Log of Fatal and Severe Abuses to Adoptees

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In Memory of Those who first lost their mother, and then their life...

This page speaks to the abuse that happens to an adoptee after zhe is adopted. There are many forms of abuse, the worst resulting in the adoptees' death. This is a topic that only recently has been on the news, but has been happening since children were starting to be adopted.

Perhaps this will be enough for those who are curious about the adoption experiment to finally end it, to realize that adoption isn't the best answer for ending poverty, rescuing orphans, or for the creation of a family with an infertile couple.

Or, perhaps, we will never learn, that what we really need, is support for each other, not laws, not secrets, not conformity.

While the system tells both the adoptive parents that they will save a baby child from some unspeakable life, and then tell the mom who considers adoption that the baby would in effect be saving these adoptive parents from an empty life, one must ask the hard question, what about the life of the adoptees and their lives? Who will speak up for them?

August 6, 2006 Another Baby Dies in Las Vegas Foster CareLas Vegas, NV
A 7-month-old boy who was in foster care and brought to Sunrise Hospital in critical condition passed away.

The infant's foster mother called paramedics Wednesday and when they arrived he was not breathing.

Two additional children, ages two and three, were also found in the residence. These children were booked into Protective Custody pending further investigation.

July 7, 2006
Girls, 5 and 6, die playing in hot van NIAGARA FALLS, NY
The victims are Ki-anna Destiny Diggs, 6, and Karina Kym Kraft, 5, whose mother lives in Niagara Falls and is a member of the Tuscarora Indian Nation. "They were coming here this weekend for the annual Tuscarora picnic," their mother, Kimberly A. Kraft, said Thursday. "Now we'll never share that. My girls are gone."

... the two girls had been staying in Oklahoma with her best friend, Mary Seybold, for the past three years while she tried to get her life back in order. Oklahoma authorities, however, said Seybold was the girl's foster mother and had begun adoption proceedings.

Seybold, a hospice nurse, was working at the time and had left the girls in the care of her 15-year-old son, who was playing video games in the family home while the girls played outside, Stradley said. The sheriff said escaping the sweltering van would have been a great challenge because Ki-anna had Down syndrome and 5-year-old Karina may have been too young to figure out the locks.

June 21, 2006
Jury hears details on toddler's injuries Rochester Hills, CA
Tracey Ann Brosch and her husband, Jeffrey, paid more than $12,000 to bring a child into their family.

They traveled from Rochester Hills to China to meet a little girl abandoned in her first days of life.

Four months later, Tracey Brosch took then-13-month-old Kaitlyn Brosch to a doctor, where the staff quickly summoned an ambulance and the barely conscious toddler was rushed to Crittenton Hospital Medical Center. Doctors quickly determined she needed to be taken to William Beaumont Hospital's critical care unit for brain surgery.
...
Tracey Brosch, 43, faces up to 15 years in prison, charged with first-degree child abuse.

Unable to conceive on their own, Tracey and Jeffrey Brosch went through the Great Wall Adoption Agency in Austin, Texas, in search of completing their family. Along with travel costs, they paid $12,240 for the adoption, and Jeffrey Brosch worked two jobs to let his wife stay home.

On Oct. 27, Jeffrey Brosch left for work in a Southfield computer company about noon, working a 1-9 p.m. shift before going to his next job in Ann Arbor to work an overnight shift, something he did twice a week.
...
By the time he saw her again at the hospital, the infant had a bruise under her right eye, a bruise on the top of her head, scratches and marks on her shoulders and chest, was barely responsive and hardly moving. She was on her way to surgery.

Before that day, Kaitlyn had been able to stand upright, was walking with the help of furniture and speaking a word or two, such as "dada."

Doctors feared she was blinded but her sight is better, though there may still be problems, Pope-Starnes said. There is also a problem with her left arm, but the extent of her injuries will not be known until she is older, perhaps school-age.

Jeffrey Brosch said that today, the 22-month-old is getting better, having undergone a recent surgery to put back the piece of skull removed to prevent the bleeding and swelling from killing her.

