Pod Insights Murder In America EP 232: MAINE - THE LEGAL KIDNAPPING OF LOGAN MARR About this episode In 1999, Logan Marr was kidnapped, and the state of Maine thought it was for the best. In their eyes, the toddler’s mother was too poor, too uneducated, too redneck to raise her baby girl. So, they gave her to someone who could. And then someone else. And then someone else. Until finally, in 2001, Christy Marr was finally given back her baby girl: in a casket. This isn’t our typical story. This is the story of a legal kidnapping, a desperate mother, a corrupt system, and a state employee who believed she was above the law until finally… she wasn’t.
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Transcript 19,436 words · 8 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:01 Speaker 00 Cashmere, outerwear and boots are up to 60% off at Nordstrom Rack. Save on brands like Ugg, Vince and Kohan. Join the Nordy Club for free to unlock exclusive discounts. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.
0:19 Colin Brown? Warning: The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.
0:31 Courtney Brown? Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder and offenses against children.
0:37 Colin Brown? This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.
0:43 Courtney Brown? Kristy Marr had been longing to see her daughter again. The Department of Human Services had taken five-year-old Logan away from her. But finally, after what felt like an eternity, Kristy had her back. She ran a brush through her daughter's soft curly brown locks. Her hair smelled like apples. But the moment of peace, of being reunited, was shattered. The brush caught on something. Kristy tried to pull the brush away, only to discover it had caught on stitches lining the top of her daughter's head. She felt a hand on her back and heard the soft reassuring words, "It's okay. You can't hurt her."
1:27 Courtney Brown? The funeral director was standing right beside her. It was easy to pretend, for just a moment, that it was just Kristy and her daughter against the world again. But that wasn't the case. Because the Department of Human Services had taken her baby girl, kicking, screaming and begging for her mom. And they had returned her to her mother in a casket. Kristy had trusted the state to give her a chance to get her baby back. And instead, they had taken away that chance forever. This may be one of the most disheartening cases we've covered. But it addresses an issue that's still running rampant in our world today. It's a story about family, about corruption,
2:12 Courtney Brown? and about the legal kidnapping of our nation's kids. Because though a lot of people aren't fit to be parents, some of those same people are actively running foster homes. So this is the story of Logan Marr, a five-year-old who was failed by the system in the family who loved her and refused to give up even after she was gone. I'm Courtney Brown.
2:37 Colin Brown? And I'm Colin Brown.
2:39 Courtney Brown? And you're listening to Murder in America.
3:43 Courtney Brown? It's 1995 in the town of Lisbon, Maine. And 17-year-old Kristy May Baker couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her heart thudded wildly as she stared down at the little strip of plastic in her shaking hands. She squinted, leaning closer to get a better look. And there it was, undeniably, two thin, pink lines. She was pregnant. There were a million questions that seemed to race through her mind in an instant. How was she going to tell the father? And even harder, how was she going to tell her mom? How would she afford a child? Could she still work? Who would want to hire her?
4:25 Courtney Brown? In that instant, she was engulfed in uncertainty. But there was one thing she didn't have to question, one thing that she was certain of above all else, that she wanted this baby. She wanted to raise her child against all odds and give her a family. So even with all of the other questions raging, she stood up, test in hand, and stepped out of the bathroom and into the world, ready to handle whatever may come. Christie knew it wasn't going to be easy. In fact, by the time she found out she was pregnant, she had already dropped out of high school. Resources for pregnant teens were hard to come by, and almost immediately Christie knew she would be raising her child as a single mother.
5:11 Courtney Brown? Her baby's father, John Wilbur Wag III, refused to believe that Christie's baby was his, despite Christie's insistence. And he refused to have any role in the pregnancy until a paternity test proved that he was the dad. For Christie, this was devastating. But still, she had no doubt what she wanted. She was going to have her baby, and she was going to work hard to give her a happy, healthy life. It was October 14, 1995, when Christie looked into the eyes of her baby girl for the very first time. Her labor had been long and painful, but looking at her girl made the pain melt away. She had a head full of auburn hair
5:54 Courtney Brown? and wide amber eyes that she swept over the room, taking in the world around her. Christie held her to her chest and gave the nurses her name: Logan Lynn Marr. She was named after the Boston Logan Airport. The previous year when Christie was 16, she went to that airport on her very first vacation out of state. To Christie, who had been born and raised in a rural area with little money, that name meant a promise for her baby's future. It was the promise of adventure, possibilities, and a life that wasn't tied down to one small town. A life full of seeing new things and experiencing all that the world has to offer.
6:36 Colin Brown? But to do that, Christie needed to establish a stable life for them, and that involved making sacrifices. You see, Christie's relationship with her own mother, Cathy Badger, had always been rocky. The two butted heads constantly and had different views on how to live their life. But Christie knew she needed a safe place and help to raise her little girl. And if it meant trying to repair their strained relationship, she was willing to do so. So, soon after Logan was born, Christie moved about two hours north to Dover-Foxcroft into a small apartment with her mother Cathy. Located on the Piscataquas River, Dover-Foxcroft looks like a town that's been plucked out of a Robert Frost poem. Its downtown, centered around the river, is lined with historic buildings,
7:21 Colin Brown? old mills, and local businesses that cater to a small population of just about 4,000 people. It's the kind of place where kids can play outside or race down to the river to fish and splash around on a warm summer day without anyone having to worry. At first, Christie believed that it was the perfect place to give Logan a great life. But just a few months after moving in, the friction between Christie and her mother became unbearable. Cathy constantly scolded Christie for her parenting, from how she held Logan to how she spoke to her to what she fed her. And for Christie, it felt like nothing she did was ever up to her mother's standards. Here's what she told PBS.
8:01 Speaker 03 I used to stand up for myself. She used to get so mad, you know? "Well, then, you need to leave." You know, one of those attitudes.
8:09 Courtney Brown? Unable to deal with the constant fighting, Christie began saving up her money so that she and Logan could get a place of their own. But since she didn't have a license or car, that proved to be challenging. Rather than accepting defeat, Christie spent months trudging through the snow, sleet, and rain to work at a nearby business. When that wasn't enough, she started selling her own plasma at a nearby clinic to save up. Until finally, she had the savings to take that big step towards independence. In April of 1996, Christie packed up all of her and Logan's belongings to start fresh. She found a new apartment two hours south in Lewiston, just outside of the town where she had grown up.
8:54 Courtney Brown? When she walked through those doors of her and Logan's new place, she felt like a real adult. She was going to live on her own, raise her baby, and prove that she was capable of being a great mother. However, unfortunately, she never really got the chance to do that. Because while the move put distance between Christie and her mom, it didn't quell her mom's concerns.
9:19 Colin Brown? Hello, this is the Maine Department of Human Services. What can I help you with?
9:23 Courtney Brown? Hi, I'd like to make a report regarding my daughter, Christie Baker. She just moved out. She's trying to be a good mom, but she just... She screams and hollers at her baby all the time. Just the other day, she broke down crying and said, "I can't stand this," before she ran out the door. She's just too immature to be a mother.
9:43 Colin Brown? In a May 1996 call to the Department of Human Services, those were the complaints that Christie's mother, Kathy, made regarding her daughter's parenting skills. At the time, she was hoping that DHS would respond by giving Christie access to resources that would help her transition into motherhood. Things like parenting classes, therapy, reduced-cost babysitting, or group sessions with other single mothers she could connect with. But that's not what happened.
10:11 Courtney Brown? Christie had just come inside from her apartment balcony when she heard a knock on her door. It was early. The sun had just started to rise. And she had a cup of coffee in her hand. She wasn't sure who would want to talk to her this early. So she stood by the door and yelled out, "Who is it?" When the woman outside responded that she was from the Department of Human Services, Christie let her inside. The worker made her way through the home, checking the fridge and cabinets for food, ensuring that there was heat and water, and making sure the home was clean. The house was well-stocked, and the home was as clean as any house can be with a six-month-old girl. In her required report, the caseworker wrote,
10:55 Courtney Brown? "Logan is a very beautiful child, with brown curly hair and big brown eyes. Logan did not appear fearful of her mother, and in fact, because I was a stranger, was more attached to her." Ultimately, there was absolutely no proof or any indication that Christie was an unfit mother. She was even tested for drugs, which she passed. And she had a job at the time. However, regardless of the fact that Logan appeared happy and healthy, and her mother seemed fit to be a parent, DHS decided that some rules needed to be put in place. You see, when Christie was interviewed, she admitted that she had recently begun seeing someone she knew from her hometown.
11:40 Courtney Brown? Upon researching him, DHS learned that he had been charged with possession in the past. As a result, they considered him an unhealthy partner for Christie, and they had her sign an agreement that read, quote, "Christie will not allow anyone to live, reside, or stay over until this person has been screened and approved by DHS. Christie will submit names of people or persons with whom she is or plans to be intimately involved, and shall not allow any contact between that person and Logan until assessed and approved by DHS," end quote.
12:17 Colin Brown? In addition to telling DHS any potential love interests she had contact with, Christie attended mandatory parenting classes and went to counseling sessions. Ultimately, she told anyone who would listen that she appreciated the classes and the counseling. She felt they made her a better mother and gave her information that she hadn't known beforehand. She didn't attend the classes just because DHS told her to, she went to them because she actually also wanted to be a better mother. However, there came a point where she felt DHS was actually making her a worse mother. The constant check-ins and demands to know intimate details of her life became so overbearing that she grew resentful and impatient.
12:57 Speaker 03 Somebody else was running my life. I was just a person following rules. It wasn't my direction, it wasn't my thoughts, my opinions, it was theirs. They made it really hard to have your own life personal. Angry. That goes without saying.
13:16 Speaker 03 I think it was more hatred.
13:18 Colin Brown? And that hatred only escalated. After Christie stopped seeing her former boyfriend, she struggled to make friends, since anyone she was in close contact with had to be vetted by DHS. It wasn't that she thought her friends or potential love interests were bad people, it's that she feared any blemish in their past, or perceived misstep in the present, would lead to Christie losing Logan altogether. Soon after that first report was made, Christie actually began to lean on the person who had kickstarted it in the first place: her mother Cathy. Now Cathy and Christie's relationship is one of frequent ups and downs. While they had their problems with one another, they had one thing in common: they loved Logan above all else. So, in spite of their differences and arguments, the two grew incredibly close.
14:04 Colin Brown? With the physical distance between them, Christie felt more comfortable leaning on her mother for support and advice. And in turn, Cathy felt more confident in Christie's growth as a parent. But while their relationship was becoming stronger than ever, there came a breaking point, one that began with wedding bells.
14:22 Courtney Brown? Sometime in late 1996, Christie's mother married a man named Mitch. Now somehow DHS was under the impression that Mitch had a criminal record for sexually assaulting a teenage girl about 10 years prior. Which of course is horrible and very concerning. But, as it turns out, that wasn't true. Mitch had no criminal record and he wasn't on the sex offender registry. Later reporting from PBS, as well as the Sun Journal, state that DHS falsely believed he was a sex offender with previous charges. And why they believed that, we'll never know.
15:04 Courtney Brown? But the fallout from this false belief was swift and devastating. Christie was told that if she maintained a relationship with her mother while she was married to Mitch, she would be risking losing custody of Logan. So, just like that, Christie's newfound relationship with her mother was severed, all based on a completely false report. But Christie was determined to not lose her daughter. So even though there was no proof, she severed ties with her mom. Once again, it was just Christie and Logan against the world. And as challenging as that was, Christie felt blessed. Logan was everything she had ever hoped for.
