Liver Split In Two, Every Bone In His Body Broken – The Story Of Adam Mann
Before we start today’s video, I’d like to take a moment to give my heartfelt condolences to the siblings of Adam Mann, the child we will be discussing today. I’d also like to give a big thank you to the brother of Adam Mann, Keith Mann, who was able to answer some questions, share his memories of his time in the Bronx with his brothers, and, of course, share memories of his brother Adam. At the end of the day, today’s story is just as much about Adam’s siblings as it is about him.
The details of today’s story sound like a lot of the other stories we’ve seen on this channel before—a problem that has plagued this city, this country, and different parts of the world for as long as we could remember. Part of today’s story starts and ends in Edenwald Houses in the Bronx and was first documented on film exactly 40 years ago today. Now, it’s never my intention to reopen old wounds for the families of these victims, but the truth is these are simply stories that we can’t stop telling, and these victims’ names should never be forgotten. So it’s always important to continue the discussion. I have to warn that today’s video has some of the worst details, if not the worst I’ve ever covered on this channel, especially when it comes to children, so please go in with caution. Before jumping in, viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Over the years, the Edenwald Houses have been in the news for a number of reasons, but back in the ’80s, it was the backdrop for a PBS Frontline documentary. The name of that piece was The Child Savers, which aired in February of 1985. The footage was also included in the 1991 documentary Who Killed Adam Mann? If you haven’t seen that documentary, the link will be left in the description. Much like me today, those filmmakers took a step into the Edenwald Houses, giving viewers a much closer look at what happened beyond those walls, and what the general public would learn from those films was a tough pill to swallow.
Some of the footage in Carol Langer’s documentary was shot on New Year’s Eve of 1983, exactly 40 years ago. In that piece, they’re investigating a call to the home of Michelle Mann. They’re responding to a complaint of child abuse in the home, and the main child is one of the Mann children who will be left unnamed for privacy reasons. It’s known that when this footage was shot in 1983, the child in question had suffered fractures of his skull, ribs, face, and arms over the course of 14 months. During the filming, it was the third abuse report that they were responding to. The workers investigate the home and children to check for signs of abuse.
Now, it might have seemed obvious to those who saw the documentary on Adam Mann that these children showed various signs of physical trauma all over their bodies. But regardless, the children are left in the home because, according to the caseworkers, they couldn’t find a reason to remove the child—something we’ve seen and heard about time and time again. And just about 15 months later, this couple would give birth to Adam Mann, and while his siblings survived years of torment, the world would soon learn the details of his tragically short life. On today’s episode of Evil Intentions, this is What Becomes of the Broken: The Story of Adam Mann.
“It’s not all in the past either, all part of a numbing routine of violence in the Edenwald Houses that led this past weekend to the death…”
Adam Mann was born on February 20th of 1985 and resided in the Bronx, New York. He was born to a woman by the name of Michelle Mann and a man by the name of Rufus Chisum. At the time, Michelle Mann resided at 4030 Laconia Ave, while Chisum resided nearby at 1153 East 229th. Adam had three older brothers and a young sister who was only a few months old, and during his short time here, him and his brothers would all share a very close bond. Their childhoods weren’t the easiest, but even through the difficult challenges they faced, they had some of the best memories together growing up in the Bronx.
To pass the time during the summers, the Mann brothers would spend time at the local pool, keeping cool in the sweltering heat. They loved going swimming and being in the water. They also loved going to the parks together and playing football, since they were all very energetic kids. Other activities included the kids and family going to their grandparents’ apartment, where the children spent time running through the home and dancing with their aunt and the rest of the adults.
A lot of these activities might sound very familiar because a lot of us have some of those same memories. But unfortunately, since long before Adam was even born, his siblings were dealing with a level of trauma that many wouldn’t even believe. A history of abuse followed the household. As chronicled in the documentary mentioned earlier, it would highlight just how many failures it took for this child to lose his life, and it would delve deep into the dark history of severe abuse that was always an issue.
While potty training one of the children, it was stated that Michelle Mann was cruel and excessive with the child. Mann herself had experienced growing up in the same system her children would become so familiar with. She was also abused as a child. Her mother was often in prison. Her mother died while trying to stab another woman during a fight because she ran through a six-story window, falling to her death in the process. Her mother also had a history of drug abuse. Aside from that, Mann also stated that her adopted father would consistently violate her, and she was even taken out of his care because of those allegations, but eventually she was returned to his home even when it was known that she was violated by him.
