Age: Child – Page 12 – Disability Day of Mourning

Jaden and Jorden Webb

Name: Jaden Webb.
Name: Jorden Webb.
Died: April 4, 2019.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Jaden and Jorden, twin brothers, were shot dead by their grandmother.

Case status:
Dorothy Flood (Grandmother), pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter, sentenced to 21 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jaden and Jordan Webb
Tucson grandma sentenced to 21 years for killing grandsons with autism
Grandmother pleads guilty to murdering autistic grandsons
Arizona Woman Indicted in Deaths of Twin Grandsons
Grandmother arrested in deaths of 8-year-old Tucson twins
Grandmother charged with murdering autistic grandsons
Tucson woman admits to shooting her twin autistic grandsons
Arizona woman shot dead her orphaned, autistic 8-year-old twin grandsons, then tried to kill herself by overdosing
Twin Boys With Autism Fatally Shot by Arizona Grandmother, Who Tried to Kill Herself: Court Docs
Court documents: Tucson woman admits to shooting, killing twin grandsons
Police: Woman admitted to killing special needs grandsons
Ariz. woman charged with killing 2 grandchildren with autism
Court documents offer background on killing of twin grandsons
Arizona woman indicted in deaths of twin grandsons

Kylee Willis

Name: Kylee Willis.
Died: March 29, 2019.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Rancho Cucamonga, California, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Kylee’s mother’s boyfriend was babysitting for her. When she interrupted him, he allegedly beat her severely. She spent several days on life support before dying of her injuries.

Case status:
Adam Hughes (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with murder; convicted, sentenced to 15 years to life.
Corrine Blake (Mother), convicted of cruelty to a child, sentenced to probation.

Source:
Save Down Syndrome: Kylee Willis
Girl, 4, with Down Syndrome ‘beaten to death by mother’s boyfriend’
Calif. Man Allegedly Killed Girl with Down Syndrome, 4, Because He Was Mad She Interrupted Him

Kazuno Soeda

No Photo Name: Kazuno Soeda.
Died: March 13, 2019.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, Japan.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Kazuno was allegedly strangled by her mother. Tokyo Reporter quotes her as having said, “My daughter had an intellectual disability, which caused unbearable trouble on a daily basis.”

Case status:
Mitsue Soeda (Mother), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
6-year-old girl strangled to death by mother
Tokyo: Woman accused of fatally strangling disabled 6-year-old daughter

5-year-old girl

Name Unknown.
Died: March 10, 2019.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Kwadela, Davel, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
This five-year-old girl’s abusive parents claimed she had fallen out of bed; but her body showed signs that she had been severely abused, and her parents were convicted of her murder.

Case status:
Bheki Hlophe (Mother), convicted of murder.
Sibongile Shongwe (Father), convicted of murder.

Source:
They were arrested for the death of their five-year-old daughter at their home in Kwadela, Davel on 10 March
Father and girlfriend convicted of five-year-old’s murder
Ouers in hof oor dogter se dood

Photo of a girl in a polka-dot skirt and gold plastic crown, sitting in a green play tunnel; she has short strawberry-blond hair and fair skin. Name: Mia Edmundson.
Died: February 27, 2019.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Avon Park, Florida, USA.
Disability: Congenital heart disease; no spleen.

Details:
Mia loved life and loved to have her nails painted pink. She also loved to swim and pull pranks on people.

Police investigation revealed that Mia’s mother had not filled her prescriptions or taken her to cardiology appointments. When Mia became seriously ill with pneumonia, her mother waited several days to take her to the hospital. Lacking the medication she needed to support her weakened immune system, Mia died from sepsis.

Case status:
Elizabeth Danielle Markley (Mother), convicted of child neglect with great bodily harm, sentenced to 15 years probation.

Source:
Disabled girl died ‘because mother couldn’t be bothered to collect live-saving prescriptions’
Obituary

Zha-Nae Wilkerson

Name: Zha-Nae Wilkerson, aka Zah-Nae, aka Zah-Nae Rothgeb.
Died: January 3, 2019.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Warwick, Rhode Island, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Zha-Nae lay neglected in a filthy house while her mother left her fifteen-year-old brother, also disabled, to care for her. She was denied her wheelchair because the house was either not accessible or simply too cluttered for the chair to fit, and had to crawl down the hall. She was found face-down in the bathtub, having died from drowning, and her mother was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Later she was also charged with neglecting Zha-Nae’s seven siblings.

Case status:
Michelle Rothgeb (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to manslaughter and 8 counts of cruelty or neglect to a child; sentenced to 18 years in prison and 15 years suspended.

