Age: Young Adult – Disability Day of Mourning

Jakob Casey

Name: Jakob Michael Casey.
Died: June 4, 2025.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Logan, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Jakob and his mother were both found semiconscious in their house after a “domestic-related incident.” Both were rushed to the hospital, but Jakob never woke up from his coma. When he died three days later, his mother’s attempted murder charge was upgraded to murder.

Case Status:
Cassandra Torrens (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Woman charged with murder after disabled son in induced coma dies
Woman, 40, charged with murder after teenager fails to wake from induced coma
Woman charged with murder following death of her son

Secrett Curtis

No Photo Name: Secrett T. Curtis.
Died: March 31, 2025.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Unspecified neglect.
Location: Chesterfield, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Autism, cerebral palsy.

Details:
Secrett, who had CP and autism, lived with her aunt. She was declared dead shortly after she arrived at the hospital. Doctors called the authorities because she was severely malnourished. Police who searched her house say she had been kept in a mold-infested room, on filthy bedding.

Case Status:
Tina T. Curtis (Aunt), charged with abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult leading to their death.

Sources:
Chesterfield woman charged with neglect leading to niece’s death
Suspect Arrested in Death of Vulnerable Adult

Caterina Whitten

Name: Caterina Whitten.
Died: January 3, 2025.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Unspecified neglect.
Location: Lowell, Arkansas, USA.
Disability: Fraser syndrome; blind, autism.

Details:
Caterina was found dead in a filthy home.

One of six adopted siblings, Caterina was born in Russia. As a child, she loved swimming and playing on her swing set. Her five siblings, who had also allegedly been neglected, were rescued when her father was arrested after Caterina’s death.

Case Status:
David Whitten (adoptive father), charged with negligent homicide and six counts of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.

Sources:

Father Leaves Disabled Daughter To Be Devoured By Roaches In Group Home
Arkansas police arrest 72-year-old man for negligent homicide in disabled daughter’s death
Lowell man accused of negligent homicide, endangering welfare
Lowell man faces negligent homicide charge after death of disabled daughter
‘A really sad story’: Neighbors react to tragic death of Lowell woman
Horrifying way disabled woman died in Ozarks house of horrors she shared with ‘dad’ and 5 handicapped siblings

Jijesh Vijayan

Name: Jijesh Vijayan.
Died: December 27, 2024.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Poisoned.
Location: Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
Disability: Intellectual disability, bedridden.

Details:
Jijesh’s neighbors found him and his father in critical condition. They were rushed to the hospital, but both died from poisoning. Authorities believe that Jijesh’s father poisoned him and then ingested some of the poison himself.

Case Status:
Manichirakkal NM Vijayan (Father) is deceased.

Sources:
Wayanad DCC treasurer, son die after ingesting poison
Bathery DySP to lead special team formed to probe Wayanad DCC treasurer, son’s death

Esther Nakakande

No Photo Name: Esther Nakakande.
Died: November 9, 2024.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Starvation, torture.
Location: Mairye Village, Wakiso District, Central Region, Uganda.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
When one of Esther’s relatives came to visit her, he was horrified to find her dead. Esther’s relatives found that her body was covered in wounds, and she was emaciated. They believe her father and stepmother, who have been arrested, tortured Esther and did not feed her enough in the four months she stayed with them before she died.

Case Status:
Elemiya Kibirige (Father), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Justine Zalwango (Stepmother), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sources:
Wakiso Couple Netted for Starving Disabled Daughter to Death
Couple Held Over Death of Disabled Girl

Tegan Fredericks

Name: Tegan Fredericks.
Died: October 28, 2024.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Severe pressure sores.
Location: Port Augusta, South Australia, Australia.
Disability: Physical and intellectual disability.

Details:
Medics were called to Tegan’s home, where she lived with her mother, because she had fallen and could not be put back into her chair. They found her in serious condition and rushed her to the hospital, but she died four days later from severe pressure sores. The home where Tegan had been living was “not fit for human habitation”; authorities say they have found “clear indicators of criminal neglect”.

Case Status:
Tegan’s death has been declared “a major crime”. She lived with her mother, who served as a caregiver, but police are still investigating who exactly was responsible for Tegan’s condition. No one has yet been charged.

Sources:
Death of disabled woman being investigated as major crime
Death of 26yo woman who lived with ‘significant’ disabilities in ‘squalid’ conditions declared a major crime
Woman with disability found dead was in home ‘not fit for humans’

Kris Knox

a young Black man wearing a baseball cap faces to the right Name: Kris Knox.
Died: October 20, 2024.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Warren, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Brain cancer, mental health disability.

