Category: Age: Child

Age 5-11

Leon Jayet-Cole

Photo of a toddler with white-blond hair and pink skin; he is wearing an orange T-shirt and smiling for the camera.Name: Leon Jayet-Cole.
Died: May 28, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Head injury due to blunt-force trauma.
Location: Papanui, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Leon was a “beautiful, happy-spirited kid” who made his family laugh with the quirky things he said. He had learned to speak and learned to read when he was four, and at five years old was enrolled in school. His obituary calls him the “chief mischief maker of his brothers and sisters Lucas, Nadia, Anabelle, Fabian, and Liam; Giane, Daniel and James.” He loved pillow-fighting and riding his tricycle. He had to have his toast cut just right, or he wouldn’t eat it. His favorite movie was Frozen.

He hadn’t spoken until he was four, but then he started speaking, reading, and doing math all at once. Leon was a bookworm who would start reading the moment he woke. When they saw how fast he was learning, his family began calling him “Superman”. He loved school, which he attended for half-days, and Dr. Seuss was his favorite author. He had a brother who was also autistic.

Leon’s stepfather allegedly beat him to the point that he suffered a severe head injury; despite the head injury, no one sought medical care for him right away. Leon survived on life support in the hospital for two days before he died. His organs were transplanted and have saved the lives of five people.

Leon may have been abused regularly for some time; he and his older brother had both been treated for head injuries at the hospital, but they had all been written off as accidental.

Case Status:
James Stedman Roberts (Stepfather), charged with murder, committed suicide while out on bail.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Leon Jayet-Cole
Coroner: Agencies missed red flags before autistic Christchurch boy Leon Jayet-Cole’s death
Stepfather hit 5-year-old ‘four times a week’, but mum saw nothing
Police could have done more to stop violent stepfather
Christchurch schoolboy Leon Jayet-Cole hospitalised with head injury months before death
Concerns raised with CYF before Leon Jayet-Cole’s death
File shows tragedy of Leon Jayet-Cole unfolding
Funeral for man accused of killing autistic boy
Leon Jayet-Cole, the little New Zealand boy whose gravestone has his murderer’s name on it
Man accused of killing child found dead
Man accused of murdering autistic boy found dead
Warning signs in CYF reports before Leon Jayet-Cole’s alleged murder
Inquest into death of Leon Jayet-Cole, 5, hears from step-dad who died awaiting murder trial
Mother accepts dead husband killed autistic son

Fardeen Khan

Photo of Fardeen Khan, a little boy sitting on a chair; he has tan skin and black hair and is wearing a white tank top and shorts.Name: Fardeen Khan.
Died: May 17, 2015.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Chandni Mahal, central Delhi, India.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Fardeen’s mother came home to find him gone, and her husband would not tell him where he was. She called police, who say Fardeen’s father confessed to bludgeoning him to death.

Fardeen’s disability is unknown, but it may be cerebral palsy, from a fall to the floor as a baby.

Case status:
Nazar Khan (Father), charged with murder.

Source:
Man kills disabled son

Angel Goodwin

Photo of a boy with tan skin and scruffy black hair, grinning at the camera.Name: Angel Goodwin.
Died: May 5, 2015.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Wheat Ridge, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy; multiple disabilities.

Details:
Angel, who had severe disabilities, was abused by his grandmother and her boyfriends. Angel’s grandmother put him in a tub full of water and left him there for more than three hours. Unable to keep his head out of the water, Angel drowned.

Case status:
Onesia Najera (Grandmother), pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death, sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Source:
Wheat Ridge police investigating the death of a 10-year-old
Grandmother charged in death of 10-year-old in Wheat Ridge
Woman gets 20 years in prison for grandson’s drowning death
Grandmother sentenced in drowning death of boy with cerebral palsy
Jefferson County woman who drowned developmentally-disabled grandson sentenced to 20 years

Aidan Fenton

Portrait photo of a seated toddler boy with dark straight hair and fair skin, wearing a dark vest over a white dress shirt.Name: Aidan Fenton.
Died: April 27, 2015.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Insulin deprivation.
Location: Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes.

