Lynn Paddock is accused of killing the couple's 4-year-old adopted son, Sean Paddock, at their Johnston County farmhouse in February of 2006. Lynn Paddock is accused of wrapping Sean so tightly in blankets as a form of punishment that the child suffocated.
On the stand Tuesday, former foster children described a fearful life in Johnston County with Lynn Paddock. Prosecutors hope a judge will eventually allow a jury to hear stories of children being beaten, abused, even forced to eat their own excrement.
On the witness stand, one former foster child detailed not just spontaneous beatings, but constant abuse by Lynn Paddock.
"She made Hanna drink three quarts of water one time and made her stand in a pan and a cookie sheet, until she basically urinated all over herself," Ray Paddock explained
Ray Paddock, now 17-years-old, said Lynn would make Sean Paddock eat his feces and sit in the dark. Sean was eventually found suffocated. Ray said other children had to spend hours sitting against a wall, while one foster daughter was abused with duct tape. "She would duct tape her hands together like this. And put it on her head."
Ray Paddock went on to explain the children were not allowed to talk to other people. He says they were intimidated from telling anybody of the abuse inside their home. "She would tell us nobody loved us. She'd tell us nobody in the world would ever take us if we left our house."
Monday, Johnny Paddock broke his silence, speaking publicly for the first time about the allegations against Lynn Paddock, his ex-wife. The couple divorced last year.
"I miss him a lot. I loved Sean, I did. He was my son," said Johnny Paddock, Sean's adoptive father and Lynn Paddock's ex-husand. "I want to see the person responsible for his death brought to justice." Johhny Paddock said that person is his ex-wife, and he denied knowing of any abuse in his home.
"I was not aware of what was going on," Johnny Paddock told reporters outside the Johnston County Courthouse in downtown Smithfield. "I'm not guilty, I know I'm not." Johnny Paddock has never been charged with any crime in relation to Sean Paddock's death.
He said he will testify in Lynn Paddock's murder trial if called by the prosecution.
Lynn Paddock is charged with first degree murder in Sean's death. She is also charged with abusing Sean and his two biological siblings, who were also adopted by the Paddocks. She has pleaded not guilty on all charges.
