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Articles / Secret new life of loathed influencer Myka Stauffer: Insiders reveal 'behind ...

« Last post by RDsmum on June 02, 2026, 02:41:32 PM »

https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-15855599/myka-stauffer-new-life-details-rehoming-adopted-son.html

Secret new life of loathed influencer Myka Stauffer: Insiders reveal 'behind the scenes' details of mom who vanished after sparking outrage for 'rehoming' adopted son

By MEREDITH CLARK, US SENIOR NEWS FEATURES WRITER, DAILYMAIL+

Updated: 14:32, 1 June 2026

For Ohio parenting vlogger Myka Stauffer, having a big family was the ultimate goal.  The YouTuber, 38, and her husband James Stauffer, 40, had been documenting their daily lives for eight years on her successful channel, where she boasted more than half a million subscribers.  With four biological children and a fifth child adopted from China, the Stauffers were on their way to becoming the 'one big happy family' that Myka had always dreamed of.  That is, until she posted a video revealing why her adopted son Huxley had disappeared from their social media content.  Sitting beside her husband on their bed and wearing matching white T-shirts, a tearful Myka revealed they had 'rehomed' Huxley due to his behavioral issues just three years after welcoming their son into their family.  The backlash was fierce, with the Delaware County Sheriff's Department receiving such a swarm of complaints from enraged fans that they launched an investigation into the wellbeing of the Stauffer's adopted son.  Nearly six years later, Myka has practically vanished from the internet.  Apart from her Instagram archive of curated family photos sans Huxley, and her husband's car detailing YouTube channel, the daily vlogger hasn't posted on social media since 2020 and has kept comments on her Instagram limited.  After the 2025 HBO Max documentary An Update On Our Family brought renewed attention to Huxley's rehoming, many former fans were left wondering where Myka and her young children are today. But according to sources who exclusively spoke to the Daily Mail, the Stauffers are intent on maintaining a low profile.  'It was an impossible situation. I don't think anyone did everything perfectly right,' said Michael Tobin, an Ohio-based videographer and a family friend of the Stauffers.

It was 2012 when Myka Bellisari, then a full-time nurse, began posting videos about weight loss and life as a single mother on YouTube.  She had welcomed her first daughter, Nakova, with her former partner Joshua Colliver in 2011.  The couple were living in Indianapolis and engaged to be married, as an old Blogspot post from May 2012 resurfaced by the Daily Mail revealed. They had set a wedding date for the following year.  However, it seems they broke up shortly after their engagement, with Myka meeting her current husband James on the dating site OKCupid in 2012.  Today, Colliver lives in Georgia and works as a physician assistant. He did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.  Myka and James were married in 2013, the same year they welcomed their first child together, daughter Jaka. The couple went on to welcome biological sons Radley in 2015 and Onyx in 2019.  They also launched a joint YouTube channel called The Stauffer Life, where Myka would share daily vlogs about their family routine, homeschooling, and cooking and cleaning videos. She ultimately quit nursing, telling her YouTube viewers that James's job as an engineer paid 'at least three times' what she was making.  Tobin, who first met the couple around seven years ago when he was hired to film promotional content for the Stauffers, said Myka and James were just like any other 'regular' couple.  He and his wife, who also have children, soon became 'best friends' with the Stauffers and their kids 'got along pretty well'.  'That family [vlogging] niche is very interesting because you never know what you'll get on screen versus behind the scenes, but it was pretty close to what you saw on screen,' he told the Daily Mail.

'They were very hard-working and business-oriented but they also were chill, funny, and just kind of regular.'

By 2020, Myka had racked up a whopping 700,000 subscribers on her personal YouTube channel and 300,000 subscribers on their family channel.  Their popularity was due in part to clickbait titles promising intimate details within each video, with videos about Myka's fertility journey and pregnancy announcements performing especially well.  Channon Rose, a fellow lifestyle and parenting YouTuber with 968,000 subscribers, first connected with Myka in August 2018 when the two shared their mutual love for each other's content over Instagram DM.  Nearly eight years later, Rose who appeared in the HBO documentary An Update On Our Family still describes Myka as 'one of the kindest people' she has ever met.  'Everything I knew about Myka, from actually knowing her as a person and not a public figure, was that she was one of the kindest people to me,' Rose, 40, told the Daily Mail.

In July 2016, Myka and James shared another surprising announcement with their subscribers that they were in the process of adopting a little boy from China.  As fans of the YouTuber were well aware, Myka had long expressed her desire to expand their family through adoption. Her husband was initially hesitant, she said, but he ultimately agreed.  The couple said they were adopting through the now-closed agency World Association for Children and Parents, or WACAP, and suggested the adoption process was quicker than adopting a child within the United States.  Myka said they looked through hundreds of photos of children who were available for adoption, but none of them 'spoke' to her like the photo of the child they would later rename Huxley.  The adoption agency had informed the Stauffers that Huxley had a 'brain tumor', Myka wrote in a 2019 essay for Parade, but it wasn't until later that they would learn about Huxley's autism diagnosis.  Indeed, Myka's popularity on the platform skyrocketed as she posted viral content about their son's adoption. The Stauffers posted nearly 30 videos throughout their adoption journey, culminating in a YouTube video titled: 'Huxley's EMOTIONAL Adoption VIDEO!! GOTCHA DAY China Adoption.'

