Age: Child – Page 13 – Disability Day of Mourning

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

Mason Jordan

Name: Mason Jordan.
Died: August 20, 2018.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Bend, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus.

Details:
Mason’s mother shot him to death.

Mason liked reading, watercolor painting, music, and playing with toy cars. He was curious about everything. Despite medical problems that put him in the hospital on a regular basis, friends and neighbors remember him as a very happy child.

Case status:
Tashina Aleine Jordan (Mother); charged with aggravated murder, pleaded guilty to murder, conviction reduced to first-degree manslaughter; sentenced to 10 years in prison and 20 years in the Oregon State Hospital.

Source:
Oregon mother pleads guilty to killing son with disabilities
DA won’t seek death penalty in Bend mother’s murder case
Police: Bend mother kills special needs son, 7, before attempting suicide
2016-17
Single mother shoots her severely disabled 7-year-old son to death and attempts to kill herself by overdosing on pills
Correction: Disabled Child Shot story
Mother Accused Of Killing 7-Year-Old Disabled Son Before Attempting Suicide
Mother believed to have killed son expected to recover
Bend mother arraigned on aggravated murder charge in son’s shooting
Bend woman arraigned in alleged killing of son, 7
Mother indicted for murder in shooting death of son with severe disability
Bend woman charged with killing disabled son back in court

Christopher Pratt

Name: Christopher Pratt.
Died: August 17, 2018.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Head injury, malnutrition.
Location: Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Chromosome 10 disease, autism, epilepsy.

Details:
Christopher died from a head injury, having lost nearly half his body weight while in the care of his aunt.

Christopher lost his mother when he was five years old. Before he went to stay with his aunt, Christopher was a happy boy who used to greet his cousin by grabbing her face to show affection.

Case Status:
Jessica Bice (Aunt), convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse, sentenced to 33 years.

Sources:
‘Christopher felt safe here’: New bench memorializes Lansing area boy who died in 2018
Aunt sentenced to prison for death of Lansing boy with special-needs
Woman responsible for death of autistic 6-year-old sentenced
Lansing woman found guilty of homicide in death of boy with special needs
Lansing woman convicted of murder, child abuse in death of 6-year-old nephew
Lansing woman convicted of murder in death of 6-year-old nephew with special needs
Jurors weigh fate of aunt charged with murder, child abuse in 6-year-old’s death
Autism Memorial: Christopher Pratt
Trial begins for aunt in 2018 death of disabled, ’emaciated’ Lansing boy
Testimony continues in child abuse, murder case
Family wants justice following death of young boy
Aunt charged with murder, child abuse in death of a Lansing 6-year-old
Family of the woman accused of killing her 6-year-old nephew speaks out
Family demands justice for Lansing boy who was killed

Jacob Edwards

Photo of Jacob Edwards, a small boy with fair skin and blond hair, smiling for the camera. He is wearing a gray T-shirt that says "Jacob". Name: Jacob Edwards.
Died: July 10, 2018.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Prices Corner, Delaware, USA.
Disability: Williams Syndrome.

Details:
Jacob was shot by his father during a murder-suicide in which his father killed Jacob’s entire family. Also dead are Julie Edwards, Jacob’s mother, his little sister Brinley and his little brother Paxton.

Jacob liked music and dancing.

Case status:
Matthew Edwards (Father), deceased.

Source:
Dad Shot Wife, 3 Kids and Then Himself in Del. Home, PD Says
Deaths of Delaware family of 5 ruled murder-suicide
Police: Man killed wife, 3 children, then himself in Prices Corner
Deaths of Delaware family of 5 ruled murder-suicide
Family killed in alleged murder-suicide: ‘I never thought this would happen’
Mom killed in murder suicide was key member of national Williams syndrome nonprofit
Murder Victim Pleaded with Husband to Get Therapy Before He Killed Her and Their 3 Kids