Borderline Case – Page 2 – Disability Day of Mourning

Alex

No Photo Name: Alex (Surname unknown).
Died: January 9, 2023.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Anorexia nervosa.
Location: South Island, New Zealand.
Disability: Autism, anorexia, OCD.

Details:
Alex was a transgender boy whose parents refused to accept his identity, insisting that it was an expression of his eating disorder and eventually driving him to leave home at the age of sixteen. Alex died from anorexia at the age of seventeen while living in a hotel room.

Case Status:
No one has been charged. After the publication of an article written by a biased journalist, anti-trans activists have blamed Alex’s death on the support services he used, claiming that they were ignoring his declining health in favor of “playing gender games.” A second journalist, in contact with Alex’s friends, challenged that story and portrayed Alex as a troubled but compassionate young man who had been unable to reach out for help because of a long history of rejection and abuse by parents and professionals.

Sources:
All sources have a content warning for transphobia, deadnaming, and misgendering. Sources from a transphobic viewpoint are specifically labeled.
The Life and Death of Alex
Update: On RNZ and Ruth Hill
Autistic trans teen starves to death
Stop conflating being transgender with being sick
The Weekend: Dignity in death shouldn’t be so hard
Rights Aotearoa Demands Immediate Action Over RNZ’s Unconscionable Misrepresentation Of Deceased Trans Youth
Autism Memorial: Alex
Teenager starves to death alone in emergency accommodation (CW: Transphobic viewpoint.)
The tragic loss of our [son] [Alex] (CW: Transphobic viewpoint.)

Elaine Whitman

No Photo Name: Elaine Whitman.
Died: December 19, 2022 (Body found; last seen 2012).
Age at death: 44.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma to head and neck.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Ten years after she was last seen, police were called to Elaine’s house on a tip that there was a body concealed there. In the basement, they found a skeleton encased in concrete. For ten years, Elaine’s roommate had been living in the house, collecting her disability payments, with Elaine’s body in the basement. An autopsy concluded that Elaine had died from trauma to the head and neck, and her death declared a homicide.

Case Status:
Unsolved. Roommate Holly Sadowski was charged with Social Security fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Sources:
Philly woman allegedly stole $100,000 in disability benefits from homicide victim found buried under rowhome
Woman accused of stealing social security benefits of woman found buried under Philly basement
Philadelphia woman charged with stealing $100,000 in disability benefits intended for a woman whose body was found buried in Frankford basement
Body encased in concrete removed from Philadelphia home

Josiah Green

No Photo Name: Josiah Green.
Died: December 4, 2022.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
When Josiah’s father called for an ambulance, medics found the teenager dead, with severe burns over 90% of his body. His father allegedly told authorities that Josiah had accidentally fallen into a bathtub full of scalding water two days before, and he had treated the boy with over-the-counter remedies instead of taking him to the hospital. Police say that the extent of the teen’s burns is not consistent with the brief exposure to hot tap water that his father reported.

Case Status:
Josiah’s death has been ruled a homicide. Police are still investigating the possibility that Josiah was accidentally burned, after which medical care was delayed for two days.

Sources:
Death of special needs Brooklyn teen found burned in apartment deemed a homicide, NYPD says
Special needs teen Josiah Green found burned to death in NYC home
Teenager with special needs found burned to death in bathtub
Brooklyn special needs teen’s death from scalding water burns a homicide, NYPD says

Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez

Name: Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez.
Died: November 1, 2022 (Missing).
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Everman, Texas, USA.
Disability: Developmental disorder, unspecified lung condition.

Details:
When Noel was last seen in October 2022, his mother was giving birth to twins, and he was observed to be sick and malnourished. On November 1, his mother went to get passport photos taken for her whole family except for Noel. Months later, on March 20, 2023, a welfare check discovered Noel missing, and two days after that, Noel’s family–mother, stepfather, and six siblings–flew to India without him.

