The Collins Case: Artwork from a battered woman's children

In 1993 Zachary and Jennifer Collins, then 11 and 9, were kidnapped by their mother and eventually taken to the Netherlands. Their mother, former St. Louis Park resident Holly Ann Collins, says she took the children out of fear for their safety. The children continually told her and court officials their father was hurting them, but nothing was done, Holly says. While Child Protective Services and Hennepin County Family Court were never able to substantiate the children’s claims of abuse, to date they maintain it happened. As proof, Jennifer Collins, now 23, points to many of the pictures she and her brother Zachary drew as children while they were in therapy. She supplied us with these harrowing works of art, including two complete stories Zachary wrote and drew. See the complete stories and videos in Beth Walton's Reporter's Notebook.