"She recently began walking again," he said. "She's added a couple of words to her vocabulary."

After 13 years of marriage, the estranged couple has only spoken about bills and such since the incident, and they are divorcing. Tracey Brosch's parenting rights have been terminated, and Jeffrey Brosch's have been temporarily suspended.

Kaitlyn is in foster care. To add to the turmoil, the nurse who had been caring for the toddler suffered a heart attack and died several weeks ago.

Now, after several delays due to scheduling conflicts, the case is in court.
...
"The defendant's statements about just trying to help her daughter, who was having trouble breathing, are just not consistent with her injuries," Pope-Starnes said. "This is not a good mother caring for her child. This is a child abuser."

May 22, 2006
Boy Suffocated in care of adopted mother by Mandy Locke, Staff Writer
WAUPUN, Wis. - A 3-year-old boy, Camron Gardner, died of internal bleeding might have survived if his foster father told doctors how the boy was injured, a medical examiner said.

Gardner bled to death from internal injuries, according to an autopsy. His foster father, Shane Marquardt, was charged with first-degree reckless homicide in Gardner's death and first-degree reckless injury in the hospitalization of his foster son, Ethan Schwartz, his other foster son and Camron's 2-year-old brother. (See full story of Ethan, as his natural father fights to get him back.)

Marquardt told investigators he flew into a rage after he found vomit in Camron's bed, and he struck the boys as hard as he punches the heavy bag he has in his basement, according to the criminal complaint.

March 5, 2006
Boy Suffocated in care of adopted mother by Mandy Locke, Staff Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. - A few years ago, Lynn Paddock sought Christian advice on how to discipline her growing brood of adopted children.

Paddock -- a Johnston County mother accused of murdering Sean, her 4-year-old adopted son, and beating two other adopted children -- surfed the Internet, said her attorney, Michael Reece. She found literature by an evangelical minister and his wife who recommended using plumbing supply lines to spank misbehaving children.

February 10, 2006
Adoptive Father Arrested In Infant's Death
CLEBURNE, Texas -- A Cleburne man who, along with his wife, was in the process of adopting twin baby boys has been arrested in connection with the death of one of the 3-month-old infants, according to Cleburne police.
The Cleburne Police Department arrested David Michael Giddens on Friday and charged him with injury to a child by omission. Giddens' bond was set at $150,000.
February 9, 2006 U.S. Woman Charged for Beating Adopted Russian Handicapped Child
Jane Cochran, a 43-year-old woman from the city of Alfred (ME) has been charged with assault for allegedly beating her four-year-old adopted son from Russia and cutting his ear with a pair of scissors.
She was charged with second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Her husband, Tim Cochran, 48, was also charged with endangering the child’s welfare, Olean Times Herald reported.
The boy’s physical handicap was that he was born without one arm, the newspaper quoted Alfred state police chief Scott A. Cicirello as saying. He said it was the worst case of child abuse he had seen in 13 years as a police officer. February 7, 2006 Ex-adoptive mother of 7 children indicted The Harris County grand jury has indicted a Houston woman on a charge of felony theft almost two years after her seven adoptive children were discovered living in a Nigerian orphanage while she worked in Iraq as a civilian contractor.
Investigators said Mercury Liggins, 49, pocketed thousands of dollars meant to support the children, who were found Aug. 4, 2004, when a San Antonio-based minister visited the orphanage to pass out food and clothing.
"She was receiving adoption subsidies for the children while they were in Africa," Child Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin said. "She was getting close to $500 for each one of the children."