Details:
Aidan died after a “slapping therapy” workshop, a treatment that included several days of fasting and repeated, hard slaps meant to cause bruising and “release toxins”. He may also have been taken off insulin by his parents.

Case status:
Hong Chi Xiao (Healer), found guilty of manslaughter, sentenced to 7-10 years in prison.
Aidan’s parents Lily and Geoff Fenton were not charged and are suing the medical practice.

Source:
Aidan Fenton, 7, was made to fast before ‘slapping therapy’, then he vomited and died
Couple sue medical practice over the death of their son
Chinese ‘slapping therapy’ healer jailed over Australian diabetic boy’s death

Mr. Lin

No Photo
Name: Mr. Lin (Surname; given name unknown).
Died: April 22, 2015.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, epilepsy.

Details:
Young Lin’s father was annoyed that his neighbors kept parking their motorcycles outside his house, blocking the wheelchair ramp. One day, drunk and enraged at the neighbors, young Lin’s father went inside, grabbed him in his wheelchair, and, to demonstrate his point that the motorcycles were hazardous, rammed the boy into one of the parked motorcycles. The motorcycle toppled, the wheelchair tipped over, and young Lin suffocated. His father made no attempt to help him.

Case status:
His father, also surnamed Lin; convicted of causing the death of a child, sentenced to 7-and-a-half years.

Source:
The Father Who Pushed His Own Handicapped Son into Oncoming Traffic, Causing His Death is Sentenced
Jail for man who caused death of disabled son

Gary Blanton III

Photo of Gary Blanton III. He has fair skin and light brown hair. He is smiling for the camera.Name: Gary Blanton III.
Died: April 18, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Fractured skull.
Location: Chattaroy, Washington, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability, possible autism.

Details:
Gary died from a fractured skull while in the custody of his aunt, who had custody of him after his parents died. Authorities discovered that his caseworker had been falsifying health-and-wellness visit reports.

Gary was a rambunctious child who ran up and down the hallways and even climbed into the washing machine.

Case status:
Cynthia Rose Khaleel (Aunt); charged with second-degree murder, acquitted.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Gary Blanton III
Jury acquits Chattaroy woman of killing 5-year-old nephew
Chattaroy woman arrested for five-year-old nephew’s death
Obituary
‘Everyone failed him’: Boy’s aunt accused of murder, DSHS accused of ‘critical errors’

Elhassan and Abdelkarim Elmezayen

No PhotoName: Elhassan Elmezayen.
Age at death: 13.
Died: April 9, 2015.

Name: Abdelkarim Elmezayen.
Age at death: 8.
Died: April 10, 2015.

Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Elhassan and Abdelkarim’s father took out life insurance policies on them; then he put them and his wife in the car and drove off a bridge. Their father easily swam to safety through a window he had left open for the purpose; their mother was rescued by a fisherman. But the boys, who could not swim and were strapped into their child seats, went down with the car. Elhassan died shortly after being transported to the hospital; Abdelkarim died the next day.

The family were immigrants from Egypt. A third brother, also autistic, was not in the car that day and survived.

Case status:
Ali Elmezayen (Father), convicted of murder, mail and wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering; sentenced to 212 years in prison.