The video, which documented the family's trip to China to meet the two-year-old, received a whopping 5.5 million views on YouTube before it was permanently deleted. Intimate moments such as Huxley's first Christmas with their family, bonding with his new siblings and family days out were also shared online.  It seemed Myka's rising popularity had paid off, too, as she landed partnerships with brands such as Glossier, Mattel and Fabletics, and posted sponsored Instagram content for Tide, Canada Dry and Walmart.  The Stauffers apparently used some of the money earned from Myka's YouTube career to fund Huxley's adoption from China.  In a video from January 2017, she asked fans to donate $5 to 'unlock a puzzle piece' that would one day go into Huxley's baby book so he could see 'all the people who helped to generously bring him home'.

In another sponsored video posted in May that year, Myka said she was using the money raised from YouTube ads to go towards Huxley's adoption, writing in the description: 'All Profits are going towards bringing our SON home from China!'

The Stauffers also helped raise money for Huxley's adoption through a GoFundMe page.   In a Delaware County Sheriff's Office investigation report obtained by the Daily Mail, the Stauffers claimed they raised just $800 from the fundraiser, and the total cost of Huxley's adoption was $42,000.  As her content took off, fans began to notice a shift in Myka's otherwise relatable lifestyle. In a 2018 video, Myka was seen wearing an 18-karat gold Cartier Love bracelet that cost more than $6,000 at the time.  It was in that same video that Myka told fans they were downgrading Huxley's speech therapy sessions due to high costs.  But in October that year, the couple purchased a four-bedroom, five-bathroom home in a suburb of Columbus for $670,000. The 4,824sqft home featured multiple fireplaces, a finished basement and a three-car garage.  While it seemed that Myka's YouTube career had taken off, she soon informed her followers of a personal setback. Their adopted son Huxley did not have a brain tumor at all; rather, he had suffered a stroke in utero and had autism and sensory processing disorder.  He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder level three, the most severe form of autism, which created challenges with his communication. But in a YouTube video posted before his adoption, Myka told viewers 'my child is not returnable' and that they 'would love' the youngster 'no matter what state' he came to them in making what happened later even more shocking.  Throughout 2019, Myka shared updates on Huxley's autism diagnosis and ongoing treatment plan. She gushed over being the mother of a child on the autism spectrum for parenting sites like Bump and Mom. She posted clips about his food anxiety and his progress with speech, and even filmed some of Huxley's nonverbal meltdowns.  The couple also revealed that Huxley had trouble breaking his thumb-sucking habit, though they later faced backlash for a since-deleted video that showed Huxley wearing a thumb guard. Eagle-eyed viewers also shared their concerns when they discovered a deleted clip of Huxley wearing what appeared to be duct tape on his thumb.  The Stauffers expanded their family once again in June 2019 with the birth of their son Onyx, but fans soon began to notice a shift in Myka's content namely, that Huxley was no longer being featured on the YouTube channel.  In May 2020, the Stauffers finally answered questions about Huxley's whereabouts in a now infamous YouTube video, titled An Update On Our Family, in which they revealed they were 'rehoming' Huxley.  'With international adoption, sometimes there are unknowns and things that are not transparent on files,' James said. 'Once Huxley came home, there was a lot more special needs that we weren't aware of, and that we were not told.'

Myka added that a private adoption agency had helped place Huxley with his 'forever family', and that his 'new mommy has medical, professional training' with children on the autism spectrum.  While the YouTuber stressed that the family loved Huxley, she explained they weren't able to give him the appropriate care that he needed.  'There's not an ounce of our body that doesn't love Huxley with all of our being,' she said, as her eyes welled up with tears. The influencer said 'the last couple months have been the hardest thing [she] could have ever imagined'.

'Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like, 500 percent,' she admitted.

The couple ended their emotional video with a plea for fans to have 'grace' with them during this difficult time.  'We are still struggling,' Myka said. 'We are going to be heartbroken for a very long time.'

Unsurprisingly, many critics accused the couple of adopting Huxley as a stunt to gain viewers and money from monetized adoption content.  Myka was dropped by Kate Hudson's sportswear company Fabletics, as well as her partnerships with PlaytexBaby, Mattel and Suave.  As the Stauffers' decision to 'rehome' their adopted child sent shockwaves across the internet, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office was forced to launch an investigation after receiving complaints from angry viewers.  In the redacted incident report obtained by the Daily Mail, officer Susanna Leonard wrote that she conducted a 'wellbeing check' on Huxley at his new residence after unnamed tipsters had sent reports that contained 'allegations of abuse'.  Leonard confirmed she met with Huxley and his new 'adoptive family' on June 9, 2020, and Huxley 'appeared to be very happy and well taken care of'.  As part of the investigation, Leonard also met with the Stauffer family on June 4. They provided specific details about Huxley's behavior, according to the report, which included claims of his 'severe aggression towards the other kids'.  The Stauffers described the alleged incidents as 'a very traumatic experience' for their kids, and shared their concerns that his aggressive behavior would worsen as he got older.  The family also claimed they hired 'medical professionals' and therapists to analyze Huxley's behavior, as they described his 'self-injuries' from 'sucking his thumb so raw that he would have blisters'.  According to the report, the Stauffers said they 'couldn't take care of him any more' and that Huxley's rehoming 'had to happen'.  The Delaware County Sheriff's Office ultimately closed the case against the Stauffers on June 18, 2020, after determining there were no signs of physical abuse against any of the children.  Tobin confirmed as much to the Daily Mail, as he recalled how he and his wife visited the Stauffers at their home 'multiple times a week' before they rehomed Huxley.  'Every time we came over and I mean, we all hung out multiple times a week [Huxley] always had full-time therapists there and people trying to help,' he said.

