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The Horrifying Case of Hana Grace Rose Williams

October 26, 20260 comments♥ 0
00:03 Hannah Grace Rose Williams was born in Ethiopia. Her father was dead. Her mother had disappeared, and her uncle did his best to look after her. His daughter, Hymanaut, so your decaf oat milk extra but not piping hot, four pumps of caramel, no sugar, small latte, and a large cup.
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01:36 That's why Intact Insurance answers 2 million claim calls per year within 20 seconds. So instead of hearing this lovely track, you'll hear this in seconds. Hello, Intact Insurance. Has been described as Hannah's closest friend. But the family was poor and eventually the challenges of poverty made an adoption plan seem like the best choice. Hannah ended up at an orphanage in Ethiopia affiliated with adoption advocates' International, or AAI for short. This was an adoption agency out of Port Angeles, Washington.
02:10 In December of 2007, an Australian doctor named Carolyn Rostler met Hannah while volunteering in Ethiopia. She saw her on several occasions and treated her for abdominal discomfort in an eye infection. Hannah was a healthy size for her age, and there was no evidence of malnutrition. She estimated that in 2008, Hannah was between 10 and 11 years old. Hannah arrived in Washington State on August 16, 2008. She flew over with an escort, along with a younger boy from the same orphanage,
02:45 and neither child had met the family that was adopting them. That family was Carrie and Larry Williams from Cedro Woolley, Washington. The little boy who was deaf said his own parents had disappeared. Now, this little boy is now an adult, but he too is a victim in this story. We'll be referring to him by the initials IW for the remainder of the episode. According to Larry, Hannah was quiet and well-behaved in those early days, and she loved to read. Larry said she spoke with what he called a European accent and that she picked up English quickly,
03:20 called her affectionate and playful. Carrie said that Hannah was quiet, polite, and very bright. In the post-placement reports filed with AAI, Hannah was said to like knitting with Carrie and also beating, soccer, cooking, bike riding, and sledding. One report said she liked reading Little House in the Prairie. Sadly, most of what we know about Hannah comes from her adoptive parents, and why that is so tragic will be made clear later in this video. Larry and Carrie Williams married in 1990 when Carrie was 19.
03:52 At the time they adopted, they had seven biological children. Larry had grown up in Jamaica as the child of missionaries. He worked as a millwright at Boeing and Everett. about 45 miles from home. His swing shift had him leaving the house around noon and getting home around midnight. Carrie stayed home and homeschooled all of the children. She had studied and was fluent in American Sign Language,
04:15 and before she got married, she had planned on becoming an interpreter. The family lived on 5.6 acres inside of a gated community set back from the road with a barn on the property. The parents didn't allow most TV and internet access, and that outside of relatives, the family spent time with only one or two other families. Those who knew them said the family had become more fundamentalist over the years.
04:38 They said Larry had started giving sermons in the backyard and that Carrie had gone from wearing pants to only wearing skirts or dresses. Both Larry and Carrie didn't believe that women should wear swimsuits or vote. In 2007, a friend from church who was considering adopting a deaf child from Ethiopia called Carrie to ask her advice. Carrie said her and Larry saw it as an opportunity. since they had both always wanted a lot of children. Carrie had two ectopic pregnancies after their youngest daughter was born in 2004,
05:07 and complications from that had left Carrie unable to have more children. Carrie said they learned about IW in November of 2007 and decided to adopt him. Then they saw Hannah in a video from AAI. The video was a minute long and showed Hannah in tears, but healthy. The Williams family decided to adopt Hannah as well. Mary said their hearts went out to her. The adoption paperwork needed a birthday for Hannah. Forna Cary, the agency put no restrictions on it, so the Williams family kept the year the
05:35 orphanage had given in 1997 and picked the month and day themselves. Carrie said they chose July because there weren't many family birthdays in the summer. Carrie said the 19th was important to her. Her birthday was December 19th, her wedding fell in the 19th, and she married at 19. When she arrived, Hannah had hepatitis B, which she had contracted in Africa, along with parasites, worm and cold sores. The whole Williams family got the hepatitis B vaccine before she came, and Hannah was treated after she arrived.