15:47 Courtney Brown? Logan loved the outdoors. Any chance she got, she was at the front door begging to go on walks along the local rivers. There, she'd chase butterflies, catch frogs in the waters, and cast her fishing pole out to see what she could catch. She had a love, respect, and excitement for life. It seemed like she was an old soul squished into a tiny curly-haired toddler. After a day on the water, she loved to curl up on the couch with her favorite snack, pitted black olives. And she loved to watch Arthur or read a book. Christie wanted her baby girl to have any future she dreamt of, so she constantly read to Logan and practiced the alphabet with her. Logan was like a little sponge.
16:31 Courtney Brown? She would ask her mom to read her favorite book, Winnie the Pooh Gets Stuck, over and over again, as she giggled at the pictures of the silly bear stuck in the burrow after eating too much honey. Above all, Logan loved to laugh, and she loved to make other people laugh. Usually, this involved egging on her relatives and getting into little playfights with them, teasing each other back and forth until finally, with an unbearably cute amount of sass, she would stick out her little hand and say, "Talk to the hand." Christie was delighted to see her baby girl's personality come out more and more every day. And heading into 1998, she wasn't the only one who felt that way.
17:14 Colin Brown? If you recall, Logan's dad was a man named John Marr. For the first year or two of Logan's life, he hadn't believed that he was her father at all. But by late 1997, he decided to take a paternity test. Of course, it proved that he was her dad. And from that moment on, Logan became the center of his world, just like Christie's. It was perfect timing. Since Christie wasn't allowed to contact her mother, Logan's visits with John provided her with some much-needed respite to run errands and attend job interviews. John was overwhelmed with love for his little girl. He took her fishing with him every chance he got, played in the snow with her, and introduced her to some of his favorite movies. One Christmas, when he put the Wizard of Oz on TV,
17:58 Colin Brown? Logan couldn't take her eyes off the sparkling Christmas tree in the center of the room. She told her dad resolutely that she was gonna sleep under it with the presents. He laughed and hugged her, telling her that she'd have to sleep in her bed. A few minutes into the movie, however, he looked over to discover Logan lying underneath the Christmas tree, her eyes closed, peacefully asleep. And he couldn't bring himself to move her. She laid there under the sparkling lights, surrounded by presents, completely unaware that the greatest present of all was her. She was, as both of her parents agreed, a blessing. But that didn't mean things were always easy. Christie didn't have a high school diploma, and she still didn't have a driver's license, which meant supporting herself and Logan financially wasn't easy.
18:44 Colin Brown? John gave her what little money he could, but he was working temporary shifts at local mills, which didn't pay well. In spite of these struggles, Christie managed to follow all of DHS's guidelines, and for 18 long months, she avoided contact with anyone DHS deemed to be unfit. She only talked to her mom through letters, and she worked her butt off to make it to every class, counseling session, and meeting, often walking to them.
19:10 Courtney Brown? For a while, things seemed to be going well. In the spring of 1998, Christie even mended things with her mother once again. Now, she only did this because her mom actually separated from her husband Mitch, who had been falsely believed to be a sex offender. So because Mitch was no longer in the picture, Christie thought it was safe to visit her mom's house and have a relationship with her again. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case in DHS's eyes. One morning, Christie left Logan with a trusted babysitter at Kathy's home so she could go to work. She kissed Logan and was on her way, completely unaware of what was to come.
19:52 Courtney Brown? It was midday when DHS received a call from Kathy's neighbor.
19:56 Colin Brown? Hi, DHS. Yeah, so my neighbor Kathy isn't supposed to have her granddaughter Logan over because of her ex-husband, and that ex, Mitch, he just showed up. Yeah, he's on the front porch of the house right now, and I know that Logan is inside the home.
20:10 Courtney Brown? On that day, of all days, Mitch decided to show up at Kathy's house to collect some of his belongings. By then, Kathy had filed for divorce, and he wasn't supposed to be at the house at all. In fact, he never even stepped inside. When he went to the front door, he was turned away by the babysitter, who knew that Logan wasn't supposed to be near him. However, when the neighbors saw him on the premises, they called DHS to alert them that the rule had been broken. It didn't matter to them that it was unintentional. It didn't matter to them that Mitch never stepped foot inside the house, or that he wasn't actually a convicted felon. All that mattered to them was that, in their eyes, Christie had broken their rule.
20:55 Courtney Brown? Now, I do want to note that obviously, if a child is ever around a sex offender, DHS should absolutely intervene. And at the time, they thought they were doing what was best for Logan, so I'm not placing blame there. But following this incident, a DHS caseworker immediately responded, writing in a report, "Despite the department's involvement with Christie since June of 1996, Christie continues to demonstrate recidivism under scrutiny. A clear sign that Christie is unable or unwilling to make necessary changes to provide a home free from threat of sexual or emotional abuse. The department is asking for custody of Logan Marr to be granted to the state of Maine's Department of Human Services."
21:41 Courtney Brown? That very day while Christie was at work, DHS requested a court order to have Logan removed from her mother's care. When Christie arrived to pick Logan up after her long day of work, she was met with a call that she never expected. DHS was coming to take her daughter. Christie's entire world shattered at that moment. She thought she had done everything right. She thought that her daughter was finally safe with her, and now here she was, back at the beginning, as if she had made no effort at all. Devastated by the news, she felt like a trapped animal. And unfortunately, she did what trapped animals do. She fought. Unwilling to let her daughter be taken away from her,
22:26 Courtney Brown? Christie raced around the apartment, throwing everything she and Logan could possibly need into a bag. Toys, food, clothes, toiletries. It all got thrown haphazardly as she tried to formulate a plan. She ran through a catalog of people in her life, of places she could go. And ultimately, she landed on a friend in Pennsylvania. If she could just make it there, away from DHS's control in Maine, she could start over with Logan. So that day, she and Logan made their way to Bangor and got on a bus headed for Boston, the same city that had inspired her daughter's name nearly three years earlier. Christie wasn't sure how she was going to get to Pennsylvania from Boston, but she would figure it out.
23:12 Courtney Brown? As the bus took off, Logan looked up at her mom with those big, brown, curious eyes and asked, "Where are we going, mommy?" Christie held her hand and told her, "We're just going for a ride, baby." And a long ride it was. The bus to Boston was about five hours long. And with each passing hour, Christie realized she had made a horrible mistake. Getting on that bus with Logan was a rash, panicked decision. And now the reality was settling in. If she was caught, DHS would never let her have Logan back. She would be labeled a kidnapper. Her daughter would be lost forever. So once in Boston, Christie decided to get on another bus,
23:56 Courtney Brown? this time headed back to Maine, where she would have to surrender her daughter to DHS. And at this point, there was even more at risk, because once again, Christie was pregnant.
24:08 Colin Brown? Unlike her pregnancy with Logan, Christie hadn't been so certain that she wanted to keep this baby. And that's because Christie said that this pregnancy was the result of a sexual assault. She didn't know the father, and she still hadn't come to terms with what had happened to her. When she spoke about her uncertainty of keeping the baby to a friend, her friend asked her, "If this is how Logan came into the world, would you love her any less?" Christie knew the answer in an instant, so ultimately, she decided to keep it. By the time she was returning on the bus from Boston with Logan, she was already six months along. The stress of the past few days, combined with her pregnancy, led to her being hospitalized for exhaustion as soon as the bus made it back to Maine.
24:50 Colin Brown? A trusted friend took Logan into their home while Christie was being treated, but ultimately, DHS had had enough. They had found out about their trip to Boston, and shortly after, DHS arrived at Christie's home and took Logan. When Christie was released from the hospital, she came home to learn that it was too late. Logan was gone, placed in the home of a foster family. Christie fell to the ground and sobbed. It was one of the worst moments of her life, and sadly, it was just the beginning of her journey to get her daughter back in her custody. Because now, as a result of her attempt to flee, Christie had a brand-new set of rules to follow. She was instructed to check into a residential facility for unwed mothers in nearby Biddeford called St. Andrews.
25:35 Colin Brown? There, Christie would work towards obtaining her GED, learn job skills, and attend parenting classes as she prepared for the birth of her second daughter. But the loss of Logan was devastating. She didn't know who her foster parents were, if she was happy, or if she was even safe. So, she did what she could. She saw Logan when she was permitted to visit, followed all of DHS's orders, and prepared for the birth of her baby girl, whom she decided to name Bailey.
26:04 Courtney Brown? Meanwhile, just outside of town, John Wag, Logan's biological father, began working to get her out of foster care. At this point, his job at the local textile mill was more stable. Logan loved and trusted him, and he could provide her with a safe home with people who loved her, people who weren't complete strangers. However, when he asked DHS for custody of Logan, he was denied. The reason? Well, according to DHS, an unmarried, single man in his early twenties would be unable to provide a suitable home for a child. Despite the fact that he was her biological father, despite the fact that his home was safe, he was employed,
26:48 Courtney Brown? and he was loved by her, a complete stranger was deemed the safer option. But John wasn't ready to give up. He asked DHS if his mother could take custody of Logan. She lived just two miles down the road from him, had a close bond with Logan, and she worked as a certified nursing assistant. If he wasn't suitable to care for Logan, his mother definitely was. But once again, DHS denied his request, and this time, they didn't even provide a reason. But if you were to ask locals who are familiar with the system, they would tell you that they suspect exactly why the request to have Logan placed with a family member was denied. You see, despite a federal mandate
27:32 Courtney Brown? ordering that children should be placed with any available safe relative before being placed into foster care, in 1998, only 5% of children taken by DHS were put in the care of their relatives. The other 95% were given to foster families. But why? To answer that question, you need to hear this. Around this time, the state of Maine received federal funding when children were placed in licensed foster care homes. Meaning, essentially, when children are placed with relatives, DHS received less funding for its operations. Keeping families together was a surefire way to lose money.
28:15 Courtney Brown? No matter how atrocious that fact is, it was reality. No matter how hard John and his family fought to get Logan in their care, it seemed like that was never an option to begin with. And for Christie, her battle was just beginning.
28:30 Colin Brown? On December 11th, 1998, just three days after welcoming Bailey Cheyenne Baker-Marr into the world, Christie was finally permitted to leave the unwed mother's home and return to her apartment. But now DHS had new commands. After everything, they believed that Christie's mother, Kathy, was a negative influence on her, even though she divorced that man that they were concerned about. So, as a result, an official DHS agreement was issued to Christie that read, "Christie will sever all contact with her mother and demonstrate that she is able to maintain herself separately from her mother's negative influence. Christie will participate fully with the Department of Human Services, understanding this is the last attempt that the department is willing to make to reunify Logan with Christie,
29:15 Colin Brown? and that custody of her second child will also be in jeopardy." The demand was devastating, but at this point, Christie was willing to do absolutely anything. She halted all in-person contact with her mother, only communicating with her through recorded videotapes she would send through the mail. And by March 1999, after seven months of living in a foster home, Logan was finally allowed to move back in with her mother.
29:41 Speaker 03 I remember March 24th, she was home. She was back in my custody, and they closed the case in June. Who gives this a kiss?
29:52 Speaker 03 My good girl. And what did they tell you when they closed the case? That I had accomplished everything that I needed to, to become a stable and a safe environment for my children to be together with me.
30:06 Colin Brown? Now, at only 21 years old and a single mother to two young children, Christie felt the full weight of her reality. She had absolutely no one to lean on. DHS had forced her to cut contact with her only emotional support, and now she found herself overwhelmed, isolated, and struggling to manage the responsibilities of motherhood on her own. Deep down, she had that innate need we all have, to have someone to go to, to hold us, to comfort us, to lift our spirits when we're down. So, in search of that, Christie reached out to her birth father, a man named Robert. Growing up, her parents' divorce was far from amicable, and as a result, she hadn't seen her father in several years.