She found it very hard to bond with her kids or properly care for them, presumably because of these contributing factors. The same treatment was given to her kids at her hands when it came to violence. On one occasion, case records show that the same child who was filmed in The Child Savers was taken to the hospital for a broken jaw. For that, the child’s grandfather was blamed, although it couldn’t be substantiated at the time, and this was said to have taken place just 12 days after the Frontline news crew was in the home.
A caseworker by the name of Helen Henan was called by doctors, and when she got involved, she witnessed some of this behavior for herself. One time during a visit, she witnessed Michelle Mann slap one of the children when the child wouldn’t do as he was told. Or if he didn’t do his business on the toilet, he would be forced to sit on the toilet for hours and then forced into a closet where he couldn’t see the light of day for hours on end. Henan had absolutely no power to take the children out of the home, but she was very clear on how she felt about all of this. She knew those children were in serious danger, so during another visit, she filed another abuse report on this same child.
A few days later, Dr. Robert Sundell of Columbia Presbyterian also filed an abuse report on the same kid. He stated that the child was found to be covered in bruises and he had many fractures. He was also treated for a fractured skull, and one of the first questions asked by the lead caseworker was, “Couldn’t this have been possible from falling?” because the excuse was that the child fell. There was constant injuries like these that would cause quiet outrage among the doctors in the hospital who knew there was clearly a pattern of abuse and trauma in this household.
It was as if the lead caseworker, a man by the name George Medina, simply didn’t want to take child abuse as the reason these kids were always injured. Nothing was being done. Instead, he was covering himself since he had been absent for such a large portion of the abuse and the neglect. Not doing his job, he hadn’t been to the house to visit in months, even though he was supposed to be visiting on a monthly basis, leaving those children in a very violent home. The doctors urged Henan and her agency to keep filing reports or to try and step in, but again, Henan didn’t hold the power.
About a week later in June of 1984, a petition of child abuse was finally filed against Michelle Mann by George Medina, and Adam’s siblings were removed from the home. They were placed in the Brooklyn Home for Children while they waited on the outcome of a hearing in the case. This was finally done because George Medina, the one overseeing the Mann case who had failed to visit the household for so long, had no choice but to finally address it. As mentioned, this was a caseworker who was not doing his home visits or following up at all, and all of this while abuse was a consistent activity at the home.
People had seen her with their own eyes. Helen Henan, working for a private agency, couldn’t do much, and the case belonged to Medina. It was he who held the ability to make things happen. Another caseworker who had visited the Mann home at another time even offered to testify to let the world know about the abuse that was happening in the home, but he was told by George Medina to mind his position and stay out of the entire ordeal altogether.
The child in question had experienced severe abuse dating back at least 14 months. His injuries included a pierced intestine, ruptured spleen, liver damage, and fractures that covered his face, head, arms, and ribs. She told the caseworker that the child fell and hit himself on a radiator, resulting in his head injuries. But these injuries weren’t the type of injuries children sustain while playing around—not something you see every day. The doctors would find themselves more shocked each time one of these children were brought in—injuries you wouldn’t think would be possible for a child to walk around with.
The aunt of the children would say the following about her interview in family court, giving insight to just how horrific this abuse had become: “They wanted to know what happened to his head. He had a fractured skull. Me and my mother was brushing his hair. I brushed his hair, and I called my mother to look, and he had a soft spot. Our fingers went right inside of it, and then there was one in the back. He wanted to know what happened. I said I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t there.”
Now, these injuries could have resulted in Michelle Mann landing in prison for up to 10 years. This would never happen, though, because the case was never once brought to the attention of the district attorney. George Medina never reported it. He instead brought the case to family court, and in family court, there’s nothing to be done about criminal allegations. Michelle Mann would face a judge on allegations that she was beating her children, and she was going to later plead guilty to excessive corporal punishment, but that charge was reduced to just neglect. And so, regardless of all the evidence supporting that this child was mercilessly beaten and his body showing signs of abuse while in this woman’s care, the child was sent right back to live with his mother.
In February of 1985, Adam Mann was born into protective custody and kept at the hospital’s nursery. These measures had to be taken because, unfortunately, not much had changed. There was still a history of severe abuse, and soon the violence would begin to shift from the other children to also include little Adam. But not before affecting one of the other children—another brother of Adam’s. The child was badly beaten and taken to the hospital, where doctors found that he had a broken leg. Their mother said he fell out of the bed. Over time, more of his injuries included a broken arm and broken wrist. It was said that he always had broken bones, resulting in the children once again being taken to the Brooklyn Home for Children.