February 7, 2006 Ricky Holland's Adoptive Parents Charged with his Murder
Mason, Ingham County - Murder charges in the death of 7 year old Ricky Holland... his adoptive parents, Tim and Lisa Holland, are accused of the crime.
After months of searches and investigation, police found the boy's body in rural Ingham County on January 27, 2006, after Tim Holland pointed the way. He and his wife Lisa are now both charged with his murder.
February 7, 2006 Woman gets probation for killing adopted daughter DURHAM, NC -- Melinda Ann Wilkins, 41, received two years of probation after she pleaded guilty in Durham County Superior Court to involuntary manslaughter in the June 2003 death of Melissa Wilkins, then 9.
According to Garrell, the girl was found to have suffered "severe brain trauma" in 1995. In addition, she had a skull fracture and spine injury, along with three unrelated rib fractures and what appeared to be bite marks on her body, the prosecutor said.
"Shaken baby impact syndrome" was the diagnosis.
The child remained institutionalized for the remainder of her life, first at Duke University Hospital, then Lenox Baker Children's Hospital in Durham and finally the Hilltop Home for Retarded Children in Raleigh. She reportedly was blind, speechless and unable even to sit up without support. February 3, 2006 Adopted son defends Schmitzes ...when Brown questioned him (adopted son) about a prior interview he had with the boy, the teen admitted confirming at the time some of the child abuse accusations against both the Schmitzes.
Those incidents included seeing a child made to strip and walk naked upstairs, where she slept that way on the floor, and seeing a child be put in a storm cellar.
He also admitted telling Brown about Tom Schmitz once hosing off a child with water in cold weather and making another strip to his underwear and then hosing him down.
The boy also recalled telling Brown he didn't want to return home until Debra Schmitz stopped drinking. He'd said at the time that she got mad and yelled when she was drinking.

December 23, 2005 AG extends probe into death of Sherry Charlie
VICTORIA -- B.C.'s child and youth officer was given an extension Friday for her investigation into the death of toddler Sherry Charlie.
...
Charlie was beaten to death in September 2002 after she was placed in the care of her uncle.
The child was 19 months old when she died after being put in the care of Ryan Dexter George, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in her death and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

December 13, 2005 Spring Hill Mother Indicted on Murder Charges
A Spring Hill, TN mother, Jennifer Alvey is charged with murder in the death of adopted daughter Emma. She was indicted by the Williamson County grand jury yesterday on charges of felony murder in the death of her 20-month-old daughter, whom she and her husband adopted from China eight months ago.

December 5, 2005 Story of Haleigh Poutre, from Westfield, Massachusetts:
Accused fights to keep girl on life support
WESTFIELD, Mass. --Photos hanging on Allison Avrett's living room wall show her daughter Haleigh as a smiling little girl with brown bangs hanging over her squinting eyes.
...
Her stepfather, Jason Strickland, who is charged in her beating and could be tried for murder if she dies, wants to keep her alive. Strickland is free on bail while awaiting trial.
...
Police say the injuries that left Haleigh with severe brain stem injuries came at the hands of Strickland and his wife Holli -- Allison Avrett's sister.
Within two weeks of the couple pleading innocent to the beating, Holli Strickland was dead, fatally shot in her grandmother's West Springfield apartment. The body of her 71-year-old grandmother, Constance Young, was beside her. The possible double suicide or murder-suicide is still under investigation.
...
"I've had guilt for years over giving her up for adoption," Avrett said.
Further Reading on this case: Danger Zone

November 17, 2005 Man Sentenced For Raping Adopted Daughter
Matthew Alan Mancuso was sentenced to 35 to 70 years in prison for the years of abuse he heaped on the girl, Mea, he adopted after his divorce and brought to the U.S. from Russia. July 20, 2005 Eduardo Calzada
Woman accused to killing infant appears in court
BAKERSFIELD, CA - It was a death that plunged Kern County’s Child Protective Services into a storm of controversy, and Wednesday the Bakersfield woman charged with the murder of her foster child was in court.
The tiny body of 3-month-old Eduardo Calzada was recovered from the home of her foster mother on Glacier Springs Drive in March 2004. An autopsy concluded the infant died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Four other foster children were removed form the home of Kathy Scott the same day.

July 2, 2005 Wake Forest woman charged in child's death
Nina Hilt: age 2, of Wake Forest, North Carolina died after suffering several blows to her abdomen. Her adoptive mother, Peggy Hilt, has been charged with second-degree murder. Nina was adopted in 2003.