06:05 Medical charts show Hannah weighed 77 pounds when she arrived and 105 pounds six months later. Family doctor, Dr. Harold Clark, said he last saw Hannah in April of 2009. Bring to AAI's director of social services, and Williams family didn't send in any post-placement reports after that visit, and the agency had no record of them ever calling for help. Carrie said there were no punishments at all during Hannah's first year in the United States. Then, around January of 2010, Carrie claimed that Hannah put walls up and became oppositional in almost everything. Carrie also said that about a year and a half after Hannah arrived, her real personality came
06:46 out and that she lied and stole. Larry said he once caught Hannah with bread that had jam and chocolate syrup on it. According to Carrie, So your decaf oat milk extra but not piping hot, four pumps of cards. No sugar, small latte, and a large cup. That will be 10 minutes. No worries. I'm having fun on Playojo.
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07:37 Learn more at nofrills.ca. Our Fantasy Commission says for him it's all about the friendships. Cute, Kevin. But I disagree. Like with about 365. I get paid the second my team goes up big with early payout
07:52 and can cash out at any time before the game ends. No hard feelings, Kevin. Just faster payouts from Bet365. The home of winning early. Must be 19 and older. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you were someone you know is concerns about gambling, visit connectsontario.com. Or call 18665 through 1,2,600. Terms and conditions apply. Oh, hold music. Not what you want to hear when a pipe dispersed and your basement is flooding.
08:15 That's why intact insurance answers 2 million claim calls per year within 20 seconds. So instead of hearing this lovely track, you'll hear this in seconds. Hello, intact insurance. Spotify advertising connects you with an audience. that's engaged and ready to discover your brand. Launch a campaign with Spotify Ads Manager. Hannah didn't just steal any food. She stole sweets. The house had rules,
08:39 and Carrie said she and Larry agreed on all of them and on every consequence. There were swats which Carrie said meant a light tap on the hand or a leg, and there were spankings, often with a switch. The switch was a piece of plastic plumbing line, which was about an inch wide and 16 inches long. Carrie said she also used a belt in glue sticks.
09:01 Allegedly, Carrie also kept a thin rod about 12 inches long tucked in her bra strap. The family had a copy of the Christian parenting book called to train up a child by Michael and Debbie Pearl. Carrie said she had read it and the idea of using the plumbing line as a switch came from it. She also said she didn't follow it as though it was the Bible and hadn't read it in 10 to 15 years. Larry said he started physically punishing Hannah in the summer of 2010. A couple second oldest sons said Carrie spanked Hannah with switches at least once a day starting in the late 2010. Carrie also told her oldest sons to beat Hannah when she decided that she was being defiant.
09:44 Sometimes that meant hitting Hannah on the bottoms of her feet. IW, who got the very same treatment, said it was painful. Second oldest son said the point of the punishment was purely to cause pain. Hannah and IW were served different meals from the rest of the family. Instead of warm meals, the children ate cold leftovers topped with frozen vegetables and sandwiches that they intentionally soaked with water. Carrie said the frozen food was her idea, though she said she often left it on the counter for half an hour first.
10:16 Carrie said the wet sandwiches were because Hannah and IW wouldn't cooperate at the table. The two children ate on the floor in a separate room or outside while, everyone else ate at the dining room table, and sometimes Hannah wasn't fed at all for two days straight. Carrie said that when the children missed a meal, they were given it with their next one. Carrie said that as time went on, Hannah ate most of her meals outside on the back patio. And IW were also left out of birthdays and Christmas. According to Carrie, Hannah got her first period about a month after she arrived. Carrie said that for about three months, starting around the summer of 2010,
10:56 Hannah smeared blood on the family bathroom's walls and door. Carrie said that because Hannah carried hepatitis B, they put a portable toilet outside by the barn about 80 feet from the house and made Hannah use it instead of any of the three bathrooms inside. Hannah also had to shower outdoors under a garden hose. When asked if the water was cold, Carrie said yes. If Hannah argued with Carrie about the clothes she had picked out, she had to wear nothing but a towel.
11:27 Carrie said the towel was worn as a wraparound skirt because Hannah had lied about her pants, whatever that means. Hannah's head was shaved more than once. One of the couple's daughters said it was because Hannah cut the grass around the house too short down to an inch. Carrie said it was because Hannah didn't rinse out her shampoo and that Larry did the cutting. Hannah started out sleeping.
11:50 in a bedroom with her sisters. When she was caught stealing food, not that a hungry child can steal food from their parents, but in their minds, when she was caught stealing food, she was moved out to the barn to sleep by herself in the loft with no electricity. For two weeks, she was locked in a shower room at night with no access to a toilet. Starting in late 2010, she was locked in the closet in the nursery every single night. A closet measured two feet by four foot three inches.