When Adam was born, an order was received by Helen Henan advising that Adam not be left in the care of his so-called parents. He was kept in the protective care of child welfare to make sure that he was safe. But Michelle Mann wanted her children back, and again she was given custody, but only if she went into an intense rehabilitation for parenting. She would enter the New York Foundling Center, a place for parents who abuse their children. At just 6 months old, this was where Adam was, along with his mother and one of his siblings, where they would remain for the next year.
After a year, they were discharged from the center, and although they were obligated to make sure that these children were taken into a safe and suitable environment, the people at the Foundling Center would just tell Michelle Mann to move into a shelter. The family had nowhere else to go, therefore they returned to the Laconia houses where Michelle and the children lived with Michelle’s father. A week after she came back to the home, the father of the children, Rufus Chisum, also moved in.
Rufus and Michelle had a long history, meeting back when Michelle was only 15 years old. They were in a constant cycle of abuse and many tense moments. In some of the footage recorded by Frontline, a very angry Chisum held nothing back as he expressed his anger at caseworkers arriving at the home. The caseworkers were accompanied by a police officer for protection. It didn’t stop Chisum from yelling in front of cameras. He had this to say: “These is my kids. I love them. They don’t love them. When they don’t got no food or nothing, they don’t give them nothing. I got to get it. They don’t help them do nothing. They trying to mess our lives up. They trying to take something that we love. You know, there’s no need for this. I swear, I swear I will never forget this day.”
Now, those words are very chilling when you already know how the story ends. Once the family was back in the Bronx, a caseworker from the Foundling Center visited the Mann home and entered yet another abuse report, stating that Michelle Mann had the kids in an environment that was violent and not okay for them. With this one report, the responsibility of what happens to the Mann child was shifted back to child welfare, where things were always a mess to begin with.
Normally I’d love to tell you more about the happier days when it comes to little Adam’s life, but unfortunately, those were rare. While some of these caseworkers were reporting that the kids were fine and perfectly happy, they were back and forth to the hospital with broken bones. They also had scars, burns, and other serious injuries. I have to warn that the following details will be very disturbing for some.
A caseworker by the name of Mary Newman was the new caseworker assigned to the Mann case. On October 2nd of 1986, she contacted the caseworker from the Foundling Center and stated that there was no reason to remove the children from the household. Newman made her home visit as required by law and had intentions of closing this case. For the next 2 years, the abuse would only become even worse for the children, especially Adam.
The sister of Rufus Chisum recalls coming by the home to find Adam standing in a corner with his hands above his head. She walked over and asked him why he was in the corner doing this, as tears began to stream down his face. He would reply that he was in trouble and being punished. She stated that he looked different from the other times. His eyes began to roll to the back of his head, and he kept his arms up. The woman would then ask Michelle Mann why he was being treated this way, and her response was, “Adam was bad.” He was stealing food and juice from the fridge at night, more than likely because he wasn’t being fed.
Michelle Mann had a growing frustration as she was failing to potty train Adam, so she began to starve and beat him as a punishment. Anytime that Adam was beaten, he was never taken to the doctor. She would take her other children to the doctor and pass them off as Adam, telling the caseworkers about the other children’s less severe injuries, making it seem like Adam’s injuries weren’t all that bad.
During this time, while the children were all being abused, caseworkers flat out stopped showing up at the home. It was as if these children were never even on the radar to begin with. According to the caseworker Mary Newman, she stated she thought the case was sent back to the Foundling Center once she entered her report. When she found out that the case wasn’t sent back, she was disgusted with how things were handled. She had about 60 to 70 other cases she was assigned to, and she didn’t think that going back to the Mann home was necessary.
But the beatings were happening just as much, or more frequently during this time. Another brother of Adam’s received a broken arm and was treated at the hospital. When asked how he got this broken arm, the child would tell them that his mother did it. Still, the children remained under her care, and that same child was beaten yet again with the same broken arm, making the injury even worse. Still no removal.
Years passed, and it was the same situation. The kids in a terrible environment with a woman who didn’t know how to be a mother and imposed the harshest punishments when her kids couldn’t train correctly or didn’t do as told. On top of the already well-known facts about this case by this point, at some point toward the end, it would become very clear that the children were also malnourished.
