Age: Teen – Page 13 – Disability Day of Mourning

Erin Crabtree

Photo of Erin Crabtree, a teenage girl with pale skin and brown hair, smiling at the camera. Someone in a lion costume is resting their hand on her shoulder. Name: Erin Crabtree.
Died: September 4, 2012.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Opiate poisoning.
Location: Maudsland, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Developmental disability, autism.

Details:
Erin was allegedly fatally poisoned with codeine by her mother, who staged her death as a suicide and collected life insurance. Five years later, Erin’s brother Jonathan would die the same way.

When Erin’s mother was finally arrested, Erin’s sister, also disabled and in her mother’s custody, was found in bad shape from having been repeatedly dosed with sedatives, and was rescued.

Case status:
Maree Crabtree (Mother), charged with two counts of murder, grievous bodily harm, torture, fraud, and armed robbery.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Erin Crabtree
Mum’s strange decision before deaths
Witness claims mum accused of murdering children wished son was dead: court
Gold Coast mum Maree Mavis Crabtree accused of murdering her two disabled children
‘Very controlling’: Chilling allegations against Qld mum accused of killing her disabled kids
Mum’s strict rules before alleged murder
Mom murdered her two adult children for insurance payouts, police say
Australian mother arrested after she allegedly poisoned her disabled kids
Gold Coast mother killed two adult children for financial gain, police allege
Maree Crabtree ‘told disabled son to hold up a chemist’
Mum, 51, charged with murdering her kids told one to rob a chemist
Mother accused of poisoning her disabled adult children to death bagged $500k in insurance
‘Killer mum’ claimed $500k in insurance for disabled kids
Mum allegedly poisoned two children, prepared suicide note
Queensland mother allegedly murdered her two children with disabilities for money
Mother charged over children’s murders
QLD mother charged with murder, torture after allegedly poisoning two children to death
Friend says murdered Jonathon Crabtree was ‘full of life’
Jonathan Crabtree tried to call best mate an hour before his death
Australian mother arrested for the alleged murder of her two disabled children
Gold Coast mother killed two adult children for financial gain, police allege
Son of murder-accused had been ‘trying to pick up his life’ before he was found dead
Pictured: Disabled siblings ‘poisoned to death by rat-loving mother’
Australian mum ‘poisoned, killed disabled children for financial gain’, police claim
Murder-accused mother used prescription drugs to control children: police
Police say murder-accused mum helped son secure $200,000 disability benefits, then staged his suicide
Mum accused of disabled kids’ murder said one got Autism from a needle
Australian woman kills two ‘disabled’ adult children for financial gains
Mum partied as Erin died alone
Father of murdered siblings tried to have his son put in care
The missing Sprite cup in the police case against an accused double murderer

Markea Blakely-Berry

Name: Markea Blakely-Berry.
Died: June 15, 2012.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Markea was starved to death by her mother.

Case status:
Ebony Berry (Mother), pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Girl, 16, dies weighing just 40lb after being ‘starved by her food-obsessed mother’

Matthew Degner

No Photo Name: Matthew Degner.
Died: September 8, 2011.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Matthew was neglected by his mother. He died of pneumonia.

Case status:
Lydia Price (Mother), charged with neglect, cruelty to animals; sentenced to probation and forbidden from owning animals.

Source:
Woman Gets Probation in Berwyn Squalor Death
What went wrong in disabled Berwyn teen Matthew Degner’s death?
WATCH: Boy Found Dead Outside Squalid Home With More Than 200 Animals
Disabled teen found dead at suburban Chicago home, mother charged
Dead teen Matthew Degner lived with over 100 animals in squalid conditions, authorities say
Boy, 14, found dead in squalid bungalow housing more than 200 animals riddled with disease

Christina Sneary

Portrait photo of a solemn teenage girl with brown skin and black hair, wearing large hoop earrings and a black-and-white outfit. Name: Christina Sneary.
Died: August 3, 2011.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Ferry Pass, Florida, USA.
Disability: Developmentally disabled.

Details:
Christina’s older foster sister shot her.

Case status:
Elena Rendell (Foster sister, age 17), convicted as a youthful offender of manslaughter, sentenced to 1 year in jail and 5 years probation.

Source:
Former Northview Student Convicted Of Killing Younger Adoptive Sister; Will Serve One Year In Jail

Benjamin Barnhard

Photo of a teenage boy with fair skin and brown, curly hair, wearing a black suit and a lei draped around his neck. Name: Benjamin Barnhard.
Died: August 3, 2011.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Kensington, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Benjamin was shot to death by his mother, who killed herself one day later.

Case status:
Margaret Ferne Jensvold (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Benjamin Barnhard
Autism Tragedy as Psychiatrist Mother Allegedly Murders Son, Commits Suicide in MD
‘She was going to kill me too,’ says ex-husband of psychiatrist who shot her autistic ‘Too Fat For 15’ son before turning the gun on herself
Mother, Son Deaths In Kensington, MD Ruled Murder-Suicide

Romana Bones

No Photo Name: Romana Bones.
Died: June 30, 2011.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Duval County, Florida, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Romana was starved and neglected by her mother. She died of septic shock.

Case status:
Jessica Rivera (Mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 12-18 years in prison.