April 27th, 2005 Kauai charter school official sentenced in beating of adopted son Hedy Sullivan was sentenced today to a year in prison and one-thousand hours of community service in the abuse of her adopted son.
Her son, who has since been removed from the home and placed in foster care along with a younger brother, says the beating was part of a pattern of physical abuse.

April 7, 200514 month old baby diesLas Vegas, NV
North Las Vegas Police are investigating how a 14-month-old child put into protective care custody died in his foster home. The boy has been identifed as Jushai Akua Spurgeon.

The baby was found dead at the North Las Vegas home of Sallye Jones- Johnson Sunday night. Johnson was arrested Monday on six counts of child neglect.

Thursday, March 10, 2005 Florida couple arrested on child-abuse charges
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Wilson and Brenda Sullivan were arrested on neglect charges for allegedly forcing their malnourished 17-year-old adopted son to sleep in a locked cage. The teenager was wearing a diaper and weighed just 49 pounds when he was found.

February 15, 2005 Adopted Daughter Says She Was Abused, Seeks Visits With Siblings
INVERNESS, FL -- The adopted adult daughter of a couple accused of torturing and starving five of their children was also abused until she left home three years ago, her lawyer said Monday.
Shanda Dollar Shelton, 25, will go to court today to seek visitation with her seven adoptive brothers and sisters, who are between the ages of 12 and 17.
The children are living in an undisclosed foster home. Their parents -- John Dollar, 58, and his wife, Linda, 51 -- are jailed in Utah awaiting extradition to Florida on aggravated child abuse charges....
...The Citrus County Sheriff's Office has said five of the seven children adopted by the couple and living in their upscale home were tortured, starved and forced to sleep in a closet so they wouldn't steal food. Two of the children were not physically harmed.

February 10, 2005
Interfax: Russian prosecutors investigating adoption by WNY couple

MOSCOW (AP)_ Russian prosecutors are investigating the legality of the adoption of a disabled Russian boy by a western New York couple who have been accused of abuse, the Interfax news agency reported Friday.

The 4-year old was repeatedly beaten by his adoptive mother, who cut his ear with scissors and threatened to cut out his tongue for not reading his prayers correctly in English, according to prosecutors in Allegany County.

January 22, 2005 U.S. Teachers Charged With Starving Adopted Russian Boy to Death
Dennis Merryman: age 8, born Dennis Uritsky, of Harford County, Maryland died after suffering cardiac arrest brought on by starvation. He weighed 37 pounds. Both parents, Samuel and Donna Merryman, were arrested and charged with manslaughter and first-degree child abuse resulting in death and reckless endangerment.

December 2,2004 Videotape shows sex abuse, police say; A man is accused of crimes against his adopted son
A Silverton, Oregon man, William Delos Peckenpaugh, stands accused of years-long sexual abuse of his son, whom he adopted from a Romanian orphanage, after a sexually graphic video was found in a camera that had been returned to an electronics store.
William, 37, was arraigned Tuesday on six counts of first-degree sodomy, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and using a child in the display of sexually explicit conduct.

June 30, 2004 Child killer Steinberg is paroled
PINE CITY, N.Y. - Infamous child killer Joel Steinberg was released from prison Wednesday after nearly 17 years behind bars for the 1987 beating death of his 6-year-old adopted daughter.
Lisa Steinberg died in November 1987, three days after a vicious beating in the Greenwich Village apartment where she lived with Steinberg and his former lover, Hedda Nussbaum.
Nussbaum called police after finding the 6-year-old naked, bruised and not breathing. Nussbaum, initially a co-defendant, herself had a split lip, broken ribs, a broken nose and a fractured jaw she said were inflicted by Steinberg.

April 25, 2004 Judge gives adoptive mom maximum sentence for abuse
As she stood before a judge, Amber King said she forgave former adopted mother Sandra Parker, but wanted to know why Parker brutalized her, and kept her chained and starving in the basement.
"I have a question: Why did she do these things to me?"
The 14-year-old girl heard no answer Wednesday.
Parker, convicted of first-, second- and third-degree child abuse, insists she did nothing to harm the girl, who was in her care two years ago. She has blamed older adopted brothers for the abuse.