When interviewed, relatives and other witnesses told police that Noel’s mother had been withholding food and water from him because she did not like changing his diapers. They said that Noel’s mother believed he was “evil” and “possessed” and would hurt her newborn twins.

Investigators now believe that Noel is dead, and are conducting a search for his body.

A foster mother with whom Noel once stayed remembers him as a boy who was full of joy, who loved to laugh and play.

Case Status:
Inquest into Noel’s death has been declared a homicide investigation.
Cindy Rodriguez-Singh (Mother) and Arshdeep Singh (Stepfather) are wanted for murder, child abandonment, and child endangerment. The US government is working with the Indian government to extradite them to the US. Noel’s mother was arrested after being added to the FBI Most Wanted list.

Sources:
Woman Fled the Country After Allegedly Killing Her 6-Year-Old Disabled Son – FBI Finally Nabs Her After Years of Search
FBI ‘Most Wanted’ Fugitive Cindy Rodriguez Singh Arrested in India for Killing Son
FBI’s ‘Most Wanted’ fugitive held in India for son’s murder
FBI Adds Texas Woman With India Ties, To ‘Top 10 Most Wanted’ List For Alleged Murder Of Disabled Son
Mother of missing Everman boy added to FBI’s Most Wanted List
FBI offers reward in search for mother who allegedly told relatives she sold her 6-year-old son
Woman Wanted For Murder Of Disabled Son, 6, Believed He Was “Evil, Demon”
Mother of presumed-dead disabled boy has been indicted in hopes of expediting return from India
Mom who ditched ‘evil’ disabled son, then fled country with rest of family slapped with murder charge
Texas mom on lam indicted for killing Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez
Stepfather of missing disabled boy allegedly stole $10K ‘just hours’ before fleeing country
New potential areas of interest being investigated for evidence of missing disabled boy whose mother recently fled the country
Cadaver dogs alert to the soil underneath brand new concrete patio near where missing boy lived
Case of missing Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, 6, turns into homicide investigation
Missing Texas boy’s mother thought he was ‘possessed’: cops
Mother of presumed dead disabled boy told relatives she sold him to a woman at a ‘Fiesta’ store
Missing Texas boy is likely dead; mom called him ‘evil,’ ‘possessed,’ Everman police say

Kieu Lam

No Photo Name: Kieu Lam.
Died: October 31, 2022.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Frail elder.

Details:
Ms. Lam, an immigrant from Vietnam, lived with her three adult children, who cared for her. Her children say that she was verbally abusive and controlling toward them, so they placed her in a nursing home, where she spent only three days before her son took her back home, believing that it was their duty to take care of their mother themselves. But her daughters say that her behavior only worsened.

Both daughters confessed to killing their mother by bludgeoning her with a hammer as she slept. Despite their confessions, the court concluded that Ms. Lam’s daughters were not guilty of murder because they had been abused and had killed their mother because they felt there was no other option, as their cultural traditions forbade them from putting their mother in a nursing home.

Case Status:
Chau Kanh Lam (Daughter), charged with murder, acquitted.
Hue Ai Lam (Daughter), charged with murder, acquitted.

Sources:
Lam trial hears ‘abusive’ mother spent three days in nursing home
‘I sacrificed my life to take care of her’ accused tells court
Defence calls on Vietnamese culture expert in Lam sisters’ murder trial
Lam sisters’ murder trial: Jury finds them not guilty

Leon Apler

Name: Leon Apler.
Died: August 29, 2022.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Drowning, head injury.
Location: St. Johann, Tirol, Austria.
Disability: SYNGAP1.

Details:
Leon’s father claimed that he had been mugged, and that Leon had fallen into the River Ache, where he was found dead from drowning and a head injury. However, investigators believed Leon’s father faked the mugging in order to cover up Leon’s murder.

Leon’s favorite toy was a huge stuffed lion. He loved bubbles and “everything that spins”.

