Rayemonde
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I was unable to find a list anywhere of parents who killed their child and then covered it up by saying the child had gone missing or been abducted, so I've started my own. There are many, many more children still to add to this list
Please feel free to help me out by doing a brief write-up of any other cases you know of and adding them here. I thought it would be useful if we ever want to look for patterns or precedents.
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/05/us/murdered-children-in-most-cases-a-parent-did-it.html
James Johnson (aka James Dupree Lewis), 4 years old, Pennsylvania, disappeared in 1991. Maurice Marcell Martin, the boyfriend of James' mother Debra Johnson, said that James disappeared from the car when he left him alone for a few minutes, but he was later convicted of the third-degree murder of the boy and in 1992 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for accidentally killing James. He had punished James for urinating on the kerb outside the house, and the prosecutuion argued that James died of a subdural hematoma after being hit on the head. Maurice Martin was released from prison in 2012, at the age of 46.
Thomas Dean Gibson, 2 years old, 1991, Oregon. Father Larry Gibson, who was the Douglas County Deputy Sheriff, claimed he disappeared from the yard whilst he went for a jog around the block. He was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in 1995. He was released from prison in 1996. Thomas' body was never found, and his father still claims he was abducted.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/gibson_thomas.html
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?64428-OR-Thomas-Gibson-2-Glendale-18-March-1991
Brandon Jones, 4 years old, 1992, Indiana. Brandon's mother, Michelle Jones, was convicted of murder in 1997 and sentenced to 50 years in prison.She told a friend that she had beaten Marcus to death, but his body was never found.
http://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/court-of-appeals/1998/111301-lmb.html
Shakeima Ann Cabbabestalk, 10 years old, disappeared in 1993, South Carolina. In August 2005, twelve years after Shakeima disappearanced, her stepfather, "[Sam]Harmon was charged with murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct in connection with the disappearance of his stepdaughter, Shakeima Cabbagestalk."
In 2008 Harmon was acquitted of murder, but convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Shakeima's body was never found.
http://www.scnow.com/news/local/article_d4e2a4ab-bdf6-5795-8f90-4d3299ac0688.html
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...keima-Ann-Cabbagestalk-10-Dillon-22-July-1993
Andrea Gonzalez, 5 years old, disappeared in 1993, Alabama. Her father and stepmother reported that Andrea disappeared from the family trailer during the night. LE called the search of after two days because they suspected foul play. More than year later, the stepmother said she accidentally scalded Andrea, who died of her injuries.
http://www.waff.com/story/24026745/20-years-on-russellville-still-mourns-childs-death
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?197752-AL-Andrea-Gonzalez-5-Russellville-20-Nov-1993
Rilya Wilson, 4 years old, 2000, Florida. Rilya disappeared in December 2000, but she wasn't reported missing until April 2002. Rilya's foster mother (who was also allegedly her biological paternal grandmother) Geralyn Graham said that someone claiming to be from the DCF had taken Rilya for an evaluation in Jan 2011, and never returned her. A social worker, Deborah Muskelly, pleaded guilty to official misconduct for falsifying records of visits to check on Rilya whilst she was missing.