December 22, 2003 Suburban Chicago woman charged with killing son, 6, adopted from Russia last month

SCHAUMBURG, Illinois (AP) — Alex Pavlis, a 6-year-old boy adopted from Russia only last month was beaten to death, and police charged his adoptive mother, Irma Pavlis with murder.

FOREVER FAMILY-- FOREVER DEAD: A MEMORIAM FOR RUSSIAN ADOPTEES
Since the numerous deaths of Russian Adoptees, there are no more single articles talking about each one, instead, they are all printed together. Here is one of the articles, and includes some of the previous, and following adoptees.
October 16, 2003
Liam Thompson: age 3, of Columbus, Ohio, died from scalding and neglect. His adoptive father, Gary, placed him in a tub of 140-degree water. He received 2nd and 3rd degree burns. His LPN adoptive mother, Amy, neglected treatment for 2 days, then treated him with Tylenol and Vaseline. She took Liam to the hospital only after he went into respiratory failure. Amy was sentence to 15 years for child endangering and involuntary manslaughter. Gary received 15-life for murder. Liam was adopted 5 months prior.

September 18,2003
Kansas woman pleads guilty in adopted son's death
Brian Edgar, 9, died Dec. 30. His father brought him to a hospital from the family home in Overland Park, KS, where prosecutors say he had been wrapped from head to toe with duct tape, leaving only his nose uncovered and causing him to suffocate on vomit.
...
The Edgars were pastors of God's Christian Outreach Ministry in Kansas City, Kan. Five other church members face charges of abusing three of the Edgars' children and a friend of the children.

Russian adoptees and forever families continued

- August 11, 2003 -
Jessica Albina Hagmann: age 2, died from smothering. Adoptive mother, Patrice Hagmann claimed that she accidently killed Jessica while trying to stop her from having a tantrum. Patrice was sentenced to probation and to 2 suspended 5-year terms.

June 17,2003 DCF Insider Says Department Should Have Stepped In
A mother and daughter are accused of beating nearly a dozen children. If the allegations prove true, the pair could face prison time. But in an exclusive interview, a department of children and families employee says his agency should share some of the blame.
Nellie Johnson took in 27 children. Many were classified as special needs and DCF gave Johnson money to take care of the kids. It's just one of the reasons why one man says she should have been under DCF's watchful eye.
Nellie and Colony Johnson face 43 charges. All relating to abuse stretching over a decade. Too long one man says to go unnoticed....
....An agency like Shepard's Care ministries. They're responsible for the bulk of Nellie Johnson's adoptions. Social workers employed by Shepard's Care, not DCF, approved the home for adoption. DCF officials say if they are going to contract with agencies like Shepard's Care, they have to be able to trust their decisions.

May 3, 2003 Adoptive mother arrested in Akron Bonnie Hyre, 34, of Akron was arrested Friday on charges of child endangering, permitting child abuse, tampering with evidence and obstructing justice.
Her husband, Gerald Hyre, 32, was sentenced last month to 16 years in prison for beating his adopted daughter, 2-year-old Kelsey.
The girl is paralyzed below the waist. She lives with a foster family.

December 03, 2002 Prosecution details boy's troubled life
Le Mars, Ia. - Timothy Boss was often confined to a windowless room in the basement of the Boss family home in Remsen.

Timothy, 10, and the other adopted children in the family were barricaded in the 12-by-12-foot "confinement room" with a cement floor and a board barricading the door from the outside. The only light switch was operated from outside.

Timothy had been taken away from his drug-addicted mother in Detroit and shuffled around Michigan orphanages and foster homes. He was adopted by the Bosses in 1997. Their home, according to Thoman, was worse.

On Feb. 23, 2000, Thoman said, Donald Lynn Boss Jr. caught Timothy trying to escape the confinement room. He tied the boy to an orange folding chair and beat him with his hands and another object, possibly a board, Thoman said in his opening statement.

Then, Thoman said, "he left him to die."