Source:
Romana Bones, 13
DCF releases child neglect case documents
Woman Gets 18 Years for Daughter’s Death

Hana Williams

Photo of a brown-skinned teenage girl, smiling broadly. Name: Hana Grace-Rose Williams (Born Hana Alemu Befekadu).
Died: May 12, 2011.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Hypothermia.
Location: Sedro-Woolley, Washington, USA.
Disability: Hepatitis B; special-needs adoptee.

Details:
Hana’s adoptive parents starved, beat, and abused her. She died of hypothermia and chronic starvation when she was left outside in the cold as punishment.

Hana enjoyed knitting and crocheting, reading, drawing and various crafts, playing soccer and riding her bicycle.

Case status:
Larry Williams (Adoptive father), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 28 years.
Carri Williams (Adoptive mother), convicted of homicide by abuse, sentenced to 37 years.

Source:
Death of Hana Grace-Rose Williams
Hana Grace-Rose Williams (Hana Alemu Befekadu) and Immanuel Williams

Makayla Norman

Photo of Makayla Norman, a teen girl with brown skin and fuzzy black hair, sitting in a bean bag chair, with her head propped against a pillow. She is wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. Name: Makayla Norman.
Died: March 1, 2011.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, sepsis.
Location: Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Makayla’s mother had hired three nurses to help take care of her. Despite that, she managed to neglect Makayla so badly that she died of malnutrition and infected bedsores. The young girl spent her last years in a filthy, trash-ridden house and died weighing 28 pounds.

Case status:
Angela Norman (Mother), involuntary manslaughter, nine years.
Mollie E. Parsons (Nurse), manslaughter, 10 years; health care fraud, 3 years.
Marky K. Kilby (Nurse), convicted of failing to provide for functionally-impaired person, sentenced to probation; convicted of failing to report abuse; 180 days in jail, all but 15 days suspended.
Kathryn Williams (Nurse), convicted of failure to report child abuse or neglect and failing to provide for a functionally-impaired person; sentenced to 30 days in jail, 160 hours community service, and one year of probation.

Source:
Makayla M. Norman
Angela Norman: Murderpedia
Nurse in prison for teen’s death accused of health care fraud
Middletown caregiver sentenced for defrauding Medicaid in disabled Dayton teen’s death
Woman sentenced in Medicaid fraud case related to a minor’s death

Cynara Ali

Name: Cynara Ali.
Died: February 21, 2011.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Hypoxia.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Cynara’s mother called emergency services, saying that masked intruders had smothered her daughter. Cynara was rushed to the hospital where she died two days later from a hypoxic brain injury.

Prosecutors alleged Cynara’s mother had actually smothered Cynara with a pillow and staged the home invasion to cover up the crime; but after thirteen years and two trials, a judge acquitted Cynara’s mother because, he stated, the crime could not be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt”. No trace of any intruders was ever found.

16-year-old Cynara was a recent immigrant from Trinidad to Canada. She had been in Canada only a month before her death.

Case status:
Cindy Ann Sherry Ali (Mother), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life; retrial ordered, charged with first-degree murder; acquitted.

Source:
Toronto mother acquitted in death of disabled daughter launches $10.5-million lawsuit against police, city
Toronto mom acquitted in daughter’s death sues police, city
‘Project Litoria’: How Toronto police charged a now-acquitted mother in the death of her disabled daughter
Mother acquitted in retrial of disabled daughter’s death
‘After so long it’s done’: Cindy Ali acquitted of daughter’s murder in retrial
Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in 2011 death of disabled daughter
Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in disabled daughter’s death
Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in 2011 death of disabled daughter
MANDEL: Mom cleared of murder 13 years after disabled daughter’s death
Toronto mother Cindy Ali’s retrial: Who killed Cynara?
Toronto mom’s trial focuses on decade-old memories of death scene
Convicted of killing her child over 10 years ago, Ontario woman seeks to clear name in 2nd trial
After appealing conviction in death of disabled daughter, Ontario mother begins new murder trial in Toronto
Cynara Ali death: Week 1 of Cindy Ali trial in Toronto. What happened? | CP24.com
Convicted of killing her child over 10 years ago, Ontario woman seeks to clear name in 2nd trial
Cindy Ali trial: Day 2 updates | CP24.com
After appealing conviction in death of disabled daughter, Ontario mother begins new murder trial in Toronto
Cynara Ali death: Week 1 of Cindy Ali trial in Toronto. What happened? | CP24.com
Toronto mom guilty of killing severely disabled teen daughter
‘My baby’s not breathing’: 911 call of mother accused in disabled teen’s death
Crown in murder trial challenges mother’s story of child’s death: DiManno
Mom blamed home invaders after smothering disabled daughter: Crown
Trinidadian sentenced to life in prison in Canada for killing disabled daughter

Karandeep Arora

No Photo Name: Karandeep Arora.
Died: October 25, 2010.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: New Delhi, India.
Disability: Visual and mobility impairment.

Details:
Karandeep’s parents either smothered or poisoned him, and then both of them committed suicide.

Case status:
Saminder Singh Arora and Mini Arora (Parents), deceased.

Source:
Couple kill disabled son, commit suicide