Foster mother Geralyn Graham was convicted in 2013 of aggravated child abuse and kidnapping and sentenced to 55 years in prison. Graham allegedly admitted to a fellow inmate that she smothed Rilya and buried her body. A mistrial was declared on the murder charge when one juror voted not to convict. Rilya's body was never found.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/wilson_rilya.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/geralyn-graham-sentenced-_n_2670157.html
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?1199-FL-Rilya-Wilson-5-Miami-18-Jan-2001
Alicia Breann Versluis, 5 years old, disappeared in 2000, California. Mother Simona Denise Demery said that she was in a park with the children and when she took her eyes off them for a few moments to read, when she looked up Alicia had vanished. Her twin sister said that their mother "took Sissy and wrapped Sissy in a jacket and put her in the drain." In 2001 Simona Demery and her boyfriend Jeffrey Jones were convicted of her murder and both sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/may/12/local/me-29327
http://www.recordnet.com/article/20010822/A_NEWS/308229985
Ricky Holland, 7 years old, July 2005, Michigan. Adoptive parents Tim and Lisa Holland reported Ricky as being missing from his bedroom, and said he had run away from home before. He had been found in neighbours homes in the past, eating their food because his parents were starving him. In January 2006, Tim Holland led LE to Ricky's remains, which had been put into a garbage bag and thrown in a swamp. Tim Holland said his wife had beaten the boy and hit him in the head with a tack hammer, and he had died a week later. He was sentenced to 30 - 60 years in prison for second degree murder. Lisa Holland was found guilty of first-degree felony murder and first-degree child abuse and sentenced to life in prison.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...-holland-s-story-take-a-new-look-at/77378390/
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...Ricky-Holland-7-Williamston-1-July-2005/page8
Marcus Fiesel, 2 years old, 2006, Ohio. Marcus' foster mother Liz Carroll claimed Marcus disappeared when she fainted at a fair. She held a press conference pleading for the boy's return. In reality she, her husband and a friend duct-taped and restrained the boy, then went away for the weekend and left him to die in a hot closet. Traces of his incinerated remains were found in the fireplace of a derelict house. Liz Carroll was sentenced to 59 years to life in prison for murder and other charges, David Carroll was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison and Amy Baker was given immunity for testifying against the other two.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/local-news...breaks-silence-on-foster-son-s-death/15451412
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-Marcus-Fiesel-3-Union-Township-4-August-2006
Lauryn Dickens, 9 months old, Tennessee, 2010. Mother Shakara Dickens claimed she gave her away to a stranger who claimed to know the girl's father. Cadaver dogs alerted to the mother's apartment and car. After being found guilty of second-degree murder in 2012, Shakara Dickens admitted in court to smothering Lauryn because she wouldn't stop crying, and then throwing her body in the trash. She was sentenced to 19 years in prison. No body was ever found.
http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/18857252/mother-admits-to-killing-her-own-daughter
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-9-mos-Memphis-7-Sept-2010-*S-Dickens-guilty*
Jhessye Shockley, 5 years old, disappeared in October 2011, Arizona. Jhessye's mother, Jerice Hunter, was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse in 2015. The prosecution said that she shut Jhessye in a closet and deprived her of food and water until she died, then threw her body in the trash. No body was ever found.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/arizona-mother-convicted-of-murdering-missing-daughter-jhessye-shockley/
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ey-5-Glendale-11-Oct-2011-5-*J-Hunter-guilty*
Colton Brandt Turner, 2 years old, reported missing in Sept 2014, Texas after a family friend told LE she had seen pictures of the boy on facebook with suspicious bruises and cuts. LE spoke to his mother, Meagan Work, who gave several conflicting stories about his whereabouts (he was with a friend, he was abducted when she left him in her car for a few minutes, she gave him away to a stranger...). LE also questioned her boyfriend, Michael Brandt Turner, who soon admitted that Colton was dead and led LE to the boy's shallow grave. Turner said that Colton had died in July. Turner and Work said that Colton had died after falling and hitting his head whilst being beaten. In 2016 Michael Turner pleaded guilty to two count of tampering with evdence (for burying Colton's body) and one count of 2nd degree Reckless Injury to a Child by Omission. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Meagan Work is still awaiting trial.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ton-Brandt-Turner-2-Cedar-Park-11-Sept-2014-1

Richard J. Gelles, a professor of sociology and psychology at the University of Rhode Island who is an expert on family violence, says the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse estimates that 700 mothers kill their children each year. But only 50 or so fabricate tales of abductions, he said, citing figures from the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children in Washington.
