Age: Teen – Page 9 – Disability Day of Mourning

Holli Jeffcoat

Name: Holli Jeffcoat.
Died: February 10, 2016.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Idalou, Texas, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Holli told someone at school that she had been sexually abused and was pregnant, and named her stepfather as the person responsible. Holli had reported sexual abuse once before at age 10, but since then her mother, who knew about the abuse, had instructed her not to tell anyone about it because her abuser was financially supporting the family.

A week after she reported the abuse, Holli was found stabbed to death in her home; someone had removed her uterus, then set a fire to try to cover up the crime.

Holli loved pep rallies. She played baseball and ran track in the Special Olympics and worked as an office aide at her school.

Case status:
James Bryant Holland (Stepfather), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Deborah Holland (mother), pleaded guilty to injury to a child, elder, or disabled person, sentenced to 15 years.

Source:
Mother sentenced to 15 years in connection to brutal murder of Holli Jeffcoat
Debi Holland, once charged for capital murder of her own daughter, pleads to lesser charge
Texas couple indicted in murder of woman’s pregnant teen daughter
Murdered Teen Was Found With Uterus Cut Out
Child Protective Services aiding in Lubbock sheriff’s homicide investigation
Search warrant: Homicide victim accused family member of sexual abuse a week before killing
Report: Murdered Idalou Teen Was Pregnant by Family Member, Mother Knew About Sexual Abuse
Nearly Two Months After Holli Jeffcoat’s Murder School Staff Share Memories, Hopes for Justice
Lubbock medical examiner releases cause of death in Jeffcoat case
Police arrest stepfather of slain 18-year-old special needs student
Family says Holli Jeffcoat ‘deserves justice’ after stepfather arrest
Holli Jeffcoat’s Grandmother Defends Mother, Says Murderer Must Pay Consequences
Texas man gets life sentence for murdering pregnant, mentally disabled stepdaughter
Mother still awaiting trial, 3 years after Holli Jeffcoat murder

Daniel Joost

Photo of Daniel Joost, a teenage boy with fair skin and short light-brown, wavy hair. He is wearing dark-rimmed glasses and a dress shirt. Photographed outdoors, he squints into the sun. Name: Daniel Joost.
Died: February 8, 2016.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Daniel and his mother, 55-year-old Margaret O’Leary-Joost, were strangled to death by Daniel’s father, who then took his own life.

Case status:
David Joost (Father), deceased.

Source:
Parents and Teen-Aged Son Dead in Oak Forest Double Murder-Suicide
‘Oh God, We Better Call’: 911 Call in Oak Forest Double Murder-Suicide
Support for Katie Joost
Autism Memorial: Daniel Joost

Evan Hemsley

No Photo Name: Evan Hemsley.
Died: December 16, 2015.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Cecal volvulus, malnutrition.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Joubert’s syndrome.

Details:
Evan’s parents did not get him medical care. Weakened by malnutrition, Evan died from a twisted intestine, weighing 22 pounds.

Case Status:
Kristin Bush (Mother), convicted of child abuse and neglect, sentenced to 28 months to 10 years.
James Bush (Stepfather), convicted of child abuse and neglect, sentenced to 28 months to 10 years.

Sources:
Bush v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court , No. 73808-COA
Couple sentenced to prison in death of 13-year-old son
Bush v. Wolfson, Case No. 2:19-cv-1096-RFB-VCF
The judge sentenced the Las Vegas couple to jail for the death of their disabled child

Hakan Erdem

Photo of a boy with short brown hair, taken at an angle so that he seems to be leaning against the side of the photo. Name: Hakan Erdem.
Died: November 16, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Lilburn, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Hakan’s family is Turkish, and he survived a house fire when he was eight years old.

Hakan’s father cut his throat.

Case status:
Fikri Erdem (Father); found guilty but mentally ill of murder, felony murder and aggravated assault; committed suicide before sentencing.

Source:
Man kills self at Gwinnett jail after conviction in son’s murder
Cops: Lilburn dad admits to killing special needs 12-year-old son

Hannah Warner

No Photo
Name: Hannah Marie Warner.
Died: November 15, 2015.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Onondaga, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Chromosome translocation; physical and mental disabilities.

Details:
Hannah was neglected by her mother. When she died, she had not been fed for two weeks; she had untreated bedsores and weighed only 43 pounds.

Case status:
Cari Ann Wright (Mother), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while mentally ill, sentenced to 20-40 years.