30:49 Colin Brown? By November of 1999, he was living in Florida, and when Christie reached out to him, he leapt at the chance to reconnect with his daughter. He even invited Christie and the girls to come and live with him, promising that he would help Christie get a driver's license and find a decent-paying job. For Christie, this opportunity was just too good to pass up. So, using what little money she had set aside, she booked her and her girls a ticket down to Florida. It was the furthest that Christie had ever been from home. And though the palm trees, white-sand beaches, and patio dinners with her father felt like a dream at first, the rose-colored glasses that she had arrived wearing started to lose their color quickly. She and her father still had unresolved issues from her childhood, which led to tension
31:33 Colin Brown? and unhappiness in the home. The offers to help her get her license never materialized, and soon, even Logan was complaining. Lying in bed awake at night, Logan whispered to her mother, "I want to go back and see nanny. I want to make snow angels." At the end of the day, even though her life in Maine had been rife with troubles and uncertainty, Logan made it clear that she wanted to go home. So, after just nine weeks in Florida, Christie and her girls packed their belongings, and they hopped on the next Greyhound that would take them north. Slowly, the greenery and sand transformed into meadows of white snow and dusted pines. But Logan couldn't have been more excited. She gawked out the window on the multi-day drive up north, taking in the size of the
32:17 Colin Brown? world for the very first time.
32:20 Courtney Brown? But while they were happy to be back in the pine tree state, it came with problems. For starters, Christie had forfeited her apartment, and she was going to have to hunt for a new job. Due to her lack of resources, she decided to move in with her mother. And because her DHS case was closed, she was technically allowed to. Arriving off the bus, exhausted from the travel, Christie was overcome with emotion. She hadn't seen her mother in months. She wasn't sure when she would see her again. They hurried into her home, in Dover Foxcroft, bracing themselves against the January snow and curled up by the fire. As Christie and Kathy took their time catching up, Logan disappeared into the bathroom.
33:04 Courtney Brown? After a few minutes, Christie went to check on her. Logan, what are you doing in there? She asked. As soon as the question left her lips, the door flew open. Logan, grinning from ear to ear, posed like a superhero in her robe. She giggled and squealed with delight when her mother asked her what she was up to. In response, Logan dropped the robe, revealing a bathing suit underneath. Squealing, she sprinted towards the door and grabbed her bicycle helmet. Logan threw open the door, casting a warm light over the freshly fallen snow. And then, securing the helmet over her head of brown hair, she flung herself into the snowbank in the front yard. She sunk into it and flapped her arms wildly, making a snow angel in spite of her chattering
33:49 Courtney Brown? teeth. Kathy and Christie laughed and helped Logan up. She shook off the snow and smiled up at her nanny and mama, saying, can I get some hot cocoa now? After a warm bath, Christie tugged her baby girl in, giving her a nice cup of cocoa, just like she asked. Together, they all piled up with blankets all around. And Christie kissed Logan and Bailey on the head, grateful to see them so happy, grateful to be home. For the first time in a long time, Christie truly believed that things were going to be okay. Logan and Bailey were as happy as she had ever seen them. Her relationship with her mom was healed, and she even got a job at a local nursing home to pay the bills.
34:32 Courtney Brown? And soon, it looked like she was nearing her happily ever after.
34:36 Colin Brown? In early 2000, Christie reconnected with a man she had been friends with for quite some time. His name was Paul Badger, and as soon as she returned to Maine, the two fell for one another. Paul was good with the kids, Kathy loved him, and Christie felt like he was the person she could settle down with to give her girls the life she'd always wanted for them. So, on March 4th, 2000, the two said their vows to one another, and Paul welcomed Christie and the kids into his home, embarking on their journey as a family, together. But unfortunately, DHS had other plans. By this point, Christie's case, which had been set aside, had been reassigned to a new DHS agent named Allison Peters. When news of Christie's nuptials came to Allison, she dug into Paul's past and found
35:21 Colin Brown? something she didn't like. You see, over a decade prior, in the 1980s, Paul had been arrested and pleaded guilty to breaking into a vehicle in another state. There were no other charges on his record, though, no speeding tickets, nothing. Yet, on March 7th, just three days after their wedding, the unthinkable happened.
35:43 Speaker 03 It was knocked the door. It was 11:30 in the morning. And I remember them walking in, yet they didn't have the door. I had my hand on the door and they just walked right in.
35:55 Courtney Brown? Allison and another DHS caseworker stormed into the home, completely blindsiding Christie and the kids. There had been no phone call, no warning, nothing. As far as Christie knew, her case had been closed months ago. When Allison handed her a court order stating that she was going to take both Bailey and Logan and place them into state custody, Christie began to sob. Allison told her that Paul's criminal record made him unfit. And they had received a report that Paul had struck her in front of the children. Now, it's important to note that Paul, Christie, Kathy, Paul's parents, and Logan, all denied that there was ever any physical violence in the home. Over the months that Logan was extensively questioned,
36:40 Courtney Brown? she had never once indicated that her mother had hit her or that she had seen anyone hit her mother. But standing in the living room with DHS threatening to take her kids, Christie begged and pleaded, telling them all of this. Paul had never touched her. He had never struck the kids. And she would never dream of hurting her babies in a million years. Yet, DHS was resolute. They weren't leaving without her children. Unfortunately, while all of this was happening, Logan was fast asleep on the couch, battling the flu. And when DHS burst in, she was awakened to a nightmare.
37:20 Speaker 03 I'm like, "You can't do this." She goes, "Oh, yes, I can. I'm gonna."
37:24 Speaker 03 Logan started screaming, "No, Mommy, don't let them take me. Mommy, please don't let them take me."
37:29 Speaker 03 I told her it was gonna be okay. She's like, "No, mommy, don't make me go."
37:33 Courtney Brown? As Logan cried and begged to stay with her mom, Christie had to put on a brave face. She helped her daughter get dressed and helped load her children's items into the DHS vehicle waiting outside.
37:45 Speaker 03 I carried them all the way out to the van.
37:48 Speaker 03 I was surrounded by two cops and two caseworkers. He slammed the door and took off.
37:55 Courtney Brown? As Christie watched DHS tear her children away, something inside her broke. When they were finally out of view and she was sure her girls wouldn't be able to see, she collapsed on the sidewalk and sobbed. Her husband, Paul, rubbed her back and assured her that everything would be okay. But it wouldn't. She had no way of knowing it then, but that was the last time that Logan would ever live under her roof. And where she was going, Logan was going to be much less safe.
38:26 Colin Brown? Inside the DHS van, Logan was terrified as she sat with her sister Bailey. Filled with confusion and uncertainty, the girls stayed in the car for two hours, driving further and further away from the life they knew. And then finally, they arrived at a house. A new foster home belonging to a woman named Mary Beth Anderson. They were nervous as they stepped inside. For the remainder of that first night, 15-month-old Bailey couldn't stop crying. I mean, she was just a baby. Sure, where she lived hadn't been consistent, but one thing always had been: the presence of her mother. Now, that was gone, and she didn't know why. Meanwhile, that first night, Logan, who was four and a half years old,
39:09 Colin Brown? made a fort for herself on the couch, surrounding herself with pillows in an effort to hide herself from her foster family. All the girls wanted was safety, and sadly, that's not something that was offered to them. Because from the get-go, it seems that they were set up for failure and their foster mom wasn't equipped to deal with them.
39:28 Courtney Brown? From the start, Logan was determined to be back with her mother. She frequently asked her foster mom when she could go home to her real mom, and she was prone to breakdowns and tantrums. Now, one would think that when a child, who had been taken away from her mother, began acting out, you'd assume she was simply expressing her pain. However, anytime Logan lashed out, her foster mother would write in her journal that Logan was being "manipulative." Just a reminder, this is a four-year-old. Lashing out, testing boundaries, and learning about the relationship between cause and effect is a very normal part of their development. It doesn't mean they're being manipulative with malicious intent.
40:11 Courtney Brown? At the end of the day, Logan was in pain. She was learning. And more than anything, she just wanted her mom. Yet, her foster mother's journal read things like this. "May 24th, Logan started right off with, 'Do you think my mommy will get me back? My answer is, 'I don't know.' She didn't get a reaction from me, so she escalated by talking loudly and non-stop about her mom, right next to me." Now, to her foster mother, this behavior was a direct attack, not a plea for help or a desperation to hear that her mom was trying to get her back. In her foster mother's eyes, Logan was being manipulative by repeatedly asking about her mom.
40:56 Courtney Brown? And her foster mother was so concerned about Logan's behavior that she was convinced that Logan had been physically and even sexually abused. Wanting to get her evaluated, she took her to the Spurwick Clinic in Portland, Maine. The doctors there would give her a mental health assessment and psychological exam. They were also given notes from Logan's DHS case, notes that came from the caseworker Allison Peters. And they painted a picture that was, well, a complete and total lie. In the notes, Allison Peters stated that Christie had exposed the girls to three men who were on the sex offender registry. Again, that information was
41:37 Courtney Brown? Completely false. Christie's husband Paul was not on the registry, nor was anyone else she had ever dated or associated with. Again, there was that instance with her mother's ex-husband, but that too was proven to be false. Now, Allison also claimed that the girls may have been exposed to sexually explicit adult material due to what she described as, quote, "poor boundaries in the home." But once again, there was never any evidence to indicate that the children had ever been exposed to inappropriate material or harmed in any way. Allison notes that the other evidence of concern included an instance where Logan had kissed a boy on the playground once, that she struggled sometimes with wiping,
42:20 Courtney Brown? and that she had made comments about wanting to marry one of her mom's close friends. But ultimately, after speaking extensively with Logan, experts determined that there was absolutely no evidence that she had been physically, sexually, or mentally abused in any way. On the contrary, these experts believe that both girls should be returned to their mother and that they should receive mental health counseling due to the trauma of being removed from Christie's care. But as you've likely suspected, that's not what happened. Instead, as a result of this evaluation, Christie was now allowed supervised visits with her girls four times a week. During her visits, she helped Logan with her ABCs.
43:05 Courtney Brown? She held and coddled Bailey. In the corner of the room, a caseworker sat and took notes, penciling in every interaction that took place between Christie and her children. But what they should have been more concerned about was what was taking place when Logan and Bailey were at home with their foster parents.
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44:12 Colin Brown? summer in Maine is a fleeting thing it's something that even from a young age you learn to cling to soaking up every minute you can until the grueling winters come back a knocking August 28 2000 was Logan's very last carefree summer day she was four years old a few months away from turning five she was two hours from her home from her mom and she was trying to make the most of things the following day was slated to be her very first day of kindergarten and she was as nervous as she was excited but for today the last day of summer her foster mom set up a sprinkler for the kids to play in Logan was ecstatic however when it was time for the fun to be over Logan wasn't ready for
44:56 Colin Brown? it to end she wanted to stay in that moment forever splashing around and laughing with her sister but it was time to leave when they all returned home Logan refused to take her swimsuit off she didn't want it to be over she didn't want the day to end so when her foster mom pushed demanding that she take it off Logan screamed out no furious on the brink of losing it her foster mom whipped around to face her and snapped Logan do you want me to hit you Logan stamped her foot repeating no no no and that's when her foster mom snapped fed up she pinned Logan to the bed by her neck tears poured out of Logan's soft brown eyes and rolled down her cheeks she had been taken from her
45:40 Colin Brown? mom because the state deemed Christie unsafe but then they gave Logan to this woman who was choking her holding her by her neck against her own bed just hours before her very first day of school of the incident her foster mother wrote As soon as I saw my hand, I stopped what I was doing and started throwing her toys off the bed instead. Soon after, she called DHS to file an official report regarding her own behavior.
