Five murder cases, cited by “CBS Evening News” Oct. 13 and Oct. 14 to prove that homeschooling parents use the educational alternative to hide child abuse, showed instead that other factors were responsible for the family tragedies.
The network reported that there was a “dark side of homeschooling,” in which parents exploited allegedly lax homeschooling laws to hide the abuse, and even murder, of their children. The first night’s segment focused on the case of Nissa and Kent Warren in Johnston County, whose 14-year-old son Brandon committed suicide after he shot to death his half-sister and brother in 2001. Reporter Vince Gonzales asked Johnston County District Attorney Tom Lock whether the family’s trailer is “a location where you expect somebody could be learning lessons?”
But the rundown home was already well-known to county social workers, who had already contacted the Warrens 11 times and were working with them when the tragedy occurred. Child-welfare protections were already in place and administered by social services, and more homeschool restrictions would not have brought increased scrutiny or safety for the children.
The second night’s broadcast used five more cases as examples that homeschooling was connected to child abuse. CBS reported that two Texas cases in which mothers murdered their children were tied to home schooling, but both situations revealed emotionally disturbed women who were known to large groups of people.
When Andrea Yates of Houston drowned her five children in a bathtub, she had already drawn the attention of mental health doctors, social workers, and child protective services. Despite multiple attempts to address Yates’s psychological condition, authorities failed to prevent the tragedy.
In the other Texas case, Deanna Laney of Tyler bludgeoned to death her 8- and 6-year-old sons with a rock in the front yard of her home, and severely injured her 14-month-old son. Unlike Yates, Laney had shown no signs of mental illness and by all accounts was a devoted mother. Nor had she led a life of isolation; she was an active participant in her church and was well-known by many of its 250 members.
In both the Yates and Laney cases, most of the children were also below the mandatory homeschool reporting age.
CBS also cited the case of Neil and Christy Edgar, who were convicted of killing their son Brian. The Edgars were permitted to adopt Brian from social services, which should have subjected them to an extensive background check. Also, Neil Edgar was questioned around the time of the adoption about his possession of a stun gun, after a member of his church had been accused of disciplining children with it. In addition, the Edgars were not typical homeschoolers: Their children were enrolled in a “virtual” charter school administered by a Leavenworth County district, where they were regularly seen by personnel.
Donald and Lisa Boss were convicted in Iowa for the beating death of their 10-year-old son Timothy, who was adopted through social services in Michigan. They moved to Iowa to avoid scrutiny from Michigan child welfare officials, and to continue collecting subsidies for all four of their adopted children. The Bosses also deceived Iowa authorities by telling them Timothy was in Michigan with a relative.
CBS’s report also mentioned an abuse case that did not end in murder, but in a conviction for child endangerment. Thomas Lavery of Akron, Ohio, is serving a three-year probation for the physical, verbal, and psychological abuse of his children. Lavery arguably did not homeschool his children to hide abuse, but to achieve academic excellence. His children reached final rounds in national competitions, including the National Spelling Bee, where his daughter Marjory lost in the final round in 1995. Lavery allegedly denied his children sleeping and bathroom breaks, and beat his children, when they failed to meet his expectations in the tournaments.
According to the CBS report, it found “dozens of cases of parents convicted or accused of murder or child abuse who were teaching their children at home, out of the public eye.” Child protective agencies receive hundreds of anonymous tips of potential child abuse each year, which they are required to investigate by law. While statistics are not kept, many are false reports.
Carolina Journal asked CBS News to provide it with basic information about the “dozens of cases” it found, but the network declined. Spokeswoman Andie Silvers said, “Over the several months of the CBS News investigation we were able to confirm (these) findings with news reports, government agencies, and other sources.”
Hal Young, president of North Carolinians for Home Education, was interviewed by CBS for the two-part report. “They aired the story for a partisan purpose and they are standing by what they intended to do,” he said.
Young said he had telephone discussions and “stayed in constant contact” with CBS News as it put together the report. “We gave them every piece of information we had,” he said, and recommended that they talk to North Carolina’s Department of Social Services about the Warren case. He also recommended the network talk to representatives of the Home School Legal Defense Association and the National Home Education Research Institute, whom Young said had national expertise on the issue. He said the CBS reporters told him it was “not the story we wanted to tell.”
“They had a story they wanted,” Young said, “and they wanted an angle to put on it, (which was), ‘Why isn’t the government more involved in (homeschooling) families’ lives?’”
Paul Chesser is associate editor of Carolina Journal. Contact him at [email protected].