Type: Fatal Abuse – Page 17 – Disability Day of Mourning

Aiden Archer

Photo of Aidan Archer, a toddler with blue eyes and blond hair. Name: Aiden Archer.
Died: June 1, 2015
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Aiden was beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend.

Case status:
Maurice Snyder (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded no contest to second-degree reckless homicide and three counts of physical abuse of a child, sentenced to 24 years.
Megan Scott (Mother), charged with failure to act to prevent bodily harm to a child; died before trial.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Aidan Archer
Maurice Snyder Jr. now faces homicide charge in death of three-year-old Aiden Archer
Charged: Two accused in connection with death of three-year-old Aiden Archer
Vigil honors life of 3-year-old Milwaukee boy
Maurice Snyder sentenced to 24 years in prison for murder of 3-year-old Aiden Archer

Leon Jayet-Cole

Photo of a toddler with white-blond hair and pink skin; he is wearing an orange T-shirt and smiling for the camera. Name: Leon Jayet-Cole.
Died: May 28, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Head injury due to blunt-force trauma.
Location: Papanui, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Leon was a “beautiful, happy-spirited kid” who made his family laugh with the quirky things he said. He had learned to speak and learned to read when he was four, and at five years old was enrolled in school. His obituary calls him the “chief mischief maker of his brothers and sisters Lucas, Nadia, Anabelle, Fabian, and Liam; Giane, Daniel and James.” He loved pillow-fighting and riding his tricycle. He had to have his toast cut just right, or he wouldn’t eat it. His favorite movie was Frozen.

He hadn’t spoken until he was four, but then he started speaking, reading, and doing math all at once. Leon was a bookworm who would start reading the moment he woke. When they saw how fast he was learning, his family began calling him “Superman”. He loved school, which he attended for half-days, and Dr. Seuss was his favorite author. He had a brother who was also autistic.

Leon’s stepfather allegedly beat him to the point that he suffered a severe head injury; despite the head injury, no one sought medical care for him right away. Leon survived on life support in the hospital for two days before he died. His organs were transplanted and have saved the lives of five people.

Leon may have been abused regularly for some time; he and his older brother had both been treated for head injuries at the hospital, but they had all been written off as accidental.

Case Status:
James Stedman Roberts (Stepfather), charged with murder, committed suicide while out on bail.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Leon Jayet-Cole
Coroner: Agencies missed red flags before autistic Christchurch boy Leon Jayet-Cole’s death
Stepfather hit 5-year-old ‘four times a week’, but mum saw nothing
Police could have done more to stop violent stepfather
Christchurch schoolboy Leon Jayet-Cole hospitalised with head injury months before death
Concerns raised with CYF before Leon Jayet-Cole’s death
File shows tragedy of Leon Jayet-Cole unfolding
Funeral for man accused of killing autistic boy
Leon Jayet-Cole, the little New Zealand boy whose gravestone has his murderer’s name on it
Man accused of killing child found dead
Man accused of murdering autistic boy found dead
Warning signs in CYF reports before Leon Jayet-Cole’s alleged murder
Inquest into death of Leon Jayet-Cole, 5, hears from step-dad who died awaiting murder trial
Mother accepts dead husband killed autistic son

Malachi Golden

Photo of a toddler in a sling-style stroller. He is chewing on a raw carrot, and wearing a bulky helmet. Name: Malachi De’Andre Golden.
Died: May 11, 2015.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: High Shoals, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Chromosomal disorder, epilepsy, developmental delays.

Details:
Malachi was physically abused by his stepfather and mother over an extended period of time. He was also starved and neglected, his seizure medication was withheld, and he was denied medical care. His mother kept him in a small closet, without food and water. Malachi died from starvation, weighing 19 pounds; his mother also said that his stepfather had strangled him.

Two years after Malachi died, courthouse staff took up a collection to get Malachi a proper headstone.

Case status:
Thomas Cheeks (Stepfather), convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse; sentenced to life without parole.
Tiffany Cheeks (Mother), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse, sentenced to 19 years.