Details:
Police were summoned to Kris’s home after his brother ran to a neighbors house for help, saying that his mother had threatened him with a gun. When the police checked on Kris and his mother, they found that she had shot him and then killed herself. His brother, who had escaped the house, survived unhurt.

Case Status:
His mother; deceased.

Sources:
2 dead in Warren, police suspect murder-suicide – CBS Detroit
Mother, son dead after murder-suicide in Warren
Police: Warren mom fatally shoots special needs son before taking her own life
Grandma of Warren man shot by mom in apparent murder-suicide said family struggled with health issues

Neetu, Nikki, Neeru, and Nidhi Sharma

No Photo Name: Neetu Sharma.
Age at death: 26.
Disability: Chronic illness.

Name: Nikki Sharma.
Age at death: 24.
Disability: Chronic illness.

Name: Neeru Sharma.
Age at death: 23.
Disability: Blind; chronic illness.

Name: Nidhi Sharma.
Age at death: 20.
Disability: Mobility impaired; chronic illness.

Died: September 27, 2024.
Cause of death: Poisoned.
Location: Rangpuri, New Delhi, Delhi, India.

Details:
Sisters Neetu, Nikki, Neeru, and Nidhi were mourning their mother, who had died a year before. Neighbors said that because of their health, they never left their room. They shared one mobile phone between them. Their father, who had withdrawn from society after his wife’s death, was obsessed with their illnesses and their treatment at one hospital or another. A friend of the family says that their father did not want them to go out or work.

Following a tip from the building caretaker, authorities broke into their apartment and found the four women’s bodies, their father’s body, and the poisoned sweets that their father had used to kill his daughters before taking his own life.

The young women were all graduates. One had studied home science, another commerce, and two of them studied arts.

Case Status:
Heeralal Sharma (Father), deceased.

Sources:
Delhi Rangpuri shocker: Cops suspect man sunk into ‘depression’ after wife’s death
‘Daughters rarely left their house’: Shocking details emerge in Delhi’s Rangpuri deaths
Man, 4 daughters found dead at Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, police suspect suicide
Delhi horror: Father commits suicide after killing 4 daughters in Vasant Kunj
Delhi family ‘suicide pact’: All 4 girls were graduates, father a Lord Hanuman devotee
Father, four daughters die by suicide in Delhi, probe on
Man, four daughters found dead in their rented accommodation in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj
Vasant Kunj deaths: Investigation points to financial distress, only Rs 208 left in bank account
Man, 4 Daughters Found Dead At Delhi Home, Cops Suspect Murder-Suicide

Tylim Hatchett

No Photo Name: Tylim Hatchett.
Died: September 18, 2024.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, deafblind.

Details:
Police found Tylim dead on the floor of his apartment. He weighed only 59 pounds, though he had been recorded as weighing 90 pounds only six months earlier. Tylim had been left alone much of the time leading up to his death by starvation. Police say his mother and caregiver falsified their records to claim they were caring for Tylim when they were nowhere near him.

Case Status:
Sherrilynn Hawkins (Mother) is charged with first- and third-degree murder, neglect of a care-dependent person, and theft by deception.
Vernon Hatchett (Father) is at large. He is charged with manslaughter.
Loretta Harris (Caregiver) pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft by deception.

Sources:
Woman pleads guilty to endangering the welfare of a wheelchair-bound Dresher man with cerebral palsy who died under her care. Glenside father still wanted by authorities
Deaf, Blind 21-Year-Old Was Only 59 Pounds at the Time of His Death – Parents Placed Under Arrest
Montgomery County DA hopes reward lead to arrest of father charged in disabled son’s death
Montgomery County DA’s Office offers $5K reward for father charged with neglecting son who died of starvation
Mother, father and caregiver charged after Pennsylvania 21-year-old with cerebral palsy dies of starvation
Parents, caregiver charged in ‘horrible’ starvation death of man with cerebral palsy
Parents accused of starving 21-year-old son with cerebral palsy to death
Parents, caretaker accused of neglect in death of Pennsylvania man with cerebral palsy
Parents Charged with Murder in Son’s Starvation Death
Police: Parents charged after MontCo man with cerebral palsy starved to death
‘Severely emaciated’ 21-year-old was starved to death by parents, caregiver: Police
3 charged after man with cerebral palsy starves to death in Montgomery County
Young man in Montco left for dead by parents in case of ‘depravity’, district attorney says

Max Oilouch

Name: Max Oilouch.
Died: May 28, 2024.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Burlington, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; used feeding tube.

Details:
Max died from starvation. He had used a feeding tube, and needed his mother to help him eat.

Case Status:
Khlimolene Oilouch (Mother), charged with second-degree murder and neglect.

Sources:
Burlington mom accused of starving disabled adult son to death appears in court
Max Oilouch Obituary | May 28, 2024 | Burlington, NC