12:18 The lock and the light switch were both. on the outside and Larry was the one who installed the lock. If Hannah refused to go outside when Carrie told her to, she was kept in the closet during the day as well. One of Carrie's younger sons said that Hannah was sometimes locked in for up to 24 hours at a time. However, Carrie said the longest stretch was at 10 hours. When Hannah was in the closet during the day, Carrie put on a Bible audiobook. One of the children said that Carrie was trying to get Hannah's brain to think differently.
12:47 Hannah's sibling said Hannah was always in the closet and that they rarely heard her anymore because she had stopped crying when she was spanked i w was punished for wet himself he said that when his pants were wet he was hosed down with cold water or given a cold shower and when he wet the bed he was locked in the bathroom to sleep in the tub he said that at one of carrie's birthday parties carrie told the other children to stop using sign language with him and that to get his attention the family would stomp on the floor he also said larry once hit him on the head hard enough to make him bleed but lay it very denied that.
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14:28 Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you were someone you know is concerns about gambling, visit connectsontario.ca or call 1-8665-3-1-2,600. Terms and conditions apply. Hold music. Not what you want to hear when a pipe just burst in your basement is flooding.
14:41 That's why intact insurance answers 2 million claim calls per year within 20 seconds. So instead of hearing this lovely track, You'll hear this in seconds. Hello, intact insurance. Friends and neighbors noticed Hannah being left out and saw her trailing behind the family on walks or hanging back by the driveway while the other kids played. Her next door neighbors said that in the spring of 2011, she saw Hannah and IW much less often than before. Carrie talked about Hannah at a knitting group she sometimes attended.
15:08 One of the members said the group suggested that Carrie returned Hannah to the adoption agency. And Carrie said no in telling them, I don't wish her on. on anyone. Another member of that knitting group said that Carrie called Hannah a liar who would steal and that her plan was to kick Hannah out once she turned 18 and that what happened to her after that wouldn't be Carrie's problem. She told the group she'd been expecting the little girl, not someone half grown. In 2010, Larry filed paperwork to change Hannah's birth year to 1994. Larry claimed it was because Hannah told him she was 16 and not 13 and the change was never approved. Larry said that by early 2011, he had stopped spanking Hannah and IW because what they were doing wasn't working
15:51 and that he argued with Carrie about it, but nothing ended up changing. However, the punishments, including the locked closet, the outdoor shower, the portable toilet, and the meals outside, all continued as well. On the morning of May 11, 2011, Carrie unlocked the closet and let Hannah out. Around 10, Larry made breakfast with help from two of his daughters. Larry said that in those months, Hannah ate breakfast outside more often than not. After breakfast and kitchen clean up, the children did chores, then went outside to play capture the flag. Running of the children, Hannah was outside too
16:26 in a t-shirt and sweatpants, but she didn't play with them. Larry left her work around noon. Around 3 p.m., Carrie walked Hannah to the outhouse, then gave her lunch outside. Carrie said she made Hannah eat outside that day for being disobedient and being oppositional. One of Carrie's son said Hannah was made to stay outside all day as punishment.
16:48 At that point, the temperature was in the mid to upper 50s. Carrie said that around 4.4.30, she told Hannah to come inside, but Hannah wouldn't. Carrie said she watched Hannah take off her shoes and stand at the back door and shut it. She said she checked on Hannah every five to ten minutes at first. She said it started drizzling around five. At around six, Carrie walked Hannah to the outhouse again. She said she told Hannah to come inside and that Hannah refused yet again. one of Carrie's son said that Carrie spanked Hannah as a result.
17:19 Around 8.30, Carrie walked Hannah to the outhouse a third time. Carrie said that by then she was afraid Hannah was too cold and wet, so she reached under Hannah's shirt and felt that her body was warm. Carrie later told Skagit County Sheriff's Detective Ben Hagland that Hannah's body was cool to the touch and that had scared her. Carrie said Hannah would take a few steps and then lunge forward onto her hands and knees. Carrie said she didn't help Hannah up. In her words, I didn't need to.
17:46 She got right back up herself. Carrie said she saw Hannah hit her forehead on the back patio again and again. By her account, she couldn't watch it anymore and went back inside, leaving Hannah outside in the cold. Carrie said she believed it was deliberate because Hannah had allegedly done this before. From inside, Carrie said Hannah kept throwing herself around for another 20 to 30 minutes and saw that her elbows and knees were skinned and that she had a knot on her forehead. Carrie said she then sent her oldest son out to bring Hannah inside, but also told him to spank Hannah with the switch and make her do jumping jacks or squats. Carrie said she wanted Hannah to exercise to keep warm.