Seven long years of abuse, neglect, hospital visits, and severe trauma will lead us to March 5th of 1990, when Adam was the target of the most brutal attack yet, and his brothers were there to witness the entire thing. During the early morning hours of that day, Adam was sound asleep when Rufus Chisum would rush through the bedroom door, fueled by nothing but anger. According to reports, Chisum would become enraged at Adam taking food from the fridge. He was so angry that he would begin to relentlessly attack Adam, causing a savagely violent beating to rage on at 4030 Laconia Ave in the Edenwald Houses—a beating that would last about an hour long.
Chisum wanted to know why Adam, who wasn’t being fed regularly, was in the fridge taking food. When he didn’t get the answers he wanted, he struck Adam with blow after blow from his fists at full force, each blow heavier than the last on Adam’s small, malnourished frame. He struck him with whatever he could get his hands on. He took a book bag he found near and began striking Adam with it all over his body. He also inflicted critical blows to Adam’s body with a stick and a belt, hitting him so hard so many times that he left his body with more than a 100 welts, bruises, and lacerations all over his 35-pound body. The scars went from his head to his back to his chest. His lips were badly beaten, swollen, and his chest showed so much trauma that it looked like he had been crushed, likely from Chisum’s weight on top of him during the assaults.
The brothers would also state that they were there to see the whole thing, and they watched as Adam was bound and hung from a coat rack, only to be used as a punching bag, his bones breaking from the repeated blows to his body. And the entire time, Adam begged for his father to stop, begging him for mercy. It was also said that throughout the years of torment, Michelle Mann’s father had violated Adam the same way he allegedly violated Michelle, and his body still bore those signs.
A neighbor would rush Adam, still wearing his pajamas, to Our Lady of Mercy Hospital. This was after Chisum knocked on the neighbor’s door stating that Adam wasn’t breathing. When doctors got a hold of Adam’s body, they were shocked to say the least, completely thrown by the fact that they had this child’s body in front of them—broken, battered, and lifeless. Doctors stated that at one time or the other, every single bone in Adam’s body had been broken. During his final moments, one of the blows that Rufus Chisum delivered to Adam’s small frame was so severe that it would split his liver in two, with him quickly losing consciousness. It’s believed that this was the blow that killed Adam. His suffering would finally come to an end when he was pronounced dead at 9:45 a.m.
The opportunity to learn the truth about how and why this city failed Adam Mann and his brothers was lost when there was no trial in the case. This is because of the pleas entered by Chisum and Mann. The veil of secrecy that covered the Child Welfare Administration made it impossible to learn the truth without a trial, so no real responsibility was ever taken. A confidential memorandum that was sent to the commissioner of New York City’s Human Resources Administration clearly stated that all who worked on the Adam Mann case failed. The fatality review board stated that they all failed to properly detect and address the issues going on in the home, leaving the children in an extremely violent household. They failed terribly on follow-ups, and they simply had not done even close to enough. In that same memo, they would suggest that all family members or agencies be contacted if or when things reach this point.
And with that being said, the case of Adam Mann was closed as if it never happened at all. Not one worker involved in that case or their supervisors ever faced any consequences or disciplinary action for their neglect. These so-called Child Savers were exactly like the so-called parents in this case—neglectful.
Funeral arrangements were being made for Adam by Michelle Mann. She went to McCall’s Bronxwood Funeral Home at 4035 Rockwood Avenue. At this point, Rufus Chisum had already been questioned and charged in the death of Adam Mann, but Michelle had been avoiding the police, so they set up surveillance at this funeral home knowing that she would soon arrive to make final arrangements for Adam’s burial. It was here that she too was arrested so that she could answer for her part in the brutal slaying of her own son.
The death of Adam Mann would quickly make its way around the city. Soon after, reports in other states would surface of a child whose life was taken at the hands of his own parents after years of savage abuse. The news came as a shock to many, but many also knew of the abuse, but they were still surprised at how extreme the situation had become. Adam’s siblings would be put into the foster care system after witnessing the worst thing imaginable.
The years of abuse and recent tragedy affected the children in a multitude of ways. According to reports, on one occasion, one of Adam’s brothers tried to run into traffic attempting to take his own life because he said he wanted to join his brother in heaven. During visitations with family, the children could be heard talking about Adam and recalled seeing his face and name in the papers and on the news after his life was taken. They knew exactly how terrible the situation was and noticed the media frenzy surrounding their family. But still, they tried their best to cope. The effects of their trauma can be seen on film and is truly one of the hardest things to watch.
