Murder At Turn-About Ranch
Dr. Phil refused to respond to the allegations.
When Danielle Bregoli was 13 her mother, Barbara Ann took her on the Dr. Phil show to get help for her violent behavior. Danielle threatened the audience when they laughed at her, “Catch me outside, how bout’ that!” Her ‘catchphrase’ went viral and propelled her into fame.
Since her appearance on Dr. Phil four years ago, Danielle, who now goes by the moniker Bhad Bhabie, has been signed to a large American record label, launched her own makeup line and reality show and she was the youngest rapper ever to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
By the end of the show, Danielle was told that she was being sent to Turn-About Ranch — a so-called ‘therapeutic boarding school’ that Dr. Phil sends all of the troubled teens who appear on his show.
On their website, Turn-About Ranch describes their ‘philosophy’:
At Turn-About Ranch, we place great emphasis on providing authentic experiences through which our students can learn and grow. Because we are a real, working cattle ranch, students come to appreciate what they do isn’t “busywork” or punishment — they are completing important tasks essential to the continued productive operation of the ranch. We encourage students to develop values at Turn-About Ranch. Real values are something teens often forget or ignore as they get caught up in popularity contests, the desire to get the latest gadgets, and the hunger to appear “cool” in the eyes of their peers.
Recently, Danielle released a video detailing what the ranch is really like.
The details closely mirror the experiences of Paris Hilton who in her documentary, This is Paris, detailed the abuse (physical, mental and emotional) she experienced at Provo Canyon School, a disciplinary boarding school also in Utah, where she lived for 11 months.
20 later, Paris found the strength to open up about her experience at Provo, where she was bullied, hit, and even strangled. On The Drew Barrymore Show, the women bonded over their similar experiences — Drew, who was also sent to a behavioral institution for substance abuse when she was a teen, described it as being locked away in solitary confinement.
Danielle’s story is all too similar. She alleges the teens slept on planks of wood instead of mattresses, were left cold, were not properly nourished, and had zero communication with the outside world. Danielle and the other children were subjected to a crippling level of fear and intimidation.
They were forced to do daily chores such as chopping wood, pushing heavy wheelbarrows up to 50 times a day, and taking care of the animals.
In one incident, in particular, Danielle recounts witnessing a male teen being held down by multiple staff members as he tried to go outside.
There was no cell service and letters were monitored by staff, preventing children from telling their parents what was really going on.
In the video, Danielle mentions being inspired to speak out by a woman named Hannah, another teen who also lived at Turn-About Ranch. Hannah was punished after she reported sexual abuse by a staff member.
“I experienced retaliation from the ranch after I spoke up. In what appeared to me to be punishment for reporting my abuse, I was required to spend extra time picking up horse manure, walking in circles around a horse corral, and sitting at a desk facing a wall for hours. I also had to do forced labor outside in below-freezing temperatures, and sleep on a wooden plank with no pillow.”
In a Reddit post linked here, the author talks about being forced to do a ‘desert walk’ while living at Turn-About Ranch. For three days, the author and other teens were forced to walk in the desert all day and were fed only one apple, a peanut butter sandwich, and a bottle of water.
Not only were kids physically, mentally, and sexually abused at Turn-About Ranch, but many of them also witnessed a murder.
Clay Brewer had only been at the ranch for 5 days when he killed Jimmy Woolsey, a 61-year-old nightshift counselor. Clay was one of several teens who were in the midst of a withdrawal and was sent to the ranch instead of a rehabilitation facility for those suffering from drug abuse.
On December 16, 2016, staff member Alicia Keller and a few of the teens were wrapping up breakfast when another teen began frantically banging on the dining room door and told Alicia that Jimmy was hurt.
Alicia found Jimmy’s limp body lying on the floor, covered in blood. Clay stole Jimmy’s wallet and car keys and attempted to flee but his car wouldn’t start. Clay turned his attention to Alicia, hitting her 2–3 times over the head with a piece of rebar. Clay later told a police officer that he had used the same rebar to hit Jimmy in the head, at least 10 times.
Alicia ran back into the ranch and locked the door while Clay stood outside screaming that if she didn’t give him her car keys, he would break in and kill each and every single person inside. Alicia eventually relinquished her keys and Clay took off. Although Alicia survived the attack, she ended up disabled and sadly passed away just two years later.
The next day, the children were told to never utter a word about what they had seen or heard. Life at the ranch continued on as normal.
Two years later, Clay told the court that he woke up that morning ‘feeling heartless.’ Clay was severely addicted to prescription pills which began at the age of 15 after his parent's divorce. He attempted to commit suicide many times including shortly after arriving at the ranch by drinking bleach. Clay was going through a withdrawal, was not given medical attention, and was reportedly abused by the staff at the ranch.
According to the Ranch’s own website, they do not admit teens who show “aggressive behaviors that could put other students or staff at risk” or those who have “active suicide attempts.” Clay met all of the criteria.
Two years later, Clay was clean and sober. He pled guilty to murder and aggravated assault and was sentenced to 5 years to life. He apologized and pleaded with parents to educate their children about the harms of drugs.
Dr. Phil refused to respond to the allegations and continues to send children to the ranch, which erroneously markets itself as a rehabilitation facility.
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