Murder In America EP 232: MAINE – THE LEGAL KIDNAPPING OF LOGAN MARR

Date: February 6, 2026
Hosts: Courtney Shannon & Colin Browen

Episode Overview

This emotionally charged episode examines the heartbreaking case of Logan Marr, a five-year-old Maine girl who was taken from her birth mother by the Department of Human Services (DHS) and ultimately killed by her foster mother—a DHS caseworker herself. The hosts explore the string of systemic failures, misjudgments, and outright negligence that led to Logan’s death. Using in-depth storytelling and direct interviews, they lay bare the devastating human costs of well-intentioned but fatally flawed child welfare interventions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction and Framing the Case

• The episode sets out with a trigger warning regarding explicit discussion of violence and crimes against children.
• Courtney narrates the gut-wrenching scene of Logan’s mother, Kristi, having to brush her deceased daughter’s hair at the funeral home, underscoring the trauma that runs through the episode.
  • “...they had returned her to her mother in a casket. Christy had trusted the state to give her a chance to get her baby back, and instead they had taken away that chance forever.” [04:30]

2. Kristi Marr’s Struggle as a Young Mother

• Kristi became pregnant as a teenager in 1995. Despite little support from the father and a strained relationship with her own mother, she resolved to keep and raise Logan on her own.*
• Early struggles included poverty, lack of transportation, and repeated criticism from her own mother, leading to DHS involvement.
  • “Somebody else was running my life...It was theirs. It made it really hard to have your own life.” [15:51, Kristi Marr]

3. DHS Involvement: From “Support” to Surveillance

• DHS imposes strict guidelines on Kristi’s life: dictates her romantic relationships, mandates parenting classes/counseling, and closely monitors her.
• Some support is appreciated by Kristi, yet she increasingly feels surveilled and alienated, especially as rules stack up based on often unsubstantiated or false reports.

4. A Series of Unfortunate Events and Allegations

• DHS mistakes and misinformation (e.g., believing Kristi’s mother's new husband is a sex offender when he is not) erode Kristi's support systems and lead to repeated custody threats.
• When Logan’s grandmother’s ex-husband (not a sex offender) briefly appears at a babysitting visit, a neighbor reports him, triggering DHS to remove Logan.

5. Desperation and Systemic Barriers

• After Logan’s removal, Kristi briefly flees with her daughter, but returns and is hospitalized. DHS then insists she enter a residential facility and places Logan in foster care.
• Despite Logan’s father (John) being stable and seeking custody, he is denied on the grounds of “single unmarried male,” contradicting the federal mandate to prioritize family placements.
  • “A complete stranger was deemed the safer option. But John wasn’t ready to give up.” [28:57]
• Only 5% of removed kids in Maine are placed with relatives at the time, possibly due to funding incentives for foster placements.

6. Cycles of Reunification and Re-Removal

• Kristi works tirelessly to regain custody by complying with every demand, achieving reunification only to lose Logan again when a new allegation against Kristi’s new husband triggers further scrutiny.

7. Logan’s Experience in Foster Care

• Logan and her sister face emotional coldness at best, and outright abuse at worst, in foster placements.
• Foster mother #1 physically abuses Logan (chokes her); DHS does not act to immediately protect Logan even after the foster mother self-reports.
• Despite professional evaluations showing no signs of Kristi ever abusing Logan and recommending reunification, DHS keeps the girls in foster care.

8. The Fatal Placement: Sally Schofield

• The state places Logan and Bailey with Sally Schofield, a DHS caseworker seeking daughters to adopt—a clear conflict of interest.
• Sally is described as controlling and punitive, forcing the girls to call her "mommy," denying their real mother, and using excessive discipline (such as tying Logan to chairs).

9. Repeated Warnings and Silencing

• Logan’s therapist and Kristi both raise red flags, including the fact that Sally admits to using restraints as punishment.
• Each complaint is dismissed or ignored. Kristi is threatened for “sowing distrust” and told not to ask or discuss what happens in the foster home during visits.

10. Culmination: Logan’s Last Days

• Visits become increasingly strained: Logan, only five, directly tells her mother and visitation supervisors about being hurt by Sally.
  • “What would make a five year old stop opening Christmas presents ... to say what she did to me about Sally grabbing her face, making her hurt on her sister too?” [75:46, Kristi Marr]
• Logan is isolated, tied up, and ultimately killed by Sally in the basement—bound with 48 feet of duct tape, including over her face.

11. Immediate Aftermath and Investigation

• Sally tries to evade responsibility, claiming Logan must have taped herself or that prior head injuries were at fault. This is refuted by forensic evidence and her own son’s testimony.
• Sally is charged with murder and manslaughter but is convicted only of manslaughter. She receives a 20-year sentence (with 3 suspended), ultimately serving just 17 years.

