Type: Fatal Abuse – Page 11 – Disability Day of Mourning

Kendall Chick

Photo of Kendall Chick, a toddler girl wearing an orange dress. Her pale skin is washed out by sunlight, and she is wearing a hair ribbon with a black flower in her wispy blonde hair. She is smiling. Name: Kendall Chick.
Died: December 8, 2017.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Head and abdominal trauma.
Location: Wicasset, Maine, USA.
Disability: Developmental delay, prenatal drug exposure.

Details:
Kendall was abused by her grandmother, who was taking care of her after her parents lost custody. She died of a traumatic injury to her abdomen and blunt force head trauma.

Case status:
Shawna Gatto (Grandfather’s fiance), convicted of murder, sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Source:
Carer who tortured disabled girl, 4, to death fails in bid to be freed from jail
Kendall Chick’s caseworker had license revoked
How Maine child welfare officials assess the handling of the Kendall Chick case
Defense in murder trial points to grandfather as suspect in 4-year-old’s death
Kendall Chick’s short life began with neglect and ended with abuse. She left hardly a trace.
Kendall Chick died from child abuse, Maine’s medical examiner says
Judge to deliver verdict in murder trial of Maine woman accused of killing 4-year-old
Monster carer battered girl, 4, to death after months of ‘revolting and brutal’ abuse while tot’s mum battled addiction
Woman convicted of murder in abuse case that spurred state to reform its child protection system

Dylan Davis

Photo of Dylan Davis, a boy with short brown hair and fair skin, photographed outdoors. He is grinning at the camera. Name: Dylan Martin Davis.
Died: November 17, 2017.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Positional asphyxia.
Location: Georgetown, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
When Dylan had a meltdown, his step-grandfather–a very large man–sat on him to restrain him and suffocated him to death.

Case status:
Donald Martin Jr. (Step-grandfather), pleaded guilty to reckless homicide, but was then allowed to withdraw his plea; found innocent because the court decided he had not known his actions would be fatal.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Dylan Davis
Police arrest and charge 400-pound man in death of 11-year-old autistic step-grandson
28-stone man ‘killed his ‘autistic’ step grandson, 11, by SITTING ON HIM’
400-pound man pleads guilty in step-grandson’s pinning death
Ohio boy crushed by 28-stone grandad
400-pound Ohio man pleads guilty to accidentally smothering step-grandson
400-pound man admits accidentally crushing step-grandson, 11, to death
400 lb grandpa pleads guilty to suffocating 11 year old autistic boy
Ohio granddad pleaded guilty in pinning death of grandson. Then a judge cleared his name
400-Pound Man Who Crushed Grandson To Death Found Not Guilty

Charity Depina

Photo of Charity Depina, a young woman with curly black hair and tan skin, wearing a blue fairy costume with wings showing behind her back. Name: Charity Depina.
Died: November 10, 2017.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Head, chest, and abdominal trauma.
Location: Fresno, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Charity DePina was a polite, high-spirited young woman who attended Bible study and other church services three times a week.

She loved listening to music, watching comedies and eating burgers and fries at Burger King and Mexican pizzas at Taco Bell. Her hair was a big deal. She was always getting it done in braids and she liked to change the color once a month. Her favorite colors were red and blue.
–Sacramento Bee

Charity was studying to become a teacher’s aide.

Charity’s boyfriend, who had a history of violently assaulting her, beat her to death with a curtain rod.

Case status:
Gabriel Salinas (Boyfriend), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and torture, sentenced to 22 years to life.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Charity Depina
Jealous of cousin, murder suspect’s own words build criminal case in brutal beating
Fresno man who fatally beat, tortured woman he met online agrees to plea deal
Man confesses to beating girlfriend to death with closet rod, police say
Man takes blame for girlfriend’s death in Fresno
She wanted ‘love and attention.’ Her boyfriend is charged with torturing and killing her

James Chewning

Name: James Chewning.
Died: November 1, 2017.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Blunt force trauma, sepsis.
Location: Saluda, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
James’s stepson, who had financial power of attorney over him, took him out of the retirement home where he had lived since his stroke. To access his money, his stepson tied him to the bed and gagged him, refusing him medical care and beating him while he drained James’s bank account. James died from abuse and neglect.

