It took Melinda seven and a half years to clear her husbands name. According toa 2015 ABC News report, Hicks saw a business opportunity and began persuading a select fewmostly young, poor women from Georgia and Tennessee who came to him for abortionsto carry their pregnancies to term. A DNA test led Raymann to his biological father, Paul Jack. Apparently, Dr. Hicks had prepared her falsified birth certificate. Baby Melinda cost $US1000, a price Thomas Jugarthy Hicks told her would cover the cost of the biological mothers keep. My whole entire family turned their back on me. Did Joan Crawford adopt from Georgia Tann? Earl Mann plead guilty to the murder of Judy Johnson and the rape, assault and attempted murder of Melindas niece, Brooke. As DNA technology and the ease of testing grew, the numbers grewin the hundreds. Others learn they are related to someone who was pretty high up in the police department at the time as well. The morning after the attack, Brooke regained consciousness and went in search for help. Over the next six years she set about getting DNA samples from her list of 12. She made a vow to find out who had actually killed her mother. Your email address will not be published. In other reported cases, he lied to the birth mothers, telling them their babies had died post-delivery. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The story of the "Hicks Babies" broke almost 20 years ago when a researcher discovered that between 1950 and 1965, a Dr. Thomas Hicks of McCaysville, Georgia, sold babies he delivered in his clinic to couples looking to adopt children. Blasio was one of about 200 infants placed in an illegal black-market baby ring run out of a small Georgia clinic by Dr. Thomas J. Hicks during the 1950s and 1960s. June 12, 2021 by Trisha Faulkner 2 Comments. Falcone said his adoptive mother, now 94, has confirmed the facts. What happened in the dark has come to light and there are some unhappy people. September 8, 1994. Her nose, jaw, collarbone and skull were all broken and she was beaten so badly that her injuries appeared like stab wounds. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks is the bad guy featured in a three-part docuseries titledTaken At Birth. Others may have been from mothers who . He had founded so much secrecy and damage. discovery: { We are your neighbors. The second best result is Eric Ray Hicks age 40s in Greeley, CO in the Westmoor Acres neighborhood. The $1,000 in 1964 he charged the average couple is the equivalent to approximately $30,000 to $45,000 today. "The doctor told her that the baby was dead and had been for a while, said Christopher Truelove, but he doesnt believe it. Back then, it wasnt easy for couples to meet the legal obligations necessary for adoption. Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country. I wanted the person who did this to pay for what they did. After the DNA tests this summer failed to turn up more matches, she's calling for another round soon. Together we were trying to figure this out.. They believed I was sticking up for Clarence. One day, he walked into a common area, and there was Earl Mann, smoking a cigarette. But eventually, those children want to know more about birth parents. Paul Payne was at Chattanooga airport to welcome Diane Warner from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He would sell the babies to parents who wanted to adopt but couldnt afford to do so legally. Talk to News 12 anchors, reporters and meteorologists. The story is the stuff of nightmares. Lead investigator Jane Blasio is joined by Lisa Joyner and Chris Jacobs to find closure for those stolen babies. RICHARD WAGNER "He would take them in his clinic ..provide pre-natal care..take care of them , deliver the child, put it up for adoption.". In the early 1950s, Hicks reportedly began advertising illegal abortion and adoption services on phone booths, bus stations, and bridges. My mother was told they were stillborn and manipulated into donating their bodies to science for their cause of death SIDS. Research by one of the adoptees has identified 200 birth certificates of babies born between 1952 and 1965 in McCaysville, Ga. and placed for adoption, OPINION: Georgias adoption laws evolve, aim to address past concerns, Eddie Rosario believes hes past the vision issues that derailed his 2022 season, Jahmyr Gibbs: Georgia Tech helped make me who I am today, Kirby Smart: No culture problem, no policy change as a result of fatal crash, Thirty-nine years at the AJC, and I owe it all to Guy McIntyre, Felony charges dismissed against Georgias Rara Thomas, Furman tops Mercer in SoCon Tourney quarterfinal, Atlanta visits Miami after Murray's 41-point showing, Morris leads No. TLC's 'Taken at Birth' Investigates Black Market Adoption Ring That Illegally Placed 200 Babies The six-part, three-night special revisits the case of Dr. Thomas J. Hicks, who sold or gave away . Her husband in jail for her mothers