Eventually, the boy's body was wrapped in a blanket and buried underneath the cement floor.
Russian adoptees and forever families continued
- October 23, 2002 -
Maria Bennett: age 2, of Lancaster, Ohio, died from shaken baby syndrome. Adoptive mother Susan Jane Bennett, said that she had tripped while carrying Maria and had dropped her. Medical evidence proved otherwise. Susan Bennett pled no contest to 1 count of reckless homicide and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Maria was adopted 9 months before her death.

- August 15, 2002 -
Zachary Higier: age 2, of Braintree, Massachusetts, died of severe head trauma. Adoptive mother Natalia Higier, stated that he had fallen out of his crib or hit his head on the floor. She later admitted to tossing him into the air and he hit his head on the coffee table. Zachary sustained a bilateral skull fracture, strokes, brain swelling, and detached retinas. Natalia pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail with 18 months balance of sentence suspended for 4 years.

December 14, 2001
Heather Lindorff gets 6 years
Jacob Lindorff: age 5, of Gloucester Twp, New Jersey died of blunt force trauma to head. Also suffered from 2nd degree burns on feet, hemorrhaging in 1 eye; bruises, and seizures. Adoptive mother Heather Lindorff, was found guilty of 2nd degree endangering, aggravated assault and sentenced to 6 years. Adoptive father, James, sentenced to 4 years probation and 400 hours of community service for child abuse. Adoptive mother claimed that the injuries were accidents. Jacob was in the US 6 weeks before his death.

Russian adoptees and forever families continued
- November 30, 2001 -
Luke Evans: age 1.5 of Lowell, Indiana died of massive head injuries, shaken baby syndrome, and poor nutrition. Adoptive mother, Natalie Fabian Evans, stated that she couldn't wake Luke one morning and so placed him in a tub of water to "stimulate him" where she says he may have bumped his head on the tub. The authorities took a year to investigate the case. Evans is scheduled to stand trial for murder in October 2005. Luke was in the US 6 months before his death.

- October 31, 2000 -
Viktor Matthey: age 6, of Hunterdon County, New Jersey died of cardiac arrest due to hyperthermia after adoptive parents Robert and Brenda Matthey locked him overnight in a damp unheated pump room. Viktor was also severely beaten by his adoptive father. Both parents are sentenced to 10 years for confining Viktor to a pump room, 10 years for excessive corporal punishment and 7 years for failing to provide medical care. The sentences run concurrently. Viktor was in the US 10 months before his death.

May 18, 2000
The Mother Country
Denise Thomas is accused of trying to sell her adopted Russian daughter -- but the girl had been bought and sold all along.
The story -- Littleton woman tries to sell her child! -- hits the papers, and by afternoon, there is an army of reporters outside the house. Denise tries to talk to them, be reasonable, but comes off looking unsympathetic -- adoptive parents are supposed to keep their children, not sell them -- and so eventually she stops. Even though Denise has not formally been charged with anything and Elena is only in temporary custody, the newspapers print a phone number that people interested in adopting her can call. On Monday, the Arapahoe County sheriff, Patrick Sullivan, holds a press conference to explain the case. The following day, Tuesday, Denise is finally charged with attempted trafficking of a child.

Russian adoptees and forever families continued
- November 25, 1998 - Logan Higginbotham: age 3, of Shelburne, Vermont died of massive head injuries. Adoptive mother Laura Higginbotham, stated that Logan fell and hit her head on the floor of an upstairs bedroom. It took 3 years for the medical examiner to determine whether the case was accidental or homicide. In 2004, Laura Higginbotham pled no contest to a charge of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 1 year in prison. Logan was in US 7 months before her death.

- February 9, 1996 -
David Polreis, Jr: age 2, of Greeley, Colorado was beaten to death. Over 90% of David's body was covered in cuts, which his adoptive mother, Renee Polreis, claimed was due to the boys severe RAD. Renee stated that David would hit himself with a wooden spoon. Husband, David Polreis, Sr. was out of town at time of attack and was not implicated. Rene Polreis was convicted of child abuse resulting in death and sentenced to 18 years in prison. David was adopted 6 months before his death.

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