James was a retired Methodist minister. He is remembered as “a man of God”, mentor to his community, kind and caring.

Case status:
Donald Chewning (Stepson), pleaded guilty to abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death, sentenced to 22 years.
Kathy Laine Chewning (Daughter-in-law), convicted of neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death, sentenced to 14 years.
Amber Nicole Trent (Granddaughter), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.
Nicole Krystyn Chewning (Granddaughter), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.

Source:
Man gets 22 years for abusing elderly SC Methodist minister to death
Saluda man handed 22-year sentence after stepfather died of neglect
Fourth arrest made in case of former reverend found dead and bound to bed

Sherin Mathews

Name: Sherin Mathews.
Died: October 22, 2017 (Body found); died October 7, 2017.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Choked.
Location: Dallas, Texas, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability, failure to thrive.

Details:
Sherin’s adoptive father claimed she had been adopted from India with developmental delays, malnutrition, and an “eating disorder”. When he brought her to the hospital with broken bones, he claimed that she had brittle bones from being malnourished at the orphanage.

Her adoptive father was trying to force her to drink milk at 3 a.m., and choked her to death doing it. He then dumped her body and pretended she had gone missing, before eventually confessing to the killing. The autopsy confirmed that Sherin’s cause of death was “homicidal violence”.

Later, the orphanage came forward and reported that Sherin had not had trouble eating. Her “eating disorder” may have been a fabrication to cover up her murder. She was merely small for her age, a condition called “failure to thrive” which is common in children with difficult backgrounds. The broken bones she had suffered months before her death had nothing to do with malnutrition and everything to do with child abuse.

Case status:
Wesley Mathews (Adoptive father), pleaded guilty to injury to a child by omission, sentenced to 30 years to life.

Source:
Wesley Mathews, Accused of Killing Girl, 3, Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge
Sherin Mathews death: Foster dad pleads guilty to lesser charge
Man gets life sentence in 3-year-old daughter’s death
Capital murder trial set to begin for ‘dad’ who claimed he locked slain tot outside at 3 a.m. for not drinking her milk
Sherin Mathews abandoned in India before alley abandonment that may have led to death
A father reported his 3-year-old missing. Then he told police he’d watched her die.
Texas dad admits disposing of child’s body, affidavit says
Father of Sherin Mathews says he watched as his 3 year old child choked on milk and died
‘Sherin Mathews didn’t have developmental disability’; foster father on suicide watch in jail
Mother Of Girl Who Allegedly Died Drinking Milk Arrested For Leaving Her Alone And Going Out To Dinner
Sherin Mathews Was Being Abused Months Before Her Death, Pediatrician Told Child Protective Services
Autopsy Reveals 3-Year-Old Sherin Mathews Died from ‘Homicidal Violence’
Sherin Mathews Update: Slain AMBER Alert toddler died from ‘homicidal violence’
Sherin Mathews died from ‘homicidal violence,’ autopsy finds
U.S. Adoption Agency Banned from India Following Death of Toddler Sherin
Father charged with murder in death of 3-year-old Indian girl
Texas father charged with murder in death of Indian orphan
Father Charged in Murder of 3-Year-Old Adopted Orphan Sherin Mathews
TX dad charged with capital murder in death of 3-year-old
Who Is Wesley Mathews? Sherin Mathews’ Father Charged With Missing Texas Toddler’s Murder
BREAKING: Death Penalty for Sherin Mathews’ Father? Wesley Mathews Indicted on Capital Murder Charge
Wesley Mathews charged with CAPITAL MURDER in death of adopted toddler, Sherin Mathews
Texas father charged with murder in death of Indian orphan
Sherin Mathews case: Father who claimed girl choked on milk charged with murder
Texas father charged with murder in death of daughter adopted from Indian orphanage
Wesley Mathews Allegedly Used ‘Deadly Weapon’ to Kill Daughter Sherin Mathews
New Texas Law Inspired by Three-year-old Toddler Sherin Mathews’ Death
Bond reduced for Richardson man accused in death of his adopted daughter
In Sherin Mathews’ Death Case, Foster Parents To Be Tried Separately

William Dubois

No Photo Name: William Dubois.
Died: October 14, 2017.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Blunt force trauma.
Location: Sun City West, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
When William died from blunt-force trauma, he had twenty-six broken ribs in different stages of healing. His daughter was arrested on suspicion of beating him to death.