46:07 Courtney Brown? When Logan's caseworker, Allison Peters, arrived at the home, she found Logan sobbing in her foster mother's lap. When Logan saw Allison, her cries grew louder, and she told her, over and over through tears, "I wanna go home to my mommy. My mommy never hurts me. I wanna go home. I don't wanna do visits anymore." End quote. But no one was listening to Logan. Her cries fell on deaf ears, despite the fact that the people who had sworn to protect her were standing right there in front of her. The following day, Kristy was set to have a supervised visit with the girls. Knowing that she would hear about the incident from Logan, Allison set up an emergency meeting with Kristy beforehand.
46:51 Courtney Brown? And Kristy, well, to say she was pissed would be an understatement. When Allison told Kristy what had happened, Kristy demanded, "Where are my girls now?" Allison's response filled her with rage. She told her plainly, "Well, she's still with her foster mom." Kristy tried to maintain her sanity, but the reality of the situation was crushing. Her four-year-old baby had been choked, and yet she was still in the custody of the woman who had done it. Kristy rightfully snapped, telling Allison that she had never laid a hand on her girls, yet they had been taken away from her. And that was the truth. Neither Logan nor Bailey had ever been physically in danger under Kristy's care, but it still
47:35 Courtney Brown? didn't change their situation. In fact, it was only going to get worse from there.
47:41 Colin Brown? Because rather than admit their mistake or return the girls to Kristy, DHS had another foster parent on their radar, a DHS caseworker named Sally Schofield. Now, you might already be wondering, is a caseworker actually allowed to adopt someone out of the system? Isn't that a bit of a conflict of interest? And the answer to those questions is yes and yes. But Sally didn't care. She already had two sons with her husband Dean, a 14-year-old named Derek, and a one-year-old named Shining. However, she didn't feel complete without a girl. She told her coworkers that really, she wanted two little girls to make her own.
48:20 Speaker 04 I sort of felt like if I had 12 children, they'd probably all be boys. So I'd never get a girl. Um, so we decided to pursue adoption.
48:30 Colin Brown? Neither Sally nor her husband Dean held back in making their intentions known. They both enrolled in a mandatory training program for adoptive parents. And Sally told everyone who would listen at DHS what she was looking for. Two little girls. In the classes, it was quickly established that Sally was not only opinionated, but also insistent that she knew more than anyone else in the room.
48:53 Speaker 04 I think probably the general consensus was that I was some sort of know it all. You know, because I would say, well, you know, I think that maybe we ought to look at this piece. If something came up or whatever. Um, and the instructors clearly were looking to me for, for clarification or for answers. And although I didn't notice it, my husband was noticing that there were certain people in the class who were just like, oh, great, here she goes again.
49:19 Courtney Brown? Because Sally was a DHS worker, she believed that she was the most qualified person in her classes. And she leaned heavily on her DHS training to support her opinions. However, during one of her pre-adoption assessments, some of her answers raised concerns. During it, they asked her, how would you handle a child who wasn't following the rules? Or who was out of control? Sally insisted that she could never imagine a scenario in which one of her children would even behave that way. Now, the people overseeing this assessment were a little taken aback. If you've ever been around children, you know that even the most well behaved kids have moments of disobedience or lashing out.
50:04 Courtney Brown? However, when they voiced this to Sally, she was clearly upset, pushing back on their criticism. It seems to us like Sally wanted two perfect little angels. Girls she could put in bows and ribbons before sending them off to dance class. Girls who said please and thank you, and did anything she asked at the drop of a hat. Girls who didn't misbehave or scream or cry or fight. In reality, Sally didn't want daughters at all. She wanted- living, breathing dolls that she could control, that she could show off and brag about. And tragically, when DHS came to her asking if she'd take on an emergency placement, she thought she had found just that.
50:48 Courtney Brown? A few days after Logan and Bailey's foster mom grabbed Logan by the neck, the girls were taken from her care. They needed a new place to go. And in their eyes, Sally Schofield was the perfect fit. So in early September of 2001, Logan and Bailey found themselves traveling to a new home in Chelsea, Maine, a rural town on the outskirts of the state's capital. When they arrived, they were greeted by the smiling faces of the Schofield family. And in the beginning, everything seemed to be going well. That first week, they were still getting to know each other. Logan and Bailey were adjusting to their new life in a new town, a new home, a new people who they didn't know.
51:31 Courtney Brown? Sally admitted that she quickly bonded with the girls and treated them as if they were her own.
51:37 Speaker 04 You know, we fell in love with those girls probably that first weekend. These were our children. And we didn't treat them any differently than we did the boys. I mean, they were our children.
51:46 Courtney Brown? Now, on the surface, this seemed like a good arrangement. For many kids in the foster care system, finding a family who loves you is best-case scenario. But it soon became clear that Sally Schofield didn't want the girl's real mom in the picture. In fact, the moment that the girls were brought in her care, Christie's visitation rights were drastically cut. For Christie, the entire situation was not only stressful, but extremely heartbreaking. After learning that Logan was abused in her previous foster home, she was nervous about the next home they were going to. And they didn't even give her any information about what that new home was like.
52:27 Courtney Brown? Christie wasn't even allowed to know the names of her girl's new foster parents. And more than anything, she just wanted her girls back. For years, Christie had followed all of the rules and guidelines set in place for her. But no matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she worked, it didn't matter. Their caseworker, Allison Peters, and DHS were determined to remove her children from her care for good. For Christie, there was no longer a light at the end of the tunnel.
52:57 Speaker 03 I was tired, very tired.
53:01 Speaker 03 I was losing faith and hope. Why bother what's gonna come out of this anyway? You know, they're gonna try to take my kids and they're not gonna, you know, give them back and they know it. Why, why are they doing this? Why am I fighting so hard? No matter how hard I'm fighting, what would be the point? I'm gonna lose in the end anyway.
53:21 Colin Brown? While Christie grappled with this realization, Logan and Bailey remained in Sally Schofield's care. And from the outside, everything looked fine. Sally even signed Logan up for swimming and dance lessons. But slowly, it became clear that there were some problems in the Schofield home. Like any little four-year-old girl, Logan often talked about how much she missed her mommy. But Sally made it clear that she was her new mommy. In fact, Sally started to force the girls to call her mommy. If Logan walked into the room and called her anything else, Sally would continue with what she was doing and completely ignore Logan. Logan would sit there, desperately trying to get her attention, but Sally wouldn't give it to her.
54:03 Colin Brown? Finally, Logan would give in, calling her mommy, and only then would Sally turn around and give her what she needed. As you can imagine, this was incredibly strange and confusing for Logan. She knew that this woman was not her mommy, Christie was. The mother who never abused her, the mother who loved her unconditionally.
54:23 Courtney Brown? Now, something to note is that throughout her time in foster care, Logan had been seeing a therapist named Kathleen Midori, who went by Katie. Katie had been Logan's therapist for two years, which was essentially most of Logan's life. Logan trusted her. Katie always gave her an ear to listen and made her feel comfortable speaking about whatever she was going through. So when Logan and Bailey moved into the Schofield home, Katie was hopeful that this might be a good thing, that the girls would finally find a long-term placement. But almost immediately, Katie began receiving calls from Sally, telling her that Logan was, quote, "acting out intentionally to disrupt their home life."
55:06 Courtney Brown? Sally complained that Logan was wetting the bed, acting out, and that she had a hard time falling asleep at night. Eventually, Katie asked Sally about her forms of discipline, and to her surprise, Sally admitted that she would usually tie Logan up to a chair. When Katie heard this, she was shocked. She reminded Sally to go easy on her. Logan had gone through a lot of changes. She had just started kindergarten. She was living in a new town with a new family. Not only had she been removed from her mother's care, but she had also been physically abused by her previous foster mom. But Sally blew off Katie's concerns. It was clear that Sally felt like she knew what she was doing.
55:50 Courtney Brown? She didn't need a therapist's advice on how to parent. Now, following this session, Katie immediately reported Sally to DHS. The fact that Sally was disciplining Logan by tying her up was a huge red flag. However, nothing was done. And if anything, Katie reporting this only seemed to make things worse. When Sally found out about the report, she was angry. After that, she even demanded to start sitting in on Logan's therapy sessions. But Katie was not okay with that. Logan's therapy sessions were supposed to be a place where she could freely talk about whatever she wanted. And with Sally sitting in, that wouldn't be the case.
56:34 Courtney Brown? So Katie told her, "I'll continue to see Logan, but you're not welcome to sit in on the sessions." In response, Sally said, "Well, fine. Then I'm going to pull her out of therapy altogether. Plus, Logan doesn't want to see you anymore." Now, according to Kaylee, Sally said all of this with Logan in the room. And when she heard Sally say that, Logan burst into tears. She loved her therapist. And now, like everyone else in her life, she too was being taken away. Tragically, there was nothing Katie could do about it. And after that session, she never saw Logan again. This was one of many disappointments in Logan's short life.
57:15 Courtney Brown? And from that point on, Logan's only respite seemed to be the short DHS-supervised visit she was allowed to have with her mother at a facility in Augusta.
57:25 Colin Brown? In October of 2000, Logan turned five years old. And the best present of all was that she got to see her mom. During the supervised visit, Logan walked into the room, saw her mom, and her eyes lit up. She ran and jumped into Christie's arms, so excited to be reunited. The DHS supervisor that was present in the room heard Logan tell her mom, "You're my favorite in the whole world." The supervisor couldn't help but notice that Logan said that to her mom over and over again. It was clear that the two loved each other very much, and they also knew that their time together was limited. As the clock ticked by, Logan started growing anxious about having to leave her mom. The supervisor overheard her say, "I want to go home with you." And more than anything, Christie wanted that too.
58:10 Colin Brown? But trying to comfort her daughter, she replied,
58:13 Courtney Brown? "I know you do, but that's not possible right now, okay? And you have a lot of things to keep you busy, like swimming and dancing lessons."
58:21 Colin Brown? It was very clear to the supervisor that Logan loved her mom very much. But interestingly, Sally's reporting painted a much different picture. In fact, she repeatedly wrote that Logan acted out when she was forced to go visit her mom. She claimed that these visits were against Logan's will, when that very clearly was not the case. And around the times of these visitations, Logan would have these rages. Here's how Sally described them.
58:47 Speaker 04 Then she started with the tantrums. I mean, things like normal temper tantrums. Kids, you know, they get mad and they scream and they cry and they, you know, stomp off to the room or whatever. Those are normal temper tantrums. She really had rages.
59:11 Speaker 04 She would scream at the top of her lungs that she didn't need parents. She didn't need us. She could take care of herself. She'd always done it. She didn't need parents for anything. She would destroy her bed. She would kick the wall. She would beat on the wall with her arms. She would thrash around.
59:32 Speaker 04 She was out of control.
59:36 Speaker 04 She, she was...
59:41 Speaker 04 I don't know, she was responding to something, but not the situation at hand. And as a parent, your first response is, "What is going on? What is this about?" And then, almost the very next feeling is,
1:00:03 Speaker 04 "Who did this to my baby? What did they do?
1:00:08 Speaker 04 Why at five years of age? Is she in so much pain?