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/05/us/murdered-children-in-most-cases-a-parent-did-it.html
James Johnson (aka James Dupree Lewis), 4 years old, Pennsylvania, disappeared in 1991. Maurice Marcell Martin, the boyfriend of James' mother Debra Johnson, said that James disappeared from the car when he left him alone for a few minutes, but he was later convicted of the third-degree murder of the boy and in 1992 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for accidentally killing James. He had punished James for urinating on the kerb outside the house, and the prosecutuion argued that James died of a subdural hematoma after being hit on the head. Maurice Martin was released from prison in 2012, at the age of 46.
http://law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvania/superior-court/1994/433-pa-super-280-2.htmlBecause James's body never was found, the Commonwealth offered circumstantial proof of his death, including his age, the fact that no one saw him at the supermarket parking lot, the peculiar circumstances of the preceding two days wherein James was not seen conscious or awake by anyone, the inconsistent nature of appellant's statements to police after James's "disappearance," and the failure of hundreds of search volunteers to turn up any evidence of James's whereabouts.
In order to establish the malice necessary to prove murder, the Commonwealth provided testimony from several sources that appellant repeatedly abused James, both physically and mentally.
http://lancasteronline.com/news/squ...cle_f0879d38-8d06-5506-94df-12dc1a33af91.htmlAfter his trial, many also blamed the mother. After all, she knew of the extreme abuse and stood pat, they said.
Charging her criminally, however, wasn't an option for police.
"Unfortunately, we needed her cooperation to put the evidence against Maurice," Chalfant said.
Thomas Dean Gibson, 2 years old, 1991, Oregon. Father Larry Gibson, who was the Douglas County Deputy Sheriff, claimed he disappeared from the yard whilst he went for a jog around the block. He was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in 1995. He was released from prison in 1996. Thomas' body was never found, and his father still claims he was abducted.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/gibson_thomas.html
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?64428-OR-Thomas-Gibson-2-Glendale-18-March-1991
Brandon Jones, 4 years old, 1992, Indiana. Brandon's mother, Michelle Jones, was convicted of murder in 1997 and sentenced to 50 years in prison.She told a friend that she had beaten Marcus to death, but his body was never found.
http://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/court-of-appeals/1998/111301-lmb.html
Shakeima Ann Cabbabestalk, 10 years old, disappeared in 1993, South Carolina. In August 2005, twelve years after Shakeima disappearanced, her stepfather, "[Sam]Harmon was charged with murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct in connection with the disappearance of his stepdaughter, Shakeima Cabbagestalk."
In 2008 Harmon was acquitted of murder, but convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Shakeima's body was never found.
http://www.scnow.com/news/local/article_d4e2a4ab-bdf6-5795-8f90-4d3299ac0688.html
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...keima-Ann-Cabbagestalk-10-Dillon-22-July-1993
Andrea Gonzalez, 5 years old, disappeared in 1993, Alabama. Her father and stepmother reported that Andrea disappeared from the family trailer during the night. LE called the search of after two days because they suspected foul play. More than year later, the stepmother said she accidentally scalded Andrea, who died of her injuries.
Kim Gonzalez served served four years and three months in prison, and Paul Gonzalez served two years.A jury convicted her stepmother, Kim Gonzalez, of child abuse. She admitted to putting the toddler in scalding water and dumping her remains into upper Bear Creek. Her father, Paul Gonzalez, later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Both parents were sentenced to ten years in jail. Andrea's body was never recovered.
http://www.waff.com/story/24026745/20-years-on-russellville-still-mourns-childs-death
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?197752-AL-Andrea-Gonzalez-5-Russellville-20-Nov-1993
Rilya Wilson, 4 years old, 2000, Florida. Rilya disappeared in December 2000, but she wasn't reported missing until April 2002. Rilya's foster mother (who was also allegedly her biological paternal grandmother) Geralyn Graham said that someone claiming to be from the DCF had taken Rilya for an evaluation in Jan 2011, and never returned her. A social worker, Deborah Muskelly, pleaded guilty to official misconduct for falsifying records of visits to check on Rilya whilst she was missing.
