Relationship: Parent – Page 44 – Disability Day of Mourning

Janiya Thomas

Photo of Janiya Thomas, an African-American girl with her hair in a few straggly dreadlocks, wearing a striped shirt. Name: Janiya Thomas.
Died: Last seen June 9, 2014; body found October 18, 2015.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Bradenton, Florida, USA.
Disability: Unnamed bowel/digestive condition, causing incontinence.

Details:
Janiya was last seen by child protective services about a month before her mother, citing Janiya’s medical condition, a digestive problem which had killed Janiya’s father, announced to the state that she had decided to home-school Janiya. In reality, she abused Janiya, locking her in the bathroom for days at a time to punish her.

More than a year later, when her mother publicly beat Janiya’s older brother and child protective services came for Janiya’s four siblings, Janiya was not with them and the children reported that they had not seen Janiya in a long time. Several days later, Janiya’s body was found in a freezer, and her mother was arrested. An autopsy found that Janiya had been starved, suffocated, or drowned.

Janiya was a shy girl who liked hot tortilla chips and baby dolls.

Case status:
Keishanna Thomas (Mother), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, sentenced to 65 years.

Source:
Mother who hid daughter’s body in freezer gets 65 years
Investigators hope to learn more about presumed death of missing Bradenton girl Janiya Thomas
Autopsy: Janiya Thomas starved, suffocated or drowned
Mother of 11-Year-Old Found Dead in Padlocked Freezer Indicted for Murder; Court Papers Reveal Allegations of Horrific Abuse

Andrea Lago Ordóñez

Name: Andrea Lago Ordóñez.
Died: October 9, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Dehydration.
Location: Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Disability: A degenerative neurological condition.

Details:
Andrea’s parents advocated for her feeding tube to be removed. She died of starvation and dehydration after four days without nourishment.

Case status:
Antonio Lago and Estela Ordóñez (Parents); no crime.

Source:
Spanish girl at centre of futile care controversy dies
Terminally ill Galician girl Andrea dies after four days off life support
Parents of terminally ill Galician child fight to take her off life support
‘Andrea está mejor sin la sonda. Durmió de un tirón y muy tranquila’

Gulpreet Kumari

No Photo Name: Gulpreet Kumari.
Died: October 2, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Panchkula, Haryana, India.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Wanting a new life with a new boyfriend, Gulpreet’s mother allegedly decided to kill the autistic twelve-year-old; while Gulpreet’s mother held her down, her mother’s boyfriend strangled her. They said Gulpreet’s death was natural and due to her disability.

On November 29, 2015, Gulpreet’s younger brother Gurjant was reported missing. When his body was found in a field, the victim of a homicide, police investigated Gulpreet’s death too and decided that she and her little brother had both been murdered.

Case status:
Mukesh Kumari (Mother), charged with murder.
Haryana Shekhar (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with murder.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Gulpreet Kumari
Woman kills kids to marry paramour
Police bring accused mother, her paramour from Jind
Woman arrested for murdering son, daughter

Jhoel Noria

Photo of a young boy with brown hair and tan skin, smiling; in the background are the walls of a school classroom. Name: Jhoel Noria; also called Jhoel Jesus Gaspar.
Died: September 30, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Motor vehicle accident.
Location: Trenton, Texas, USA.
Disability: “Special needs”.

Details:
Jhoel died while waiting for the school bus; he walked into the road and was fatally hit by an SUV.

Normally this would have been categorized as an accident, but police investigated and found that Jhoel, whose special needs required supervision, had been completely unsupervised at the time. Suspecting neglect, they removed Jhoel’s three siblings from the home. These three siblings, now able to speak out, told the police that Jhoel’s stepfather and stepbrother had been sexually assaulting all four children. Jhoel’s parents and stepbrother were arrested.

Jhoel liked to play ball and he liked animals, but he had a passion for dancing. He was always showing his family his new dance moves.

