Violence Among Foster Children
by Kynzie Ashbaugh
What happens when a foster child is placed in a home that they think is not right for them? You think they get a say in where they go and who they end up living with? Think again.
When foster children are placed in homes with caring and loving foster parents, it doesn't matter how much the parents try to make the child feel welcome. Everything that happens afterwards depends on how the child reacts to being placed in the home. Due to these children and their rough pasts, venturing out to a new home with new "parents" isn't an easy thing to grasp. And even the nicest foster parents can get in the line of fire when they have an explosive foster child placed within their midst. These are some examples of when the children placed in seeminly loving and nurturing homes got out of hand and took it out on their foster parents.
October 31st, 2013 - boy attempts to murder his foster parents but is not successful
A 14 year old foster child (not named in the article) was placed in a seemingly nice and friendly foster home. However, one night the boy had planned to set fire to the entire house, but escape before he was killed too. There were 5 other people in the house. When the police picked the boy up, he claimed that he had a plan to get out when the fire started and that he wanted all 5 adults in the house to die. The teen was charged with delinquency by reason of aggrevated arson, domestic violence, and five counts of attempted murder. If these facts do not give you chills then this will. When the police were interviewing the boy later that night, he stated, "If you let me out tonight, I will go back and finish them off."
March 6th, 2014 - two teens kill their foster mother
The two girls, Alexis Shields and Desiree Linares, were caught red-handed when they decided to smother their foster mother in her sleep. They had only been at the home for a few days, and yet felt the need to brutally murder their foster mother. After committing the murder, they were found and arrested at a friend's house. Shields has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, however, Linares has yet to be put on trial yet.
September 29th, 2014 - teen kills foster mom
Nineteen year old Sabrina Zunich was having an affair with her foster father when she snuck into her foster mother's bedroom in the middle of the night and stabbed her 178 times in the chest and face. This case is a perfect example of a corrupt family to be placed with as a foster child. Zunich's foster father manipulated her into thinking that if she got rid of her foster mom, they could cash the life insurance policy and be together.