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Never forget the child abuse and murder victims and never forget the atrocities that made them victims. Let’s learn from history and move forward!
Have you been following my A to Z Challenge about Child Abuse and Murder Victims? Listed are five of the most difficult cases I have shared.
Amber Hagerman (1996 kidnapping and murder victim; unsolved case)
Amber was a young Texan girl abducted while riding her bike with her brother in Arlington, Texas, and later found murdered. Her case inspired the Amber Alert and remains unsolved.
Elisabeth Fritzl & her children (1984-2008, held captive by her father in the basement; survivor!)
Elisabeth was raped and held captive by her father for 24 years in their Austrian house’s basement. Elisabeth and six of her children survived and her father/capturer, Josef Fritzl, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sharon Tate, Leno/Rosemary LaBianca, and all the victims of Charles Manson (1969, murdered).
Sharon Tate is one of the most famous murder victims due to her marriage at the time to filmmaker Roman Polanski, who himself is known for sexual abuse. She and her friends were brutally murdered by Charles Manson’s followers. Soon after their murders, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were also murdered. The Manson murderers were all sentenced to the death penalty – later changed to life imprisonment.
Sylvia Likens was a young woman who was sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered in 1965 after her father left her in the care of Gertrude Baniszewski. Unfortunately the Baniszewski family of criminals got off with barely a slap on the hand.
Diane Downs’ children: Cheryl (murdered), Christie (shot/stroke), and Danny (shot/paralyzed) (1983)
Diane Downs was no victim. In fact she was the murderer and attempted murderer in this case. However, due to her infamous popularity I lead with her name. She killed her eldest daughter, Cheryl, and attempted to murder her other two children, Christie and Danny, one dark evening while they were out driving.
The story was made into a movie starring Farrah Fawcett.
More True Crime Stories
- Ted Bundy and the Fascination with Serial Killers
- Olive Oatman’s Hellish Ordeal
- The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (2021) is a Captivating Documentary on NETFLIX
- The Tragic Tale of Terrell Peterson, A 5 Year Old Boy Murdered
Sharing is Caring
Continue the Conversation
How can we learn and prevent further tragedies?
This is sad :(
Very.
May they all rest in peace
~Katie
TheCyborgMom
Amen. :)
Good reminder to never forget; each one of these lives that were so tragically lost were loved by people and I am sure still missed by a lot of people.
betty
Definitely! And so many we will never know about.
Totally agree – we need to remember and take the lessons learned to prevent more. A discussion we were having in my homeschool group. How each one of us in our lives can make an individual difference.
I was homeschooled :D 6th-12th grade.
Ah so sad stories!
Hope you have a better weekend than I have! ♥
O no. Sorry you're having a bad weekend. Birthday drinks tonight :)
The truly sad ones are the children that are so marginalized as to be forgotten completely. It happens much too often.
#AtoZchallenge
Meet My Imaginary Friends
Yes sadly they seem to get forgotten way too easily. To think that kids like Cheryl Down would now be 40! :(