenage biological aunts. Though two of the girls were caught, the third managed to escape with Amber, who was missing for seven years. Amber was raised by a loving Romany family in Arizona […]
Georgia and Patterson Inman
Twins Georgia Noel Lahi Inman and Walker Patterson Inman III (called ‘Patterson’), born in 1997 to Walker Patterson Inman Jr.—the heir to the Doris Duke fortune—and his fourth wife Daisha Inman (nee Aunday), were starved, imprisoned, and physically abused by their father and stepmother Daralee Inman (nee Steinhausen), as well as by several other caregivers. […]
10 children of Sharon and Reed Leonard
Sharon Leonard struck her ten adopted children with a paddle or other objects, including a plastic pipe, a metal rod and a snow-removal brush. The children told investigators that Sharon had threatened to kill a couple of the boys. They also reported that six of them had been made to stay outside the Leonards’ home from time to time […]
