Age: Child – Disability Day of Mourning

Thomas Valva

Name: Thomas Valva.
Died: January 17, 2020.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Abuse.
Location: Long Island, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Thomas lived with his father and his father’s fiancee. He and his brother were often starved and made to sleep in the unheated garage. One freezing night, Thomas died from hypothermia.

He was a second-grader who loved playing outside.

Perpetrator: Michael Valva (Father) and Angelina Pollana (Father’s girlfriend), charged with second-degree murder.

Source:
NYPD officer and fiancée charged with murder of cop’s 8-year-old autistic son who froze to death in garage
NYPD Dad Charged In Frigid-Garage Death Of Boy, 8: Cops
NYPD cop Michael Valva abused son Thomas Valva for years before his death, mom claims
‘I’m Not Surprised,’ Nanny Says Of 8-Year-Old’s Horrific Death
Child services ignored complaints about cop before his son died
NYPD officer Michael Valva, fiancée charged with murder in death of cop’s 8-year-old son
Father, His Fiancée Face Murder Charges In Death Of 8-Year-Old Long Island Boy
NYPD Cop & Fiancee Accused of Killing 8-Year-Old Boy

Mohd Amjad

No Photo
Name: Mohd Amjad.
Died: December 22, 2019.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Abuse.
Location: Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Disability: Physical disability.

Details:
Mohd’s mother and her partner beat him for bothering them. When they realized he was badly hurt and took him to the hospital, he was dead on arrival.

Perpetrator: Sultana Begum (Mother) and Ismail (Mother’s partner), charged with murder.

Source:
Woman, partner beat handicapped child to death in Cyberabad

No Photo Name Unknown, initials “G. B.”.
Died: September 26, 2019.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Murder.
Location: Pascua Yaqui, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Unspecified special needs.

Details:
This 6-year-old boy and his mother were members of the Yaqui tribe, though his father was not.

His father, attempting to “perform an exorcism”, killed the boy by forcing his head under hot water, burning or drowning him. He claimed to police that he “saw something evil” inside the boy.

Perpetrator: Pablo Martinez (Father), charged with first-degree murder.

Source: Dad from hell killed six-year-old son by pouring hot water down throat to ‘exorcise demons’

Conner Snyder

Name: Conner Seth Snyder.
Died: September 26, 2019.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Multiple Murder.
Location: Albany, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Speech delay, learning disabilities, poor dexterity.

Other Victim: Brinley Louise Snyder, age 4, Conner’s sister (non-disabled).

Details:

Child's watercolor painting of brightly colored flowers in a blue vase. — Artwork by Conner Snyder.

Conner liked video games and building forts.

Conner’s mother hanged him and his sister Brinley from a dog lead in their basement. She tried to pass it off as a suicide, claiming that Conner had been bullied at school because of his disability, and had killed himself and his little sister; but police established that Conner didn’t have the dexterity necessary to use the dog lead to hang himself, and his mother had been researching hanging online.

Perpetrator: Lisa Rachelle Snyder (Mother), charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and endangering the welfare of children.

Source:
Pennsylvania mom murdered children found hanging, authorities say
Mom charged with murder in hanging deaths of 2 children in Berks County
Mother charged in ‘horrific’ deaths of children found hanging from dog lead in Pennsylvania basement
Pennsylvania mom Lisa Rachelle Snyder charged with murdering her children Conner and Brinley

Jakie Toole

Photo of Jakie Toole, a child in a white tank top. Name: Jakie Toole.
Died: September 11, 2019 (Body found), last seen April 2019.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Abuse.
Location: Meridian, Mississippi, USA.
Disability: Unspecified special needs; mobility and communication impairment.

Details:
Jakie’s mother left him with a family friend to serve as a caregiver. His body was found in a garbage bag in her basement, and an autopsy showed he had died of trauma from a beating. The caregiver reported she had burned him in a bathtub and beaten him for crying.

Perpetrator: Celeste Louise Smith (Caregiver), charged with murder and child neglect.

Source:
Missing child’s caretaker charged with capital murder after body found in basement of Meridian home
Capital murder charge filed in Meridian basement body discovery case
Meridian woman charged with capital murder following discovery of a child’s remains
Body of special needs child found in garbage bag was beaten and burned, autopsy confirms
Autopsy: Body of special needs child found in garbage bag was beaten and burned
Body of child found in basement: Autopsy shows beating; chief says he was also burned
Mother of special needs child who was killed, found in bag, faces neglect charges
Mother charged with child neglect in case of missing special needs child

Skylea Carmack

Photo of a girl with brown hair pulled back, smiling for the camera. Name: Skylea Carmack.
Died: September 4, 2019.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Murder.
Location: Gas City, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability, possibly autism.

Details:
Skylea’s stepmother strangled her, then reported her missing, saying she had vanished from her home. Police issued a Silver Alert, announcing that Skylea had a history of running away to her mother’s home and might have an autism awareness blanket with her. Skylea’s body was found behind her home several days later.

Skylea was one of six siblings.

Perpetrator: Amanda Carmack (Stepmother), charged with murder, neglect of a dependent, strangulation, and domestic battery.

Source:
BREAKING: Missing 10-year-old girl found strangled in shed behind home [Police]
Skylea Carmack: Autopsy confirms girl found dead in shed was strangled as stepmom remains jailed for her
Court docs: Stepmom killed Gas City girl over charm bracelet. Abuse, confinement marked her last hours.