William was a retired accountant who had served in the US Navy during World War II. He lived to see ten great-grandchildren born.

Case status:
Susan Marcinko (Daughter), charged with manslaughter.

Source:
MCSO: Woman arrested in connection to death of her father in Sun City after fight
Find a Grave: William Melvin DuBois
Woman says 91-year-old father attacked her; his autopsy shows 26 broken ribs
Woman arrested in death of 91-year-old father at Sun City West home
Maricopa County Woman Charged In Father’s Death
Daughter charged with the murder of nonagenarian father claims he made sexual advances towards her

Richard Dubuc

No Photo Name: Richard Dubuc.
Died: October 5, 2017.
Age at death: 62.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Richard’s brother repeatedly slammed him against the wall, causing a fatal head injury.

Case status:
Robert Dubuc (Brother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, received a suspended sentence, three years probation, and 240 hours of community service.

Source:
Montreal police arrest 64-year-old man in fatal beating of his brother
Caregiver who killed Alzheimer’s-stricken brother avoids prison

Kayden McGuinness

Name: Kayden McGuinness.
Died: September 17, 2017.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK.
Disability: Autism (Suspected).

Details:
Kayden’s mother had left Kayden in the care of her partner while she went to visit her friends. The man abused Kayden, hitting him in the head repeatedly; Kayden died of a massive head injury.

Kayden’s mother remembers him as “just a wee boy who loved playing and loved life.” He was being evaluated for autism when he died.

Case status:
Liam Whoriskey (Mother’s fiance), convicted of manslaughter and cruelty to a child, sentenced to 15 years, half in prison and half in the community.

Source:
NI Court of Appeal: Applicant’s domestic violence convictions relevant to the death of three-year-old boy
Autism Memorial: Kayden McGuinness
The tragic death of toddler Kayden McGuinness
Liam Whoriskey jailed for killing toddler
Liam Whoriskey jailed over death of little Kayden McGuinness (3) in Derry flat
Man jailed over death of three-year-old in his care
Man jailed for 15 years after three-year-old boy died following severe ‘battering’

Summer Peace

Name: Summer Peace.
Died: September 9, 2017.
Age at death: 5 months.
Cause of death: Abusive head trauma.
Location: Dudley, England, UK.
Disability: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Details:
Summer died because she was shaken by her father, something that she was especially vulnerable to because of her hypermobility. At the time she died, she was also suffering from untreated pneumonia.

Case status:
Philip Peace (Father), convicted of murder, sentence to life with a minimum of 14 years.

Source:
Dudley father who shook baby daughter to death jailed for life for her murder
Life sentence for Dudley man who murdered baby daughter
Dad Philip Peace is accused of shaking baby daughter to death
Dudley baby death trial told of girl’s ‘traumatic injury’
Father could have caused brain injuries to girl in panic after she collapsed, trial told
Man on trial over baby daughter’s death

5-year-old girl

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: August 6, 2017.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Fatal abuse.
Location: Jahra, Kuwait.
Disability: Special needs.

Details:
For two months, this five-year-old girl was beaten and burned by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend because they “wanted to get rid of her” and resented her for the attention she needed. She died from a particularly vicious beating, and only then did her mother finally call the police, claiming that her daughter had fallen from a window.

Case status:
Mother and mother’s boyfriend, both convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.

Source:
Boyfriend, woman hearing adjourned in disabled girl’s killing
Woman, boyfriend sentenced to death in disabled girl’s murder
Mother, boyfriend sentenced to death for killing special-needs daughter
Kuwaiti mother sentenced to death for murdering her disabled daughter
Kuwaiti mother and boyfriend kill 5-year-old daughter, get death sentence
Kuwait Sentences Mother, Boyfriend to Death for Killing Daughter with Special Needs
Five year old girl murdered by mother and her boyfriend