1:00:14 Speaker 04 What has happened to her?"
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1:00:44 Speaker 04 Demons is she dealing with?
1:00:49 Speaker 05 You had these years and years of dealing with difficult children. Where did that training go?
1:00:58 Speaker 04 The thing about dealing with difficult children is that there's a world of difference between book knowledge and actual experience.
1:01:07 Speaker 04 And there are all kinds of people who know all kinds of things about attachment disorder,
1:01:16 Speaker 04 and children with attachment issues, and all kinds of other special needs that children have. But until you've lived with those children, you have no idea what it's like.
1:01:29 Colin Brown? Interestingly, Sally claimed that Logan's behavior was so unruly that she was even given more money from the state. She applied for something called hazard pay, which gives foster parents a significantly higher monthly rate to take care of children who are extremely disturbed. It's usually for kids who have more medical appointments, medications, and require that the foster parent take time away from work. But according to everyone who knew Logan, including her family and her old therapist, Logan was not a disturbed child. Sally seemed to be the only person on earth who believed that. And she got more money from the state by making these claims. Now, when Christie learned about her daughter's behavior, she was concerned. She admitted to PBS that it wasn't like Logan to act out,
1:02:14 Colin Brown? and she had never witnessed any rage-fueled behavior.
1:02:17 Speaker 03 So when they said that she was raging and she was throwing things and that wasn't Logan. That was not Logan. It didn't make sense to me. I didn't... I'm like, alright, I can understand temper tantrums. I mean, yeah, she's got them, once you don't get her way.
1:02:34 Speaker 03 But it wasn't often. And these people are saying she had one every time she saw me. Well, what could be the reason she was doing it after she saw me?
1:02:46 Speaker 03 Maybe because she wanted to come home?
1:02:48 Courtney Brown? But while Sally was blaming this behavior on Logan having to visit her mom against her will, Logan's DHS caseworker, who supervised the visits with Christie, said that Sally was the one who Logan didn't like. On October 30th, 2000, during one of those visits, the supervisor watched as Logan looked at her mom and said, quote, "I don't like Sally." Once again, hoping to comfort her daughter, Christie tells Logan, quote, "I think Sally seems like a very nice lady. She does a lot for you and your sister. And she dresses you so beautifully." The supervisor watched as Logan's eyes filled with tears. She then broke out into a loud sob. No one really understood exactly why she was crying.
1:03:34 Courtney Brown? But in response, Christie hugged her. She told Logan that no matter what, she will always be there for her. In another visit on December 7th, Logan was talking to her mother when, out of the blue, she looked at Christie and asked, "Do you know what Sally looks like?" Christie said, "Yes, I've seen her." Logan paused for a moment before saying, "I don't like her." For Christie, hearing her daughter say this on multiple occasions was heartbreaking. Logan would also repeat things that Sally would say to her, like, "Mommies are always right, even when mommies are wrong," end quote. In the beginning, it was little things like this that didn't sit right with Christie. But at the same time, what could she do about it?
1:04:20 Courtney Brown? However, with each and every visitation, Logan would say things that made her more and more concerned about the woman caring for them. During one supervised visit, Christie saw something that made her stomach churn. As she was changing Bailey's diaper, she noticed a red spot on her bottom. To Christie, it looked like a bruise that was beginning to form. Horrified by the idea that Sally might be physically abusing her children, Christie knelt down and brought her girls' clothes. She tilted Logan's face up to hers, looking in her amber eyes as she told her gently, "If anyone ever does anything you don't like, or something that doesn't feel right, you can tell me, okay?
1:05:02 Courtney Brown? I'm your mama. You can tell me absolutely anything, and I'll never, ever get mad at you. I promise."
1:05:11 Courtney Brown? The DHS worker supervising the visit would later write this quote in her notes. It was a simple exchange that meant everything. Christie was letting her girls know that she was there for them, that if something was happening, they didn't have to suffer in silence. Yet, when caseworker Allison Peters read this in the supervisor's report, she saw it as a threat. She immediately sent Christie a letter, telling her that the last thing Logan needed was to distrust her foster home, or the people caring for her. Allison wrote, "You could have very well left Logan with a sense of fear and distrust. Help make your visits a positive experience for Logan and Bailey so that they will continue."
1:05:55 Colin Brown? And sadly, the obsessive monitoring of how Christie spoke to her children about their foster home didn't end there. Christie was told that she wasn't allowed to ask any further questions if the children brought up things that happened in the Schofield's home. If she did broach those topics, it could be seen as interfering, and her visits could be terminated altogether.
1:06:15 Speaker 03 She would beg and fight with me at the end of the visit not to go back. I didn't know why.
1:06:21 Speaker 03 You know, she would tell me things, but I couldn't really discuss them with them, or comment on them, or ask her questions.
1:06:27 Speaker 05 Like?
1:06:28 Speaker 03 She would tell me that the foster parents would wrap her and her sister up in blankets, and grab her face.
1:06:37 Speaker 03 You know, she said that she would get in trouble sometimes. I'm like, you want to talk about it? She goes, no, I don't want to talk about it.
1:06:43 Colin Brown? But it got harder and harder to not talk about it. And Logan's desperation to share what was happening behind closed doors seemed to be bursting out of her by the time Christmas of 2005 came around. The following footage comes from the PBS special Failure to Protect, combined with home videos from Christie's very last Christmas with both of her daughters.
1:07:04 Speaker 06 On December 18th, Christie had her Christmas visit with her daughters. In a room full of gifts, she waited.
1:07:11 Speaker 03 Can you hear them? Here they come. I remember going in that room and just waiting at the camcorder. I could hear them coming down the hall. Here they come. Because it was my mom's Christmas present. Because she couldn't be there to see the kids. Mom? What?
1:07:27 Speaker 06 What are you doing? While a DHS visit supervisor sat listening, Logan told her mother that Sally had hurt her.
1:07:35 Speaker 05 Mommy?
1:07:37 Speaker 03 Well.
1:07:39 Speaker 05 Just so you know,
1:07:43 Speaker 05 you know Sally, my girlfriend?
1:07:46 Speaker 03 No, I'm your birth mother, you Boston mom?
1:07:48 Speaker 05 Mm-hmm. She did this to me and I was crying. And it hurts me.
1:07:56 Speaker 03 What did she do to you?
1:08:01 Speaker 03 I'm very sorry.
1:08:02 Speaker 05 And she did it to my sister too.
1:08:05 Speaker 03 It still astounded me, would make a five-year-old stop opening Christmas presents.
1:08:12 Speaker 03 On that day, to say what she did to me about
1:08:16 Speaker 03 Sally grabbing her face,
1:08:19 Speaker 03 making her hurt, and her sister, and her sister too.
1:08:23 Speaker 05 What did you think when she, when she said that?
1:08:26 Speaker 03 I didn't know what to think. I believed her though.
1:08:31 Speaker 03 And I just, I wanted to ask her so many questions, why? What happened? I went to say something and I got a look from the supervisor. Like, you know, head shaking, no, don't go into detail.
1:08:46 Speaker 03 And so I kind of, just kind of had to bite my tongue. It's like, well, let's try not to worry about that. Let's try to have a good Christmas.
1:08:55 Speaker 03 Why don't you sit down and just have a good Christmas? And let's not think about that, right, okay?
1:09:02 Speaker 05 But you couldn't ask her. Couldn't ask her.
1:09:08 Speaker 03 Mommy, I love you.
1:09:09 Speaker 05 You know what? I love you. Hey, whatever you guys got here today, you guys are more than open to play with. That is the whole purpose. Having Christmas together. That way, we can spend it together.
1:09:23 Courtney Brown? I'm not at my home.
1:09:26 Courtney Brown? Once again, Kristy felt powerless. She wanted to ask her daughter a million questions. But DHS had already threatened her with interfering and sowing distrust in her previous visit. Regardless, she couldn't sit by and do nothing. As her girls played with their new toys, Kristy asked the DHS supervisor during the visit if she would follow up with Allison, their caseworker, regarding Logan's statement. The supervisor assured her that she would. But of course, Logan's statement was never investigated. It was one of many instances in the last few weeks of Logan's life where they dropped the ball. Because despite Logan's constant accusations of abuse to her mother
1:10:10 Courtney Brown? and the DHS supervisor, the girl's caseworker Allison Peters did not follow up with Sally Schofield. Now typically, when abuse is reported to DHS regarding a foster parent, DHS is legally required to visit the home. But this never happened. Perhaps they believed that because Sally worked within DHS, the reports of abuse were lies, made up. And not only did they not investigate these claims or visit the Schofield home, but by January of 2001, DHS actually gave Sally Schofield the green light to adopt Logan and Bailey.
1:10:51 Colin Brown? On January 8th, Allison Peters emailed Sally and said, "Christie is still up to her old tricks, so she continues to make termination of her parental rights easier and easier to get." Despite these claims of abuse, despite Sally's admission that Logan was a difficult child, DHS still believed she was the best parent for the girls. However, at home, Sally's behavior was escalating. You see, Sally admitted to practicing attachment therapy with Logan in an attempt to subdue her alleged unruly behavior. Attachment therapy in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s involved forced restraint. Children were physically bound for extended periods of time, even as they struggled to get away or screamed for the restraint to stop.
1:11:35 Colin Brown? Caregivers were instructed to ignore all distress cues and continue holding the child against their will. Another method used around this time was compression therapy, which involved wrapping a child tightly in blankets or applying pressure to the child's body, sometimes by adults placing their weight on them, under the false belief that this would promote attachment. Sometimes food and water were even withheld as punishment, and the children were only allowed to eat or drink after asking for permission. Another tactic used was isolation and control, with children being confined to rooms, denied privacy, stripped of personal belongings, and subjected to strict rules. In five-year-old Logan Marr's case, she was subjected to these things by her foster mom, Sally Schofield.
1:12:21 Courtney Brown? During one of the last visitations with her girls, on January 3rd, 2001, Logan abruptly stood up in the middle of playing. Christie watched, stunned, as Logan clasped both hands over her mouth and groaned. When she took her hands off, she told her mom, quote, "Sally and my brother do that to me all the time. I don't like it," end quote. Hearing those words was like a knife to Christie's heart. Desperate to get answers, she opened her mouth, about to ask Logan what she meant. But just then, the DHS caseworker cleared her throat. When Christie looked in her direction, the caseworker shook her head, warning her not to ask any questions.
1:13:04 Courtney Brown? When Christie left the visitation that day, she felt like her hands were tied behind her back. She knew that Sally was hurting Logan, but there was absolutely nothing she could do. DHS made it very clear that they weren't interested in helping, or even looking into it. So Christie decided that the only thing she could do was write a letter to Sally Schofield. Maybe Sally didn't understand her girls. Maybe if she knew them a little better, the girls would be happier, and in turn Sally wouldn't hurt them. So that day, Christie sat down with a pen and paper. Dear Sally, my name is Christie. I'm Logan and Bailey's mom. I'm writing this so you can know and understand my children.
1:13:47 Courtney Brown? I thought I would let you know their likes and dislikes. Logan: She likes butterflies, pizza, what kid doesn't? Flavored noodles, pitted black olives, she likes to put them on her fingers. White cheese, grape soda, Babes in Toyland, her favorite movie. The cartoon Arthur, Logan's dislikes. Peas, fish sticks, going to bed early, not picking out her clothes. Bailey's likes: Her brown teddy bear blanket, she takes it everywhere, including visits. Dry cereal, pitted black olives, cheese, eggs, cooked carrots. Bailey's dislikes: Having her poopy diaper changed, if you haven't noticed.
