Adventures in Homeschooling

Ken AshfordEducation, GodstuffLeave a Comment

In Paradise (California):

Theshatzes Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz face one count of murder, one count of torture and one count of child abuse. The torture count alleges that the parents beat their 11-year-old adopted daughter so severely she ended up in the hospital with kidney failure. The child abuse charge is for bruising authorities reportedly found on the couple's 10-year-old biological son.

The Schatzes are parents to six biological children and three they adopted from Liberia about three years ago. Seven-year-old adopted daughter Lydia died of blunt force trauma in February. According to authorities, she was beaten for several hours with a quarter-inch plumbing supply line as her parents took turns holding her down and using the instrument. The blows reportedly cause Rhabdomyolysis, which is a breakdown of muscle tissue which fatally damaged her vital organs. The 11-year-old was allegedly beaten in a similar manner the previous night.

According to Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, the parents appeared to be following the methods of Michael and Debi Pearl, founders of a controversial fundamentalist religious group, No Greater Joy Ministries.

What did the kid do to deserve that treatment?

According to local authorities, Lydia's "biblical chastisement" leading to her death may have been for mispronouncing a word during a home-school reading lesson.

Find out about their religion: No Greater Joy.