Relationship: Parent – Page 43 – Disability Day of Mourning

Hakan Erdem

Photo of a boy with short brown hair, taken at an angle so that he seems to be leaning against the side of the photo. Name: Hakan Erdem.
Died: November 16, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Lilburn, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Hakan’s family is Turkish, and he survived a house fire when he was eight years old.

Hakan’s father cut his throat.

Case status:
Fikri Erdem (Father); found guilty but mentally ill of murder, felony murder and aggravated assault; committed suicide before sentencing.

Source:
Man kills self at Gwinnett jail after conviction in son’s murder
Cops: Lilburn dad admits to killing special needs 12-year-old son

Hannah Warner

No Photo
Name: Hannah Marie Warner.
Died: November 15, 2015.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Onondaga, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Chromosome translocation; physical and mental disabilities.

Details:
Hannah was neglected by her mother. When she died, she had not been fed for two weeks; she had untreated bedsores and weighed only 43 pounds.

Case status:
Cari Ann Wright (Mother), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while mentally ill, sentenced to 20-40 years.

Source:
Michigan woman gets 20-40 years in death of disabled daughter
Woman admits starving her 16-year-old daughter to death
Michigan woman admits starving 16-year-old disabled daughter
Michigan mom admits to starving disabled daughter to death
Michigan woman starved her daughter who died weighing 43 pounds
Mother sentenced to prison in girl’s starvation death
Michigan woman gets 20-40 years in death of disabled daughter

Helious Griffith

Photo of a toddler with short, light hair against a black background. His head is larger than average. He is smiling. Name: Helious Griffith.
Died: November 7, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Mesa, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Dystonic cerebral palsy.

Details:
Helious was born on Christmas Eve and named for the Greek god of the sun.

Child protective services had opened a case on Helious. Brought to the hospital, he was thin and having trouble breathing. They were investigating his mother for neglect because Helios had in the past been seen underweight and dirty.

DCS held a meeting and decided that they would file a petition for in-home dependency so that Helious could be monitored closely. Afraid that she would lose custody for good, his mother strangled him with a length of tubing and then shot herself.

Case status:
Lola “Tammy” T. Griffith (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Mesa police identify mother, son in murder-suicide at children’s hospital
5-Year-Old Boy in Mesa Murder-Suicide Found With Ligature Around His Neck, Police Say

Dustin Hicks

Name: Dustin Hicks.
Died: November 5, 2015.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Dawsonville, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Autism, Crohn’s disease.

Details:
Dustin was shot by his mother in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Nina Hicks (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism memorial: Dustin Hicks
Was the murder of Dustin Hicks committed by a biomed mom?
Woman, son dead in apparent Dawson Co. murder-suicide
Dawsonville mother shoots disabled son, self in possible mercy killing

6-year-old girl

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: October 29, 2015.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This six-year-old girl’s mother is accused of stabbing her to death. Police say she initially tried to blame the girl’s death on strangers forcing their way into her house. But investigators found out that the girl’s mother had beaten her several times before, and no one had forced their way into her house or stolen anything.

Case status:
Her mother, arrested.

Source:
Police suspect mother in handicapped girl’s murder
Autistic child stabbed to death in Saudi
Autism Memorial: 6-year-old female, name unknown

Lalia Hawthorne

Name: Lalia Delinar Hawthorne.
Died: October 27, 2015.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Abdominal trauma.
Location: Savannah, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Lalia was beaten to death by her mother’s boyfriend.

Case status:
James Emmanuel Robinson (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and three counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Supreme Court upholds murder conviction against man who killed 4-year-old
Lalia Hawthorne – Obituary
Savannah man sentenced to life without parole in 2015 murder of four year old girl

Vishal Gaikwad

No Photo Name: Vishal Gaikwad.
Died: October 27, 2015.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Pashan, Pune, India.
Disability: Unspecified physical disability.

Details:
Vishal’s father killed him and his mother (Arati Gaikwad, age 35) with an axe before hanging himself.

Case status:
Raju Laxman Gaikwad (Father), deceased.

Source:
Man hacks son, wife to death, then hangs self

Alfonso Rafael Jr.

No Photo Name: Alfonso Rafael Jr.
Died: October 26, 2015.
Age at death: 56.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Westchester, Florida, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Alfonso Jr. was shot by his father in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Alfonso Rafael (Father), deceased.

Source:
Father and Son Found Shot to Death in Westchester: Police

Corey Carpenter

No Photo Name: Corey Carpenter.
Died: October 23, 2015.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Blanca, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Fragile X, autism.

Details:
When his father died, Corey inherited his property. His mother sought conservatorship of him and refused all assistance with caring for him.

Corey starved to death when his mother stopped giving him food and water and refused to get him medical help. He weighed only 57 pounds.

Case status:
Carol Carpenter (Mother), convicted of negligence causing death, sentenced to 8 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Corey Carpenter
Colo. mom arrested after disabled son, 27, dies of malnourishment
Blanca mother resisted getting medical help for son
October trial set in mom charged in son’s death
Starvation death case heads to trial
Mom gets probation in son’s death

Ezekial Castro

Name: Ezekial Castro.
Died: October 23, 2015.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Hypernatremia (salt overdose).
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Tetralogy of Fallot (congenital heart defect).

Details:
Ezekial’s mother poisoned him with salt, making him so sick he needed to be hospitalized. Then while he was in the hospital for that, she fed him more salt, and Ezekial died.

Case status:
Ashley Castro (mother), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Source:
Tucson woman sentenced for poisoning her child
Court documents reveal details in 4-year-old boy’s death