As for their decision to place Huxley with a new adoptive family, Tobin described the emotional toll it took on his friends.  'It tore Myka apart, specifically. I know James was in a really dark place, but he wasn't talking about it,' Tobin said, adding: 'I don't envy anyone in that situation.'

Myka made her final social media post on June 24, where she finally addressed the 'uproar' that followed their rehoming video and apologized for 'letting down' her fans.  'This decision has caused so many people heartbreak and I'm sorry for letting down so many women that looked up to me as a mother,' Myka wrote.

She said she took 'full responsibility' for 'all of the hurt' her actions had caused, and apologized for 'not being able to tell more of my story from the beginning'.  She admitted she was in over her head when she adopted Huxley, calling herself 'naive' about adopting and not 'fully equipped' to deal with the challenge.  Myka said her desire to help a child made her act rashly, admitting: 'I wanted to help so bad I was willing to bring home any child that needed me. For this, I was naive, foolish, and arrogant,' she wrote.

'I wish so bad I would have been more prepared and done more. I wish the decision to disrupt never had to be made.'

Myka also 'debunked' rumors she adopted Huxley 'to gain wealth', explaining: 'While we did receive a small portion of money from videos featuring Huxley and his journey, every penny and much more went back into his care.  Getting Huxley the care and services he needed was very expensive and we made sure he got every service and resource we could possibly find,' she said.

Myka confirmed she and her husband 'are not under any type of investigation' and maintained it was 'the right decision' to place Huxley in someone else's care.  'I can't say I wish this never happened because I'm still so glad Huxley is here and getting all of the help he needs. I also know that even though he is happier in his new home and doing better, he still experienced trauma and I'm sorry, no adoptee deserves any more trauma,' she said.

Looking back, Rose said she believed the backlash the Stauffers received for their decision to rehome Huxley was 'completely blown out of proportion' and 'misconstrued' by the public.  'I don't think she would ever intentionally try to harm her kids,' she told the Daily Mail.

'I really think that everything that happened got completely blown out of proportion and misconstrued. I feel horrible for her because she's a really good person, and she really didn't deserve that public backlash.'

These days, it appears that Myka has entirely gone off the grid.  Her husband James continues to post on YouTube under his channel The Stauffer Garage, where he posts car flipping, cleaning and detailing videos to his 1.3 million subscribers. The couple did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.  While Tobin revealed that he has grown apart from the Stauffers after his family moved away one year ago, he suggested that Myka still has a hand in her husband's social media career – even though she's now taken a backseat.  'She was always a good supporter of his strategy and stuff, so I think they're still doing that,' he told the Daily Mail.

As for Huxley, who is now ten years old, fans believe they have found the child living happily and out of the spotlight.  A social media account belonging to an 'accessible education teacher' named Lauren Flynn appeared to show photos of Huxley, who has since been given the Chinese name Yue Lin, thriving with his new siblings who similarly have special needs.

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Articles / Adoptive dad 'ashamed' of photos he took of baby, murder trial hears

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on May 22, 2026, 11:56:16 AM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y0xz424v1o

Adoptive dad 'ashamed' of photos he took of baby, murder trial hears
Yunus Mulla
North West, Reporting from Preston Crown Court
Published 21 May 2026

A teacher accused of murdering a baby boy he had adopted has told a jury he never hurt or sexually abused the infant.  Jamie Varley denies the murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey.  The 37-year-old, from Blackpool, also denied taking photographs or videos as "trophies" of sexual abuse, but told jurors at Preston Crown Court that he felt "disappointed" and "really ashamed" at some of the images he had taken on his phone.  Varley is alleged to have routinely sexually, physically and emotionally abused the baby he had adopted with his 32-year-old partner John McGowan-Fazakerley. Both men deny all charges against them.  In the fourth week of their trial, Varley gave evidence in his own defence for the first time.  Nick Johnson KC, defending Varley, began by asking: "On 27 July 2023, did you kill Preston Davey by deliberately blocking his airway?"

"No, I did not," Varley replied.

Johnson continued: "Did you sexually assault that child in any way? Did you ever willfully harm Preston physically or psychologically?"

Varley replied: "Absolutely not, our son has never been sexually abused. No."

Jurors were told Preston began living with the defendants at their home in Blackpool on 1 April 2023.  The prosecution allege Preston was routinely ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, and was sexually abused and physically assaulted.  The court heard Varley, who said he had severe dyslexia, became a design and technology teacher and head of year at a high school before meeting his partner.  Varley said: "I had always thought about having kids. I wanted to be a teacher, a daddy. just never thought it was possible once I realised I was a gay man.  John was everything I had ever asked for in a relationship. My whole life just changed when I met John."

Varley said the "early stages" of adoption had been an "eye opener" and that Preston was neither a good sleeper nor in a routine.  He added: "It was challenging in the sense it was new to us.  I felt because I had more experience than John, I felt it was going to be a breeze. But it wasn't."

Varley was asked to explain a text he had sent to his sister about Preston in which, after a sleepless night, he had written: "He's dead meat".