18:24 She stopped. Carrie then sent her second oldest son out who spanked Hannah with a switch and told her to do squats. Hannah did these for about a minute before stopping again, so Carrie then sent one of her other sons out to punish her again. After that, Carrie brought Hannah her dinner, which was cold, leftover spaghetti. Carrie said Hannah would bring the fork up to her mouth like she was going to take a bite, then put it back down. One of Carrie's sons said that Hannah was leaning over the table and could meet. After about five minutes, Carrie took the plate back inside,
18:55 and Carrie said that wasn't like Hannah, who normally finished every bite when she was given food. Carrie said that at some point she tried to carry Hannah inside, but Hannah went limp. Carrie told her two oldest sons to bring Hannah inside, but first to put on latex gloves and take off Hannah's, shoes and socks which were soggy with water and blood. The oldest son took off Hannah's shoes and socks and threw them away.
19:18 Second oldest son said Hannah began undressing when his brother returned to the porch. Carrie came out, she found Hannah sitting, in her words, buck naked from the waist down. Carrie said she told the boys to go back inside and forget it because, as she put it, modesty is important in our family. Carrie brought Hannah a set of dry clothes, told her to change, went back inside, and turned off the patio light, leaving Hannah in the dark. Carrie said she checked on Hannah twice, turning the light on and off each time. At one point, thought Hannah had started to change. Carrie said she was busy with her other children, so she told one of her daughters, who was 12, to check on Hannah. The daughter said she checked
19:57 every 10 to 15 minutes, flipping the patio light on and off each time. At each time, Hannah had taken off more clothing until she was completely naked. According to forensic pathologist Dr. Daniel Saylov. People with hypothermia often have a false sense that they're warm and take off their clothes even though you would expect them not to. It is called paradoxical undressing. The couple's third oldest son said he knew what hypothermia was from a movie he had seen in a hunting safety class. Same son said he knew people with hypothermia can start to feel very hot and take off their clothes. That night the third oldest son was watching Hannah from the windows along with his two older brothers and one of his sisters. He said he... Our fantasy commission says for
20:39 him, it's all about the friendships. Cute, Kevin, but I disagree. Like with Bet365. I get paid the second my team goes up big with early payout and can cash out at any time before the game ends. No hard feelings, Kevin. Just faster payouts from Bet365. The home of winning early.
20:58 Must be 19 and older. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you were someone you know is concerns about gambling, visit connectsontario.ca. Or call 1866-5-3-1-2600. Terms and conditions apply. Thought Hannah was cold.
21:09 And IW, the family seemed to be laughing at her. Hannah apparently stayed outside in the dark, wet, cold, and naked for at least two hours. Around midnight, Larry called Carrie from the park and ride to say he was heading home. When Carrie told him how Hannah had been acting, her second oldest son heard them argue over whether Hannah was falling on purpose. Not long after, the 12-year-old daughter saw Hannah lying face down. Carrie found Hannah lying partly on the concrete and partly on the grass. Her face had come down on a mole hill and her mouth was full of dirt.
21:47 Hannah was cold to the touch. Carrie rolled her over and said she could see that it wasn't good. Carrie said she ran inside for a sheet from the linen closet to cover Hannah for modesty and then tried to carry her inside with her daughter's help but she couldn't do it. Carrie called her oldest son and he came out and carried Hannah for. for them. Inside, neither Carrie nor her son could find a pulse. Carrie called Larry about 10 minutes after his first call, and he told her to call 911. On the call, Carrie told the operator that she thought that Hannah had just removed herself from this earth. She told the operator that Hannah had
22:27 mud in her mouth and that her eyes were dilated, and she sounded irritated when she talked about Hannah being naked. Apparently, Carrie sounded remarkably calm throughout most of the call, which was about roughly 15 minutes long. The operator coached Carrie through CPR. When Larry got home, he and Carrie took turns doing CPR until the paramedics arrived. Larry said he was struck by how thin Hannah was. Skagit County Sheriff's Deputy Chad Clark arrived and saw a large lump on Hannah's forehead. At night, the couple's 14-year-old son, told a deputy he believed demons had possessed Hannah. At Skagit Valley Hospital, Dr. Jeanette Tomlinson pronounced Hannah dead at 1.30 a.m. on May 12, 2011. Dr. Tomlinson saw red streaks on Hannah's
23:16 thighs and bruising on her forehead, hips, knees, and shins. According to Dr. Tomlinson, Carrie told her Hannah had been face planning outside that night, which the doctor found odd and said, if you try to fall down and hit your nose, if you're standing on flat ground, and you just try to fall to the ground, your hands usually protect you from falling. The next day, Dr. Salove performed Hannah's autopsy. Found injuries on her pelvis, elbows, knees, and calves, and bruises on her knees, eyebrow, and upper pelvis. On her left thigh, he found marks where she had been struck at least four times by something long and narrow like a strap or a switch, hard enough to burst blood vessels. He found 10 more patterned bruises on her lower calves. Hannah's ribs were visible and her
23:59 shoulder blades stuck out. Anna's body weighed 78 pounds, nearly 30 pounds less than she weighed in April of 2009. Dr. Saleh found that Hannah's cause of death was hypothermia. It listed malnutrition in H. Pylori, a bacterial stomach infection as contributing factors. He said that the bacteria was present when she died, but he couldn't confirm whether she was having symptoms from it. Dr. Rebecca Weister, a physician who specializes in CA pediatrics, said Hannah's hypothermia was brought on by what she called inflicted starvation. Following day, child protective services sent investigators to the house, which is standard when a child dies.
