Cases

7 year old girl adopted from China 5 years earlier was strangled by her adoptive mother. Kathrine Dufresne, aka Kathy Fitzpatrick, had self inflicted wounds when the 2 were discovered by the father (apparent failed murder-suicide). Dufresne was charged with murder but committed suicide in custody prior to the trial.

16-year-old twin boy and girl adopted at age 2 from The Philippines by Sandra Weller  had food systematically withheld and were physically abused by Sandra and stepfather, Jeffrey Weller. Sandra's first husband Tim Graf is their legal father.

A 15-year-old boy, a 14-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, adopted by Aubrey and Laura Thomas were paddled regularly, forced to eat horse manure, forced to perform sex acts, fed bar soap and cayenne pepper and forced to vomit food and eat it off the floor.

The Thomases became foster parents to six children in 2001. In 2003, two of the children were removed because they had been abused.

Frank and Catherine Voegtlin were adopted by Roger and Sharon Voegtlin. Roger Voegtlin, a fundamentalist Baptist preacher severely beat the children. Frank was made  to wear a dress in day camp for the entire day to show everybody "what a sissy I was".

10-year-old girl adopted from foster care by a New York City woman, was systematically tortured and had food withheld by Mary E. Mazalic. For about a year. Mary was the live-in girlfriend of the girl's 43-year-old adoptive brother, Derron P. Alexis. The adoptive mother, Genevieve Alexis, who continued to collect adoption subsidies for her care, sent the girl to live with her son and Mazalic in Washington State after she objected to a NY school district placing the girl in special education classes.

The girl was beaten with extension cords, belts, wooden spoons, and wire. She was burned with cigarettes, held underwater, threatened with a knife and a gun. She was starved, had water restricted and was not given her prescription medicine. She missed 36 days of school. The then 10-year-old weighed 51 lbs when she was removed from Mary's "care". She gained 13 lbs in her 2 week hospital stay and 20lbs since being removed from the home.

In 2009, a 16 year old in care of Mazalic and Derron reported to CPS that he was abused.

Mazalic was sentenced to 30 years jail for first-degree assault of child, criminal mistreatment and witness tampering.
D. Alexis has been charged first-degree criminal mistreatment for beating her, withholding food and medication. He will face court in 2013.

Boy of 7 was sexually abused by his adoptive father continuously until he was 13 years old in the late 1970s and 1980s. Adopted father Joseph L. Hunt was a police officer, scout leader, and coach. Hunt admitted to the abuse, pled guilt and was sentenced to 41 months in jail. Joe Hunt was married and there were at least 2 other girl children in the home.

Six children (four of whom from Russia, and 2 of whom are from Guatemala) adopted by Martin and Kathleen O'Brien were allegedly abused by their adoptive parents.The Russian children were bio siblings adopted in 2004 at approximately ages 5-11. Some of the children were homeschooled.

The O'Briens are charged with:

• Stripping the children naked as part of punishment.
• Dragging the children by their arms while the children were naked.
• Kicking the children in the groin.
• Spraying the children in the face and on the neck and chest with pepper spray.
• Bending a child’s arm into a “compliance-type” arm bar.
• Hitting the children with a stick.
• Slapping the children in the face.
• Stabbing one child in the hand with a knife.
• Grabbing children by the throat and lifting them off the ground.
• Striking children in the groin with a knee.
• Picking one child off the floor by an ear causing the ear to tear and bleed.
• Striking children with a ruler.
• Placing one child in a “bin” while Martin O’Brien struck the outside of the bin with a log.
• Striking one child in the chest with a flashlight
• Forcing the adopted children to eat frozen loaves of bread off the floor before bedtime while the biological children watched.
• Forcing the children to stand naked in the snow three to four times a year.
• Locking the children in a bedroom for four to five days at a time.
• Beating the children with a belt.
• Choking one child because of a prayer he said

6-year-old girl adopted by her aunt Regina Marquez was physically abused and locked up in her room by her aunt/mother and her aunt/mother's live-in girl friend, Deanna Martinez. The girl had a broken and now deformed arm, three broken fingers and several old fractures that had not healed well.

Children adopted by Elisha and Cheryl Christopher were allegedly suffocated and forced to jump off a roof. One of the children was allegedly locked into a dog cage.

16-year-old boy adopted by Ronald and Tammy White was forced by his adoptive father to drink a gallon of water, causing his organs to shut down. The boy was regularly beaten and locked in a room without access to a bathroom.