1:14:28 Courtney Brown? Someone taking her pacifier, fish sticks, someone feeding her, she likes to do it herself. Please ask their caseworker, Allison Peters, what the kids are allergic to. I don't blame you for not wanting me to know who you are. I will respect that. Regardless of what you've heard or read, I love my little ladies with all my heart. I've never hit, spanked, or put my hands on my girls. I do respect my children. I'm not saying you would or wouldn't, but please don't hit or hurt my children. The girls have already been through enough. They don't need the added stress in their life. Every night I look up at the sky about 7:45 PM and say goodnight to my girls. In closing, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this.
1:15:12 Courtney Brown? Please tell the girls before they go to bed, I love them, and give them a big hug and kiss. Thanks again, Christie.
1:15:20 Colin Brown? This letter alone shows just how much Christie loved her children. Even though she had been separated from her kids for all that time, Christie still knew every little thing about them. She loved them with every fiber of her being, and if they couldn't be in her care, all she wanted was, at the very least, for them to feel loved, supported, and safe in their new home. But sadly, that's not what was happening. In reality, Logan Marr was being abused by Sally Schofield. Logan tried telling people what Sally was doing to her. She told her mom during visitations that Sally wraps her up in blankets, that she will cover her mouth as a punishment, but DHS did nothing about it. Sally herself even told a DHS-appointed therapist that she ties Logan to chairs as punishment.
1:16:06 Colin Brown? But again, even after that was reported, DHS did nothing. And over the next three weeks, Logan continued enduring cruel punishments at the hands of her foster family, all while that foster family was planning to take the girls away from their mother forever.
1:16:25 Courtney Brown? On January 26, 2001, Christie walked into the visitation facility for what would be her very last time. Upon seeing her daughters, she gave them the biggest hug and kiss, like she always did. For the first few minutes, they played together. Christie asked her girls to recite their names, their address, and their phone number. Every visit, she did this with them to ensure they would be safe if they ever needed help or got lost. But on this visit, Logan gave a different answer than usual. "My name is Logan Schofield," she told her mom. Christie's heart sank. She asked Logan, "Why are you saying your last name is Schofield? It's Marr, sweetie."
1:17:07 Courtney Brown? Logan told her mom that Sally told her she was supposed to go by Schofield now. For Christie, it was clear that that had been the plan all along, that Sally Schofield was going to adopt Logan and Bailey. But now, she was hearing it for certain. As Christie left this visitation, she had this nagging feeling that once the adoption was complete, she might not ever get to see her girls. Sally would likely take away her visitation, and that would be it. So knowing what was ahead, Christie decided to write her daughters a letter.
1:17:40 Speaker 03 Dear Logan and Bailey, my sweet little ladies, I think of you so much and often it seems hard to believe your girls have been gone so long now. In a month or so, I see in the chance to lose the both of you forever.
1:17:57 Speaker 03 And it's been no picnic, but this is not your fault. It's mine and mine alone. From what I understand, you girls have things I couldn't or didn't know how to give to you. But I'm trying to learn, and I hope someday you will forgive me for messing up your lives. Please don't forget me. When the day comes you need me or want me, you'll find me. I love you girls forever and always. Love always, Mom.
1:18:24 Colin Brown? After writing the letter, Christie folded it up and kept it close to her. She planned to give her daughters the letter on their next visitation, scheduled for January 31, 2001. As that day neared closer, Christie was counting down the seconds until Logan and Bailey were in her arms. However, on the morning in question, Sally made sure to cancel the visit, claiming that the weather was to blame. And sadly, Christie was never able to give that letter to her girls.
1:18:55 Courtney Brown? On the morning of January 1, Logan and Bailey woke up to a world full of snow. Big, heavy flakes fell from the sky, drifting down in a slow, steady curtain. Being a silly five-year-old over breakfast, Logan told Sally that Dad told her she didn't have to go to school because it was a snow day. It's something that many children from up north pull when the weather is bad. But Sally didn't see it that way. She quickly called her husband Dean to verify that he actually said that. But Dean told her, "No." He never told Logan that she didn't have to go to school. When Sally hung up the phone, she was furious that Logan lied to her. She stuffed Logan into her coat, threw on her backpack,
1:19:39 Courtney Brown? and then sent her out the door with a promise. "When you get home, you're going to be punished for lying to me," she told her. Now, one thing we know for sure is that Logan's punishments were taking a toll on her. I'm sure for that entire day, while she went through kindergarten, playing with blocks, having a nap, and learning to read, that threat was spinning in the back of her head. A threat that Sally had every intention of making good on. Back at the Schofield home, Sally called the babysitter and let her know that Logan was to be put in time out right when she got home from school. And sure enough, when Logan arrived home, the babysitter reminded her that she had to go to time out.
1:20:23 Courtney Brown? At first, like any child, Logan argued, but eventually she went to her room and fell fast asleep. Later that day, Sally arrived home and went upstairs to speak to Logan. And here is what Sally said happened next.
1:20:39 Speaker 04 When I got home, about, I don't know, a little before three, I guess, Logan was asleep. And when she woke up about, I don't know, a half hour, forty-five minutes later, she woke up raging. And I went in and asked her what was going on. And she just, I mean, she just wasn't even responsive to my questions. I mean, it was like she didn't even know. She couldn't, couldn't even tell me. She just wasn't herself.
1:21:23 Speaker 04 I asked her if she needed to scream. And she said, yes. I said, okay, well, then let's put you someplace where you can scream.
1:21:31 Courtney Brown? But one thing to note here is that Sally's story about what happened that afternoon would change. At first, she claimed she was kind to Logan. She said she was worried that perhaps she had a bad dream or a stomach ache. However, later on, she would claim that she was more stern in her approach. Nonetheless, Sally wanted Logan to pay for her outbursts. So she had her teenage son Derek take a high chair into the basement. At first, Derek placed the high chair at the bottom of the steps in a well-lit carpeted area. But Sally wasn't satisfied with that. She moved the high chair to an unfinished portion of the basement, where it was dark, dreary, and crammed with storage items.
1:22:15 Courtney Brown? The floor was concrete, as were the walls. For an adult, it's a spooky place to be. For a child, it's a nightmare. But Sally didn't care. She would later say that she used this location of the basement because it was in a section of the house where Logan could scream and not disturb the other children. You could still hear her from that position, but not as loudly. And they all knew that as soon as Logan was brought down there, she was going to scream. This wasn't the first time this had happened. And from there, Sally marched Logan down into the basement and secured her into the high chair. Before leaving the room, she made sure that the chair was facing the wall,
1:22:59 Courtney Brown? making it even more uncomfortable for Logan. And then, she left her down there to die.
1:23:07 Courtney Brown? It was a fairly slow day for first responders in Chelsea, Maine. But soon enough, they would be responding to a scene that would forever change their lives. Around 5:00 PM on January 31, 2001, Sally Schofield placed a call to 911. When dispatch answered, Sally yelled out that her daughter, quote, "fell down and hit her head," end quote. Immediately, first responders rushed to the scene. Fire Chief Joe Mills was one of the first to arrive, just three minutes after the 911 call. He would later say that calls involving children are always horrible, but this case was by far the worst of his career. Joe rushed down the stairs of the Schofield home.
1:23:52 Courtney Brown? And there, he found five-year-old Logan at the bottom, lying on the carpeted section of the basement. She was wearing a pink jersey and overalls. Her skin was pale and cold, and she looked impossibly small in a large, dark, empty basement. Chief Joe Mills said that he hadn't held a child so small in a long time. His own daughter was grown. She was actually on scene working as a paramedic alongside him. But as he scooped Logan into his arms, one thing was heartbreakingly clear. She was dead weight. Her pastel pink clothes were soiled from her wetting herself.
1:24:33 Courtney Brown? As he lifted her over his shoulder, cradling her, she vomited down his back. For a second, it was actually a sign of hope. If she was throwing up, she might still be alive. There might be time to save her. But that wasn't the case. The vomit was nothing more than postmortem regurgitation.
1:24:53 Courtney Brown? By the time he picked Logan Mar up off that cold basement floor, she was dead. She was just five years old. But shockingly, the woman he expected to care most in the room didn't seem to care at all. Regarding Sally Schofield, Joe told WGME, "She is the most cold-hearted woman I've ever met in my life. She never asked me, 'How is she doing? Is she breathing? Is she going to be all right?'" In fact, before leaving to go to the hospital, Sally walked upstairs to grab her purse and a few belongings. The first responders couldn't believe how unhurried she was. There was no panic, no urgency.
1:25:36 Courtney Brown? Chief Joe Mills' daughter actually spoke with him afterwards. And when she learned that Sally was the mother, she was stunned. Sally was so emotionless that his daughter thought she had to have been a neighbor or a worker of some sort, not someone related to the scene.
1:25:54 Colin Brown? Despite not seeing signs of life, Logan was rushed to Main General Medical Center, where sadly, she was pronounced dead upon arrival. But there were still a lot of questions as to what happened. According to Sally's 911 call, Logan had fallen and hit her head. But from what they could tell, Logan didn't have a head injury. So that day, the local police arrived at the Schofield residence to speak with Sally to find out exactly what had happened. She admitted to investigators that Logan was down there because she was in trouble. She said she made Logan sit in that high chair for about an hour.
1:26:29 Speaker 05 She was free to get out of that chair? Absolutely.
1:26:35 Speaker 05 How long was she there?
1:26:43 Speaker 05 Must have been over an hour.
1:26:46 Speaker 05 Kept going down to check on her, see if she was okay, see if she needed to go to the bathroom, if she was done.
1:26:52 Speaker 05 You know, did she need something?
1:26:54 Colin Brown? Now Sally claimed that she continuously checked on Logan throughout that time. As you just heard her say, she even went down to check and see if Logan needed to use the restroom, which was strange because investigators found Logan soiled in her own urine. But Sally was adamant that she kept checking on her and that everything was fine. She did admit that at one point, she stepped away for a bit longer to start dinner, so during that time she didn't check on her. And that's when Logan went quiet.
1:27:23 Speaker 05 So I went upstairs and put pork chops and baked potatoes in the oven and
1:27:30 Speaker 05 I'd been up there three minutes and I came back and she was quiet and I said,
1:27:37 Speaker 05 "Are you done?"
1:27:40 Speaker 05 And she didn't answer.
1:27:41 Colin Brown? By 4:57 PM, Logan had been down in the basement for over an hour, but she had stopped screaming. So Sally made her way downstairs. And it's there where she found Logan lying in a heap on the floor, still confined to her high chair. As Sally neared closer, she saw that Logan was lying completely still. She reached out and saw that she wasn't breathing and had no pulse. So that's when she called 911.
1:28:08 Speaker 05 So I went down to the bottom of the stairs and I said, "Logan, are you done?" And she was on the floor, still in the high chair. And my first thought was, "Oh my God, you know, she hit her head, she knocked herself out."
1:28:24 Speaker 05 So I picked her up and I took her out to the bottom of the stairs, laid her down and I, at that point, I was just, my heart was racing so hard, I couldn't tell, it was her pulse on my fingers. So I was, at that point, I was sure that what had happened was she had somehow managed to get herself tipped back and hit her head, you know, and kind of knocked herself out or whatever.