24:39 One of them, investigator Leanne King, said that in the driveway, the second oldest son stopped her and told her to stay where she was, and then the oldest son came out and told her the same thing. Barry and Carrie would only speak with the investigators in the driveway. Investigator King said they didn't seem upset and that Carrie wore sunglasses the whole time. Children came out in order of age, smiling, and Investigator King said it was unusual to me,
25:04 even they had experienced the death of their sister the night before. On May 24th, investigators interviewed IW and all seven of the Williams children. We're into CPS investigator Heidi Kennedy, Larry and Carrie sat in on the interviews, and during IWs, Carrie told him that liars go to hell. Investigator Kennedy said Carrie told her she wanted the case closed, didn't want any services and didn't want investigators showing up at the house. After Hannah died, Carrie told the children not to discuss the subjects of spanking and homeschooling with the investigators, and not to say Hannah had slept anywhere other than the girl's bedroom.
25:40 In mid-July, CPS got an anonymous tip, claiming that Carrie disliked her adopted children, and that IW was now getting the same treatment that Hannah had. That month, all of the children were removed from the home. They were taken the same son who talked about demons told, to siblings to keep quiet. On August 24th, investigators searched the house. Detective Teresa Louvera of the Skagit County Sheriff's Office wrote, The house is exceptionally clean and organized.
26:07 It did not have the appearance that eight children lived in this house. Just outside downtown Souter Woolley, neighbors living in this gated community tell us off camera they are shocked. Some of them feel guilty. That a little girl named Hannah Grace Williams, who was adopted from Ethiopia, may have come to this country only to die from neglect here. You can find Hannah's home down a wooded road.
26:33 It's clean and the yard is well kept. It's hard to imagine that this is where Hannah died of hypothermia. The medical examiner's office confirms she was found in the yard of her adoptive home on May 12th, where she lives with her parents and eight siblings. Her obituary says she enjoyed knitting. So your decaf oat milk extra but not piping hot, four pumps of cards. No sugar, small latte, and a large cup. That will be 10 minutes. No worries. I'm having fun on Playojo. And I keep it fun with all the latest slot and live casino games. Plus I get instant payouts with no minimum withdrawals.
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27:44 Like with About 365. I get paid the second my team goes up big with early payout and can cash out at any time before the game ends. No hard feelings, Kevin. Just faster payouts from Bet365. The home of winning early. Must be 19 and older. Ontario only.
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28:38 Not what you want to hear when a pipe dispersed and your basement is flooding. That's why intact insurance answers 2 million claim calls per year within 20 seconds. So instead of hearing this lovely track, you'll hear this. in seconds. Hello, intact insurance. Chang and reading. But a source close to the investigation says she was more than 30 pounds lighter than when she arrived from Ethiopia. No one answered the door tonight and her parents could not be reached by phone. DHS confirms that all her brothers and sisters have been removed from the home and an investigation is underway. On September 29th, 2011,
29:14 Larry and Carrie Williams were arrested in charge with homicide by Abyss and Hannah's death. and first-degree assault of a child for their treatment of her adoptive brother. Under Washington state law, this type of homicide charge applies when someone, under circumstances, manifesting an extreme indifference to human life, causes the death of a child under 16, after engaging in a pattern or practice of assault or torture of that child. First-degree manslaughter was also charged as an alternative. Both were held in the Skagit County Jail on $500,000 bail each. On October 6, 2011, they pled not guilty.
