Age: Young Adult – Page 7 – Disability Day of Mourning

Binh La

Photo of an Asian man with light skin, black hair in a buzz cut, and a thin black mustache, wearing a brown jacket over a red shirt. Name: Binh La.
Died: May 5, 2019.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Untreated seizure.
Location: Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Binh La died from a seizure with no trace of his prescribed epilepsy medication in his body and the prescription unfilled for 11 months. His malnourished body weighed only 85 pounds.

Case Status:
Dat V. La (Father), pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and negligent cruelty to a person, sentenced to 2 years probation.

Source:
East Hartford accountant admits to lesser charges in autistic son’s death
East Hartford man charged with manslaughter, cruelty in autistic son’s death
Man charged in autistic son’s death

Lauren Griffiths

Name: Lauren Griffiths.
Died: April 29, 2019.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK.
Disability: Dissociative disorder.

Details:
Lauren was strangled to death by her fiance. He had attempted to strangle her once before, but she escaped and went to find help. When she returned to her fiance, he eventually killed her.

Friends remember her as sweet, friendly, and strongly altruistic.

Case Status:
Madog Rowlands (Fiance), convicted of murder, sentenced to 18 years to life.

Source:
Man jailed for life after murdering fiancee and wrapping body in clingfilm
Fun-loving murder victim had been strangled before by her killer fiance
Judge’s words for Wrexham man who strangled fiancee to death

Vivek Kakadiya

No Photo Name: Vivek Kakadiya.
Died: March 28, 2019.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Khijaria village, Visavadar taluka, Junagadh district, Gujarat, India.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Vivek’s sister-in-law allegedly strangled him because she believed he was “a burden… she would have to carry for the rest of her life”.

Case status:
Daya Kakadiya (Sister-in-law), charged with murder.

Source:
Gujarat: Woman held for killing brother-in-law with learning disability

Rebecca Fogel

Name: Rebecca Fogel.
Died: March 26, 2019.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Fall injuries.
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Disability: Unspecified special needs, wheelchair user.

Details:
Rebecca’s father took her to the top of a parking garage and jumped while holding her. Both died on impact.

Rebecca, an outgoing girl who liked to be around friends, was a long-standing member of the Friendship Circle of Michigan, a group for people with disabilities. Shosh Newman, a Friendship Circle member, says that Rebecca was “like a little sister” who “changed [her] life forever”; thanks to Rebecca, she decided to become a Special Education teacher.

Rebecca loved the color red. As a little girl, she wanted to name her little brother “Mr. Salt”, from Blue’s Clues. She grew up into an articulate young woman who talked non-stop and got standing ovations for her performances at the summer camp talent show.

Case status:
Andrew Fogel (Father), deceased.

Source:
Doctor, daughter with special needs die in apparent murder-suicide
Doctor, daughter with special needs die in apparent murder-suicide at Hard Rock casino

Harish and Santosh

Name: Harish.
Age at death: 28.

Name: Santosh.
Age at death: 25.

Died: March 16, 2019.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Doddathoguru, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Harish and Santosh’s mother fed them poisoned food and killed them; she also ate some herself and died.

Case status:
Radhamma (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Woman poisons disabled sons, takes her own life
Bengaluru: Woman poisons differently abled sons, ends life

Kayla Mirsky

No Photo Name: Kayla Mirsky.
Died: December 12, 2018.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Hypothermia.
Location: Scottsville, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Kayla’s mother regularly made her stand in the corner for hours as a punishment. She did this so often that Kayla learned to sleep standing up. But one night, Kayla was unable to stand any longer, so her mother put her outside in the cold. In the morning, Kayla was dead from hypothermia.

Kayla leaves behind 17-year-old and 14-year-old siblings.

Case status:
Suzanne Ruth Mirsky (Mother), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child abuse; sentenced to 16 years.

Source:
Scottsville woman sentenced in death of autistic daughter – Fluvanna Review
Scottsville woman to serve 16 years in prison for death of daughter
Fluvanna Co. Sheriff’s Office makes arrest in connection with 2018 murder
Autism Memorial: Kayla Mirsky

Cyra Harrison

Photo of Cyra Harrison, a teenage girl with brown hair tied up in a ribbon, grinning excitedly at the camera and wearing two blue first-place ribbons pinned to her hoodie. Name: Cyra Shantell Marie Harrison.
Died: November 23, 2018.
Age at death: 25.
Cause of death: Failure to thrive and dehydration due to neglect.
Location: Elizabeth, Louisiana, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
When Cyra’s death was reported, sheriff’s deputies who examined Cyra’s body and the conditions she had been living in concluded that she had died from “severe intentional neglect”. She died of dehydration in a filthy house.

The first-place ribbons she is wearing in her picture may be bowling ribbons, a sport Cyra enjoyed.