1:28:53 Courtney Brown? From the beginning, Sally's story didn't add up. Even if Logan did fall from her high chair, it likely wouldn't have been fatal. And again, from what medical professionals could see, she didn't appear to have a head injury. So what really happened? Well, investigators were about to find their first big clue down in that basement. In the corner of the room, they saw what appeared to be a ball. But not just any ball, it was a ball of crumpled duct tape. Upon further investigation, they found that Logan's hair and saliva were on the tape. Meaning, it had been wrapped around her head.
1:29:33 Courtney Brown? When detectives learned this, they realized that this was not an accident where a little girl fell and hit her head. This was something much darker. And Logan's autopsy would confirm that. It was later determined that Logan died not from blunt force trauma, but from asphyxiation. When she arrived at the hospital, medical staff even found duct tape adhesive still stuck to her body. It was on her wrists, under her chin, and around her entire face. And based on their investigation, here's what they believe actually happened on that fateful day. When Sally returned home, Logan was in her room, quote unquote, "acting out."
1:30:17 Courtney Brown? As a punishment, Sally ordered her teenage son to bring the high chair into the basement. And this wasn't the first time she had done this to Logan. As we mentioned before, Sally admitted to tying Logan to a chair when she got in trouble. But the extent at which she would tie her was extremely underestimated. Based on investigators' findings, when Sally brought Logan down into that basement, she sat her down in the chair and grabbed the duct tape. She stuck the end of it to Logan's body and then began making circles around her, covering her in tape. Sally didn't just tape Logan's body to the chair to keep her in place. Evidence showed that she wrapped it around her face at least three times,
1:31:02 Courtney Brown? covering Logan's mouth and nose. And then she made her way upstairs, where they all listened to Logan's muffled screams. For the next hour, Logan struggled to breathe beneath the layers of duct tape. The five-year-old cried out for help. She screamed, she coughed, she peed. She thrashed around trying to free herself, but it was no use. Sally Schofield had wrapped 48 feet of duct tape around her. She was trapped. During the struggle, frothy blood from her mouth and mucus from her nose stuck to the adhesive covering her face. And in that dark, cold basement, all alone, crying and wishing she was with her mom, Logan took her final breath.
1:31:47 Colin Brown? According to Sally's own teenage son, whose name is Derek, Logan was in the basement for over an hour before she finally stopped crying. Only then did his mother finally go to check on her. But interestingly, when Sally went into the basement to check on her, she came upstairs as if nothing happened. The house was quiet by that point. Logan had already stopped screaming. But there was no urgency in Sally Schofield when she came upstairs. From there, she continued cooking dinner, and then soon afterwards, she went down into the basement again. And it was there where she dialed 911.
1:32:22 Courtney Brown? Now, before first responders arrived at their house, it's important to think about what Sally did after finding Logan. It's believed that the first time she went downstairs, she saw that Logan wasn't moving. Then she found that she wasn't breathing. In a panic, Sally began to remove the duct tape. There was so much of it wrapped around Logan's body and face. I'm sure it took her a while. Sally pulled at the tape. ripping pieces of Logan's hair out in the process. Finally, after removing the forty-eight feet of tape, Sally crumpled it up and threw it into the corner of the basement. She then picked Logan up and moved her to the carpeted portion of the room, near the stairs.
1:33:05 Courtney Brown? The prosecution would later suggest that from there, Sally went back upstairs to put dinner in the oven, pretending like nothing was amiss. Then, her son would later testify that he watched his mom go down into the basement after Logan stopped screaming. Soon after, she walked back down into the basement, only to come running back up to call 911.
1:33:28 Colin Brown? Believe it or not, Sally tried to tell investigators that Logan was known to play with the duct tape in the basement, and it was possible that she had wrapped herself up on her own. However, a portion of a sticker from the high chair was also found on the duct tape, indicating that Logan could not have taped herself to the chair. When confronted with this, Sally changed her story and admitted that she had shown Logan how to wrap herself in duct tape.
1:33:53 Speaker 07 There are some things that we are able to see from medical examiners. There are some conclusions that we can come to so far. We can see that she was
1:34:07 Speaker 07 fully duct taped in that seat. In the duct tape all the way along the seat. Is that what we recall seeing?
1:34:17 Speaker 07 I mean, I didn't pay attention to it. It was just...
1:34:24 Speaker 07 That's one thing that does surprise me, that she would be able to do that, to duct tape herself into the seat. And that's why I'm coming to you today to say, Sally, if you put her to secure her in that seat, it's very important at this point that you tell us that. We know that a five-year-old girl is able to duct tape, and especially on the way you
1:34:45 Speaker 03 So you didn't just tie her in at all? Just one roll?
1:34:50 Speaker 06 To keep her safe.
1:34:52 Speaker 03 It's there. We have the evidence that shows it's there.
1:34:55 Speaker 06 She was talking about the duct tape. And I said, "What are you trying to do?"
1:35:02 Speaker 03 She's saying it's there though, that's the thing.
1:35:04 Speaker 06 The thing is that she made them some porn it. And they said, "What were you trying to do? Tie yourself in?" And she said, "Yeah." So I said, "Like this?" And then I did it.
1:35:19 Colin Brown? But finally, Sally Schofield was sitting across from people whom she couldn't manipulate. On March 8th, 2001, she was charged with depraved indifference, murder, and manslaughter, and she was arrested days later on March 13th. Soon enough, as the news of this crime spread, DHS would be put under the spotlight. The nation was shocked that a DHS worker was responsible for a five-year-old girl's murder. They're supposed to be the ones protecting children, not hurting them. The world was even more shocked to see that before Logan's death, DHS received numerous reports that Sally had been abusing Logan. And time and time again, they refused to intervene. But now that Logan had died in Sally's care,
1:36:01 Colin Brown? they finally stepped in to do something by removing the other children from her home. Something Sally was very upset about.
1:36:09 Speaker 06 The department took my children the next day.
1:36:13 Colin Brown? Did they warn you that that was gonna happen?
1:36:17 Speaker 06 They called me at 6:30 that night to say, "We're on our way with a petition. We're gonna do, take your kids."
1:36:26 Colin Brown? Did you know where they were gonna go?
1:36:29 Speaker 06 No. I told them that I would leave the house. That they didn't have to take my children. "We'll have family come in here and stay with the children. You don't need to remove the children." "No, we're gonna remove the children." The baby had never gone more than 12 hours without seeing me. And he had never even spent the night anywhere without us. And they took him. And we weren't allowed to see him for 10 days. And he was sick.
1:37:12 Courtney Brown? He was tired, and he cried, and he cried, and he kept calling for mommy and daddy.
1:37:19 Courtney Brown? Sally's statements here are pretty ironic. Due to her abuse, her own children were taken away. They became victims of the system. The aching pain of losing her children is the exact same feeling that Christie felt when Logan and Bailey were taken away. But the difference between Sally and Christie is that Christie never laid a hand on her children, yet they were still taken from her. And Logan was put into the care of a stranger who would go on to kill her. When Christie heard the news of Logan's death, her entire world stopped spinning. In the months before her daughter's death, she knew something was going on.
1:38:00 Courtney Brown? She tried to get to the bottom of it, but every time, DHS silenced her. And now it was too late. Her baby girl was gone, and her life would never be the same. For weeks, Christie had been planning on giving Logan that note that she wrote her. She was supposed to give it to her the next time she saw her. That reunion was at a funeral home. When Christie stepped into the building, she held back tears as she looked down into Logan's casket. She was pale and caked with makeup. Christie grabbed a brush and began brushing Logan's hair. And when the brush caught on the stitches around her scalp, Christie winced. The funeral director rubbed her back and told her, "You can't hurt anything.
1:38:46 Courtney Brown? It's okay." So Christie continued to brush her dead daughter's hair. She told the Sun Journal that Logan's hair smelled like apples, something she would have loved. She was wearing an all-purple outfit, her favorite color. And in her tiny arms, Christie placed her favorite book, Winnie the Pooh Gets Stuck. She also put her favorite snack, a Slim Jim. From there, Logan was buried in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, near a quiet stream where she liked to play. Her headstone also revealed her favorite saying, "Talk to the hand."
1:39:22 Colin Brown? In the months after Logan's death, Christie's pain was unimaginable. And it was made even worse by the fact that this entire thing was completely avoidable. If DHS had intervened when the original reports of abuse were documented, some even with DHS caseworkers in the room, Logan's life would have been spared. Unfortunately, DHS and caseworker Allison Peters worked tirelessly to make sure Christie could not have her children, even though there had never been a single documented instance of abuse at Christie's hands. This case would go on to reveal a huge flaw in the system, one that is still being talked about today. But before we get into that, we have to talk about the fate of Sally Schofield.
1:40:06 Colin Brown? On June 18th, 2002, Sally was put on trial for the death of Logan Marr. She opted for a bench trial, which meant that she would not be in front of a jury. Instead, a judge alone would determine her fate.
1:40:21 Speaker 06 In June 2002, Sally was tried for the death of Logan. In her interviews with Frontline, taped before the trial, she would not discuss the circumstances of Logan's death. But she denied having intentionally harmed Logan.
1:40:37 Speaker 05 You maintain that what happened was unavoidable?
1:40:42 Speaker 04 It was certainly unforeseeable.
1:40:48 Speaker 04 Not planned. There was
1:40:54 Speaker 04 absolutely no intention of anything.
1:40:59 Speaker 04 Never in my wildest dreams.
1:41:04 Speaker 04 Did I ever think that anything would happen to Logan?
1:41:08 Colin Brown? Ultimately, despite Sally wrapping duct tape around a five-year-old's face, the judge decided that it was "NOT Sally's intent to murder Logan." So, he ended up throwing out the homicide charge against her. For Sally, this was great news. It was reported that upon hearing it, she celebrated in the street, smiling and hugging her family members. Her attorney Jed Davis later said, "Being called a murderer had been very difficult to live with for Sally. No one would hire her she was harassed on the street." This news was devastating. But, much like every other part of this story, there was nothing anyone could do. Moving forward, the prosecution wanted the maximum penalty for the charges she was facing.
1:41:53 Colin Brown? Prosecutor William Stokes said, "Gasping for breath is not an easy way to die. It's a hard way to die." This certainly does border on torture. During the six-day trial, he also brought a small dummy into the courtroom that he placed into a highchair. He then wrapped the dummy in forty-seven feet of duct tape to show the judge what that would have looked like. Finally, on June twenty-fifth, two thousand and two, the trial came to an end. And everyone was anxiously waiting to hear Sally's fate. That day, the judge announced that she was found guilty of manslaughter, saying that her actions were completely reckless and heinous. And on September twenty-sixth, two thousand and two, Sally was sentenced to twenty-eight years in prison,
1:42:36 Colin Brown? with eight years suspended and six years of probation. Following her release, she was forbidden to be near children under the age of eighteen. But as if this story couldn't get any more heartbreaking, Logan's family would soon face another loss. After Sally's sentencing, the courts decided that the judge's punishment was too harsh. And an appeals court would later sentence Sally to twenty years in prison with three years suspended. This meant that she would only serve seventeen years behind bars for the absolutely heartless, brutal murder of five-year-old Logan Marr.
1:43:16 Courtney Brown? Another disappointing part of this story is that there were never any charges filed against DHS or any of the employees who failed to protect Logan. When looking into her case, there were so many failures from the very beginning. For starters, because Sally Schofield was a supervisor in the main Department of Health and Human Services, putting Logan and Bailey in her care was a violation of state rules. After Logan's death, the head of DHS at the time, a man named Kevin Concanon, stated that there had been no warning signs to indicate that Sally would harm the children. So, they weren't to blame. But as we know, evidence contradicts that.