Case Status:
Florian Apler (Father), charged with murder; acquitted.

Sources:
“Freedom sometimes comes at a high price”
Drowned in Ache – Leon (6) begins his last journey
Dad who claims he was mugged has been arrested for murder of his disabled son
Austria tragedy as disabled boy, 6, drowns after his father was ‘knocked unconscious’

Dominic Paddock-Wood

Name: Dominic Landon Paddock-Wood.
Died: July 15, 2022.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Cocaine and Fentanyl poisoning.
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
Dominic was found unresponsive in his mother’s house, in a dangerously filthy environment. He was declared dead, and an autopsy revealed he had died from poisoning with cocaine and Fentanyl. His mother and her boyfriend were arrested and charged with child neglect.

Case Status:
Noel Wood (Mother), charged with neglect of a dependent causing death.
Jonathan Mulvihill (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with neglect of a dependent causing death.

Sources:
Police arrest couple in connection to death of 4-year-old
Police searching for couple wanted in child neglect death
Couple arrested in connection to death of four-year-old
Fort Wayne couple arrested on neglect charges after death of 4-year-old child
Dominic Paddock-Wood Obituary – Fort Wayne, IN

Ivy Allen

Name: Ivy Allen.
Died: May 12, 2022.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Michigan City, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Ivy’s body was found floating in a lake; she had drowned. After nearly a year of investigation, authorities believe that Ivy’s death was not a typical accidental drowning, and charged her parents with neglect.

Ivy “enjoyed dolls, dressing up, batman, dinosaurs, climbing, unicorns, mermaids, the movie Frozen, Disney and the color lavender,” according to her obituary.

Case Status:
Breanne Smith (Mother), convicted of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury, sentenced to 3-6 years in prison.
Andrew Allen (Father), pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent, sentenced to 2 years probation and 100 hours community service.

Sources:
LaPorte prosecutor reaches deal with dad of autistic girl who drowned, will focus on mom
Indiana Incarcerated Database Search
Parents Charged in Death of Toddler With Autism Who Died in Indiana Lake
Parents charged with neglect in May death of daughter with autism, Michigan City police say
Michigan City parents charged in 2022 death of 3-year-old daughter
Parents Charged in Death of 3-Year-Old Girl with Autism Who Drowned in Lake
Parents Charged in Death of 3-Year-Old Girl with Autism Who Drowned in Lake
Autism Memorial: Ivy Allen

James Lewis

Name: James Rashard Lewis.
Died: September 29, 2021.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Waco, Texas, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
James was found dead at home, with his throat cut. His father, who police say was covered in blood and attempted to evade arrest, was charged with murder.

Neighbors often saw James running back and forth in the hallways and up and down the steps of their apartment complex.

Case Status:
Bronchae Defraunce Lewis (Father), charged with capital murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity; to be evaluated for 100 days at a state mental institution; case to be reviewed yearly.

Sources:
Waco man charged in death of autistic son found not guilty by reason of insanity
Waco man indicted in September death of 10-year-old son
Waco 10-year-old slain Wednesday identified
Affidavit details how Waco man allegedly murdered 10-year-old son
Waco man charged in brutal killing of autistic son regains competency to stand trial
Waco man charged in brutal killing of autistic son regains competency to stand trial

George Howson

Name: George Howson.
Died: March 24, 2021.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Assault.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease.

Details:
George was beaten to death by his stepson.

Case Status:
Timothy Brown (stepson) was found not criminally responsible due to post-seizure psychosis and hospitalized; he was released after “less than a year and a half.” George’s family disputes the verdict, stating that experts “worked outside their expertise and scope of practice” and that the verdict was based on “incomplete testing and false information.”

Sources:
Hamilton Police are investigating the City’s fourth homicide of 2021
He beat his stepfather to death — and was found not criminally responsible
Hamilton man in hospital for psychiatric assessment will stand trial for alleged murder of stepfather
George Howson – 2021