Varley said: "It was just language that I use. In social settings I'm dramatic. Sassy. I just easily throw words about."

He told jurors he had bonded with the baby better than he had expected, as he did not think he could love anything more than his dog, Max.  But his love for Preston exceeded that for his pet, he said.  He added: "When we got the little one, it was special. It was quick. It was strong."

Johnson then asked Varley about photographs of bruises on Preston, who appeared to have a "cluster" of them on his forehead, which child sex abuse expert Dr Joanne Gifford had described as a "red flag".  Varley said Preston, who was learning to crawl, would often bang his head and have little mishaps daily.  He denied ever deliberately bruising the child.  Johnson asked about a photograph of Preston playing naked in a paddling pool, which Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour said showed a shaded mark on the child's bottom which resembled a human bite mark.  Johnson said: "Did you ever bite Preston's bottom? What do you say to the suggestion you bit him and took a photo?"

Varley replied: "Absolutely not. Could not be more wrong."

'Very unsafe'

Johnson asked Varley about a series of photos on his phone of Preston in his cot, along with two toy teddy bears, four days before his death on 27 July 2023.  The images stretch over a period of three minutes and 12 seconds, with the child's head and arms over the top horizontal bar of his cot and his neck resting on the bar.  His body is apparently partially suspended, his legs in a "frog like" position and the child seemingly asleep or unconscious, described to the jury earlier as a "very unsafe" and "dangerous" position.  Varley said Preston had gone to sleep before in "funny positions" and, because he had done so again, he had taken pictures.  Johnson said: "Were these trophies of a sexual encounter?"

"No they were not, no," Varley replied. "I did not even recognise, at the moment, it was inappropriate.  I'm disappointed. I feel shamed. I feel really ashamed.  I did not mean to cause any distress, any harm in that moment. I felt he was safe.  I just wanted to capture him, all of his life. I just wanted to capture every part of his life."

Preston was rushed to hospital on 27 July 2023, having suffered a collapse and cardiac arrest, allegedly following a sexual assault by Varley.  Varley told police he had briefly left the child in the bath and when he returned Preston was off his bath seat and submerged.  The court has heard previously that a post-mortem examination had ruled out drowning and found multiple non-accidental internal and external injuries.  Preston's cause of death was found to be acute upper airway obstruction by either smothering or an object or objects inserted into his mouth.  The jury has heard some injuries to Preston were clinical signs of sexual abuse.  Varley denies murder, manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photographs or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photograph of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photograph.  McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.  The trial has been adjourned until Friday.  Post-mortem, 40 traumatic injuries were found on his body.

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Articles / Boy's adoption overturned after mum dates prisoner

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on May 12, 2026, 11:35:14 AM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx21q2d2y3ro

Boy's adoption overturned after mum dates prisoner

Jonny Manning
North East and Cumbria

Published 11 May 2026

A two-year-old boy's adoption has been overturned after his adoptive mother failed to disclose she was in a relationship with an inmate at the prison where she worked.  In the Court of Appeal ruling, Lord Justice Peter Jackson said the boy was formally adopted by a married couple in Northumberland in November 2025.  However, the child's former social workers were recently told his adoptive father had moved out in October and his mother had begun a new relationship.  Barristers acting for Gateshead Council said the adoption was "unfair to the child" as it had been based on "mistaken" information.  The judge said the prisoner was in custody for drug offences and had previous convictions for battery and possession of weapons.  Jackson said the prisoner had also been accused of child sex offences, but no action was taken against him.  He was released in March but was returned to prison in April for breaching his licence conditions, after he was arrested over allegations of threatening behaviour and criminal damage at the adoptive mother's home, the judge said.

Adoption 'errors'

Social workers also learned the woman was caring for the prisoner's XL bully dog and had twice taken the child to visit the prisoner, who had begun referring to him as his "stepson".  The boy was removed from the mother's care in March and was placed with his adoptive father, before Gateshead Council sought to have the adoption overturned.  Neither his adoptive or birth parents attended the hearing.  His adoptive mother had previously told the council she did not want "any further involvement" with the child. Jackson said the boy had received a "high standard of care" from his adoptive parents, who social workers said loved him "unconditionally".  "The consequence of each of these errors was that the court acted on a fundamentally mistaken basis," he said.

Jackson said the adoption decision was not the fault of the original family court judge, who made it based on the information before her at the time.  The case will return to the family court to be dealt with at a later date.

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Articles / Church of England expected to formally apologise for its role in forced ....

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on May 08, 2026, 11:52:09 AM »

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/09/church-of-england-formal-apology-forced-adoptions

Church of England expected to formally apologise for its role in forced adoptions

Survivors of UK’s mother and baby home scandal welcome news after long campaign for recognition

The Church of England is expected to make a formal apology for its role in forced adoptions and the UK’s mother and baby home scandal.  Survivors of the scandal in which hundreds of thousands of children were forcibly separated from their mothers have welcomed the news after years of campaigning for recognition.  The church ran and was linked to scores of institutions across the country where unmarried pregnant women were sent to have babies in secret in the postwar era before the infants were handed over to married couples, who in some cases had made donations to “moral welfare” organisations involved.  Anglican mother and baby homes were part of a network of properties nationwide, including homes run by the Catholic church and the Salvation Army, which worked alongside statutory agencies. Women and children faced abuse and neglect in the system, but the Westminster government has never formally apologised for its role.  The BBC reports that an “early draft” of an apology from the Church of England said: “We acknowledge the lifelong impact of these experiences and the part the church played in a system shaped by attitudes and behaviours that we now recognise as harmful. For the pain and trauma experienced and still carried by many women and children in church-affiliated mother and baby homes, we are deeply sorry”.

