Age: Child – Page 23 – Disability Day of Mourning

Katharine Mihok

Black and white newspaper photo of a smiling girl with a round face and short, light hair. She is wearing glasses. Name: Katharine Renai Mihok.
Died: July 23, 2014.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
Disability: A rare chromosomal disorder affecting movement and intellectual development.

Details:
Katharine’s mother shot her to death, then killed herself.

From Katharine’s obituary: “Katharine was an energetic and happy child. She loved throwing kisses in the air, posing for pictures, being outdoors discovering, dancing to music, being in the pool, going to school, Girl Scouts and earning badges, and visiting with people. Most of all, she loved her family and her big sister.”

Case status:
Karla M. Mihok (Mother), deceased.

Source:
UPDATE: Norfolk mother kills 8-year-old daughter before taking her own life; woman now identified
Obituary: Karla Mae and Katharine Renai Mihok
Region sees 2 murder-suicides by women – rare tragedy

Heaven Woods

Photo of Heaven Woods, a little girl with tan skin and curly brown hair, in a pink tutu, holding a doll. Name: Heaven Woods.
Died: May 20, 2014.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Internal bleeding, blunt trauma.
Location: Forsyth, Georgia, USA.
Disability: ADHD; mother claims autism.

Details:
When Heaven had hand-shaped bruises on her throat, her mother claimed she was autistic and tried to choke herself. Eventually, Heaven was beaten to death by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.

Case status:
Amanda Hendrickson (Mother), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life.
Roderick Buckner (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Heaven Woods
Man pleads guilty in Heaven Woods’ death, mother still facing death penalty
Mom guilty in ‘savage’ beating death of 5-year-old Heaven Woods
Rome girl, 5, died of blunt force trauma; pregnant mother arrested
Grandmother of slain girl wants death penalty for daughter
Mother and boyfriend ‘beat her five-year-old daughter named Heaven to death three weeks after child services dropped abuse investigation’
Father of 5-year-old Heaven still in shock over her death

Daniel and Luke Schlemmer

Photo of Daniel Schlemmer, a young boy wearing glasses and a navy T-shirt with a name tag on it. He has short blond hair and fair skin. — Daniel Schlemmer

Name: Daniel Schlemmer.
Died: April 5, 2014.
Age at death: 6.

Name: Luke Schlemmer.
Died: April 1, 2014.
Age at death: 3.

Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: McCandless, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: None; mother believed they were autistic.

Photo of Luke Schlemmer, a toddler boy with fair skin and blond hair. He is sticking his tongue out and smiling. — Luke Schlemmer

Details:
Brothers Daniel and Luke were drowned in the bathtub by their mother, because she was convinced they were autistic and would be “better off in heaven”. Luke died right away; Daniel lingered on life support for a few days.

A year before, she had tried to kill them by tying them up with twine and running over them with her car several times trying to “end their suffering”. They were hospitalized with broken bones, but their mother claimed it had been an accident and no action was taken. A year later, the boys were dead.

Case status:
Laurel Michelle Schlemmer (Mother), plead guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 30-80 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Daniel and Luke Schlemmer
Psychiatrists say mom knew she was drowning kids
Tub-drowning suspect said she drove over her sons repeatedly a year earlier
Ability to premeditate argued with McCandless mom who drowned sons
Psychiatrists say McCandless mom is mentally ill, but knew she was killing her kids
Psychiatrists say mom understood she was killing kids in tub
Pressure drove ‘ideal, Christian’ mom to drown kids: witness
Psychiatrists testify in McCandless woman’s drowning trial
Husband: Tub drowning suspect said she drove over their sons
Laurel Schlemmer, Pa. mom, found guilty but mentally ill in child bathtub drownings
McCandless mother found guilty of drowning her two sons
North Hills mom found guilty of murdering 2 young sons
A mother’s belief her sons had disabilities led to their drowning deaths
Mother gets 30 to 80 years in sons’ bathtub drownings
Monster mum hearing ‘crazy voices’ drowned her two sons in the bath because she wrongly believed they had autism… now she’s jailed for 80 years
Monster mum drowned sons aged 3 and 6 in bathtub wrongly believing they had autism
McCandless woman who drowned two sons sentenced to 30 to 80 years in prison
Mom Sentenced For Drowning 2 Young Sons In Bathtub To Be A Better Mother To Other Son

Ayahna Comb

Name: Ayahna Comb.
Died: January 29, 2014.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Malnutrition/dehydration.
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Ayana was fatally neglected by her mother. When she died, her mother wrapped her in blankets and put her 15-pound body in the crisper drawer of her refrigerator.

