Age: Child – Page 27 – Disability Day of Mourning

Faheem Farook

No Photo Name: Faheem Mohamed Farook.
Died: April 24, 2009.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Fall.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Asperger syndrome.

Details:
Faheem and his parents moved to Singapore from India when he was just a year old; at five, Faheem was diagnosed with autism, and his parents were “troubled by his condition”.

When he was seven, his father pushed him out a high-rise window and jumped out after him.

Case status:
Mohamed Farook (Father), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Faheem Farook
Husband leaped to death with son: She taps into grief to help others heal
Book of stories about conquering mental illness launched at charity’s 5th anniversary dinner

Photo of Shylae Thomas, a girl with her hair in braids and barrettes, propped up against a cushion. She has light-brown skin and dark-brown hair, and her shirt is a red and white striped tank top. Name: Shylae Myza Thomas; sometimes spelled “Shylea”.
Died: April 22, 2009.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Flint, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Quadriplegia.

Details:
Shylae was starved to death by her aunt.

Case status:
Lorrie Thomas (Aunt, adoptive mother), convicted of involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 10-15 years.

Source:
Lorrie Thomas Gets 10 Years for Starving Quadriplegic Daughter Shylae Thomas to Death
A Memorial Page for Shylae Myza Thomas | Facebook
Shylae Thomas: Starved to Death

Jeremy Fraser

Photo of a young boy with a buzz cut and navy blue sweater. He has light skin and brown eyes, and is smiling for the camera. Name: Jeremy Fraser.
Died: March 30, 2009.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Leukemia.
Location: Salem, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Autism, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Details:
Jeremy was in remission, on the last stage of his cancer therapy, when his mother deliberately withdrew the medication that probably would have saved his life. He died of recurrent leukemia.

Case status:
Kristen LaBrie (Mother), convicted of attempted murder, sentenced to 8-10 years; served 5 years before being granted new trial; pleaded guilty to attempted murder, sentenced to time served.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jeremy Fraser
New Trial Granted for Salem Mother in Attempted Murder of Son
Woman Who Withheld Chemotherapy Medication From Ill Son Gets Time Served, Freed

Daniel Ndayiragije

No Photo Name: Daniel Ndayiragije.
Died: 2009.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Burundi.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Daniel’s older brother and sister-in-law agreed to sell him to a gang of albino hunters for the equivalent of $250. His killers shot him, then cut off his limbs for sale as ingredients in ritual magic.

Case status:
Omari Ndayiragije (brother), wanted fugitive.
Victoria Nkuizikiye (Sister-in-law), charged with murder.
A gang of three men, unnamed, wanted.

Source:
The ‘genocide’ of Burundi’s albinos
Una tragedia olvidada
Albinos under Burundi police protection welcome Napoleon

Mason Scott

School photo of a small boy with pale skin, strawberry-blond hair in a bowl cut, and brown eyes, wearing a red polo shirt. Name: Mason Scott.
Died: August 16, 2008.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Burned.
Location: Russellville, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Mason’s mother locked him in their house and set it on fire. Mason burned alive.

Case status:
Christie Scott (Mother), first-degree murder, death sentence.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Mason Scott
Murderpedia Article (Includes newspaper articles and court case.)
Christie Bray Scott’s Road to Death Row
A Mother’s Murder?

Kevin Johnson

Name: Kevin Johnson.
Died: July 20, 2008.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Fatal abuse.
Location: Crete, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Kevin’s foster father physically abused him, and eventually beat him so badly that he was taken to the hospital, unconscious, and died two days later.

His favorite hymn was the gospel song “I Need You To Survive.”

Case Status:
Fred D. Johnson II (Foster father), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 5-17 years.

Source:
Man charged with beating disabled foster child
Crete murderer seeks reduced sentence
Kevin Johnson
Family mourns loss of Crete boy

Aleksi Toledo

No Photo Name: Aleksi Morgan Pressey Toledo.
Died: May 13, 2008.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: San Bernardino County, California, USA.
Disability: Autism, juvenile diabetes.

Details:
Aleksi’s diabetes treatment was withheld and he was starved and dehydrated. He died of diabetic ketoacidosis with no fat left on his body. It is alleged that his mother chose not to seek medical attention, even though she could have saved his life had she done so.

Case status:
Father, D. T., no charges
Mother, unnamed, charged with child endangerment.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Aleksi Toledo
D.T. v. Superior Court
Death Record

Madeline Neumann

Photo of Madeline Neumann, a fair-skinned teen girl in a green T-shirt. Her brown hair is tied back in a ponytail, and her bangs are falling over her face. Name: Madeline Kara Neumann.
Died: March 23, 2008.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Untreated diabetes.
Location: Weston, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes.

Details:
Madeline’s parents, who believed that visiting a doctor was “idolatry”, refused to get Madeline medical treatment. Madeline died of untreated diabetes.

Case status:
Leilani Neumann (Mother), convicted of second-degree reckless homicide and sentenced to serve one month per year in jail for six years.
Dave Neumann (Father), convicted of second-degree reckless homicide and sentenced to serve one month per year in jail for six years.

Source:
Wisconsin Couple Sentenced in Death of Their Sick Child
Kara Neumann case
Homeschooling’s Invisible Children: Madeline Kara Neumann

Shellay Ward

Photo of Shellay Ward, a young girl with pale skin and auburn hair cut in a pageboy, wearing a big blue beret, a flower-patterned dress, and a broad smile. Name: Shellay Ward.
Died: November 13, 2007.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Hawks Nest, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Shellay was locked into a back room, where she died from long-term neglect and starvation.

Case status:
Sharyn Ward (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Blakely Ward (Father), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 12 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Shellay Ward
Father who killed ‘mummified’ daughter, 7, loses bid to walk from jail
Shellay Ebony Ward
Ebony: Judge restores some dignity to starved girl

Kayla Dutcher

No Photo Name: Kayla Dutcher.
Died: October 7, 2007.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Tramadol overdose.
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Blindness.

Details:
Kayla died of an overdose of Tramadol. Her parents reported that she had eaten the Tramadol by accident; the department of human services determined that she had died of “fatal neglect and an injurious environment”.

Case status:
Parents Amy Dutcher and James Dutcher were not charged.

Source:
Kayla Dutcher