1:44:00 Courtney Brown? Logan's caseworker, Allison Peters, saw multiple reports that Logan was being abused. Not just from Logan herself, but from Logan's old therapist, Katie Midori. Now Allison Peters did testify during Sally's trial, but she was never asked why she failed to intervene. On her way out of the courtroom, she made sure to shield her face from cameras and she declined any interviews. Ultimately, Allison Peters was placed on paid administrative leave for one month. And after that, she would never return to her career as a caseworker. Today, it's unclear where she is now. But in all of this darkness, we do want to mention a silver lining.
1:44:42 Courtney Brown? Following Logan's death, her sister Bailey was placed into another foster home, which was all the more devastating for her mom, Christie. After everything, she grew to distrust the system. She wanted Bailey in her custody, where she could protect her. So Christie fought with everything in her to get her back. And eventually, it paid off. Bailey was finally in the custody of her mother, after years of fighting with DHS. From there, her case with them was officially closed. But that wouldn't be the last they would hear from her.
1:45:17 Colin Brown? In fact, Christie later sued the state of Maine for not protecting Logan and for allowing Bailey to be in the home where she witnessed her sister's death. Ultimately, Christie won the case and was awarded $400,000 to be split between her attorney and a trust fund established for Bailey's future education. Now, despite everything she faced growing up, Bailey would go on to become a wonderful human being. She did very well in school and was consistently on the honor roll. Then in 2017, she made the decision to enroll in a university in Florida to study marine biology. In her college entrance exams, she touched on the death of her sister publicly for the very first time.
1:45:59 Colin Brown? It's likely the closest account any of us will ever get in regards to what happened that cold winter day in January of 2001. Her essay, titled "I Do It All For Logan And Me", Reads as follows:
1:46:12 Courtney Brown? I believe everyone has a certain person in their life that inspires them to live each day to the fullest. It's what makes them tick. A sole moment in time can be all it takes for a person's view on life to change forever. Looking back into my own past, I can quickly identify who inspires and motivates me to live my life to the fullest. It is her, the one that I feel so close to me, yet nearly impossible to reach. As much as I would love to feel her touch, I know she's in a place with no pain or suffering. She is the reason I wake up every day, ready to fill my own shoes, while attempting to fill a pair for her. My memory of her does not deceive me. Fifteen years later, when I close my eyes at night,
1:46:57 Courtney Brown? the nightmare is still the same. "No," shrieks a small, dark-haired little girl. "I wanna see my mama." "For the last time, it's not going to happen," the woman insists, trying to stay calm. As if on cue, the lights above flicker, and the snow outside is still falling fast. A blood-curdling scream starts coming out of the little girl's mouth. Losing the calm demeanor she just had, the woman shakes her head with fury. "Stop this now. I can't handle this anymore." The woman is screaming and shaking with anger. I sit as still as possible, on the soft rug nearby, not wanting to be noticed. Another scream is let out by the little girl.
1:47:40 Courtney Brown? Somehow this one is louder and more powerful than the previous. The woman stands up and forcefully grabs the child's small, delicate wrists, and pulls her towards the nearby door. Wide-eyed, the child decides to stay quiet, but is still sobbing. The lights briefly flicker again. The woman opens the door and leads the child down the stairs to the basement. I hear two sets of footsteps descend down. My heart is pounding. I am frozen in place. All is quiet at first. Then a violent scream starts. It's heart-wrenching. Finally, the saddest sound, one a wounded animal might make when it knows it's going to die. I hear the little girl's voice for the last time.
1:48:25 Courtney Brown? It's the word, "Help." Everything goes silent, but it seems louder than the screams. Finally, after some time, I hear footsteps coming back up the stairs. But this time, it's only one set. A single tear falls down my face. I wish I could say that this was just a nightmare, that I'm able to wake up and have everything be all okay. Sadly, that is not the case. This is a nightmare that I will have to live with, awake or asleep, for the rest of my life. I heard my older sister's last words during one of Maine's darkest moments on January 31st, 2001. My five-year-old sister's death became national news.
1:49:09 Courtney Brown? Her story prompted Maine to reexamine many of DHS's Child and Family Services policies. Our own foster mother murdered my older sister Logan. Being the survivor of this horrid incident, I push myself to my limits and strive for excellence and everything for the both of us. I'm not saying that any of this has been easy, but it has most certainly shaped me into the person I am today. I know that her life was taken away from her all too soon. This causes me to live each day of my life to the fullest. There are no guarantees in life, so I make the most out of the path I have been given. I do it all for Logan and me.
1:49:50 Colin Brown? In spite of the horrors of what took place that day and what three-year-old Bailey was forced to see, Sally was released from the Maine Correctional Center on April 25th, 2017. And as of the publishing of this episode, Sally lives in a nice house with a view of rolling hills, just a few miles inland from the coast of Maine. In response to her release, Christie told the media, "I can't believe it's happening. There's no peace and justice for Logan. It just must be nice to walk around free knowing you killed a child while the rest of us sit around and suffer. It blows my mind." Unfortunately, all too often, stories don't end the way we wish they did, because around
1:50:32 Colin Brown? the time Sally was released, Christie was battling stage-four lung cancer. And sadly, Christie herself would pass away on November 20th, 2017, at the young age of 40. In her obituary, her wife, Audra, notes that Christie was looking forward to being reunited with Logan after nearly two decades spent without her.
1:50:56 Courtney Brown? At the bare minimum, we have to find some hope in the fact that Logan Marr's death inspired change. Due to extensive media coverage of her passing, it put a spotlight on the failures within the Department of Health and Human Services. Around the time of Logan's passing, the state of Maine was notorious for taking children from their families. Now, don't get me wrong, there are absolutely situations where children do need to be taken away for their own safety. But in a lot of cases, the best thing to do is keep families together and give parents the resources so they can thrive. There's this former foster parent in Maine named Mary Callahan. Through her work, she received funding from the state
1:51:40 Courtney Brown? like foster parents do. But over time, she realized something important. For the majority of children she fostered, the children could have safely stayed in their homes if the kid's parents would have gotten the support that she got for caring for them. Mary said that a lot of times within DHS, especially around the time that Logan Marr was going through the system, quote, "poverty was confused with neglect," end quote. Which was exactly the case for Christy Marr and her daughters. Christie never had any reports of abuse towards Logan or Bailey, but DHS caseworkers concluded that her living conditions, being a single
1:52:21 Courtney Brown? mother with a low income, no driver's license, and uneducated, were neglect. But she loved her daughters more than anything. And in hindsight, it's very clear that both Logan and Bailey would have been better off in her care. Logan would likely still be here today if Christie would have been given another chance. And I think that Bailey growing up to be such a great person is a testament to that. Looking at the bigger picture, there are countless other stories out there that are just like hers. Mary Callahan saw these flaws in the system, and she decided to lead an organization called the Maine Alliance for DHS Accountability and Reform, which aims to fix these flaws.
1:53:05 Courtney Brown? Just recently, in April of 2025, with the help of Mary Callahan and countless others who cared about this cause, lawmakers discussed a bill and formally referred to as Logan's Law. It's a proposal to exclude poverty as a factor when determining child abuse or neglect. Within the proposal, it reads this:
1:53:26 Colin Brown? Children suffer the enormous inherent emotional trauma of needless removal. Children are put at high risk of abuse in foster care itself, where independent studies find the rate of abuse is vastly higher than states report in official figures. And all the false allegations, trivial cases, and cases in which family poverty is confused with neglect, like the case of Logan Marr, steal time from finding those few children in real danger. When a child is needlessly thrown into foster care, he loses not only mom and dad, but often brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, friends, and classmates. He is cut loose from everything loving and familiar. For a young child, it's an experience akin to a kidnapping.
1:54:11 Courtney Brown? Now, I do want to say that there are so many amazing foster parents out there, and the work they do is so important. But in cases where it isn't necessary, we should aim to keep families together. Through Logan's Law, they also want public hearings on abuse complaints, and to establish an independent team outside of DHS to investigate all allegations of abuse involving foster children. They want to prioritize placing children with family members, and allow confidential communication for anyone who feels uncomfortable or threatened for reporting information.
1:54:49 Courtney Brown? And lastly, they want to make sure that there is accountability so that states are in compliance with federal child welfare regulations. So they are doing amazing work. The fact that Logan's law is even being introduced all this time after her death proves that her story is still making a difference. And hopefully, if anything, Logan's tragedy will help ensure that other children are protected from the system that's supposed to keep them safe.
1:55:18 Colin Brown? For today's episode, we will be making a donation to Safe Families for Children, a nonprofit organization that aims to keep children with their families and out of the foster care system. It works with families during a time of crisis, homelessness, illness, job loss, to ensure that their children remain with them while they navigate and stabilize their lives. We also want to thank PBS for their in-depth documentary on this case, The Taking of Logan Marr: Failure to Protect.
1:55:49 Colin Brown? Hey, everybody. Thank you for joining us for this week's episode of Murder in America. Yeah, these types of stories are not only heartbreaking, but they're just absolutely infuriating. I know in my home state of South Dakota, there have been a number of similar cases where children were actually specifically taken from their homes and housed with foster parents so that the government of South Dakota could receive federal funding and different sorts of monies for rehousing these kids with foster parents. There was a whole like rehoming for cash scheme run essentially by the Attorney General at the time, Marty Jackley, who you should not vote for for governor because I think he's going to run for governor. And that's because under Jackley's direction, when those kids were rehomed
1:56:32 Colin Brown? in South Dakota, some of those children were rehomed with known pedophiles. And even when these foster kids escaped the home and reported to authorities that they were being molested, the offices underneath Marty Jackley and under his indirect or direct supervision, they rehoused those children with the same pedophiles that they had reported had been molesting them, all to receive money. And so many times, it boils down to money and power and control. And I don't know, these stories just really get to me and I have that personal connection from my home state that Courtney and I were talking about this just, it's just horrific. And something needs to change there. If you want to help support what we do here on the show, please consider joining us on Patreon.
1:57:14 Colin Brown? On Patreon, you can get early ad-free access to every episode of Murder in America. So if you don't like those pesky ads and you want to listen to the show a day early, supporting us on Patreon is one way to get access to those episodes. And in addition, if you're out of Murder in America episodes and you want more on our Patreon, we have over 140, 150, I don't know how many bonus episodes of the show. These are full-length bonus episodes of Murder in America that we've been producing for years with Courtney and I and the music and sounds, full scripts. And these are episodes that will only live on Patreon, that will never go live on our main feed. So if you want more of the show and you want to help support what we do,
1:57:56 Colin Brown? signing up for Patreon is a win-win all around and we can't thank everybody enough who has already signed up and has joined the family on there. Also, don't forget to follow us on Instagram at Murder in America to see photos slash videos sometimes from every case that we cover here on the show. And as always, please leave us a five-star review wherever you're listening to this show, whether it's Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We love hearing from you guys in that way and those positive five-star reviews help us to get recommended and seen by more people. So, yeah, it's, it's really helpful and it's really great if you guys could just do that for us. Anyways, y'all, we will be back next week with another episode of the show. We cannot thank you guys enough for tuning in week after week.
1:58:39 Colin Brown? And we know that it's horrific stuff, but I'm just glad, you know, at the end of the day that we are bringing these issues up and raising awareness and getting people talking about these things. Because it's only the people who can really change stuff. A lot of times the people at the top, they're not going to care until they start seeing groups of people getting angry and getting worked up and being vocal about their displeasure with policies and ways that some of these organizations or agencies are being ran. But uh, yeah, I hope you all have a great weekend and uh, yeah, we'll see you next week.
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