Category: Age: Teen

Age 12-18

Chaitanya Balpande

Photo of Chaitanya Balpande, an adolescent boy wearing a blue polo shirt. He has short black hair and tan skin; there is a spot of red on his forehead.Name: Chaitanya Balpande.
Died: August 5, 2015.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Disability: Cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia).

Details:
Chaitanya’s mother abused him, beating him for limping when he walked, starving him, locking him up, and making him exercise for hours at a time. Chaitanya died of injuries received when his mother beat him with a cricket bat.

Case status:
Rakhi Balpande (Mother), convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, sentenced to 10 years.

Source:
Sessions Court in Pune sentences woman to 10 years in prison for murdering her differently-abled son
13-yr-old was beaten to death with cricket bat he considered lucky

Maxwell Peterson

Photo of a teenage boy with strawberry-blond hair and fair skin, smiling, wearing a yellow T-shirt.Name: Maxwell J. Peterson.
Died: July 21, 2015.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury, blood loss.
Location: Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Angelman syndrome.

Details:
Maxwell’s father took him to a park and killed him by slitting his throat and shooting him with a nail gun. Then he killed himself.

Maxwell liked playing basketball.

Case status:
Theodore R. Peterson (Father), deceased.

Source:
Medical examiner: Father of Token Creek homicide victim has died
Son identified, father held in killing at Token Creek County Park

Thenmozhi, Vasanthi, and Vasantha Kumar

No PhotoName: Thenmozhi.
Age at death: 18.
Disability: Malaikan (night blindness).

Name: Vasanthi.
Age at death: 16.
Disability: Mental illness; unspecified physical disability.

Name: Vasantha Kumar.
Age at death: 14.
Disability: Unspecified physical disability.

Died: May 27, 2015.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Markandeyapuram, Dindigul, India.

Details:
Sisters Thenmozhi and Vasanthi, and their brother Vasantha, were poisoned by their parents in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Murugesan (Father), deceased.
Krishnaveni (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Dejected Couple Kill 3 Disabled Wards, Commit Suicide
Couple kill 3 children, hang themselves
Upset Couple Poisons 3 Ailing Kids to Death, Hang Selves
Couple poison to death 3 children, end lives

Elhassan and Abdelkarim Elmezayen

No PhotoName: Elhassan Elmezayen.
Age at death: 13.
Died: April 9, 2015.

Name: Abdelkarim Elmezayen.
Age at death: 8.
Died: April 10, 2015.

Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Elhassan and Abdelkarim’s father took out life insurance policies on them; then he put them and his wife in the car and drove off a bridge. Their father easily swam to safety through a window he had left open for the purpose; their mother was rescued by a fisherman. But the boys, who could not swim and were strapped into their child seats, went down with the car. Elhassan died shortly after being transported to the hospital; Abdelkarim died the next day.

The family were immigrants from Egypt. A third brother, also autistic, was not in the car that day and survived.

Case status:
Ali Elmezayen (Father), convicted of murder, mail and wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering; sentenced to 212 years in prison.

Source:
California Man Sentenced To 212 Years In Prison For ‘Premeditated Murder’ Of Two Autistic Sons To Claim Life Insurance
Man convicted of intentionally drowning his 2 autistic children to collect insurance money
Man Found Guilty of Killing His Disabled Sons by Driving Off Port of L.A. Dock to Collect Life Insurance
Dad Accused of Drowning His 2 Boys With Severe Autism for Insurance Money Cries in Court
Man charged with fraud after driving off pier, killing sons
Autism Memorial: Elhassan and Abdelkarim Elmezayen
A man drove his severely autistic kids off a pier to their death. Prosecutors say he did it for the insurance money.
Father ‘drowned autistic sons to claim insurance money’
‘Dad’ took hefty life insurance policy on two autistic children before allegedly driving them to their drowning deaths: Prosecutors
Man Charged Alleging Scheme to Collect Insurance Proceeds by Intentionally Killing His Two Autistic Children
1 dead, 3 injured after car plunges into water at Port of Los Angeles

Julieanne Cieslikowski

No PhotoName: Julieanne Cieslikowski.
Died: February 27, 2015.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Bonney Lake, Washington, USA.
Disability: Autism spectrum.