29:49 Judge lowered bail to $150,000 each and barred them from contacting their children or each other. Skagit County prosecutor Rich Way Rich, so the couple's faith was not part of the case. Kerry was released on bail and Larry was placed in custody after he was accused of breaking a court order by reaching out to the children. The state suspected that religious writings he sent the children in foster care carried coded messages. He spent almost two years in jail before trial. Hannah's age became a key question. Homicide by abuse only applies if the victim was under 16. The defense argued Hannah was older.
30:26 In January of 2013, Hannah's body was exhumed so experts could examine it. A forensic dentist, Dr. Gary Bell, said Hannah was at least 15 years old, but that she could be anywhere from 13 to 18. Another forensic dentist, Dr. David Sweet, estimated 16 in a quarter, give her take a year and a half. Forensic anthropologist Catherine Taylor said she was between 13 and 17. Radiologists called by Carrie's defense, Dr. Jordan Haber, said, Hannah was in the process of becoming a young adult.
30:54 He put her between 15 and 17. Dr. Rostler, who treated Hannah in Ethiopia, estimated she had been between 10 or 11 in 2008, which would have made her 13 or 14 when she died. The prosecution also brought in a man from Ethiopia to testify about her birthday. He was identified as Hannah's cousin. Cousin said he was present at her birth, lived with her and wrote her birthday in a family Bible.
31:19 Cross-examination, he said he had written the birthday wrong, got the date of her baptism wrong, and had only lived with her for one year. After he testified, he left his motel and did not return to Ethiopia. The defense then learned that one of the prosecutors had given him a driver, meals, cash, and clothes without disclosing it. The judge struck his testimony and told the jury to disregard it. Jury selection started July 22nd, 2013 in Mount Vernon. opening statements were July 26 and testimonies started July 29th.
31:50 First witness was IW, then 12, testifying through a team of sign language interpreters and allowed on the stand for no more than two and a half hours a day. Told the court he didn't know for sure where Hannah went. The defense showed IW a Christmas photo of himself holding a pellet gun like his brothers. He said it was only given to him for the picture. When a retired judge Susan Cook who presided, when an interpreter used the word spanking for what happened to him. He corrected it and said the right word was whipping. The end of his testimony asked whether he had told the truth about everything or not. He signed yes three times. Hannah Williams's
32:25 12-year-old brother didn't hold back. Did you have some problems while you were living in the Williams house? Oh yeah, it was the worst. To protect his identity, we won't show his face through two interpreters. Well, who is deaf, described a house of horrors. It was the same for my sister. The father, would use a nice, a beating stick to beat us. Well, testified the beatings got worse with time. He told the jurors his parents often punished them outside with the water hose. If we want the bed or not be the better or something,
32:59 they would use the water hose all over us, that it's bare bodies. He said he wasn't allowed to use the bathroom without an escort and that no part of his body was immune to beatings. They would give me on the bottom of my feet and around the toes as well. They would just hit really hard.
33:16 He said he witnessed Hannah's beatings and described her as, quote, sad and unhappy. When asked what happened to her, I don't know. She's disappeared. Six of Carrie and Larry's biological children testified. One daughter, then 14, said only the adopted children had to shower outdoors. Another daughter cried when asked for her last memory of Hannah and the judge had to call a break. That daughter said her mother put water on the sandwiches. The oldest sons were granted immunity before.
33:44 they testified. The eldest, then serving in the army, say he heard his parents argue about disciplining the adopted children, and they got more frequent and more severe. John Hudson, a retired Navy Admiral and former Judge Advocate General, testified as an expert on torture. He listed beatings on the souls of the feet, cold outdoor showers, confinement in small spaces, and having no control over the lights among classic examples of it. As for his opinion on Hannah and IW, he said, it's not a close case. They both were. unquestionably tortured. So your decaf oat milk extra but not piping hot,
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36:07 That's why intact insurance answers 2 million claim calls per year within 20 seconds. So instead of hearing this lovely track, you'll hear this in seconds. Hello, intact insurance. Dr. Julia Peterson, a psychiatrist at Seattle Children's Hospital, who had treated I-W since 2011, said he had post-traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Weister said this pattern is very common in children who are starved as punishment. Dr. Francis Chalmers said Hannah's body in the autopsy photos looked quite emaciated. Larry testified before Carrie.
36:38 When asked how he felt, Larry said he said he. he was responsible and ashamed. Larry said most of the decisions were Carrie's and that he disagreed with some of them but didn't stop them. On appeal, his lawyers wrote that the punishments of Hannah in IW eventually got way out of hand. Larry said that he'd worked from noon to midnight and didn't know the extent of what happened while he was gone.