murder. Lisa Wingates BEFORE WE WERE YOURS is historical fiction based on a real-life scandal. But on the inside, its a totally different story. An expert in illegal adoption, she helped unravel the mystery of the Hicks Clinic, breaking the story in 1997. Hicks died at age 83 in 1972. Please help direct me as my siblings were not sold, not given up for adoption but were taken. October 12, 2014 / 8:16 PM When Blasios adoptive mother died in 1988, her father shared all he knew of the family secret and Blasio embarked on a journey to learn as much as she could about Doc Hicks. But despite the obstacles, the investigative team with the blessing and cooperation of the Hicks Babies community works to try and bring answers to the families impacted by Dr. Hicks actions, from conventional DNA searches, door-to-door interrogations and a mausoleum search. While there could be reasons for being angry the Truelove family feels excited to find their sibling. In Stapletons case, his biological roots are just starting to poke through the surface. PAUL PAYNE, HIXSON "He did us all a favor..he found us good homes, but where he hurt us the most was that he took the adopted parents names, and put them as natural parents names on the birth certificates." Required fields are marked *. All three parts of theTaken At Birthdocuseries air next week on TLC. I said, Im going to get a Coke. [But] I dont think it initially started that way.. My sister was listening to me, Im hearing things from her that I wasnt privy to about the case. Tiffany Rubin and Kobe Lee: Where Are They Now? He took a plea deal, and was sentenced to 55 years in prison. She couldnt prove it yet, but she was sure she had her killer. It turns out, Diane was a Hicks Babyone of many who were adopted by parents in Ohio,Illinois and other northern states. When ancestry finally gave him a name it changed his life. Paul Payne was adopted in 1952. He's been searching for his biological family for decades. Your email address will not be published. He also secretly placed infants with out-of-state parents in off-the-books adoptions. Dr. Hicks died a disgrace. As , EL NORTE is a melodrama divided into three acts. Paul Payne says his group is not laying blame on the doctor or the townthey are just looking for answers. That it had something to do with the Hicks babies. map: false, My husband didnt know his father. I knew early on that to find my information, I would have to find out who Hicks was. Your email address will not be published. She is close with the group, however, and is considered part of the family. widget: true, The Tennessee Childrens Home Society was closed in 1950 and is not to be confused with the modern-day ministry known as Tennessee Childrens Home, which is accredited by the state of Tennessee. And the pair have formed an easy bond: We have matching DNA tree tattoos on our backs, Stapleton says of his sister Atress Davis. }, But he didnt know about the black market.. I would like to find more answers. Wed love to hear from you. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. They only have the notes their mother kept in her Bible. I think, at first, it was under the table, and then he had seen there was money involved. DIANE WARNER, A HICKS BABY "She called me the next morning and said youre not going to believe this story about the Hicks babies where youre adopted from..it just broke. He was not opposed to making money.". You were able to visit with Margaret Hicks Brown, Dr. Hicks daughter, about her father and the clinic. Warner's mother voluntarily put her up for adoption. That was odd to me.. According to Blasio, only about 50 of the 200-plus children, referred to as Hicks Babies, have been identified and located so far. In the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Thomas Hicks (1888-1972) sold over 200 babies. Clarences lawyers submitted a motion for a new trial, but the prosecution argued Melinda had polluted her family and was coercing them to change their mind. He doesnt talk to any of them but just to have a name made a big difference in our life. Thomas Hicks, a Georgia doctor, had illegally sold more than 200 babies from the back door of his clinic. They were adopted through the Georgia clinic that created a national furor back in. The news captivated many outside McCaysville. I was writing him fictitious letters as a pen pal. But sometimes, when women came to him for an abortion, he instead coaxed them to carry their babies to term then took the infants off their hands and sold them for anywhere between $100 and $1,000. 1 season available (3 episodes) In 1997 a shocking story surfaced. Mocs Jake Stephens Returns and Throws Down a Double-Double in Win Over VMI, EPB Working to Restore Thousands of Power Outages, Mocs OL McClendon Curtis Gets a Shot to Shine at NFL Combine, Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum Closed After Piece of Concrete Falls From Ceiling. Providing a child without concern for the birth parents or the babys safety, without providing recourse for anyone in this situation, is human traffickinga meretransaction. It worked. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". }, For more information, visit missamericamovie.com. He told me what he charged, and we both knew I couldnt afford him. publisher_id: "7057", The number of those who have reunited with a biological parent is even smaller approximately 15. It has been a very long journey and its not over.. His wife was a Baptist Sunday school teacher, according to PEOPLE. It wouldnt be until 30 years later that Melinda and Judy would realise they were part of a devastating black market plot by Dr Hicks to illegally sell newborn babies to couples in six states in America from 1951 to 1964. Dawson is one of about 200 so-called "Hicks babies," who were sold in the '50s and '60s from Dr. Thomas Hicks' clinic. I totally understand what it means not to know who you are. They just know it is confirmed to be over 200. In the mid-1940s, Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks opened the Hicks Community Clinic in the small town of McCaysville, Georgia, mere steps from the Tennessee state line. 21 and scared, from Chattanooga. In her spare time, she enjoys raising awareness about autism and spending time with her two children. element: "#evvnt-calendar-widget", The "Hicks Babies" are now grown and many have babies and grandbabies of their own. Then, he would turn around and sell it out the backdoor of his clinic. Dawson says in 1962,. When most people consider a life of thievery and crime, the last thing they'd think of stealing is a baby. The only people who knew who the mother was would be Hicks and the mother herself. When women actually came to him to have babies, he would often say the baby was stillborn. Taken At Birth airs Oct. 9 through Oct. 11 from 9-11 p.m. Richard Wagner, a city councilman and retired engineer, lives right across the street. Many people from McCaysville have said that Dr. Hicks was doing a public service by putting so many babies into the arms of parents who wanted a child. How do you feel about that, particularly in light of Kitty Selfs situation in January of 1965? The shocking truth broke in 1997 after several Hicks Babies began to uncover the dark secret of their origin stories. Talk to News 12 anchors, reporters and meteorologists. He had done prison time for selling drugs in Tennessee and lost his. Hicks, who owns a dog and a cat, set up a nice space for the rescue pet in her garage, complete with a litter box, cat food, water and a "cozy" box that included a soft sweater. Dawson says in 1962, her adoptive parents paid $1,000 for her. Dr. Hicks had a few different approaches for obtaining babies that he could turn around and sell on the black market. By the end of the docuseries, unfortunately, it did not seem that she had gotten any closer to tracking down her own biological parents. Download the News 12 News and Weather Apps on your smart phone or tablet device to receive breaking news and weather push notifications the minute it happens. She said, I dont think that his eyes [the killer] were blue, Melinda recalled. He then took them to Rose Hill Cemetery and proceeded to bury them all alive. Taken at Birth airs Oct. 9 through Oct. 11 from 9-11 p.m. Once the babies were born, Hicks contacted prospective adoptive parents and told them he had a baby. For Blasio, that moment came in 2017 when she got a hit through ancestry.com and found her father who had died in 2010. Jane Blasio is the youngest of the known Hicks Babies. Without a birth certificate in hand, parents were terrified to take this tiny baby to the hospital. Word spread that his clinic would take . detail_page_enabled: true, Your email address will not be published. One of the Hicks babies, for example, discovers they are actually the biological daughter of the individual who was the mayor of the town at the time. His work remained buried as well. Bloodied and bruised, she ended up at the next door neighbours house. A couple of the women jurors were crying.. Mocs Jake Stephens Returns and Throws Down a Double-Double in Win Over VMI, EPB Working to Restore Thousands of Power Outages, Mocs OL McClendon Curtis Gets a Shot to Shine at NFL Combine, Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum Closed After Piece of Concrete Falls From Ceiling. Mobile App|Weather App | WDEF Email Sign Up. Stapleton, who now lives in Long Beach, Calif., with his longtime girlfriend, was reunited with a half sister, with whom he shares a father. The Hicks babies were babies sold by Dr. Thomas J. Hicks to different families. John and Cyndy were just two of more than 200 newborns sold by Dr. Thomas Hicks, a doctor in McCaysville, Ga., who was selling babies out of the back door of his clinic in the 1950s and '60s.. The late Dr. Thomas Hicks was wrapped up in the Black Market for Babies during the 50s