Details:
Julieanne was shot by her mother in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Sarahlynne Ciesilowski (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Authorities identify woman who killed daughter, self in home near Bonney Lake
A blooming cherry blossom memory

Aja Dasa

Photo: A young man in a black-and-red hooded jacket; he has fair skin and bown hair and is looking off to the side and smiling awkwardly.Name: Aja Dasa.
Died: February 11, 2015.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Aja was allegedly stabbed to death by his brother.

He was a fan of Doctor Who and Star Trek and wanted to study electrical and mechanical engineering in college.

Case status:
Amerendra Dasa (Brother), charged with murder, ruled incompetent to stand trial and hospitalized to restore competence. Died in jail in 2017.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Aja Dasa
Bond denied for Spartanburg man charged in teen brother’s stabbing death
Spartanburg District 7 mourning death of slain student
Aja Prema Dasa
Funeral fund for Aja Dasa
Mother struggling with death of her son by his brother
Man accused of killing his brother dies in Spartanburg jail
Inmate care scrutinized after another jail suicide

Samauri Page

No PhotoName: Samauri J. Page.
Died: November 30, 2014.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Diabetic ketoacidosis.
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes, autism.

Details:
Samauri died of diabetic ketoacidosis because he had been either not given enough to eat, or not given his insulin.

His favorite sport was wrestling.

Case status:
Bakari J. Page (Father), under investigation.

Source:
Samauri J. Page
Autism Memorial: Samauri Page
Diabetic teen dies despite multiple warnings to Children Services

Patrick

No PhotoName: “Patrick” (Family name unknown).
Died: November 2014.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Multiple organ failure.
Location: Bedford, England, UK.
Disability: Coffin-Lowry syndrome.

Details:
Patrick’s care was neglected by his grandmother. He was kept in a filthy room without a working light. By the time he was hospitalized, he weighed only 95 pounds, had bruises all over his body, and was in multiple organ failure. He died age 17.

Patrick was good at swimming and had just learned cycling. Despite his limited ability to speak, he had memorized all of his classmates’ names.

Case status:
His grandmother was interviewed for case review. Belford Borough Safeguarding Children Board concluded that the agency did not adequately support Patrick’s needs or ensure that his grandmother cared for him adequately.

Source:
Disabled teenager who died weighing just 6 stone was ‘invisible’ to social services
‘Neglected’ disabled Bedford teen ‘unsupported’ by social services before ‘shocking’ death
Tragic death of ‘invisible’ Bedford teen failed by system
Patrick Final Report for PUBLICATION 23.5.16

Isaac Robitille

Photo of Isaac Robitille, a young boy with fair skin and shaggy brown hair. His facial features are atypical, with a small, flat nose. He is sitting tilted back in a power chair outdoors, eyes closed, with the sun on his face.Name: Isaac Robitille.
Died: August 22, 2014.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Alcohol poisoning.
Location: Hardwick, Vermont, USA.
Disability: Holoprosencephaly.

Details:
Isaac was killed by his mother and her boyfriend; they put so much alcohol into his feeding tube (some news stories say it was an IV) that he died of alcohol poisoning.

Case status:
Melissa Robitille (Mother), charged with second-degree murder, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 4 years, sentence reduced to 3 1/2 years.
Walter Richter III (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years in prison with credit for 1 1/2 years time served.

Source:
Hardwick mom convicted in disabled son’s death gets reduced sentence
Woman convicted in disabled child’s death appeals again
Vt. woman convicted in disabled son’s death appeals again
Vermont mom, boyfriend kill disabled 13-year-old by putting alcohol in IV: cops
Man Sentenced After Killing Boy With Vodka
Vermont Woman Found Guilty of Manslaughter for Pouring Vodka in Disabled Child’s Feeding Tube
Mother who put vodka in disabled son’s feeding tube leading to his death gets appeal rejected in court

Nancy Fitzmaurice

Photo of a young girl with fair skin and auburn hair, wearing a pink shirt and smiling; she is leaning against a white silk pillow.Name: Nancy Fitzmaurice .
Died: August 21, 2014.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Dehydration.
Location: London, UK.
Disability: Hydrocephalus, epilepsy, neurological disorders.

Details:
Nancy’s mother fought for a court order to have fluids withdrawn from her disabled daughter; Nancy died of dehydration.

Case status:
Charlotte Fitzmaurice (Mother); no charges.

Source:
‘My daughter is no longer my daughter… the light from her eyes is now gone’: Mother tells of heartbreak behind the hardest decision any parent could make – to let her disabled child die