Source:
Michigan woman gets 20-40 years in death of disabled daughter
Woman admits starving her 16-year-old daughter to death
Michigan woman admits starving 16-year-old disabled daughter
Michigan mom admits to starving disabled daughter to death
Michigan woman starved her daughter who died weighing 43 pounds
Mother sentenced to prison in girl’s starvation death
Michigan woman gets 20-40 years in death of disabled daughter

Dustin Hicks

Name: Dustin Hicks.
Died: November 5, 2015.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Dawsonville, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Autism, Crohn’s disease.

Details:
Dustin was shot by his mother in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Nina Hicks (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism memorial: Dustin Hicks
Was the murder of Dustin Hicks committed by a biomed mom?
Woman, son dead in apparent Dawson Co. murder-suicide
Dawsonville mother shoots disabled son, self in possible mercy killing

Emily Kaminski

Photo of a teenage girl. She is wearing a jeweled necklace and small, thick glasses, and there is a tiara atop her frizzy blonde hair. Her skin is very fair. She has her mouth open as though she is about to say something. Name: Emily Jean Kaminski.
Died: October 14, 2015.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Prescription drug overdose.
Location: La Mesa, California, USA.
Disability: Multiple disabilities, including blindness.

Details:
Emily’s grandmother gave her a fatal overdose of prescription drugs, then killed herself.

Case status:
Marshelle Marie Newby (Grandmother), deceased.

Source:
Police: California Grandmother Gave Disabled Teen Fatal Overdose in Murder-Suicide

Andrea Lago Ordóñez

Name: Andrea Lago Ordóñez.
Died: October 9, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Dehydration.
Location: Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Disability: A degenerative neurological condition.

Details:
Andrea’s parents advocated for her feeding tube to be removed. She died of starvation and dehydration after four days without nourishment.

Case status:
Antonio Lago and Estela Ordóñez (Parents); no crime.

Source:
Spanish girl at centre of futile care controversy dies
Terminally ill Galician girl Andrea dies after four days off life support
Parents of terminally ill Galician child fight to take her off life support
‘Andrea está mejor sin la sonda. Durmió de un tirón y muy tranquila’

Gulpreet Kumari

No Photo Name: Gulpreet Kumari.
Died: October 2, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Panchkula, Haryana, India.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Wanting a new life with a new boyfriend, Gulpreet’s mother allegedly decided to kill the autistic twelve-year-old; while Gulpreet’s mother held her down, her mother’s boyfriend strangled her. They said Gulpreet’s death was natural and due to her disability.

On November 29, 2015, Gulpreet’s younger brother Gurjant was reported missing. When his body was found in a field, the victim of a homicide, police investigated Gulpreet’s death too and decided that she and her little brother had both been murdered.

Case status:
Mukesh Kumari (Mother), charged with murder.
Haryana Shekhar (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with murder.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Gulpreet Kumari
Woman kills kids to marry paramour
Police bring accused mother, her paramour from Jind
Woman arrested for murdering son, daughter

Jhoel Noria

Photo of a young boy with brown hair and tan skin, smiling; in the background are the walls of a school classroom. Name: Jhoel Noria; also called Jhoel Jesus Gaspar.
Died: September 30, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Motor vehicle accident.
Location: Trenton, Texas, USA.
Disability: “Special needs”.

Details:
Jhoel died while waiting for the school bus; he walked into the road and was fatally hit by an SUV.

Normally this would have been categorized as an accident, but police investigated and found that Jhoel, whose special needs required supervision, had been completely unsupervised at the time. Suspecting neglect, they removed Jhoel’s three siblings from the home. These three siblings, now able to speak out, told the police that Jhoel’s stepfather and stepbrother had been sexually assaulting all four children. Jhoel’s parents and stepbrother were arrested.

Jhoel liked to play ball and he liked animals, but he had a passion for dancing. He was always showing his family his new dance moves.

Case status:
Pedro Noria (Stepfather), pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, sentenced to 20 years.
Nelson Rodriguez (Stepbrother), charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Noemi Noria (Mother), convicted of continuous sexual assault of a child, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Trenton mom gets 30 years in prison in sex abuse case
Father in Trenton child sexual abuse case gets 20 years in prison
Trenton police investigation into 12-year-old’s death leads to sexual assault arrests
Boy killed in Trenton wreck identified
Jhoel Jesus Gaspar Obituary
Family of boy who died while waiting on a school bus arrested on child abuse charges