Foster mother Geralyn Graham was convicted in 2013 of aggravated child abuse and kidnapping and sentenced to 55 years in prison. Graham allegedly admitted to a fellow inmate that she smothed Rilya and buried her body. A mistrial was declared on the murder charge when one juror voted not to convict. Rilya's body was never found.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/wilson_rilya.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/geralyn-graham-sentenced-_n_2670157.html
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?1199-FL-Rilya-Wilson-5-Miami-18-Jan-2001
Alicia Breann Versluis, 5 years old, disappeared in 2000, California. Mother Simona Denise Demery said that she was in a park with the children and when she took her eyes off them for a few moments to read, when she looked up Alicia had vanished. Her twin sister said that their mother "took Sissy and wrapped Sissy in a jacket and put her in the drain." In 2001 Simona Demery and her boyfriend Jeffrey Jones were convicted of her murder and both sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Jurors convicted the couple... of second-degree murder, child abuse, corporal injury to a child, conspiracy to commit assaults and two other conspiracy charges.
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/may/12/local/me-29327
http://www.recordnet.com/article/20010822/A_NEWS/308229985
Ricky Holland, 7 years old, July 2005, Michigan. Adoptive parents Tim and Lisa Holland reported Ricky as being missing from his bedroom, and said he had run away from home before. He had been found in neighbours homes in the past, eating their food because his parents were starving him. In January 2006, Tim Holland led LE to Ricky's remains, which had been put into a garbage bag and thrown in a swamp. Tim Holland said his wife had beaten the boy and hit him in the head with a tack hammer, and he had died a week later. He was sentenced to 30 - 60 years in prison for second degree murder. Lisa Holland was found guilty of first-degree felony murder and first-degree child abuse and sentenced to life in prison.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...-holland-s-story-take-a-new-look-at/77378390/
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...Ricky-Holland-7-Williamston-1-July-2005/page8
Marcus Fiesel, 2 years old, 2006, Ohio. Marcus' foster mother Liz Carroll claimed Marcus disappeared when she fainted at a fair. She held a press conference pleading for the boy's return. In reality she, her husband and a friend duct-taped and restrained the boy, then went away for the weekend and left him to die in a hot closet. Traces of his incinerated remains were found in the fireplace of a derelict house. Liz Carroll was sentenced to 59 years to life in prison for murder and other charges, David Carroll was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison and Amy Baker was given immunity for testifying against the other two.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/local-news...breaks-silence-on-foster-son-s-death/15451412
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-Marcus-Fiesel-3-Union-Township-4-August-2006
Lauryn Dickens, 9 months old, Tennessee, 2010. Mother Shakara Dickens claimed she gave her away to a stranger who claimed to know the girl's father. Cadaver dogs alerted to the mother's apartment and car. After being found guilty of second-degree murder in 2012, Shakara Dickens admitted in court to smothering Lauryn because she wouldn't stop crying, and then throwing her body in the trash. She was sentenced to 19 years in prison. No body was ever found.
http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/18857252/mother-admits-to-killing-her-own-daughter
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-9-mos-Memphis-7-Sept-2010-*S-Dickens-guilty*
Jhessye Shockley, 5 years old, disappeared in October 2011, Arizona. Jhessye's mother, Jerice Hunter, was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse in 2015. The prosecution said that she shut Jhessye in a closet and deprived her of food and water until she died, then threw her body in the trash. No body was ever found.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/arizona-mother-convicted-of-murdering-missing-daughter-jhessye-shockley/
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ey-5-Glendale-11-Oct-2011-5-*J-Hunter-guilty*
Colton Brandt Turner, 2 years old, reported missing in Sept 2014, Texas after a family friend told LE she had seen pictures of the boy on facebook with suspicious bruises and cuts. LE spoke to his mother, Meagan Work, who gave several conflicting stories about his whereabouts (he was with a friend, he was abducted when she left him in her car for a few minutes, she gave him away to a stranger...). LE also questioned her boyfriend, Michael Brandt Turner, who soon admitted that Colton was dead and led LE to the boy's shallow grave. Turner said that Colton had died in July. Turner and Work said that Colton had died after falling and hitting his head whilst being beaten. In 2016 Michael Turner pleaded guilty to two count of tampering with evdence (for burying Colton's body) and one count of 2nd degree Reckless Injury to a Child by Omission. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Meagan Work is still awaiting trial.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ton-Brandt-Turner-2-Cedar-Park-11-Sept-2014-1