Source:
North Carolina Supreme Court upholds murder charge in starvation death of 4-year-old child
New report: Child strangled to death
Stepdad offered plea deal in boy’s death
Abuse charges for accused child killer
Court clerks raise money to buy grave marker for boy who starved to death
Mother served murder papers in disabled boy’s death
Gaston County mother could get life in prison for 4-year-old son’s death
GASTON CO. MOM CHARGED IN SON’S MURDER: 19 more years in prison for Gaston County mother in 4-year-old son’s death

Angel Goodwin

Photo of a boy with tan skin and scruffy black hair, grinning at the camera. Name: Angel Goodwin.
Died: May 5, 2015.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Wheat Ridge, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy; multiple disabilities.

Details:
Angel, who had severe disabilities, was abused by his grandmother and her boyfriends. Angel’s grandmother put him in a tub full of water and left him there for more than three hours. Unable to keep his head out of the water, Angel drowned.

Case status:
Onesia Najera (Grandmother), pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death, sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Source:
Wheat Ridge police investigating the death of a 10-year-old
Grandmother charged in death of 10-year-old in Wheat Ridge
Woman gets 20 years in prison for grandson’s drowning death
Grandmother sentenced in drowning death of boy with cerebral palsy
Jefferson County woman who drowned developmentally-disabled grandson sentenced to 20 years

Gary Blanton III

Photo of Gary Blanton III. He has fair skin and light brown hair. He is smiling for the camera. Name: Gary Blanton III.
Died: April 18, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Fractured skull.
Location: Chattaroy, Washington, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability, possible autism.

Details:
Gary died from a fractured skull while in the custody of his aunt, who had custody of him after his parents died. Authorities discovered that his caseworker had been falsifying health-and-wellness visit reports.

Gary was a rambunctious child who ran up and down the hallways and even climbed into the washing machine.

Case status:
Cynthia Rose Khaleel (Aunt); charged with second-degree murder, acquitted.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Gary Blanton III
Jury acquits Chattaroy woman of killing 5-year-old nephew
Chattaroy woman arrested for five-year-old nephew’s death
Obituary
‘Everyone failed him’: Boy’s aunt accused of murder, DSHS accused of ‘critical errors’

Annie Ee

Name: Annie Ee Yu Lian.
Died: April 13, 2015.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Fat embolism.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Annie lived with a friend and her husband. She worked as a waitress.

Her caregivers took her salary, repeatedly beat her, and did not seek medical care when she was obviously dying. She died from a fat embolism, a clump of fat that tore loose from her injuries and clogged a critical blood vessel. She had a ruptured stomach and many broken bones from eight months of torture.

Case status:
Tan Hui Zhen (Housemate), pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt, sentenced to 16-and-a-half years in jail.
Pua Hak Chuan (Housemates), pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt, sentenced to 14 years in jail and 14 strokes of the cane.
Neither could be charged with murder because they “did not intend to kill” Annie, and because she died of a fat embolism, which is a rare medical complication.

Source:
Couple ‘tortured’ intellectually disabled waitress, who died after 8 months of abuse
Couple plead guilty to torturing mentally disabled ‘friend’ for 8 months until she died
Couple abused intellectually disabled waitress to completely control her: Prosecutors
Mentally disabled woman dies after being abused for 8 months by couple
Couple tortured intellectually disabled woman for months until she died
Over 18,000 signatures received for petition to seek heavier punishment for abusers of deceased intellectually disabled waitress
Couple who tortured friend to death: Wife gets 16½ years’ jail, husband gets 14 years, 14 strokes of the cane
‘They were like gangsters’: Neighbour of couple who ‘tortured’ intellectually disabled woman
‘An apology is not enough’: Brother of woman who beat Annie Ee to death
People around Annie Ee knew something bad was happening
Couple who tortured Annie Ee: Prosecutor could not charge them with murder, says AGC

5-year-old boy

Photo of a small boy, with a censor blur obscuring the face. The child has blond hair and fair skin and is wearing a blue hoodie. Name Unknown.
Died: March 26, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Drug overdose.
Location: Pennant Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Epilepsy, Hepatitis C.