37:04 Carrie said she and Larry discussed how to discipline Hannah and always agreed. Carrie claimed that she would have stopped. any of it if Larry had told her to. She said she knew it was wrong to lock Hannah up and that the barn, the outdoor shower, and the portable toilet were mistakes. Carrie also said she had never been trained in hypothermia, but that, as a common sense kind of thing, as a mother, she knew being outside in the cold rain is problematic. On the night Hannah died, Carrie again blamed Hannah for her own death, but said she wished it were her in the ground instead of her. Hannah. Under cross-examination, Deputy Prosecutor Rosemary Cahola Coole showed Carrie
37:47 photos of her family. Carrie said, I recognize all my beautiful children that you have ripped apart. Prosecutor also asked about a train up a child sign that was later found inside the Williams home. Carrie said it was a Bible verse taped up where the family kept a television. Asked whether it happened to have the same name as the parenting book we mentioned earlier in the episode, Carrie said, yeah, coincidentally. The jury began deliberating on the jury. Thursday. On Monday, September 9th, 2013, it found Kerry guilty by homicide by abyss, first-degree manslaughter, and first-degree assault of a child. Larry was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault of a child. The jury couldn't agree on homicide by abyss for
38:27 him. Sentencing was October 29th, 2013. Courtroom was full and several jurors came to watch. Larry's lawyers asked for five years. Carrie's team asked for 333 months. A couple's oldest son, stationed with the army in Korea, wrote to the judge that what happened was the result of his parents being unprepared to take in two children from another culture and ask the court to reunite his family. Members of Seattle's Ethiopian community wrote a letter addressed to Hannah telling her, those who promised to love and care for you broke a sacred trust. Deputy prosecutor Koholokula told the court that IW still had nightmares that Carrie would climb through his window and take him back. Judge Cook said, I have to say that at the beginning of this
39:10 trial, I heard some of the allegations with a great deal of skepticism. I thought I.W. must surely have misinterpreted what was done to him and Hannah, or that for some reason he was exaggerating, but no, the great horrors continued far beyond I.W.'s testimony. It wasn't just what the children described that was so chilling. It was the matter-of-fact way they talked about it, as if having your brother or sister locked in a closet or beaten on the souls of the feet was just an ordinary, unremarkable event in a normal run-of-the-mill day. Judge Cook sentenced Carrie to 36 years and 11 months and said Carrie probably deserved more. Her manslaughter conviction was vacated because it covered the same conduct as homicide by abyss.
39:52 Larry was sentenced to 27 years and nine months. Attorney Ford called it a backdoor way to punish Larry for a crime he wasn't convicted of. Court ordered both of them to have no contact with IW for life. Carrie was sent to the Washington Correction Center for Women in Gig Harbor, and Larry to the Washington Correction Center in Shelton. He was later moved to the Coyote Ridge Correction Center in Connell. In December of 2015, the Washington Court of Appeals upheld both convictions, and in 2016, the Washington Supreme Court declined to review them.
40:23 September of 2017, both filed petitions arguing, among other things, that their trial and appeal lawyers had failed them. Their new private attorneys argued the petitions in court in June of 2019. September 16th, 2019, the Court of Appeals denied both. Carrie asked the court to reconsider. In November 25th, 2019, the court denied her request. Hannah rarely got to meet anyone outside the Williams household. When her death was reported, Seattle's large Ethiopian community came together.
40:53 The Ethiopian community in Seattle or ECS held a vigil in 2011 under her birth name. During the trial, members drove up in a van almost every day to sit on the prosecution side of the courtroom. The Ethiopian Community Mutual Association started the Hanna Fund to pay. for outreach, a hotline, counseling, and education prevents CA and adoptive families. In September of 2012, Washington's office of the Family and Children's Abudsman and the state's Children's Administration released a report on CA and adopted children. It looked at 15 cases from 2010 and 2011, and Hannah's case was the focal point. 2013, State Representative Mary Helen Roberts introduced House Bill 1675, which cited that report.
41:37 The bill would have required home studies to investigate prospective parents disciplinary and punishment philosophies and practices. A revised version passed the House 90 to 7 in March of 2013, but never got a vote in the Senate. In 2014, a further revised version passed the House 98 to 0. It would have required people who prepare adoption home studies to get 30 hours of training every two years, including on grief, loss, and post-traumatic stress disorder. respective parents would have been given copies of Washington's CA laws. The revised bill also said a parent's fitness shall not be based on the person's sincerely held religious or philosophical beliefs and practices regarding child discipline and punishment that do not otherwise constitute a violation of state law. Senate committee approved it on February 27, 2014. March 13th, it was returned to the House Rules Committee without a vote in the full Senate and it never became a law.