Michelle Mann was released from prison in 1994 after serving time for two assault charges in relation to hitting her children with a belt, even if it was confirmed for years that her role in the abuse was much bigger. She was given 3 years; that’s what she served. Rufus Chisum was sentenced to 7 to 14 years in prison and was eligible for parole in 1997. He’s also a free man. Before his release, Chisum, who found religion in the prison system, was interviewed at Clinton Correctional in 1996. He expressed his regret, but at the same time told a story that was very different from that of his kids who witnessed it, as if to minimize the level of severity. He had this to say about his actions:
“I’m not that person anymore, but no matter what I say, I know people are going to think I’m a monster. I have to prove myself through my actions. Some nights I wish he could appear because I wonder if he died thinking they don’t love me. I want to hear him say, ‘Daddy, I forgive you.'”
For his surviving sons, he had the following to say:
“I want them to know that even though things are hard right now, they do have someone who loves them. I want to be a part of their lives again. We can make it as a family.”
Even after Adam’s life was taken, after years and years of torment that went from child to child, two of the remaining Mann children were still returned to their mother, Michelle Mann. They didn’t even think about what type of effect this would have on the children. Years and years of violence that ended with their brother savagely slain was a part of their new normal.
As they grew older and tried to move on from their traumatic past, the Mann children would go on to become teens and then enter adulthood. Keith has children of his own and finds solace in the fact that his experiences and that of his brothers taught him what it meant to be a parent. He knew he wanted to handle parenthood in the healthiest of ways—never put his kids through what he once experienced. He doesn’t mind speaking about what took place and thinks that the topic of child abuse is one that should continue to be addressed to raise awareness. He doesn’t shy away from his past but has long gotten over what took place, moving forward with a positive mind but never forgetting his past or what he and his brothers went through. He considers himself blessed to be where he is now.
Over the years, his relationship with his parents had taken a lot of damage for obvious reasons. But as he got older, he would distance himself and his children. He felt he didn’t need any type of influence from them on how to be a parent; he could learn how to do that all on his own. And that’s what he did, taking great pride in being a good parent.
So what have we learned after watching today’s video? What becomes of the broken? What happens after all of these broken relationships, all the broken hopes, the broken promises? What becomes of the memories of these children who were failed so terribly? Some still lie to themselves, some tell the world that these children didn’t die in vain. There’s been change, there have been overhauls left and right. There was no wrongdoing by the system that is supposed to protect these babies. These are all just unfortunate events that couldn’t be prevented or couldn’t be foreseen.
If that’s true, then why the veil of secrecy? Why not tell the world of all the good you’ve done? Why are these agencies so often addressed in a negative light? Adam Mann was a cruel example of a system’s absolute failure. Their failure to protect not one, but four brothers who needed them to intervene in the worst way. Instead, they watched their baby brother have his life snatched right in front of them, each one of them knowing all too well what it felt like to be in Adam’s place.
The story of Adam Mann is one that should be known, like many, many others whose stories haven’t been told or have long been forgotten. There’s no more mention of these children, no talks of what we can do to stop it. It’s almost as if the past never even happened, and it just continues to happen again, and again, and again. But for those affected, it never leaves them. It plays a role in every aspect of their lives. They can’t forget even if they tried, and believe me, many definitely have.
Many of you are hearing Adam’s story for the first time, others know his story very well. All I know is that these are the stories we can’t stop telling. These are the names we can’t forget. These are the bodies of work we need to watch to be reminded of these horrors hiding behind these walls. Because if we continue to look past it, if we continue to forget, if we continue to act like the problem is being solved when it isn’t, it’s only a matter of time before history repeats. And unfortunately, history has already repeated far too many times.
It’s unacceptable, it’s heartbreaking, and it’s a crime that this is still happening today. These names are more than headlines in the papers and more than thumbnails in these videos. Adam Mann was just a child, a child who fell victim to people who promised to love and care for him and the system that was sworn to protect them. He was failed. Some might find it hard to answer who took Adam Mann’s life when so many played a role. All I can hope is that his name is never forgotten, that his story is well known, that we start to see zero tolerance when it comes to situations like these. I may not have all the answers, but I’m sure all creators who cover these types of stories and all listeners can agree that we just want this to end.
But will you remember Adam after today? There’s got to be a better way. Rest in peace to Adam Mann, and my deepest condolences go out to his siblings and loved ones. You aren’t forgotten.
