There are some universal, undeniable truths that should be shared by all.
One of them is that children should be cared for and raised up in a loving, safe environment.
That can’t be too much to ask for, can it?
Apparently, yes. Yes it can.
7-year-old Ethan Hauschultz from Wisconsin, USA, was announced as dead in the April of 2018 – and his autopsy report was quite a sight to behold.
As far as medical experts could tell, the boy was found with a fractured rib and had died from some bizarre combination of hypothermia and blunt force trauma – primarily to the chest, head, and abdomen.
Just what had happened to him?
Investigators could not leave this case unsolved, and so the investigators dove in deep to uncover the truth that was finally revealed – his adopted family was the one behind the murder of this small child.
But whatever for?
The reason, apparently, was because Ethan had failed to fully memorize and recite 13 Bible verses when asked to.
The Hauschultz family, consisting of a father, Timothy, a mother, Tina, and a fifteen-year-old teenager, Damian, were actually court-appointed guardians for Ethan and his two other siblings, which included his twin.
It is unclear as to what was the relationship between the adoptive family and children, but it is easy to assume that Child Protection Services would have at least run a thorough background check on the adopting family. Right?
Unfortunately, it appears they did not and had placed these vulnerable young children with a family of abusive, neglectful Christian extremists.
Considering this has led to the death of a small child, people all over the country are now rightfully concerned about the system that was supposed to protect them.
Can these officials really be trusted to protect the ones they have promised to care for?
Not to mention, just what happened, exactly? How did it come to this?
Court documents revealed that as punishment for failing to remember those 13 Bible verses, Ethan and his twin were forced to carry – not drag, mind you, carry – a 44-pound log while walking laps around the yard.
This punishment was to be performed for two hours every day, for an entire week.
Given that Ethan weighed about 60 pounds before his untimely demise (and his twin presumably a similar weight), this meant that he was carrying a log that was two-thirds of his body weight.
This would have been abuse enough on its own, but apparently he was also made to do this without coat or boots in freezing-cold temperatures.
And when he struggled or stumbled, Damian, the teenager supervising this punishment, would then kick and beat him violently.
At one point, Ethan was even buried under the snow as part of his “punishment.”
Taking this into account, the injuries that Ethan had sustained match up to the trauma that coroners are certain killed him, meaning that this was a murder by the very family that was supposed to care for him.
Presently, all three have been arrested and, after a month-long investigation, have faced the court.
Some small justice, at least, will be seen for Ethan.
Hopefully, his siblings will be placed somewhere much, much safer after this.