and 60s. He has no interest in connecting with his two long-lost children. June 21, 2014 at 1:00 a.m. | Updated June 22, 2014 at 12:01 a.m. The shocking truth broke in 1997 after several Hicks Babies began to uncover the dark secret of their backstories. They remain friends, but Melinda said its a lot to come back from. Richard L Hicks of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee was born on April 23, 1927, and died at age 67 years old on September 8, 1994. ET on TLC. He reportedly performed abortions, which were illegal at the time, for $100. Hicks'. Margaret was very controlled emotionally, until she began talking about her father. But he never wrote me back.. Some were children of women Hicks convinced not to have abortions. The Tennessee Childrens Home has no legacy connection with Georgia Tann nor the Society she operated. About a year later, the couple bought a baby girl from Hicks. The hardest thing is, emotionally, I dont show a lot. They had Clarence in handcuffs in the back of a patrol car. After you went public with your story in 1997, you were contacted by a woman who thought you might be the daughter of her good friend, Kitty Self, because of your striking resemblance to both Self and her son. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. I asked, do you know who he is? Clarence said, yeh, hes sitting by the window in the back. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. He committed other assaults on the elderly while he was out. Its now a pizza restaurant. The townspeople believed he encouraged pregnant women who came to him to carry their babies to term instead. After she was killed, "I called them and they did a little tribute to her at the end," Melinda told news.com.au. If you think you might be a Hicks baby or a relative of a Hicks baby, please contact adoptee Paul Payne in Hixson at 423-637-2617 or adoptee Melinda Elkins Dawson in Ohio at 937-248-4712. The research and initial story, which I brought out in 1997, was the open door everyone needed to start their search. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks, died in 1972 but he left behind a legacy that has divided many residents in the town of McCaysville. When I started searching I did a lot of research about Tonia and Earl. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Author: Laura Parker. The Childrens Home Society was closed. submission: { She enjoys writing about the Showtime series Shameless, CBSs Survivor, Netflix, TOWIE, and some entertainment/celebrity news. Were there more doctors involved? Last Known Residence. Eric is related to Michael Jay Hicks and Rhonda Susan Hicks as well as 3 additional people. He also shares personal stories and insights from his own journey as a scientist and researcher. Once a DNA registry was set up, the first round of DNA in 1997 brought eight direct connections, and over the years that compounded as family members united and began acquainting themselves. "This is actually happening. With the advent of commercially available DNA testing, about 30 Hicks babies descended on the town in 2014 hoping to find their birth families. Dr. Hicks told the first Hicks babys mother that the baby died. There is no evidence that any of the babies that were adopted through the actions of Dr. Hicks are related to him. That must have been right before she went unconscious. [Stream episodes of The First 48: Missing Persons in the A&E app. His death occurred in 1972, long before any of the children that had been adopted illegally through Dr. Hicks' clinic had discovered the truth about their origins. John and Cyndy were just two of more than 200 newborns sold by Dr. Thomas Hicks, a doctor in McCaysville, Ga., who was selling babies out of the back door of his clinic in the 1950s and 60s. Estimated reading time: 5 minutes From 1951 to 1965 Dr. Thomas Jugarthy Hicks began to quietly offer babies for adoption from his Hicks Community Clinic in McCaysville, GA. When he walked away, Clarence got his sample. Never miss a story by signing up for the newsletter now. The documentary originally aired in 2019 on TLC, but has since migrated to Hulu. 7 talking about this. But falsifying the birth certificates was, and still is the big stumbling block for the Hicks babies. She was actually from another clinic located in Chattanooga. MCCAYSVILLE, GA (WDEF-TV) - The "Hicks Babies" will be back in McCaysville tomorrow. I was collecting DNA all up to the point I figured out it was Earl Mann, Melinda said. Seeking family links 'Hicks babies' hope DNA will uncover histories 2014-06-22 - By Joan McClane Staff Writer . It was then she began to think hard, but it wasnt in obvious detail that she gave information; she skirted questions by referring to the clinic as, I know what my father did. Her face showed the pain and generational regret, and then tears. Dr. Thomas J. Hicks performed abortions in the 1950s, long before abortions were legalized in Roe v. Wade.