Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Age 5-11
Name: Sandra Blair.
Age at death: 36.
Disability: Injury from a car accident.
Name: Justin Blair.
Age at death: 8.
Disability: Cerebral palsy; blindness.
Died: March 11, 1996.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned with hammer.
Location: Concord, New Hampshire, USA.
Details:
Sandra and Justin, mother and son, were killed by Sandra’s husband, Justin’s father, who bludgeoned them with a hammer.
Case status:
Robert Blair (Father); convicted of murder; sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
Name: Fiona Mitchell.
Died: July 12, 1995.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Brain injury from meningitis, causing blindness and deafness.
Details:
While her siblings lived in the rest of the house, little Fiona was shut up in a room and forgotten, denied care, medical attention, and even food and water. She died of starvation.
“…Fiona was among those whose cases were diffused by factual findings by the coroner. Though Fiona died of malnutrition, the Medical examiner attributed her death to her having had meningitis and said it was “amazing she lived as long as she did.” —Misplaced Mercy
Case status:
Mary Mitchell (Mother), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide; two-year suspended sentence.
Source:
Misplaced Mercy
Girl’s Mother Indicted on Murder Charge
Name: Lucas Ciambrone; birth name, Pedro Garcia.
Died: May 13, 1995.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Florida, USA.
Disability: Reactive Attachment Disorder.
Details:
Lucas was kept naked in a bathroom, abused by his parents, and died of a head injury. He had multiple broken ribs that had gone untreated for months, and was malnourished. At trial, defense experts argued that because he had an attachment disorder, Lucas’s behavior traumatized his parents so much that it excused what they had done to him.
Lucas liked Star Wars.
Case Status:
Joseph Ciambrone (Adoptive father), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life.
Heather Ciambrone (Adoptive mother), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 55 years; appealed sentence, sentenced to life.
Sources:
‘Almost like he’s possessed;’ Couple convicted of murdering adopted son tried RAD defense
AT Victim — Lucas Ciambrone
Lucas Ciambrone
Name: Trevor Horn.
Died: March 3, 1993.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Hypoxia; ventilator disconnected.
Location: Montgomery County, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Quadriplegic, intellectually disabled.
Details:
In an attempt to collect the money that was going toward Trevor’s care, Trevor’s father hired a hit man to kill him. The hit man disconnected Trevor’s respirator, and then shot his mother, Mildred Horn, and his overnight nurse, Janice Saunders. Trevor’s two sisters, who had been out of the house that night, survived.
Case status:
Lawrence Horn (Father), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole, died in prison.
James Edward Perry (Hit man); convicted of murder, sentenced to death, died in prison.
Source:
Lawrence T. HORN
Father arrested in 3 murders
The chilling story of how a book by a cash-strapped mum from Florida is behind a triple murder
Name: Hannah Mercy Carroll.
Died: September 21, 1992.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Cedarville, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.
Details:
Hannah was burned with bleach over a third of her body–allegedly by her brother, who was babysitting, though he maintains it was an accident. Her parents did not seek medical attention until three days later when she was unconscious and dying from pneumonia.
Case status:
Kathleen Carroll (Mother), not charged.
Timothy Carroll (Father), not charged.
James Carroll (Brother), charged with delinquency by reason of involuntary manslaughter, acquitted.
Source:
Hannah, Noah, Molly and Joshua Carroll
Hannah, Noah, Mollie, and Josiah Carroll
Girl tried to protect self
Name: Brandon Lamarr Sims.
Died: 1992 (Body never found).
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty.
Details:
Brandon was beaten to death by his mother, who said she “did not want to raise a freak”.
Case status:
Michelle Jones (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to 50 years; released after 20 years.
Source:
We Need to Forgive the College-Bound Mother Who Killed Her Child
From Prison to Ph.D.: The Redemption and Rejection of Michelle Jones
Michelle Jones v. State
Name: Matthew Rosio.
Died: October 16, 1990.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
After seeing a television program on euthanasia, Matthew’s mother deliberately starved him to death.
Case status:
Patricia Rosio (Mother); she was given eight years of probation and ordered to serve a three-month jail sentence, but allowed out 16 hours a day.
Source:
Mother charged with starving her ailing son to death
Milwaukee Sentinel, Dec. 12, 1992, page 1A
Name: Aaron Norman.
Died: December 20, 1987.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Diabetes.
Location: Mead, Washington, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes.
Details:
Aaron’s parents abused him and denied him medical treatment. He died of untreated diabetes, aggravated by being beaten with a board.
Case status:
Bob Norman (Father), manslaughter, 41 months.
Judith Norman (Mother), charged with homicide.
Doug Kleber (Leader, No-Name Fellowship), convicted of second-degree criminal mistreatment, sentenced to 3 years.
Four elders in the No-Name Fellowship were charged with criminal mistreatment; one convicted.
Name: Tara Kelly.
Died: September 15, 1985.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Homicidal violence.
Location: Rochester, New York, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
While her mother’s boyfriend was babysitting Tara, he killed her by hitting, kicking, and suffocating her.
Case status:
Thomas Osburn (Mother’s boyfriend), second-degree murder, 20 years to life.
Name: John Robles.
Died: January 19, 1985.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: El Cajon, California, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
John had spent time in foster care, but was returned to his mother. In the end, he was smothered by his mother, who had gotten away with killing his brother Matthew five years before. John’s death was thought to be natural until his mother went to the police and confessed to both murders.
Case status:
Debra Sue Robles (Mother); confessed to murder; sentenced to 30 years to life.
Source:
An American Tragedy: Mother Kills 2 Children as System Fails
Woman Held in Deaths of Her Disabled Sons