Source:
California Man Sentenced To 212 Years In Prison For ‘Premeditated Murder’ Of Two Autistic Sons To Claim Life Insurance
Man convicted of intentionally drowning his 2 autistic children to collect insurance money
Man Found Guilty of Killing His Disabled Sons by Driving Off Port of L.A. Dock to Collect Life Insurance
Dad Accused of Drowning His 2 Boys With Severe Autism for Insurance Money Cries in Court
Man charged with fraud after driving off pier, killing sons
Autism Memorial: Elhassan and Abdelkarim Elmezayen
A man drove his severely autistic kids off a pier to their death. Prosecutors say he did it for the insurance money.
Father ‘drowned autistic sons to claim insurance money’
‘Dad’ took hefty life insurance policy on two autistic children before allegedly driving them to their drowning deaths: Prosecutors
Man Charged Alleging Scheme to Collect Insurance Proceeds by Intentionally Killing His Two Autistic Children
1 dead, 3 injured after car plunges into water at Port of Los Angeles

Seth Johnson

Black and white photo of Seth Johnson, a small boy wearing glasses and a polo shirt and jacket.Name: Seth Johnson.
Died: March 30, 2015.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Pancreatitis.
Location: Plymouth, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Fetal alcohol syndrome, reactive attachment disorder; parents unofficially diagnosed him with PTSD and TBI.

Details:
Seth’s adoptive parents claimed he had been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome and reactive attachment disorder, though no records corroborating this could be found.

When Seth was seven, he became sick. His parents, instead of getting him medical help, did online research and diagnosed him with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury.

Seth died of untreated pancreatitis. When he died, he was badly malnourished and covered with injuries, including bruises and pressure sores. His parents said the bruises came from Seth throwing himself down the stairs, and that they had not gotten him medical care because Seth did not like going to the doctor.

Case status:
Timothy David Johnson (Adoptive father), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 1 year in the county workhouse.
Sarah Nicole Johnson (Adoptive mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 1 year in the county workhouse.

Source:
Plymouth couple sentenced to 1 year after 7-year-old son’s death
Plymouth parents who left U.S. after suspicious death of son, 7, have returned several years later
Minnesota parents accused of child neglect in death of 7-year-old son flee to New Zealand, miss court date
Do Timothy and Sarah Johnson have blood on their hands? Child dies after parents deny doctor treatment
Plymouth parents charged after allegedly refusing to take 7-year-old, who later died, to doctor
Parents charged with neglect in child’s death
Minn. parents let son, 7, suffer wounds, inflamed pancreas with no medical attention before he died, police say
Plymouth Parents Charged with Neglect after 7-Year-Old Boy Dies
Sick boy died because parents prayed instead of calling 911: prosecutor
Parents accused of letting boy die rather than bring him to doctors
Minnesota parents let son, 7, suffer wounds, inflamed pancreas with no medical attention before he died, police say
Minnesota parents charged with neglect after 7-year-old’s death
Minnesota Couple Allegedly Let 7-Year-Old Son Die of Sepsis Rather Than Bring Him to Doctor
Minnesota couple charged with neglect in 7-year-old son’s death may have fled the country

5-year-old boy

Photo of a small boy, with a censor blur obscuring the face. The child has blond hair and fair skin and is wearing a blue hoodie.Name Unknown.
Died: March 26, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Drug overdose.
Location: Pennant Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Epilepsy, Hepatitis C.

Details:
This young boy had allegedly been abused by his foster family before he died of an overdose of several drugs, including diazepam, morphine, and other opiates.

He had been taken from his birth mother because she used drugs.

Case status:
His foster family is under investigation.

Source:
Five-year-old foster boy had ‘toxic drug cocktail’ in system at death, reports
Dead five-year-old foster child “had drugs in system”
Five-Year-Old Boy Who Died in Foster Care Had Heroin in His System
Police investigate death of boy, five, in notorious foster home
Boy, five, in foster care died with a cocktail of drugs in his system
Boy, 5, dies under same care as Girl X

8-year-old boy

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: Approx. March 21, 2015.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Amman, Jordan.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This anonymous 8-year-old boy was allegedly murdered by his father, who said he wanted to spare his family the expense and strain of raising an autistic child.

Case status:
The boy’s father was arrested.

Source:
8-year-old male, name unknown
هالي المرضى يروون لـ”الغد” معاناتهم مع ارتفاع كلف التدريس والتأهيل