Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Ramona Atkinson.
Died: April 30, 2014 (Body found).
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Abandonment.
Location: Parker, Florida, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled; wheelchair user.
Details:
Ramona’s son stole her money and her wheelchair and left her to die.
Case status:
Herbert Todd Atkinson (Son), convicted of elder neglect, exploitation, and theft, sentenced to 20 years.
Source:
Police: Man stole disabled mom’s money and left her to die
Inmate Population Information Detail
Name: Kalib Smart.
Died: April 28, 2014.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, bedsores, infection.
Location: Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Shaken baby syndrome.
Details:
Kalib’s parents neglected him; he died of pneumonia, untreated bedsores, and infection.
Case status:
Twana Smart (Adoptive mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 15 years, with all but 7 years suspended.
Timothy Smart (Adoptive father), convicted of permitting child neglect, given a 10 year deferred sentence.
Source:
Alva couple sentenced in child neglect cases
Review of the Death Kalib Smart
Report released detailing cause of death, injuries to Kalib Smart
Reports on death of handicapped boy, 17, prompts investigation into parents
Name: Mary Myatt.
Died: April 27, 2014.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Massive trauma.
Location: Oneida, New York, USA.
Disability: Cognitive impairment after brain aneurysm.
Details:
Mary’s husband drove her to the train tracks and waited until the train hit them, killing them both.
Mary had worked as a teacher’s aide, medical office receptionist, and manager of a college bookstore. She had two sons and four grandchildren.
Case status:
Earl Myatt Jr. (Husband), deceased.
Source:
Grandparents Killed By Train Ruled Murder-Suicide
NY husband steps in front of train with ill wife, leaves behind a mystery
The love that led a couple to stand in front of a train
Name: Olivia Clarence.
Age at death: 4.
Name: Ben Clarence.
Age at death: 3.
Name: Max Clarence.
Age at death: 3.
Died: April 22, 2014.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: New Malden, London, UK.
Disability: Spinal muscular atrophy type 2.
Details:
When twins Ben and Max were babies, their mother had requested DNR orders on them and Olivia; later on there were allegations that she had been tampering with their medical equipment, neglecting, and emotionally abusing her children. These allegations were dropped.
Oliva, Ben, and Max were all smothered by their mother when Olivia was four and Ben and Max were three years old.
Case status:
Tania Clarence (mother) pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility, and was hospitalized.
Source:
Woman smothered disabled twin sons before killing their sister, court hears
Was mum who smothered disabled kids ignored by social services because she was middle class?
Name: Gabriel McFarland.
Died: April 22, 2014.
Age at death: 4 months.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
Disability: Deaf in one ear.
Details:
Gabriel’s birth parents were teenagers who decided to give him up for adoption. In an open adoption, they chose Rachel and Heidi McFarland to be Gabriel’s adoptive mothers. The McFarlands were there at Gabriel’s birth to cut the cord and take him home from the hospital. When they found out that Gabriel was deaf in one ear, they began learning sign language.
But Gabriel’s birth parents had never completely signed away their parental rights, and when Gabriel was a few months old, his birth mother decided not to go through with the adoption and took him back. Five weeks later, she left him alone with his birth father, who shook and beat Gabriel until he died from severe head injuries.
Case status:
Drew James Weehler-Smith (Birth father), convicted of murder, sentenced to 17 to 50 years and a $150,000 fine.
Source:
ADOPTION TWIST: Three Mothers Mourn Baby’s Death
Iowa couple win $3.25m after adopted baby killed by dad
Couple Wins $3.25 Million After Adopted Baby Was Reclaimed By Birth Parents And Killed By Father
Name: Caitlin Wentzel.
Died: April 21, 2014.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Mesa, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Osteogenesis imperfecta.
Details:
Caitlin’s mother poisoned her, then smothered her to death, before killing herself.
Caitlin enjoyed learning about cultures, reading, art and swimming. She was a proficient reader who read above her grade level.
Case status:
Marcia Wentzel (Mother), deceased.
Source:
Mother ‘overdosed and smothered’ her wheelchair-bound daughter, 12, who was suffering from a rare genetic disorder before ending her own life in murder-suicide
Marcia & Caitlin Wentzel Obituary – Mesa, AZ
Name: Otto Smith.
Died: April 13, 2014.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Auburn, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
After long-term severe abuse, Otto’s mother’s boyfriend restrained and smothered him. Despite witnessing months of abuse that nearly killed Otto and his brother several times, his mother did nothing to help.
Otto liked to watch The Lion King, and his favorite toy was a musical keyboard. His younger brother, who survived abuse for several months after Otto died, went on to testify in his murder trial. He is now safe, living with his grandparents.
Case status:
Matthew Christenson (Mother’s boyfriend); convicted of second-degree murder, homicide by abuse, felony harassment, sentenced to 65 years.
Pascia Backman (Mother), pleaded guilty to helping cover up the murder, ordered to mental health and drug treatment.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Otto Smith
Trial considers whether man killed, tortured girlfriend’s sons
Mom: Beau’s love left me ‘euphoric,’ then he killed my son
Brother of slain autistic teen: Abuse rendered me ‘hopeless’
Boyfriend found guilty of murdering woman’s autistic son
65 years for Auburn man in death of girlfriend’s autistic son he bound and gagged
Name Unknown.
Died: April 9, 2014.
Age at death: 5 months.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Connsbrook Avenue, East Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Disability: None.
Details:
There was no objective evidence that this little boy was disabled, but his mother thought he would be disabled because her older son’s autism meant she had “passed on bad genes”. Sure that the baby boy would grow up to be disabled, she suffocated him.
Case status:
His mother was sentenced to three years of probation.
Source:
Mum who killed baby son freed on probation
Belfast Crown Court told details of mother’s admission to killing her child
Tears in court as details emerge of how Belfast mother killed five-month-old son
Belfast mum cries as she reveals why she killed her baby son
Woman who killed her baby son is freed on probation
Police still questioning mum about bid to smother baby
Autism Memorial: 5-month-old boy
Name: Marvell Patterson.
Died: April 6, 2014.
Age at death: 11 months.
Cause of death: Probable drowning (Body not found).
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Perceived disability.
Details:
Marvell’s mother killed him by drowning him in the bathtub. She told police that she didn’t think her son was normal because he refused to sit up and wasn’t walking, and that she couldn’t feel a connection to him.
His mother threw Marvell’s body into the trash; though police searched the landfill, it was never found.
Case status:
Joelle Briana Gaines, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to 4-10 years.
Source:
Woman pleads guilty in death of son whose body was never found
Las Vegas woman charged with killing her baby
Name: Robert Robinson.
Died: April 3, 2014.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Tranquilizer poisoning.
Location: Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Robert was poisoned by his mother, who also took her own life.
Robbie and his mother liked to hike a trail by the ocean.
Case status:
Angie Robinson (Mother), deceased.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Robert Robinson
Prince Rupert RCMP confirm murder-suicide in Ebert Street deaths
Social services for families with autistic children called into question following murder-suicide involving mother and son
Murder-suicide of B.C. autistic teen by his mother reignites debate over caregiver support
Prince Rupert mom left murder-suicide note saying she could no longer care for severely autistic son