Details:
This young boy had allegedly been abused by his foster family before he died of an overdose of several drugs, including diazepam, morphine, and other opiates.

He had been taken from his birth mother because she used drugs.

Case status:
His foster family is under investigation.

Source:
Five-year-old foster boy had ‘toxic drug cocktail’ in system at death, reports
Dead five-year-old foster child “had drugs in system”
Five-Year-Old Boy Who Died in Foster Care Had Heroin in His System
Police investigate death of boy, five, in notorious foster home
Boy, five, in foster care died with a cocktail of drugs in his system
Boy, 5, dies under same care as Girl X

Ahziya Osceola

Photo: A toddler with olive-toned skin, wearing a plastic fireman's hat and a denim shirt, smiling. Name: Ahziya Osceola.
Died: March 19, 2015 (Body found).
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Internal injury from abdominal trauma.
Location: Hollywood, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Ahziya’s stepmother initially claimed that he had gone missing, but the toddler’s body was found, and his cause of death determined to have been blunt-force abdominal trauma that severely injured his liver and pancreas. He also had a broken leg which had gone untreated.

Case status:
Analiz Osceola (Stepmother), convicted of aggravated manslaughter of a child, sentenced to 30 years.
Nelson Osceola (Father), charged with child neglect, charges dropped.

Source:
Stepmother Found Guilty in 2015 Death of Hollywood Toddler
Stepmother sentenced for fatally beating 3-year-old boy so badly his pancreas broke into pieces
Slain Hollywood Toddler’s Father Testifies in Murder Trial of Ex-Wife
Autism Memorial: Ahziya Osceola
Massive Search In Hollywood For Missing 3-Year-Old Child
Stepmother, Father In Jail Following Death Of Toddler
Ahziya Osceola Had Been Living With Untreated Broken Leg For Weeks Before Death
Behind smiles, a Florida child’s short, troubled life
Father, stepmother of boy found dead in Hollywood home arrested
Stepmother of Dead South Florida Boy Held on on $230,000 Bond

Kylee Forrest

Photo of Kylee Forrest. She is a toddler with blonde hair and fair skin. She is smiling broadly. Her shirt is pink and ruffled. Name: Kylee Forrest.
Died: February 1, 2015.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Lubbock, Texas, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Kylee was viciously beaten to death by her father.

Her family called her “Kylie Bug”.

Case status:
Justin Chisum (Father), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Chisum pleads guilty to capital murder, gets life in prison in 4-year-old-daughter’s slaying
Father pleads guilty to capital murder of his 4-year-old daughter
Father Pleads Guilty For Murder of 4 Year Old Daughter with Cerebral Palsy
Kylee Forrest’s Obituary on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
In Loving Memory Of Kylee Forrest

Owen Collins

Name: Owen Collins.
Died: January 17, 2015.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Bluffton, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
When Owen died, his parents put him in a box, burned his body, and reported him missing. Initial reports implied Owen had been poisoned with meth, but autopsy results showed Owen had died from a blow to the head with no meth in his system.

Case status:
Zachary S. Barnes (Stepfather), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 50 years.
Breanna J. Arnold (Mother), pleaded guilty to dealing methamphetamine, sentenced to 20 years in prison and two and a half years of probation.
Zachary Barker, pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse and dealing methamphetamine, sentenced to 12 years.

Source:
Mother of slain Owen Collins sentenced for meth charge
Autism Memorial: Owen Collins
3 Year Old Owen Collins Missing Since 1/17/15 in Bluffton, IN
Bluffton, IN Police Searching for Missing Boy Owen Collins
Body Of Missing Toddler Found In Woods
Coroner: Cause of death could take up to two weeks
‘We put dope in their bottles and watched them have fun’
Owen Collins’ father reacts to homicide ruling