Debra’s views were shaped by the anti-establishment writings of the educational theorist John Holt. A former elementary teacher who believed schools made children stupid, Holt advocated for unschooling—letting children pursue their interests freely. Debra embraced his ideas, seeing parallels to her own childhood trauma: her father’s alcohol addiction and institutionalization at McLean Hospital, her sister Ella being forced to give up her baby for adoption after an unwed pregnancy, and her resulting distrust of professionals and institutions.

By the time Debra withdrew Stefan from Brinker Elementary for what should have been his fifth-grade year, the homeschool movement had shifted from Holt’s leftist ideals to a fundamentalist Christian vision led by Raymond Moore. Debra benefited from the legal autonomy these Christian families won, though her own motivation was secular.

One late September Tuesday, Debra drove Stefan to Brinker Elementary during recess and forced him to yell “Suckers!” at his former classmates. When Noah later asked him about the incident, Stefan denied involvement. The boys’ friendship had actually strengthened since homeschooling began because Noah was a latchkey kid whose mother worked late. Noah introduced Stefan to pornography and sexual information learned from an older church friend.

Debra complained that she was essentially babysitting Noah and asked his mother to pay a fee for daily after-school care.