Case status:
Amber Keyes (Mother), pleaded guilty to injury to a child by omission, sentenced to 20-40 years.

Source:
Death of girl found wrapped in blankets in refrigerator ruled a homicide
Mother of girl, 9, found dead in refrigerator sentenced to 40 years

Damien Veraghen

Name: Damien Veraghen.
Died: January 20, 2014.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Autism, epilepsy.

Details:
Damien was drugged and suffocated by his mother in a murder-suicide.

Damien liked playing catch, and loved sports in general. He played in the Miracle League of Green Bay. Every week, Damien played a game with friends in the league. He loved the baseball bats.

He also liked to run the vacuum cleaner at home; neighbors would hear the vacuum cleaner and know it was Damien.

Case status:
April Veraghen (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Damien Veraghen
April and Damien Veraghen, Obituary
Mother-son deaths at west-side apartment ruled murder, suicide
Friends remember victims of murder-suicide
Mother-son murder-suicide investigation closed

Omaree Varela

Name: Omaree Varela.
Died: December 27, 2013.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma, internal bleeding.
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: ADHD, PTSD, mild developmental delay.

Details:
Omaree was kicked to death by his mother.

Six months before he died, Omaree called 911 for help; but the investigation came to nothing.

Case Status:
Synthia Varela-Casaus (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to 40 years.
Stephen Casaus (Stepfather), convicted of convicted of child abuse resulting in death, sentenced to 30 years; sentence overturned, still in prison in drug charges, but may have his sentence reduced to 10.5 years.

Sources:
Omaree Varela’s parents – All about their troubles with the law
Omaree Varela’s stepfather to be re-sentenced
Omaree death settlement cloaked in secrecy – Albuquerque Journal

Randle Barrow

Photo of a boy with dark skin and curly dark hair, sitting on a therapy ball. He is wearing a blue collared shirt and white pants. Name: Randle Barrow.
Died: December 14, 2013.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Huntsville, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Randle’s mother took him to the Tennessee River, drowned him, and then went home and killed herself. She was said to be “overwhelmed by all the events in her life”.

His behavioral therapist describes Randle Barrow like this: “Randle made every kid in his classroom smile constantly. He was hilarious; the happiest kid. He would do anything for anybody. If he saw a child upset, he cried for that child. He understood.”

Case status:
Delicia Barrow (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Randle Barrow
Deaths of mom, autistic child believed to be murder-suicide
Police: Randle Barrow’s Mother Drowned Him in Tennessee River, Then Killed Herself
Friends Of Randle Barrow Say His Mother Was Devoted, Caring
Police say autistic child was murdered by his mother

Lucas Mascini

Bulletin board covered with children's drawings with Dutch text, memorializing Lucas and Rosa. — Classmates’ memorial drawings for Lucas and Rosa V.

Name: Lucas Mascini (also called Lucas V).
Died: October 2, 2013.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
Disability: “Severely disabled”.

Details:
Lucas and his six-year-old sister Rosa were murdered by their mother. Police say she told them she had been delusional and had been having trouble caring for her children, “especially her disabled son”.

Case status:
Aurélie V. (Mother); convicted of murder, sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Source:
Aurèlie V., de moeder die haar twee kinderen vermoorde stond vandaag voor de rechter
Moeder bracht haar kinderen om tijdens ‘nachtmerrie’
Hof veroordeelt Apeldoornse moeder tot 12 jaar cel voor doden van haar twee kinderen
Mother claims she was delusional when she killed her kids
Moeder doodde haar twee kinderen ‘in een waan’

Jake Harkins

Photo of a boy with fair skin and sandy hair, wearing a white shirt. Name: Jake Harkins.
Died: September 6, 2013.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Jake’s father shot him to death in a murder suicide.

Case status:
Jake Harkins Sr. (Father), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jake Harkins
Domestic incident leaves two dead, 1 injured
Dad Kills Son, Self, Shoots Wife in “Gruesome” Murder-Suicide: Police
Memorial Dedicated at NE Phila. School to Autistic Boy Who Died

Hayley Bell

Photo of a sleeping fair-skinned toddler girl, draped in cloth. Name: Hayley Dea Bell.
Died: August 1, 2013.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, malnutrition.
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Developmental disability; tube-fed; epilepsy.

Details:
Hayley’s mother refused services and took her daughter out of school. Hayley died of starvation and pneumonia, weighing 12 kilograms (26 pounds).

Case status:
Elisha Bell (Mother), caregiver. No charges.

Source:
Starved, sick and unschooled: Did child protection fail Hayley?
Bell, Hayley Dea