Case reveals a short life of horrors
Adoptive parents accused of abusing, killing boy, 7
LANSING, Michigan (AP) -- Ricky Holland had two sets of parents in his short life. His biological parents were accused of neglecting him. His adoptive parents are now charged with killing him.
The 7-year-old's decomposed body was recovered from a roadside ditch in late January, nearly seven months after he went missing.
Volunteers, dive teams and K-9 units had scoured for 10 days in ever-widening circles. Through it all, Ricky's adoptive parents told searchers and the media that he'd run away.
A preliminary autopsy shows that Ricky's elbow, shoulder blade, nose and upper jaw were broken at or near the time of his death.
Tim Holland, 36, told detectives that his wife struck Ricky twice in the head with a hammer, but Lisa Holland, 34, said her husband killed him.
Both have pleaded not guilty to murder charges. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.
Abuse may have marred Ricky's years with the Hollands, who became his foster parents in 2000 and adopted him in 2003. But neglect marked his time with his birth parents, whose rights were terminated in 2002, according to court documents.
When Ricky was 3, his biological mother, Casey Gann, told state officials she was homeless, jobless and wanted Ricky put into foster care. She was 16 when Ricky was born in California.
The 40-year-old father, Ricky Gann, was imprisoned there for smuggling 40 pounds of marijuana across the Mexican border. After he was released, he eventually came to Michigan, where he lived out of his car.
The Ganns, who are divorced, each argued for custody of Ricky when the state wanted to end their parental rights. But Judge Chad Schmucker agreed with a state foster care worker and Ricky's court-appointed attorney that the boy's best interests would not be served by living with either biological parent.
"I think (termination) is the only way to give Ricky an opportunity to have a real future ... to have a normal childhood, to do well in school, to thrive," Schmucker said. "I think Ricky needs this."
Brought to school on leash
But Ricky Gann argued his son would suffer more harm by not reuniting with him.
"I don't believe he's happy where he's at," Ricky Gann said of his son. "He wouldn't discuss it with me."
According to detectives, Ricky Holland was brought to school on a leash, put in diapers when he was too old to wear them and given carrot sandwiches for lunch even though he hated carrots, they said.
The boy had unexplained bruises and marks consistent with abuse, authorities said. Yet despite reports of abuse to state officials, the Hollands retained custody of Ricky and four younger children.
Investigators also said they uncovered evidence of "food deprivation," court documents show. When a startled neighbor found Ricky in her kitchen uninvited searching her refrigerator last June, she gave him peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and juice. Ricky ate the food and he asked if he could stay with her.
The Hollands moved from Jackson, Michigan, to nearby Williamston last April. Former neighbors say they never saw Ricky and his siblings playing outside. When the family moved away, they left a baby walker on their lawn for anyone to pick up.
"I just thought that was wonderful of them," said Pam Merrill, 41. "Then to find out they do something like that. You just would never have thought. Never."
Jackson school personnel, however, suspected Ricky was being abused and reported it to state caseworkers at Child Protective Services, according to law enforcement.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm and other state officials have pledged to thoroughly investigate why Ricky was left with his adoptive family despite reports of abuse. The Department of Human Services has said little about the adoption or the Hollands' dealings with caseworkers, citing confidentiality rules.
For now, though, many people just hope Ricky gets a proper burial once the final autopsy is complete.
"It makes me very sad there was a young boy that could have been killed by the people he loved," said Neil Rockind, a former attorney for the Hollands. "That is a very sad and scary thing."
