Category: Age: Young Adult

Age 19-29

Kate Bugmy

Photo of Kate Bugmy. She is a young woman sitting in a wheelchair, with her dark hair tied back. She is wearing overalls and an orange T-shirt. Her limbs are very thin.Name: Kate Bugmy.
Died: June 28, 2007.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Sepsis, malnutition.
Location: Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, intellectual disability.

Details:
Kate’s father had been her primary caregiver. When he died suddenly, her mother and sister took over. They stopped bringing Kate to her day program, and her relatives noticed that she seemed sad. She died of malnutrition and systemic blood poisoning from infected bedsores.

Case status:
Daphne Hall (mother) and Jenna Bugmy (sister) were not charged.

Source:
FINDING AFTER AN INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF KATE THERESE BUGMY
NSW bed sore death could have been prevented: Coroner
System failed disabled woman who died at 26
Inquiry into services provided or funded by the department of Ageing, disability and home care

Samantha Collins

Photo of Samantha Collins, a young woman with tanned skin, dark hair, and gold hoop earrings. She is smiling for the camera and wearing a tank top.Name: Samantha Collins.
Died: March 22, 2007.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
Samantha’s boyfriend hit her in the head and killed her; then he dismembered and hid her body.

She was the mother of a toddler son.

Case status:
Ian Charles Borbely (Boyfriend), convicted of second-degree murder and indignity to a body; sentenced to 17 years to life.

Source:
MANDEL: Muskoka murderer who cut up spouse’s body loses appeal
Borbely found guilty in Samantha Collins murder
Argument before eviction led to murder: Crown

Casey Axsom

Photo of Casey Axsom, a young adult with short, messy strawberry-blonde hair, wearing a white polo shirt. Casey's mouth is slightly open.Name: Casey Axsom.
Died: May 26, 2006.
Age at death: 25.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy, cerebral palsy, possible multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Casey’s mother starved her to death. Casey died at age 25, weighing 50 pounds, covered in severe and untreated bedsores.

Case status:
Dorothy Axsom (Mother), pleaded guilty to neglect, sentenced to two years, three months in prison.

Source:
Bloomington woman charged with murder in disabled child’s 2006 death
Police: Mother Starved Disabled Daughter To Death
Bloomington Woman Pleads Guilty Of Starving Her Daughter To Death

Christopher DeGroot

No PhotoName: Christopher Aire DeGroot.
Died: May 19, 2006.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Albany, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Christopher’s parents locked him in his room and bolted it with a deadbolt. Then they set a fire in their home and left Christopher to burn to death.

Case status:
Nicolaas DeGroot (Father), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide, sentenced to 6 months in jail.
Agnes DeGroot (Mother), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide, sentenced to 6 months in jail.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Christopher DeGroot
Autistic Teen Struggled To Get Out Of Blazing Apartment
Couple Charged with Setting Fire to Kill Autistic Teen Son
Couple sentenced in fire death of autistic son

Mary Mount

Photo: Mary Mount is a short woman with auburn hair cut in bangs. Her skin is pale; she is wearing a white turtleneck. The photo is taken outdoors. She is smiling.Name: Mary Mount.
Died: October 19, 2005 (Body found; died around January 4, 2004).
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Cape Coral, Florida, USA.
Disability: Russell Silver Syndrome.

Details:
Mary left home to stay in a hotel room with her boyfriend. Sometime during that time, she disappeared. Her boyfriend was questioned; initially, he said that she had taken her car and left, then that she had died of natural causes and he had buried her body. Years later, new evidence led to murder charges, and he admitted to smothering Mary to death.

Case Status:
Terry Daniel McDonald (Boyfriend), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 25 years.

Sources:
Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for 2004 killing of Lee County woman
Terry McDonald charged with murder of Mary Mount, State Attorney’s Office says
Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for 2004 killing of Lee County woman
El Paso Police Department Voluntary Statement
Family says suspect has gotten away with murder for 14 years

Sarah Naylor

No PhotoName: Sarah Naylor.
Died: September 29, 2005.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Springdale, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Sarah’s mother shot her dead and then committed suicide.

Case status:
Jane Naylor (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Sarah Naylor
Mother kills autistic daughter, then herself

Tiffany Pinckney

Photo of Tiffany Pinckney sitting at a table and leaning her chin on her hands. She wears a beige T-shirt and has an afro.Name: Tiffany Pinckney.
Died: April 2, 2005.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism, developmental delay.

Details:
Tiffany was locked in a basement by her sister and her sister’s husband, where she starved to death.

Teachers remember Tiffany as a girl who loved music and “was lots of fun”.

Case status:
Allison Cox (sister), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 9 years.
Orlando Klass (sister’s husband), pled guilty to criminal negligence, sentenced to 2 years house arrest.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Tiffany Pinckney
Trial ordered in autistic woman’s death
The life and death of Tiffany Pinckney
Autistic woman was starved to death, crown asserts
Nine years for woman’s death

Scott Olsen

No PhotoName: Scott Olsen.
Died: December 7, 2003.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Blind and quadriplegic after brain injury.

Details:
Scott’s sister deliberately starved him to death.

Case status:
Kimberly Loebig (Sister); pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter; sentenced to 60 days, freed on time served.

Source:
Sis Charged In Brother Starve Case
GUILTY – PA – Scott Olsen, 29, quadriplegic, starved to death, Glenshaw, 7 Dec 2003

Angelica Auriemma

Gravestone reading, Beloved daughter and granddaughter, Angelica Auriemma, 1983 to 2003."Name: Angelica Auriemma.
Died: December 5, 2003.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Soon after Angelica was diagnosed with autism, her mother tried to electrocute her; when that didn’t work, she drowned her in the bathtub.

Case status:
Ioanna Auriemma (Mother); convicted of manslaughter; sentenced to up to 5 years and served three years in prison.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Angelica Auriemma
Autistic Brooklyn Woman Is Drowned at Home
McGuire, A. (2016). War on autism: On the Cultural Logic of normative violence. University of Michigan Press.

Dale Bartolome

Gravestone reading, "Very special son & brother, Dale Voltaire Bartolome, April 28, 1975 to July 29, 2002." The dark granite stone is decorated with a carved cross with a rosary hanging from it.Name: Dale Voltaire Bartolome.
Died: July 29, 2002.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Mission Viejo, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Dale’s father shot him and then killed himself in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Delfin Bartolome (Father), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Dale Bartolome
Stress Pushed Man to Kill Son, Himself, Family Says
Looking at a Murder for What It Really Is
Find a Grave: Dale Voltaire Bartolome