12. Long-Term Consequences, Activism, and Legacy

• No DHS workers—including caseworker Allison Peters—face any criminal consequences, despite “multiple reports that Logan was being abused, not just from Logan herself, but from Logan’s old therapist, Katie Midori.” [111:06, Courtney Brown]
• Kristi regains custody of Bailey, but her health deteriorates and she dies in 2017.
• Bailey grows up to thrive and speaks publicly about the trauma. Her college essay (quoted at length) is both a tribute to Logan and a testament to enduring trauma and resilience [113:08–117:40].
• Logan’s case inspires legislative scrutiny—most notably, Logan’s Law (2025), which proposes that poverty should not be equated with neglect and seeks multiple reforms to the child welfare system.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Systemic Failure and Incentive to Remove Children:
  “In 1998, only 5% of children taken by DHS were put in the care of their relatives. The other 95% were given to foster families. But why?...the state of Maine received federal funding when children were placed in licensed foster care homes...Keeping families together was a surefire way to lose money.” — Courtney Brown [28:57]

• On Kristi’s Experience with DHS:
  “Somebody else was running my life...I think it was more hatred.” — Kristi Marr [15:51]

• Logan’s Pleas and Trauma:
  “Logan started screaming, no, Mommy, don’t let them take me. Mommy, please don’t let them take me. I told her it was gonna be okay. She’s like, no, Mommy, don’t make me go.” — Kristi Marr recalling the moment of removal [40:13]

• Kristi’s Desperation:
  “I was Tired, very tired. I was losing faith and hope. Why bother? What’s going to come out of this anyway?... I’m going to lose in the end anyway.” — Kristi Marr [55:50]

• On Foster Mother’s Abusive Tactics:
  “I would usually tie Logan up to a chair.” — Sally Schofield (paraphrased via therapist testimony) [57:16]

• Bailey’s College Essay Reflection:
  “A blood curdling scream starts coming out of the little girl’s mouth....The woman stands up and forcefully grabs the child’s small delicate wrists and pulls her towards the nearby door...I wish I could say that this was just a nightmare, that I’m able to wake up and have everything be all okay. Sadly, that is not the case. This is a nightmare that I will have to live with, awake or asleep for the rest of my life.” — Bailey [114:03]

• Critique of the System:
  “Poverty was confused with neglect, end quote. Which was exactly the case for Kristi Marr and her daughters. Kristi never had any reports of abuse towards Logan or Bailey, but DHS caseworkers concluded that her living conditions, being a single mother with a low income, no driver’s license, and uneducated, were neglect.” — Courtney Brown [118:46]

• Logan’s Law Summary:
  “Children are put at high risk of abuse in foster care itself...In all the false allegations, trivial cases, and cases in which family poverty is confused with neglect, like the case of Logan Marr, steal time from finding those few children in real danger....For a young child, it’s an experience akin to a kidnapping.” — Quoted from Logan’s Law proposal [121:18]

Important Timestamps

• [03:36]: Opening narrative—Kristi at Logan’s funeral
• [15:51]: Kristi describes the dehumanizing effect of DHS oversight
• [38:36–40:48]: DHS forcibly removes Logan; her terrified, desperate pleas
• [49:00]: Logan describes abuse after being choked by her first foster mother; DHS refuses to intervene
• [57:16–60:18]: Sally Schofield’s punitive discipline, therapist’s warnings, and retaliation
• [74:54–75:46]: Logan tells her mother of ongoing abuse at a Christmas visit
• [83:11]: Kristi’s letter to Sally begging her not to hurt the girls
• [86:45–99:38]: The day of Logan’s death—events leading up to and the aftermath of her murder
• [108:58]: Sally is convicted only of manslaughter, celebrates lack of murder charge
• [113:08–117:40]: Bailey’s college essay and witness account
• [118:46]: Legacy, flaws in system, and Logan’s Law activism

Flow & Tone

The episode is deeply empathetic, driven by narrative storytelling with moments of raw personal reflection and advocacy for reform. The hosts maintain a serious, emotional tone that is respectful to the victims and unafraid to voice their outrage at the system’s failures. The inclusion of direct quotes from Kristi, case documentation, and Bailey’s writing elevate the episode’s emotional impact.

Conclusion: Lessons & Calls for Reform

• The hosts stress that while there are cases where removal is necessary, poverty should not be conflated with neglect. The criminal negligence and rigid, incentive-driven system exposed in Logan’s case killed a child who never needed “rescue.”
• Logan’s legacy continues to shape proposed reforms, notably Logan’s Law, aiming to protect families from unnecessary separations due to poverty and to mandate impartial, independent oversight in child protective cases.
• The episode ends with a donation to organizations dedicated to keeping families together and a call to listeners to support reform and share stories that demand systemic change.

For further details or to support legislative reforms, the hosts direct listeners to the Maine Alliance for DHS Accountability and Reform and associated advocacy groups.

NOTE: All ad reads and sponsor breaks have been omitted for clarity and focus on the case content.