Paul Choy - 1992 (2017)

Paul Choy met his death in remote wilderness camp, where many felt he shouldn't have been in the first place.

Rite of passage was a tough camp. It is difficult to say what the plan was with this camp. In what way was the youth supposed to make benefit of their stay? It cannot be answered because there doesn't seem to be any plan.

The staff say that he became violent and they tried to restrain him and killed him in the process following the procedures known at that time. Others simply claimed that he was depressed.

He ceased to have a life outthere back in 1992. While his body stopped to work in 2017, he life as a functional living being stopped in 1992. He didn't get a chance to turn his life around.

May he rest in peace.

Source:

• Hard Work For Youths At Camp (By Rick DelVecchio and Ken Hoover, Chronicle Staff Writers, San Francisco Chronicle, February 18, 1992)
• Victims in the 1990's (Fornits Wiki)
• DEADLY RESTRAINT (By Jordan Riak, December 1999; Revised/updated April 2006)
• California Problem Kids Get Few Luxuries in Desert (By Rick DelVecchio and Ken Hoover, San Francisco Chronicle) - From COALITION AGAINST INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD ABUSE

Edith Campos - 1998

For some odd reason the treatment facility named Desert Hills had a rule which forbid residents to have photos of their family. 15 year old Edith Campos missed her family which must be considered rather naturally and when the staff removed her photo she protested.

The staff did choose to restrain her and in the process she died.

It was a senseless death and a pure tragedy for her family.

Hopefully we will never see at facility with rules aimed to built walls between a child in treatment and his or hers family.

May she rest in peace:

Source

• Court suggests removing youths at Desert Hills (By Rhonda Bodfield, The Arizona Daily Star, March 7, 1998)
• 3 agencies rule today on Desert Hills youth shifts (By Rhonda Bodfield, The Arizona Daily Star, March 6, 1998)
• Victims in the 1990's (Fornits Wiki)

Ashlie Cheyanne Bunch - 2008

15 year old Ashlie Bunch had her problems in this world.

Still as it is written in the Seattle times: "Most of the time, Ashlie Bunch seemed to be a normal teenager, enjoying friends, soccer and family trips."

At some point her family sought help for her. Unfortunately DSHS did choose the McGraw Residential Center for her. It turned out to be a fatal mistake.

One day she was found hanging from a cabinet. She had used a shoelace; employees had given despite knowledge given to them about her suicidal mind.

It was as much neglect as it could be. The family sued just to make an example because regardless of how money the suit could produce incidents like this must never happen again.

Ashlie Bunch's young life ended when it was just begun because she was failed by the facility and their employees. It was a senseless tragedy.

May she rest in peace.

Sources:

• Seattle home for suicidal children sued over death (The Seattle Times)
• Ashlie Cheyanne Bunch (Stop DSHS)

Unknown - 2010

In an remote outskirt of a small town called Virgin in Utah a 15 year old boy suddenly felt a pain in his head. What set this lethal birth defect up is unknown. Was he upset? Was he forced to move stones weighing half his own weight as they force the boys to do as punishment? Did the staff try to restrain him believing that he faked his illness?

We cannot know that. Fact is that the many miles from any hospital meant that he had no chance of survival once the attack came.

On the memorial site created by his mother she explain why he was sent away. Strange and partly dangerous behavior made his mother believe that she had no other choice but to choose a so-called residential treatment center.

But she had another choice. It is common knowledge that tumors or birth defects in the brain can push nerves and interfere with common sense.

But none show his behavior as a symptom of a deadly illness. They only saw a troubled teenager in need of a punishment and punishment he certainly got.

No phone calls, no visits, only letter writing. And the mail was not even by computer. A letter of comfort would take days to reach him.

Days of moving rocks, participating in a in-house school with a curriculum which would have been difficult to get credits for back in Texas. That was the sorry life he had to endure until his body couldn't take it anymore.

Hidden birth defects and brain aneurysm kills a lot of people every year. We need to increase awareness of that. Especially we who are parents need to be on alert so we don't commit the same failure and punish our children instead of taking them to a hospital where they can be examined and if possible treated.

May he rest in peace. His fate must never be forgotten.

Sources:

• Victims after year 2010, Fornits Wiki
• Tragic death at Liahona Academy, a thread on the Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora
• 13 year old killed in boot camp 4/20/05, thread on the message board of the National Youth Rights Association mentioning the incident

Geoffrey Alan Vorhies - 1992

It was January 1992 when 13 year old Geoffrey Alan Vorhies realized that he had no options left in the environment he had been left in. No therapy to help him with his problems. There was only one way left in his mind: To end it all.

Little would it be known that his death would be the first of 3 cases so far where teenagers had hanged themselves in custody of this detention center of death.

So much potential was lost. A life spanning only 13 years is hardly a life at all.

A boy in his situation should have gotten help - not punishment. Sadly enough we are now standing here 20 years later and very little have changed.

It is not good enough. Nothing was learned from his death and a lesson in proper handling of boys in his situation should be the least we owe him.

May he rest in peace.

Sources:

• An eerie echo (Numerous articles about Echo Glen Children's Center)
• Victims in the 1990's (Fornits Wiki)