Age Categories – Page 166 – Disability Day of Mourning

Clarissa Callow

Name: Clarissa “Sal” Callow.
Died: August 10, 2009.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Cystic fibrosis.

Details:
After Clarissa broke up with her boyfriend, he began stalking her. Two weeks after the breakup, he strangled her and left her for dead locked in a shed in a position that compressed her chest, causing her death.

Clarissa was a skilled archer who won several medals at the Queensland Archery Titles.

Case Status:
Bowan Taylor Wade (Ex-boyfriend), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 15 years to life; retrial ordered, declared guilty of manslaughter, sentenced to 4 years 6 months to 9 years in prison.

Sources:
R v Wade
Retrial over murder guilty plea
Teen’s killing will go to trial
Tributes flow for teen
Jury finds Wade guilty
Shock retrial in teen murder case

Camden Fry

Photo of Camden Fry, a young girl with light-brown hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Her hair is held back in a hair band and she is smiling for the camera, revealing dimples in her cheeks. Name: Camden Alexis Fry.
Died: August 9, 2009.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Positional asphyxia.
Location: North Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA.
Disability: ADHD, anxiety.

Details:
Camden liked animals, nature, and art. She enjoyed swimming, hockey, and playing with her friends. She took art and cooking classes and liked to arrange her stuffed animals every night before bed.

When Camden struggled because she didn’t want a bath, her mother restrained her and eventually strangled her with pressure on her chest and hands on her neck and mouth.

Case status:
Kimberly Fry (Mother), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Source:
Mother asks court to throw out her conviction for killing daughter
Mom who killed child argues cops have done same to suspects
Rhode Island mother to serve 20 years in death of daughter, 8 – The Boston Globe
Camden Fry Obituary
Local child’s death stuns community
Therapist: Kimberly Fry Blamed Daughter For Depression; Felt Hopeless
UPDATE: Key Information Disclosed Two Years After Girl’s Death

Lindsey Alvarez

No Photo Name: Lindsey Angela Alvarez.
Died: August 4, 2009.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Salt poisoning.
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Lindsey was brought to the emergency room, vomiting and having difficulty breathing. A few days later, she was dead from severe brain swelling caused by an excess of salt.

Doctors determined that Lindsey had ingested at least seven and a half teaspoons of salt–a fatal dose. A coroner also found that Lindsey had fractured ribs, a broken ankle, and fingertip-shaped bruises on her neck.

Case status:
Nearly five years after her death, a judge decided that there was a good chance Lindsey had been deliberately abused or murdered and that despite her severe autism, Lindsey would not voluntarily have eaten such a large amount of salt. The investigation into her death is ongoing.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Lindsey Angela Alvarez
Child salt poison inquest is halted after coroner felt an ‘offence may have been committed’
Coroner halts inquest into salt poisoning death
Autistic girl, 4, killed by too much salt
Adult could have administered salt that killed girl of four, inquest told
Coroner uneasy over little girl’s injuries after inquest fails to establish how she died from salt poisoning

Peter Eitzen

No Photo Name: Peter Eitzen.
Died: July 26, 2009.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Mount Barker, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disabilty.

Details:
Peter was drugged and stabbed to death by his mother. She told the court that she had intended to kill them both with carbon monoxide in the car, but after she sedated her son, he woke up and struggled, so she stabbed him instead.

Case status:
Beverley Eitzen (Mother); ruled mentally unfit to stand trial due to depression, and released on mental health supervision.

Source:
Mother freed over disabled son’s killing

Charles Billis

Photo of Charles Billis, a middle-aged man with brown hair and pale skin, wearing a plaid shirt. Name: Charles Billis.
Died: July 22, 2009.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Automobile collision.
Location: Charleston, Orleans County, Vermont, USA.
Disability: Legally blind.

Details:
Charles’s wife deliberately crashed their car, killing Charles, who was not wearing a seatbelt. She was wearing a seat belt and survived with minor injuries.

Case status:
Christine Billis (Wife), pleaded guilty, sentenced to 7-15 years.

Source:
Murderpedia: Christine Billis
Charles Billis Murder: Where is Christine Billis Now?

Giovanni Kopystenski

Photo of a young boy with olive skin and black hair, wearing an athletic jersey, standing in front of some palm trees. Name: Giovanni Kopystenski.
Died: July 21, 2009.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Giovanni’s father says he left a loaded gun on the center console of the car while he and the boy were in the car, and that Giovanni took the gun and shot himself in the head.

Giovanni was playful and mischievous, a great swimmer who loved Thomas the Tank Engine and McDonald’s chicken nuggets.

Case status:
Alex Kopystenski (Father), pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm; sentenced to 5 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Giovanni Kopystenski
Mother in Shock After Death of Son
Boy’s father charged with endangerment after fatal shooting
Sentencing delayed for father who admits guilt in boy’s fatal shooting
Grandmother disputes police report that boy was shot with gun left on vehicle’s console
Giovanni’s Legacy Foundation

Parion Williams

No Photo Name: Parion Williams.
Died: July 9, 2009.
Age at death: 16 months.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, congenital syphillis.

Details:
Parion was losing weight, and his doctor told his mother that he needed to see a specialist. Parion never saw the specialist, and died of starvation.

Case status:
Mandisa Z. Randolph (Mother), charged with child neglect.

Source:
Investigators tried to visit home of baby who later died
Woman failed to seek treatment for baby who died, complaint says

Meah Weidner

Photo of Meah Weidner, a young girl with short blond hair and fair skin, sitting in a power chair, smiling mischievously with her tongue stuck out. There is an ocean in the background. Name: Meah Weidner.
Died: July 7, 2009.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Meah’s mother’s boyfriend killed her by shaking her and dropping her on her head.

Case status:
David “Tony” Tyre (Mother’s boyfriend), homicide by child abuse, life without parole.

Source:
Child’s death stuns friends in Carolina Miracle League

Michael Becht Jr.

Name: Michael “Mikey” Becht Jr.
Died: July 6, 2009.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Michael’s mother poisoned him with a drug overdose.

Michael had befriended the neighbor’s six-year-old, with whom he played “Whales and Sharks”, a modified version of tag.

Case status:
Patricia Becht (Mother); pled guilty to murder; Sentenced to 38 years, 3 months with possibility of parole in 25-and-a-half years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Michael Becht Jr.
In Loving Memory Of Michael Becht Jr (Mikey)
Mother investigated in South St. Paul boy’s death
South St. Paul mother suspected of killing 10-year-old son
South St. Paul mom charged in attempted murder-suicide by drug overdose that left son dead
Mom admits to killing autistic son
Minnesota Mother Charged With Poisoning Children Says She Had Planned to Commit Suicide With Them at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch

D’Amber Myles

No Photo Name: D’Amber Myles.
Died: June 30, 2009.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Cerebral Palsy.

Details:
D’Amber’s mother allegedly put her in the bathtub and turned the water on, then closed the door and left her there with the water running as the bathtub filled. Because she could not hold her head out of the water, D’Amber drowned.

Case status:
Raven Gibbons (Mother), charged with second-degree murder.

Source:
Woman arrested, charged in drowning of daughter
Mother charged in drowning of 5-year-old daughter – Las Vegas Sun Newspaper
Mother charged with murder