A 2021 parliamentary inquiry found there were 185,000 adoptions involving unmarried mothers in England and Wales between 1949 and 1973 alone and that the state was ultimately responsible for the suffering caused by public institutions and employees involved.  Because the last mother and baby homes closed in the late 1980s and records are incomplete, campaigners say many more people were affected.  Phil Frampton, a writer and campaigner from Manchester, was born in an Anglican institution in 1953 because his parents had been in a mixed heritage relationship. His Nigerian father, a mining engineering researcher, was removed from the country after it became known, while his white British mother, a grammar school teacher from Birmingham, was sent to the Rosemundy mother and baby home in St Agnes, Cornwall.  Frampton said: “A lot of survivors will be delighted. What’s coming is a big victory after all the campaigning people have done over the last 20 years providing that the wording is not mealy-mouthed and designed to protect the church. It will not be good enough for the church to say they were guided by the morality of they time they were supposed to set the morality of the time and they did that by their actions.  The church and state were the principal supporters of forced adoptions and they should be compensating all the survivors for the hell they put them through. If the church is fully open on this, under the new archbishop of Canterbury, then this is part of the pressure on the UK government to apologise. The UK is way behind in making an apology and providing access to records for survivors to find their children and parents, to bring closure and new beginnings.”

Research by Dr Michael Lambert of Lancaster University has indicated the use of the lactation-suppressing drug diethylstilbestrol, which has been linked to an increased risk of cancers, in some unmarried mothers’ homes, while an ITV investigation has revealed unmarked graves across England contain the bodies of babies who did not survive.  Giving evidence to the education select committee last month, the children and families minister, Josh MacAlister, acknowledged that the UK state “had a role” in historical forced adoptions and said the case for a formal apology was “being actively considered”.  The governments of Ireland, Scotland and Wales have all previously issued apologies, as have the Salvation Army and the head of the Catholic church in England and Wales.

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Articles / Supreme Court rejects bid to revoke adoption of sisters

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on May 04, 2026, 06:42:44 PM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4glkwww345o

Supreme Court rejects bid to revoke adoption of sisters

Tom Symonds, Amy Walker and Freya Scott-Turner

Published 22 April 2026

A woman has lost an attempt to undo her adoption of two sisters after judges said to do so would go against the long held principle that adoption is "final and permanent".  The woman made clear in her submission that she had not rejected the children, who are now 18 and 19 and have not been named.  She said she brought the case because of their wishes after they resumed contact with their birth mother, who also supported the application at the UK Supreme Court.  Child protection experts were concerned that if the court had ruled in favour of ending the adoption, it would have destabilised the adoption system itself and made it harder to find potential adopters.  The judges said the state should continue to have the power to decide matters of adoption.  "Parens patriae" or "father of the people" powers, existed "to secure a child's protection and safety from serious harm where there is no adequate mechanism available", they said.

The ruling at the UK's highest court, external said adoption should be "permanent and irrevocable" except in rare cases where an adoption decision had been wrongly taken.  The two children, known as X and Y, had made their own decision to move back in with their birth mother.  The court decided that allowing the appeal would have cut across "detailed and comprehensive" laws passed by parliament to protect children.  The local authority supported the application to revoke the adoption order in respect of Y but not X, while the Department for Education (DfE) also lodged a written case arguing that adoption orders could only be revoked in highly exceptional circumstances.  It said that allowing them to be revoked "based simply on welfare" could undermine their permanency.  "It would leave adopters, birth parents and, perhaps most significantly, children in a state of uncertainty," the DfE's written submission said.

"That would inevitably have an impact on the recruitment of prospective adopters and could either make adopters less committed to their adopted children if difficulties arise or conversely less willing to support ongoing contact with birth families as a consequence."

The children's adoptive mother brought the case because of the children's "wishes and feelings" about the breakdown of the adoption, according to written submissions to the court.  She felt they had been forced to live a "legal fiction", despite the fact their "de facto parent" was again their birth mother.  "This is not because [the adoptive mother] has rejected the children. Her appeal is driven by their welfare alone" the submission says.

The girls were adopted in 2012 aged four and five after a period in foster care but later resumed contact with their mother, which was supported by their adoptive mother.  In 2021, they left their adoptive mother and moved to live with their birth mother. One sister later decided to live with her father.  In February 2023, the local authority issued care proceedings on the basis that the girls were "beyond parental control" and conferred parental responsibility on to their birth parents.  In April 2023, the adoptive mother made an application in the High Court seeking revocation of the adoption order.  A judge then found the court had no power to revoke the adoption orders and refused the application, but the judge made orders allowing both girls to change their surnames to that of their birth mother.  Michael Wells-Greco from legal firm Charles Russell Speechlys which specialises in family law, but was not involved in this case said there was "no easy legal solution where an adoption later breaks down" but the Supreme Court has "now made it clear that adoption is meant to be permanent".

He said: "The court also stressed that, in law, an adopted child is treated no differently from a child born to their parents and just as parenthood cannot be undone in those cases, adoption cannot simply be reversed."

