GUILTY MI - Ricky Holland, 7, Williamston, 1 July 2005

[OneLostGrl]

All along the "parents" have said that Ricky had Bipolar disorder but let me tell you... it sounds more like the "mother" has Bipolar disorder. lock 'em both up.. "mom" and "dad", as far as I'm concerned!

 

[SewingDeb]

This part:
"...forcing Ricky to wear a harness on the school bus added to his humiliation..."

Would someone explain what this means? What type of harness? The only harnesses I know are the ones I use on my horse and dog.

Maybe something like this:

http://www.smallplanetkids.com/

 

[cathieq]

Thank you for the link, SewingDeb! I had no idea.

 

[GreenEyedGirl]

This story is sickening. The woman is a walking time bomb, IMO. She kills her adopted son, then tries to kill her husband? Not a stable individual here. They both need to be locked up forever. Throw away that key. :behindbar :furious: :banghead:

 

[captain exposition]

All along the "parents" have said that Ricky had Bipolar disorder but let me tell you... it sounds more like the "mother" has Bipolar disorder. lock 'em both up.. "mom" and "dad", as far as I'm concerned!

Is it even possible to diagnose a child that young with Bi-polar? I was under the impression that most mental illness cannot be accurately diagnosed until at least adolesence.

It sounds like there was a power struggle going on between the "mother" and the poor little boy. Perhapes she was able to control and intimidate her other adopted children but for whatever reason Ricky remained defiant. As her need to control escalated she turned to more and more violent means to crush his spirit and make him docile. Hence, he is singled out from his siblings and as the situation progresses she eventually kills him.

Of course I have no idea if this is what happened, but it is very similar to the feeling I got from the Nixmary case.

 

[OneLostGrl]

Is it even possible to diagnose a child that young with Bi-polar? I was under the impression that most mental illness cannot be accurately diagnosed until at least adolesence.

So how would a doctor diagnose early-onset bipolar disorder?

The family history is an important clue in the diagnostic process. If the family history reveals mood disorders or alcoholism coming down one or both sides of the family tree, red flags should appear in the mind of the diagnostician. The illness has a strong genetic component, although it can skip a generation.

Many parents are told that the diagnosis cannot be made until the child grows into the upper edges of adolescence--between 16 and 19 years old. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatry--the DSM-IV--uses the same criteria to diagnose bipolar disorder in children as it does to diagnose the condition in adults, and requires that the manic and depressive episodes last a certain number of days or weeks. But as we already mentioned, the majority of bipolar children experience a much more chronic, irritable course, with many shifts of mood in a day, and often they will not meet the duration criteria of the DSM-IV.

The DSM needs to be updated to reflect what the illness looks like in childhood.

This information was taken from The "about Juvenile Bipolar Disorder" web site
http://www.jbrf.org/juv_bipolar/faq.html

 

[AdoraBlue]

I would like to thank fellow Websleuthers for following Ricky's case. For some reason , it escaped my notice.

Are there so many, that I didn't notice? :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: This has got to stop, one day I hope.

 

[AdoraBlue]

We are hearing way too much about adoptive parents and them killing the children or abusing them. CPS has got to start evaluating these situations more closely including but not limited to psychological exams as well as background checks. Also, it wouldn't hurt to observe people in their work environments and spot home checks.

Since a lot of foster parents receive financial gain this should even be a closer evaluation. Just placing children shouldn't be the priority it should be the child's welfare first and foremost.

And the biological parents/extended families just don't seem to care enough about their kids to take care of them. And I believe there are certain individuals who use foster-care/adoption programs for the money and other tangible benefits, i.e., housing, food stamps, etc., not because they want the children.

 

[GreenEyedGirl]

And the biological parents/extended families just don't seem to care enough about their kids to take care of them. And I believe there are certain individuals who use foster-care/adoption programs for the money and other tangible benefits, i.e., housing, food stamps, etc., not because they want the children.

I am sure of it! I've known some of those kinds of people. What a shame, too. IMO, the child should be the main concern, not the money.

 

[PonderingThings]

http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=4662909&nav=0RbQ

There is the transcript of the 911 call at the link and this

Detective Sergeant Roy Holliday said he caught Lisa Holland trying to remove a backpack from the home while police executed a search warrant. In that backpack, he found a ziplock bag containing a shredded bloody T-shirt.

Tim and Lisa Holland were paid to adopt seven-year-old Ricky. The State of Michigan paid about $26,000 a year to Tim and Lisa as an incentive for adopting Ricky and his two siblings. It's not uncommon, though. Last year, subsidies went to 90% of Michigan children placed in adoptive homes from state foster care. Payments range from about $5,400 to 12,000 per child.