Case status:
Pedro Noria (Stepfather), pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, sentenced to 20 years.
Nelson Rodriguez (Stepbrother), charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Noemi Noria (Mother), convicted of continuous sexual assault of a child, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Trenton mom gets 30 years in prison in sex abuse case
Father in Trenton child sexual abuse case gets 20 years in prison
Trenton police investigation into 12-year-old’s death leads to sexual assault arrests
Boy killed in Trenton wreck identified
Jhoel Jesus Gaspar Obituary
Family of boy who died while waiting on a school bus arrested on child abuse charges

Kathryn Burroughs

No Photo Name: Kathryn “Katie” Burroughs.
Died: September 22, 2015.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Barrington, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, intellectual disability.

Details:
Katie’s father suffocated her, then committed suicide.

Katie enjoyed attending summer camp.

Case status:
Harry Burroughs (Father), deceased.

Source:
Barrington father, daughter dead in apparent murder-suicide, coroner says

Gurneer Chaddha

No Photo
Name: Gurneer Chaddha, also spelled “Gunoor” or “Gurneet”.
Died: September 14, 2015.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Rajouri Garden, West Delhi, India.
Disability: Liver disease, asthma, intellectual disability, from aspiration of amniotic fluid during birth.

Details:
Gurneer’s mother spent a lot of money at private hospitals to try to cure her daughter. She strangled Gurneer before killing herself; in her suicide note, she said that she had killed her daughter because Gurneer’s illness could not be cured.

Case status:
Vidhi Chaddha (Mother), deceased.

Source:
‘Please cremate me along with my daughter’: Heartbroken mother kills her two-year-old girl and herself over child’s serious illness | Daily Mail Online
New Delhi: Woman kills daughter, commits suicide over disease
Delhi woman kills child, self over deadly disease

David Swallow

No Photo Name: David Swallow.
Died: September 9, 2015.
Age at death: 49.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Dunston, England, UK.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
David’s mother burned their house down in a murder-suicide; David was taken to the hospital and died there sixteen days later. His father, who tried to rescue him, was hurt but survived.

Case status:
Audrey Swallow (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Desperate attempt to save disabled man from blaze
‘She’d never have hurt him’ – Coroner’s verdict on fire which killed mother and son
Fatal Dunston house fire started deliberately
Double death fire ‘started by woman who wanted to kill herself’
Double fire death inquest set to be held today

Jessica Hagan

A blonde young woman with Down Syndrome, wearing a fuzzy blue sweater and a medal around her neck. Name: Jessica Hagan.
Died: September 8, 2015.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Cranston, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Jessica’s mother allegedly poisoned her with a fatal drug overdose.

Jessica loved the Alberta Ballet and collected Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. Her brother, a bodybuilder, names her as his biggest supporter.

Case status:
Christine Hagan (Mother). Never charged; died months later of natural causes.

Source:
Homicide unit investigating suspicious death in Cranston
Calgary police declare Jessica Hagan’s death a homicide, but no charges

Sze-ming Chan

Name: Sze-ming Chan.
Died: September 5, 2015.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Hong Kong, China.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Sze-ming’s father killed him and kept the body in his apartment. About five or six days later, he killed himself and Sze-ming’s eight-year-old brother Sze-ho by filling the apartment with charcoal smoke.

Case status:
Chun-hing Chan (Father), deceased.

Source:
Hong Kong father who killed his sons in murder-suicide ‘saw his fortune disappear after inviting dishonest relative to run his business’
Triple murder-suicide: Hong Kong father took son for breakfast before returning to flat to burn charcoal
Autism Memorial: Sze-ming Chan

La’Marion Jordan

Closeup photo of La'Marion Jordan, a small African-American boy with medium-brown skin and close-cropped black hair. Name: La’Marion Jordan.
Died: September 4, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Lancaster, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
La’Marion’s adoptive father picked him up and threw him down the hallway, causing a fatal head injury.

Case status:
Robert Jordan (Adoptive father), pleaded guilty to infliction of great bodily injury upon a child, sentenced to 14-20 years.

Source:
Father charged with homicide by child abuse after disabled 5-year-old son dies
Lancaster man pleads guilty in adopted son’s death