Jeanette Maples was a 16-year-old girl living in Eugene, Oregon. She had attended Cascade Middle School starting in 2006 and was known for her deep love of reading. In 2008, after finishing eighth grade, she became a home-schooled student registered with the Lane Education Service District. She lived with her mother, Angela McAnulty, and Angela’s husband, Richard McAnulty.
Just before 8 p.m. on December 9, 2009, police and paramedics were called to their home on the 150 block of Howard Avenue. Inside, they found Jeanette unconscious and badly injured in the bathtub. Angela told them that Jeanette had been sleeping in the living room when she suddenly stopped breathing.
Jeanette was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, but she was declared dead shortly after arriving. When medical staff first saw her, it was clear she had suffered from long-term abuse and extreme malnutrition. Dr. Daniel Davis, the pathologist who examined her, said Jeanette had been harmed in so many ways, it was impossible to tell which injury caused her death. She had no fat left on her body and very little muscle, showing signs of severe starvation.
Starvation alone could have killed her, but there were also many injuries on her body in different stages of healing. Dr. Davis counted more than 200 wounds. Many had been made by a hard object with a straight edge. He also found a hole in the back of her head that caused bleeding in her brain. Jeanette had pneumonia too, with a lung infection that may have sent bacteria into her blood and caused her body to go into shock.
The autopsy report said that Jeanette died during, or as a result of, repeated torture and abuse.
That same night, Angela and Richard McAnulty were arrested and taken to the Lane County Jail. Authorities also placed Angela’s two other children, aged 12 and 5, into protective care.
Many people who knew the couple were shocked by the news. Tom Mirsepassi, the man who rented the home to them, said they always seemed friendly and he never had any issues with them. Bobby Stolp, president of Raider Trucking, said Richard had worked for his company for seven years and was always a good employee.
But soon, a dark and violent history inside the home came to light. While searching the house, investigators found disturbing evidence: a broken ruler with blood on it, two blood-stained belts, and tree branches also covered in blood. They also found a room splattered with blood and tissue, clearly used for the abuse. Continue reading
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