Malachi Lawson

Name: Malachi Lawson.
Died: August 4, 2019.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Abuse.
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Walked with a limp; possibly autism

Details:
Malachi’s mother and her partner initially reported him missing. Later, they admitted they had burned him by making him sit in a bathtub full of hot water after he had a potty-training accident. His body was found in a dumpster.

Malachi loved Paw Patrol and Mickey Mouse. He liked dancing and his favorite color was blue. He had been taken into foster care, but returned to his mother and her partner.

Perpetrator: Alicia Lawson (Mother) and Shatika Lawson (Mother’s partner), both charged with neglect resulting in the death of a minor, first-degree child abuse, reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and false statement.

Source:
Missing Baltimore 4-Year-Old Found Dead in a Dumpster: Police
‘Remembering Our Superhero’ | 4-Year-Old Malachi Lawson Laid To Rest Tuesday
Family says goodbye to 4-year old Baltimore boy with songs, praise and a comic book in a tearful service

L. A. C.

No Photo L. A. C.
Died: July 20, 2019.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Murder.
Location: Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This little boy, known only by his initials, was hit in the head until he was unconscious by his stepfather, who then waited hours to bring him to the hospital. On arrival, he was too injured to live. He had his sixth birthday while he was unconscious at the hospital, and died two days later.

Perpetrator: Carl Bookout (Stepfather), charged with reckless homicide and with not providing his updated address for the sex-offender registry.

Source:
A Waukesha mother has been charged with child neglect after her 5-year-old died from abuse
Autistic 6-year-old brutally beaten by sex offender stepfather suffers skull fracture before bleeding to death
‘Stepdad battered boy, 6, so hard his brain was forced to one side of his skull’
Step-dad arrested in connection with death of his six-year-old stepson
Stepfather faces homicide charge in death of 6-year-old boy with autism who ‘fell down the stairs’

Ari Ase, Mya Ase, and John Savage

Photos of Ari, Mya, and John, three African-American children. Name: Ari Ase.
Age at death: 8.
Disability: Autism.

Name: Mya Ase.
Age at death: 7.
Disability: Autism.

Name: John Savage.
Age at death: 3.
Disability: Autism.

Died: July 7, 2019.
Cause of death: Multiple murder-suicide.
Location: Syracuse, New York, USA.

Details:
Ari, Mya, and John were all autistic. Ari smiled all the time; Mya sung songs. Both liked music. Mya was a talented artist whose teacher thought she would one day become famous. Ari would read the dictionary for fun. Three-year-old John, a precocious boy who could already count and spell, loved reading books.

Their mother packed the three children into a rental car and ignited a charcoal grill, filling the car with carbon monoxide and killing them all.

Perpetrator: Crystal Savage (Mother).

Source:
DA: Mom in murder-suicide was in “utter despair”, kids were “high maintenance” for her
Dad IDs mom, 3 children killed in Syracuse murder-suicide
Dad of boy killed by mom in Syracuse murder-suicide: ‘He was everything that I had’ (video)
Woman and 3 Children Died From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Inside Vehicle: Report
Crystal Savage’s sister: Her story is ‘bigger than’ murder-suicide
Syracuse mother’s trail of hardship ends with murder-suicide
Community Gathers to Remember Kids Lost in Murder-Suicide
Mom lights a charcoal grill in trunk of a rental car to kill herself, three children: Report
Mom’s struggles and note at center of probe into her suicide, murder of 3 kids

Andrew Freund Jr.

Photo of a small boy in a big blue baseball cap and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt. He has pale skin and his ears stick out, and he is smiling, showing he still has all his baby teeth. Name: Andrew “AJ” Freund Jr.
Died: April 24, 2019.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Abuse.
Location: Woodstock, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Perpetrator claimed he had oppositional defiant disorder to justify abuse. Whether AJ had a disability is unknown.

Details:
AJ spent some time in a foster home before being returned to his parents. His foster parents and one of his grandmothers released a statement that said, “This smart little boy loved having books read to him, doing puzzles, his Thomas the Train, playing with his fire trucks, bulldozers, cement mixer and Ninja Turtles. He was very curious and always wanted to learn about everything.”

AJ was regularly abused by his parents. He died of head injuries after having been forced to take a cold shower and beaten because he had lied about having dirty underwear.

Perpetrator: Joann Cunningham (Mother), charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated domestic battery, and failure to report a missing or child death; Andrew Freund Sr. (Father), first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated domestic battery, concealment of a homicidal death, and failure to report a missing or child death.

Source:
A.J. Freund’s Mom Allegedly Had Video of Beaten Kid on Her Phone, Which Helped Solve Case: Docs
Warrant: AJ’s father says his mother killed the boy
Newly released documents reveal graphic details about AJ Freund case
Video of beaten 5-year-old AJ Freund on mom’s phone helped crack case, search was made for ‘child cpr,’ authorities say
Andrew ‘AJ’ Freund’s foster family releases statement: ‘AJ was loved by us’
Photos of AJ Freund’s Crystal Lake home reveal filthy living conditions
Cell phone video led to father’s confession in the killing of 5-year-old AJ Freund, police say
Grand jury indicts parents of slain Crystal Lake 5-year-old AJ Freund; court hearing scheduled for Friday morning