Source:
Rothgeb Sentenced to 18 Years For 9-Year-Old’s Death
Woman whose adoptive special needs daughter dies in bathtub changes plea
New charges filed against Warwick woman accused of manslaughter in death of 9-year-old
Warwick woman pleads not guilty in adopted girl’s death
9-year-old RI child’s death due to ‘inaction’ by DCYF, report notes
Child Advocate’s Office to release report on death of Warwick child
Mom charged with manslaughter in death of 9-year-old Warwick girl
Warwick woman charged with manslaughter in death of adoptive daughter
DCYF Director: Neglect, deficiencies contributed to 9-year-old’s death
Warwick girl whose death is under investigation had cerebral palsy, according to uncle
Police arrest guardian in death of 9-year-old Warwick girl
Guardian arrested in death of Warwick girl
DCYF: Child, 9, dies; Police investigating
Mother held on bail at arraignment in death of 9-year-old Warwick girl
Handicapped 9-Year-Old Dies In Filthy Home, Mother Jailed
DCYF head to address questions surrounding death of 9-year-old girl in Warwick
Disabled girl died after mom made 8 adopted kids fend for themselves to beat flu
Mother of 8 adopted children with special needs arrested after one dies
DCYF making changes in light of 9-year-old’s death in Warwick
A year before death of 9-year-old girl in Warwick, DCYF social workers raised red flag
Warning signs missed in home where Warwick girl died
Biological family has ‘questions and concerns’ for DCYF after child’s death
Death of girl prompts changes to RI child welfare agency

Sadhana Muneeswaran

No Photo Name: Sadhana Muneeswaran.
Died: October 6, 2018.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Disability: Mentally ill; bedbound.

Details:
Sadhana’s parents took her to a temple, where they allegedly forced her to drink poison. Bystanders saw her resisting and then falling unconscious and called the police, and Sadhana was taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, it was too late; the girl died two days later.

Case status:
S Muneeswaran (Father), arrested and sentenced to 15 days in jail for the poisoning, then charged with murder when Sadhana died.
Revanthi (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Find a Grave: Sadhana Muneeswaran
Mentally-ill girl dead, parents booked for murder

Mustafa Mehmetaliogullari

Name: Mustafa “Musti” Mehmetaliogullari.
Died: September 30, 2018.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Medication overdose.
Location: Sedlescombe, East Sussex, England, UK.
Disability: “Severe physical and mental disabilities”.

Details:
Mustafa died three days after being brought to the hospital; autopsy showed that he had died from an overdose of non-prescription medication, and his mother was convicted of poisoning him.

Case Status:
Pembe Mehmetaliogullari (Mother), convicted of administering a noxious substance; sentenced to 2 years, suspended for 18 months.

Sources:
Devoted mother from Hove spared prison after poisoning late son
Sussex mum cleared of attempting to murder disabled son
Mother accused of giving her son pills is cleared of attempted murder
Husband said ‘baby or me’ after tot rescued from dustbin found to be disabled, court hears
Hove mum accused of murdering disabled son pleads not guilty
Mum charged with murder of severely disabled 10-year-old son
Mother charged with murdering 10-year-old disabled son
East Sussex mum charged with murder of severely disabled son
East Sussex: Mother charged with murdering severely disabled 10-year-old son
Mum charged with murdering disabled son, 10, after he dies in hospital

Zamira Domínguez

Name: Zamira Domínguez.
Died: September 29, 2018.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Internal bleeding.
Location: Monte Grande, Argentina.
Disability: Deaf.

Details:
After being beaten by her mother’s boyfriend, Zamira was brought to the hospital, severely injured and bleeding internally, and died shortly afterward. During trial, her mother and stepfather claimed that it was her fault she had been beaten, because she couldn’t tell them she felt pain.

Case Status:
Brenda Fernández (Mother), convicted of neglect of a relative resulting in death, sentenced to 18 years.
Brandon González (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to life in prison.

Sources:
Así fue el calvario de Zami, la niña sordomuda golpeada por sus padres hasta morir
Zamira was 5 years old, she was deaf and dumb and they lived beating her: her mother and stepfather beat her to death
Update on the case of Zamira Dominguez, a deaf and mute girl who was beaten to death by her mother and stepfather

Logan Starling

Name: Logan Starling.
Died: September 28, 2018.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Heat stroke.
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Logan’s father remembers him as “my little Logo on the go go”, a hyperactive child who would hop around like a kangaroo. He liked watching the SunRail trains and pretending they were Thomas the Tank Engine. He went to school in a pre-K class.

Logan’s father’s fiance left him locked inside her van on a hot day in Florida, parked outside the school. He died of heat stroke and wasn’t found until 2:30 in the afternoon.

Logan’s great-aunt says that Logan was not the sort of quiet child who could be forgotten in a van by accident; if he wasn’t there, you would notice it.

Case status:
Mariah Butler (Father’s girlfriend), pleaded guilty to child neglect, sentenced to 5 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Logan Starling
Woman pleads guilty to child neglect in Logan Starling death – Orlando Sentinel
Happening today: Woman accused of leaving 4-year-old boy in hot car to die to be sentenced
Woman accused in death of 4-year-old boy released on bond
After boy’s hot-car death, 4-year-old Logan Starling’s family seeks answersl