Case status:
Karen Johnson Harrison (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, sentenced to 50 years.
Marilyn Sue Maricle (Housemate), pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit cruelty to the infirmed, and conspiracy to commit cruelty to a juvenile; sentenced to 15 years.
Glen Elva Maricle (Housemate), pleaded no contest to manslaughter, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, and cruelty to the infirm; sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Glen Maricle gets 30 years in starvation death of woman with cerebral palsy
As part of a plea deal, suspect outlines plot to starve young Rapides Parish woman with cerebral palsy
Woman testifies cousin, husband were having affair as they plotted to starve daughter
Mother takes plea deal in case of daughter’s death day before jury selection
Attempt to continue trial of mother accused in daughter’s death fails
Trial for mother accused of neglect in daughter’s death moved to June 2020
Mother accused in daughter’s death denied release from jail
Attorney makes bid for sanity commission, trial delay in neglect-death case
Trial for Karen Johnson Harrison, accused in daughter’s death, moved to June 2020
Mom of Rapides neglect-death victim to face trial first
State will prosecute mother of neglected daughter first in Rapides murder case
2 defendants in neglect death case reject offers of life sentences
3 accused in Elizabeth woman’s neglect death to be arraigned next week
Arrests made after special needs patient died, found in deplorable living conditions
Sheriff: Extreme neglect leads to death of special needs person
Mom, couple charged in death of Elizabeth special-needs patient
Arrests made after special needs patient died, found in deplorable living conditions
Elizabeth woman who died from alleged neglect identified
Police release identity of woman killed
Authorities ID special-needs woman believed slain by neglect
Prosecutor intends to seek bond increase in ‘heinous’ neglect death case
Cyra Harrison Obituary
Court dates set for 2 in case of Elizabeth woman’s neglect death
Rapides grand jury indicts three in the murder of woman with cerebral palsy
Arraignment set for three charged with murder of woman with cerebral palsy
3 accused in Elizabeth woman’s neglect death plead not guilty

Joe Pooley

Name: Joe Pooley.
Died: August 7, 2018.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Ipswitch, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Joe’s girlfriend encouraged three of her friends while they beat Joe up, threw him into the river, and held his head under until he drowned.

Case status:
Becki West-Davidson (Girlfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 17 years to life.
Lisa-Marie Smith, charged with murder, acquitted.
Sean Palmer, convicted of murder, sentenced to 18 years to life.
Sebastian Smith, convicted of murder, sentenced to 21 years to life.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Joe Pooley
Joe Pooley: Lack of prison recall ‘contributed to’ murder
Murder accused told mother ‘I held his head under water’, court hears
Murder accused ‘bullied and ganged up’ on autistic man found dead in river
Joe Pooley death: Vulnerable man ‘attacked and thrown into river’
Joe Pooley death: Mother ‘frustrated’ by Ipswich murder trial delay
Murder accused ‘bragged about killing’, court hears
Court told pair panicked after alleged attack on Joe Pooley
Murder accused allegedly tried to cover his tracks – court told
Joe Pooley death: Gang ‘attacked vulnerable man and threw him into river’

Vanessa Comer

No Photo Name: Vanessa Comer.
Died: July 7, 2018.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Dehydration and malnutrition.
Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Congenital disorder of glycosylation type 1a.

Details:
Vanessa had been born with a disability, and relied on her father–her sole caregiver–for for food, water, and transportation to the doctor. But Vanessa received no medical care for nine months before her death, and she was often left alone by her father for days at a time, ultimately dying of starvation and dehydration shortly after her father finally brought her to the hospital. At her home, the family dogs were were found alive but badly malnourished.

Case Status:
Richard Comer (Father), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 9 years; charged with animal cruelty.

Source:
Autopsy: 21-year-old woman who died of malnutrition weighed only 36 pounds, father convicted
Phoenix man pleads guilty to manslaughter in malnutrition death of his 21-year-old daughter
Autopsy: 21-year-old woman weighed just 36 pounds at time of death; father charged
Phoenix man accused of starving 21-year-old daughter to death, police
Dad ‘murdered disabled daughter, 21, by refusing her food or water for 3 months’

Gwenn Michelin

No Photo Name: Gwenn Michelin.
Died: June 8, 2018.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Head injury, drowning.
Location: Vivoin, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Gwenn, his mother, her partner, and his little brother were camping when his mother’s partner got drunk and got angry at him. Gwenn was badly beaten and thrown into the water even though his assailant knew he couldn’t swim. His family, terrified because of Gwenn’s stepfather’s history of violence and domestic abuse, didn’t feel free to come forward and tell the authorities what had happened to Gwenn until after the killer had been arrested.

Case Status:
Rémy Pichot (Mother’s partner), convicted of murder of a vulnerable person, sentenced to 30 years.

Sources:
Sarthe – Meurtre d’un jeune autiste à Vivoin : le beau-père condamné à 30 ans de réclusion criminelle – France Bleu
Un Sarthois jugé aux assises pour le meurtre de son beau-fils, un autiste de 22 ans, en 2018 – France Bleu
Il déboule au camping et tue son beau-fils infirme
Procès du meurtre de Vivoin : placé face à ses contradictions, l’accusé se mure dans le silence – France Bleu
Sarthe. Mis en examen pour avoir tué son beau-fils autiste
Sarthe. Mis en examen pour avoir tué son beau-fils autiste
Exclusif. Vivoin : mis en examen pour le meurtre de son beau-fils autiste
Sarthe. Trente ans de réclusion criminelle pour le meurtre d’un jeune autiste