42:31 AAI made changes after Hannah's death. Adoptive families now had to sign a policy listing disciplinary tactics they would not use. Agencies' follow-up reporting was extended from six months to a year, and adopted children were now interviewed separately from their parents. Families also had to agree in their contracts that if they didn't file their reports, AAI could contact CPS or police to check on the children. Michael Pearl, co-author of To Train Up a Child, issued a statement saying, what her parents allegedly did, is diametrically opposed to the philosophy of no greater joy ministries. Same statement. Michael Pearl said that blaming the book was like blaming a diet book
43:10 in an overweight person's home for that person's weight. A place reserved for scripture. In a lot of church literature. Tonight became a center. It's far more complicated. For taking it on. How religion can sometimes lead to the abuse and neglect of kids. At issue, the use of children caused by religious beliefs.
43:31 Which prosecutors say played a role in the death of Hannah Williams. They say the 13-year-old was starved and beaten with her adoptive parents in Skagit County following advice from the controversial book to train up a child. It's painful because we feel helpless. We know that there's something seriously wrong here. Journalist Janet Heimlich is studying the Williams case as she has with others tied to the contentious text. The book's author pretext. Michael Pearl has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and says the advice on raising children is
44:07 guided by the teachings of the Bible. And it says that if you spare the rod, you hate your child. But if you love him, you chasing him time. Prosecutors say the book teaches parents to make a rod from a plumbing tool to use for discipline and that Hannah's parents repeatedly spanked her with this as part of a hellish existence at their Cedra Woollie house. It's really hard to draw the line for certain believers as far as what is acceptable corporal punishment and what can ultimately be fatal. Despite three fatal cases tied to the book, the authors told CNN they advise parents to never take things to the extreme.
44:49 My children never had marks left on it. But Heimlich says the Williams case is a perfect example of how it still happens. When religion is in the wrong hands, it can really do a lot of damage. In Ethiopia, adoptions by foreigners were suspended on November 8th, 2017. January 9th, 2018, Ethiopia's parliament voted to ban them entirely. Author David Gutterson said that Hannah's story had a major impact in Ethiopia. David said the news of her death ran on Ethiopia's version of 60 minutes and that it contributed to ending international adoption there.
45:25 David used the same agency as the Williams family at about the same time to adopt his own daughter. For into David, Hannah appeared on the same video of available children as his daughter. He missed only one day of the trial. Afterwards, he traveled to Ethiopia to find Hannah's family and said,
45:41 I had a letter and some money from Seattle's Ethiopian community. David said the orphanage let him see part of Hannah's file, including her uncle's name, his photo, in his town, that he went there and showed the photo around until someone recognized him.
45:56 In 2022, David published a novel based on Hannah's story called the final case. While he was in Ethiopia, David met Hannah's cousin Hymanaut, who said she had been dealing with headaches and blurry vision. Dr. Sharon Van Epps, who happened to be volunteering in Addis Ababa, examined her and found a tumor on her pituitary gland. Seattle's Swedish Medical Center agreed to operate for free if she could get to Seattle. Representative Derek Kilmer's office got her an emergency medical visa, David paid for her flight. Hymanaut was treated in Seattle through the spring and summer of 2014 and had two surgeries.
46:31 IW went to a foster family that had experience with deaf children, and they later adopted him. His adoptive family said they got to know Seattle's Ethiopian community very well. Community kept in touch with him and brought him food at his new home. According to his adoptive family, he asked to visit Hannah's grave. For his 18th birthday in 2019, he asked for a trip to Ethiopia to see where he came from. IW had told his therapist that Hannah had been his protector and the one, who spoke out for him. Hannah's funeral was held on May 18th, 2011
47:03 at Lemley Chapel in Cedra Woolley. Hannah was buried at Union Cemetery. Her obituary called her a very pleasant young girl with a great personality and a beautiful smile. For more than two years, the only thing on Hannah's grave was a flat marker with a photocopy of her name and dates. The Williams family owned the plot.
47:26 The Ethiopian community designed a grave marker for her with the Amaric words for we love you. Community members also paid for a headstone bearing her birth name and were told that the Williams family could legally turn it down. After the trial, the Williams family put up their own headstone. It gives her birth year as 1994, which would have made Hannah older than 16 when she died. After the sentencing, a large group from Seattle's Ethiopian community brought fresh flowers, candles, and homemade bread to Hannah's grave. One person read a poem and another saying, Medi Mulugeta said that people still visit Hannah's grave, adding,
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