 

[bykerladi]

And the best part is that ALL THAT MONEY IS TAX FREE!!! That's right kids - money from adoptions and foster parenting is all TAX EXEMPT!!!

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

And the best part is that ALL THAT MONEY IS TAX FREE!!! That's right kids - money from adoptions and foster parenting is all TAX EXEMPT!!!

However, there are scores of people who foster children out of the goodness of their hearts. My brother and his second wife had two foster chidlren, both African American, both special needs. The little girl was basically doomed to never reach the age of 15 (her heart was grossly enlarged and basically it was crowding out her lungs and being crushed by her ribcage) and the little boy had extreme ADHD due to being born hooked on crack. He was sweet, though. My sister-in-law is a terminal care pediatric nurse (probably the most depressing job on the face of the earth) and took the children in because she had been nursing them from infancy (they were abandoned/given over to the state) and these children needed a level of professional care that your average foster parent would not be equipped to provide. The little girl was with them for nearly 10 years before she suffered a seizure that left her brain dead and not long after a relative of the boy came forward and petitioned the state to take custody after 4 years. My brother and his wife were so heartbroken over first the loss of the one child and the state taking away the second, they gave up on fostering. That was 10 years ago. They now have 3 children of their own, though.

 

[OneLostGrl]

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060321/UPDATE/603210437


A University of Michigan hospital pediatrician testifying in the preliminary hearing of a Williamston couple accused of killing their adopted son said today the parents falsified the child's medical history.

Dr. Elaine Pomeranz, director of the child protection team at U-M hospital, came to her conclusion after analyzing 7-year-old Ricky Holland's medical records, as well as his autopsy report and photos and notes from school employees, child welfare workers and police.

 

[cathieq]

I couldn't really tell much from the article but does that mean Ricky wasn't bipolar or ADHD, etc? So more than likely the poor child was subject to repeated abuse and humiliation just for the hell of it.

 

[2beautifulboys]

These people are filth, these so called parents...How dare you deceive people into believing that you want to adopt a child so he can have a better life and then you are so evil that you abuse and eventually kill this sweet little boy. Children are defenseless against adults. These people make me want to vomit...I hope they go to prison for life, but a better thought is the death penalty.

 

[OneLostGrl]

These people are filth, these so called parents...How dare you deceive people into believing that you want to adopt a child so he can have a better life and then you are so evil that you abuse and eventually kill this sweet little boy. Children are defenseless against adults. These people make me want to vomit...I hope they go to prison for life, but a better thought is the death penalty.

I agree with everything you just said!!

 

[hoppyfrog]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/114373403425640.xml&coll=6

Lisa Holland "went nuts" and beat her adopted son, Ricky, to death with a hammer when her husband, Tim, tried to send the 7-year-old to stay with his grandmother out of concern for his safety, Tim Holland said in a recorded jailhouse conversation.

The tape of Tim Holland's conversation with his adopted mother, Arcie Holland, was made Feb. 7 in the Ingham County Jail. It was played Wednesday, the 12th day of the preliminary hearing for Holland and his wife. Both are charged with murder and first-degree child abuse in Ricky's death. Each blames the other for the boy's death.

Tim Holland told his adoptive mother that when he returned to his Williamston home in late June 2005 from military training in California, he discovered Ricky tied to his bed and looking "pale and peaked."

On July 2, Holland said, his wife forced Ricky to drink a family-sized can of tomato soup and ordered other family members not to feed him. Holland said he told his wife he was going to take the boy to stay with Arcie Holland.

"I tried to get him out of my house, and I wanted to bring him to your house and that is what set her off," Tim Holland, 37, said on the recording.

Holland said he told Lisa, 33, that "Ricky's going to stay with my mom for two weeks.

"And that's where she just went nuts," he continued. "She came downstairs. I saw her yank him out of his room, and then she hit him with a hammer."

more at link

Hoppy

 

[Opie]

That poor, poor child, put into the home with that crazy woman. RIP, Ricky.

 

[mindi77]

that poor baby...sick piece of trash they are

 

[dulcinea]

Assuming his story to his mother is true, what astounds me is his seemingly lack of trying to do anything. He's in the military. He's a big man. Why didn't he do anything to try to protect Ricky? Even if it was too late to shield him, to get Lisa off of Ricky, why didn't he call the police? Both of these parents disgust me to the fullest.