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Articles / Former teacher accused of sexually assaulting and murdering the baby he was ....

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on April 21, 2026, 06:09:54 PM »

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-14817565/teacher-accused-sexually-assaulting-murdering-baby-adopt-court.html

Former teacher accused of sexually assaulting and murdering the baby he was trying to adopt appears in court

By SAM LAWLEY, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 17:09, 16 June 2025 | Updated: 17:09, 16 June 2025

A former teacher accused of sexually assaulting and murdering the baby he was trying to adopt has appeared in court.  Jamie Varley, 36, was in the process of adopting 13-month-old Preston Davey in 2023 along with co-accused John McGowan-Fazakerley, 31, who also appeared in the dock at Preston Crown Court on Monday.   Members of the child's family sat yards away in the public gallery alongside police officers, one woman in tears as she looked over at the defendants.  Varley is accused of murder, manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration of a child, five counts of child cruelty, one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and one count of sexual assault of a child.  He is further accused of 10 counts of taking indecent photographs of a child, one count of distributing indecent photographs of a child, two counts of possessing indecent pseudo images of a child, and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image.  McGowan-Fazakerley is charged with allowing the death of a child, as well as two counts of child cruelty and one count of sexual assault of a child.  All the charges against both men, who lived in Grimsargh, near Preston, span between March and July of 2023, and relate to Preston Davey.  Judge Robert Altham set the date for the trial of both men as April 14, 2026. It is estimated to last up to eight weeks.  He remanded both defendants, who spoke only to confirm their names, in custody to next appear for a plea hearing on October 13.  Judge Robert Altham, at the beginning of a 30-minute hearing dealing with administrative matters, said: 'I gather there are members of Preston's family here. They are most welcome.'

A police investigation first began after officers were called to Blackpool Victoria Hospital at 7.15pm on July 27, 2023 after the baby was brought in unresponsive. Preston was pronounced dead a short time later.  Varley was suspended as teacher at South Shore Academy, Blackpool, when he was arrested in 2023, the Cidari Multi Academy Trust, which now runs the school, said.

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Articles / Man reunited with mum decades after adoption

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on April 04, 2026, 02:30:05 PM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgz8k07lr1o

Man reunited with mum decades after adoption

Marcus Boothe
West of England

Published 2 April 2026

A man who was adopted from Vietnam and recently travelled thousands of miles back there to meet his birth mother said the journey helped him understand "the missing piece of the puzzle" in his life.  Ike Robin, 27, from Bath, was adopted when he was six months old, and raised in Brighton with his three adopted sisters from China.  Throughout his life, Ike said he had questions about his heritage and identity and wanted to know how different life would be if he had not been adopted.  He said he has suffered from 'imposter syndrome', adding he feels "lucky" but there are moments he feels "this was not the life I was meant to have".

Ike was born with two holes in his heart and severely malnourished. He said he owes his life to his adoptive family.  Now working as a nanny, Ike said he always knew he was adopted, but the questions around where he came from grew stronger as he got older.  "When I was younger, being adopted didn't mean too much to me," he said. "As I got older, I questioned more what my life would have looked like if I wasn't adopted."

At the end of 2025, he travelled across Vietnam with his girlfriend and adoptive parents before finally meeting his birth mother for the first time in nearly three decades.  "I didn't know what I was meant to feel, because this is my mum, but she's also a stranger," he said.

When she arrived, Ike said he recognised her immediately.  "I just instantly knew who my mum was," he said. "It was an instinctive feeling."

At his birth mother's request, her identity is not being revealed.  Ike expected to only meet his biological mother, but was instead greeted by his siblings, cousins and grandmother.  Psychotherapist Kimberly Fuller said his experience reflects the complex identity questions many internationally adopted people can face in adulthood.  She said adopted children can struggle with "identity and a sense of belonging", particularly as they reach adolescence and later life.  "For some children they can kind of blend in with their families and people don't necessarily know that they're adopted, and they can hide that part of their identity.  However if it's a transracial adoption it's really hard to do that from the outset, you're already different and then there's an added obvious difference in that you look different to your family," she said.

That can mean people ask questions without considering how that feels or how that could be received, Fuller added.

She explained children can feel disconnected not only from their birth family but also from their culture, language and visible identity.  Fuller also said adoptees can experience conflicting emotions, including gratitude for the life they have been given while also grieving what has been lost.  For Ike's adoptive mother, the reunion was emotional but not threatening.  "I never thought that I was his only mother," Julia Fleming said. "She's his mum, and I'm his mum."

She said the family had always tried to keep their children connected to their heritage, and had supported contact with Ike's birth mother since he was seven.  Ike said the reunion was not about blame, but understanding.  "The main message I wanted to get across was that I don't have any bad feelings towards her," he said. "This can be the start of a new beautiful journey."

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Articles / 'I was taken from my mum while she was unconscious'

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on April 02, 2026, 06:45:46 PM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxd2ql0jn2o

'I was taken from my mum while she was unconscious'

Maisie Lillywhite, West of England and Ross Pollard, Somerset

Published 29 March 2026

A man who is believed to have been put up for adoption while his birth mother was still unconscious has backed calls for the UK government to apologise for forced adoptions.  Gare MacQuarrie met his birth mother in Scotland for the first time in February. He only began searching for her when Nicola Sturgeon apologised to those affected as it made him "change his opinion" of his birth mother.  A report published on Friday by Parliament's cross-party Education Committee said the government must apologise to all those affected by historical forced adoption.  A government spokesperson said: "This abhorrent practice should never have taken place and our deepest sympathies are with all those affected."

About 250,000 women in Britain were coerced into handing over their babies in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s because they were unmarried.  MacQuarrie, who was born in Scotland but lives in Somerset, said he knew he was adopted "from as early as I can remember" because of his adoptive parents' honesty but finally understood when he was a teenager.

Following Sturgeon's apology, MacQuarrie decided to start looking for his birth mother but said it was not an easy journey.  He was helped by Birthlink, a Scottish adoption charity which specialises in reconnecting families affected by adoption.

'The same lie'

Shortly before Christmas 2025, he found out his mother's birth name and they spoke on the phone for the first time.  "We both got told the same lie, that all our records were on paper and they got destroyed in a flood which seems a bit coincidental to me," MacQuarrie said.

In February, he met her.  While MacQuarrie is in contact with his mother and three siblings who he had no idea about the circumstances of his adoption remain slightly unclear.  "I obviously know absolutely nothing about that, only what I've been told," MacQuarrie, who is in his 60s, said of his adoption.

"She said she was in hospital in plaster and social services said: 'You can't go back to that environment.'  That was the end of the matter because you can't argue with them.  She wasn't even conscious. She hadn't come round from the anaesthetic for giving birth, is what she said.  And who am I to argue with her? At least I know where I came from. I don't really need to know the rest of it."

On Friday, the BBC covered the story of Vik Fielder, who said her mum, then 18, "desperately" tried to keep her after giving birth but she was forcibly put up for adoption.

'A lot happier'

MacQuarrie added Sturgeon's apology made him realise his mum, now in her 80s, "might not have had a choice in the matter".

He said in the last few weeks, since meeting his birth mother, he felt "a lot happier", but thought more could be done to help others who were in his past situation.  "This took about seven or eight years to do. I would like to think that other people will change their minds on what their actual circumstances were because they might not have had a choice in the matter and they should have had," he said.

"Adoption is a great thing for some people, and it would be a lot easier, I think, for children, if they could keep in contact with the people they're supposed to be with.  I know it doesn't always work out that way, but you should have the right to at least know where you come from."

A government spokesperson said the issue of forced adoption was taken "very seriously" and the government would "continue to engage with those affected to provide support".

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Articles / Sadistic lesbian foster moms made boy, 12, wear soaking wetsuit and joked....

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on March 31, 2026, 04:36:34 PM »

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/crime-desk/article-15691433/hamber-cooney-toronto-foster-murder-trial.html

Sadistic lesbian foster moms made boy, 12, wear soaking wetsuit and joked 'Shiver, shiver dumb f**k' before his horrific death, murder trial hears

    GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING

By JACK TOLEDO

Published: 15:44, 30 March 2026 | Updated: 16:52, 30 March 2026

Two lesbian foster moms tortured a 12-year-old boy by forcing him to wear a soaking wetsuit as they mocked him in gut-wrenching messages before he was tragically found dead, prosecutors claim.  The disturbing claims about the death of the Canadian child, identified only as LL, have come to light during the murder trial of Becky Hamber, 44, and 46-year-old Brandy Cooney.  LL, who died on December 21, 2022, was found soaking wet, unresponsive, and emaciated in the basement of the couple's Toronto-area home before being pronounced dead at the hospital, the court was told.  Attorneys finished their closing arguments on Friday, as both women have denied charges of first-degree murder, unlawful confinement, and assault with a weapon, according to Law & Crime.  Prosecutors used their final remarks to detail how the women allegedly starved LL and his younger brother, who has been identified as JL, and forced them to wear wetsuits and helmets.  The foster mothers, who were in the process of adopting the boys, did it because they 'hated' the boys, attorneys told the court.  Messages between the women presented by the prosecutors showed the sick duo allegedly say: 'Shiver, shiver dumb f**k.'

Additionally, prosecutors claimed the women suggested that if the young boy wanted to stay warm, he would need to exercise.  Prosecutor Monica MacKenzie said that the women knew the consequences of their abuse after Cooney sent Hamber a worried text that the boy was going to die.  'Unfortunately, my thoughts [are] he is suddenly going to die, and I'm going to jail,' Cooney allegedly wrote.

Defense lawyers argued that the wetsuits and helmets were in the boys' best interests to prevent them from hurting themselves and having accidents around the house.  Attorneys for the couple also mentioned that social workers never questioned the mother's methods and did not raise concerns.  However, earlier in the trial, social worker Faisel Modhi claimed that LL slept on a tiny cot that was frequently covered by vomit.  Modhi said Cooney's father, who lived with the couple, informed him that the boy's bedspace was not washed other than being cleaned up with a wipe.  Cooney and Hamber told Modhi that on the day of his death, the child had largely been by himself other than at a point when he threw up his breakfast and lunch, according to Modhi's testimony.  The pair told Modhi that their prospective son had an eating disorder and regurgitated his food.  'They admitted [he] was 48 pounds,' Modhi said to the court. 'But stated it was because he would throw up food, chew it again, and lick it off the floor.'

Modhi added that the couple would direct LL to do yoga poses or walk around his basement room as he agonized.  Footage of the boy's room was shown in court, with a voice said to belong to Hamber heard telling him to 'lay down because he was being disrespectful.'

Cooney told Modhi she took LL's blanket away from him later that day and instructed the child to 'calm down', the social worker said.  The next time she checked, LL was unresponsive and with 'vomit everywhere,' the Ontario court was told.  The lesbian couple then called 911, Modhi testified, but it was too late.  Previously in the trial, the prosecution also showed a video of JL's interview with police in September 2023, when he told them that Children's Aid Society workers who visited the home never saw what went on.  He said Hamber and Cooney dressed him in normal clothing during the visits.  JL also echoed claims that he and his brother were forced to wear hockey helmets and wetsuits for hours on end.  He alleged that the foster moms would lock him and his brother in their rooms at night while constantly monitoring their behavior with cameras.  JL claimed in court that his potential adoptive parents would often ban him from speaking for days at a time.  The boys first moved into the couple's home in 2017, but JL testified in November that the couple quickly separated them from playing together because 'sometimes we'd argue'.

Once the couple began homeschooling them in 2020 after COVID-19 hit, JL said he began seeing his brother less often despite living in the same house.  Cooney and Hamber's fate will be decided by Justice Clayton Conlan.  A short update on the case is expected on April 24, and Justice Conlan may inform the court when he expects to have a decision.

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Articles / 'Mum took own life after a forced adoption now I want an apology'

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on March 28, 2026, 03:50:27 PM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwj2nrnwwyo

'Mum took own life after a forced adoption now I want an apology'

Chloe Harcombe, Harriet Robinson and Madeleine Ware, West of England
Published 27 March 2026

Vik Fielder's unmarried 18-year-old mother "desperately" tried to keep her baby after giving birth in 1971. But like 250,000 other British women, she was forced to give her child up for adoption. Twenty years later, she took her own life, "which was directly linked to losing her daughter".

Now, Fielder is backing fresh calls for a formal apology from the government. The 54-year-old said it would be the "first step" towards healing the trauma felt by survivors.  Following decades of calls for action, the Education Select Committee has recommended the government provides a formal apology and begins working with survivors.  Fielder said this would "go a long way towards acknowledging the fact that there was harm done".

The government said its "deepest sympathies" were with all those affected and it was "actively considering" an apology.

    If you have been affected by the content in this article, support and information can be found on the BBC's Action Line.

Fielder, a veteran who now lives on the Quantocks in Somerset, is one of an estimated 250,000 women who were affected by forced adoptions in Britain in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.  Fielder said her mum "had no other choice" other than to give her up "and as a result of that she was dead by the time she was 38".

After reading her adoption files, she said: "It's quite heartbreaking to see the letters that go from the adoption agency to her asking her to sign her rights away knowing that she was desperately trying to find somewhere to live so she could keep me.  I had two hits from [a genealogy website] and straight away one of them got back to me and said 'I know exactly who you are, can I phone you?'  Then she told me that unfortunately my mother had passed away in 1992.  She was only 38 and it was directly because of having to give me up.  We never got a chance to meet, I never got the chance to meet my father."

She also discovered she had a sister who lived lived 40 miles (64km) from her home.  "We didn't know about each other for 50 years, that hurts because it's a relationship that I could've had with her, it's a relationship that my children could have had with their cousins which we could never get back," she added.

Fielder, who was adopted at seven days old, said it took four years for her to receive appropriate mental health treatment for issues linked to her adoption.  Being a veteran under the Armed Forces, she could have had her therapy fast-tracked, but decided it would have been "wrong because it wasn't connected to my military service".

She would like to see the same fast-tracked care given to adoptees and birth parents.  "I think an apology will go a long way towards acknowledging the fact that there was harm done," said Fielder, adding that this would make it easier for those affected to access mental health support.

The adoptee said she would also like people like her to have a marker on their medical records because having to repeat her background to medical professionals "is very, very triggering".

She said giving evidence and telling her story repeatedly had also been "exhausting".  Helen Hayes MP, chair of the committee, said: "Survivors have suffered for far too long. They simply want to move on with their lives.  "A formal apology is an essential step towards delivering the peace survivors deserve."

In the report published on Friday, the Education Select Committee recommended the government must provide an "unqualified formal apology" to all those affected by forced adoption in the UK.  The cross-party committee said ministers should provide an initial commitment to apologise, begin working with survivor groups, and commit publicly to a clear timetable for developing and issuing its apology.  Fielder said the report reflected a lot of the recommendations made by the Adult Adoptee Movement (AMM), a support group she is a member of and which has been campaigning for a formal apology from the government.  "It's the first step towards community healing, both communities, because there's a lot of guilt and shame involved in adoption and I think I can see the apology as a way of lifting that, particularly for the mothers," she said.

'Unimaginable trauma'

Hayes described hearing the evidence from survivors as "one of the most moving" days she had experienced in Parliament.  She said historical forced adoption caused "unimaginable trauma for multiple generations of women and profound, often devastating impacts for their children".

In a statement, the AMM said it welcomed the report and that an apology was "clearly overdue".  A spokesperson said: "Testimony from survivors and expert witnesses lays bare the shocking treatment experienced by both mothers and adoptees.  The system that enabled this abuse was funded and facilitated by the state.  We call on the government to engage with survivors to implement the report's recommendations."

A government spokesperson said the "abhorrent practice" should never have taken place.  Our deepest sympathies are with all those affected.  We take this issue extremely seriously and continue to engage with those affected to provide support," they added.