Type: Fatal Neglect – Page 39 – Disability Day of Mourning

Maia Comas

Name: Maia Comas.
Died: December 3, 2007.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Sydney, Australia.
Disability: Rett syndrome.

Details:
When Maia was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, her parents wanted to euthanize her. Told this was illegal, they “coincidentally” found Maia drowned in a wading pool and did not attempt to resuscitate her.

Case status:
Pablo Comas and Samantha Comas (Parents) were never charged.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Maia Comas
News of daughter’s illness devastated parents, inquest told
“Why do they keep children with these disabilities alive?”
Maia Coma’s mother says an inability to perform CPR made her feel like a murderer
Coroner unable to say if baby Maia Comas’ death was accidental
Coroner returns open finding into toddler Maia Comas’s pool death
Parents greatly irresponsible over baby Maia’s death: coroner

Shellay Ward

Photo of Shellay Ward, a young girl with pale skin and auburn hair cut in a pageboy, wearing a big blue beret, a flower-patterned dress, and a broad smile. Name: Shellay Ward.
Died: November 13, 2007.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Hawks Nest, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Shellay was locked into a back room, where she died from long-term neglect and starvation.

Case status:
Sharyn Ward (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Blakely Ward (Father), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 12 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Shellay Ward
Father who killed ‘mummified’ daughter, 7, loses bid to walk from jail
Shellay Ebony Ward
Ebony: Judge restores some dignity to starved girl

Kayla Dutcher

No Photo Name: Kayla Dutcher.
Died: October 7, 2007.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Tramadol overdose.
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Blindness.

Details:
Kayla died of an overdose of Tramadol. Her parents reported that she had eaten the Tramadol by accident; the department of human services determined that she had died of “fatal neglect and an injurious environment”.

Case status:
Parents Amy Dutcher and James Dutcher were not charged.

Source:
Kayla Dutcher

Jared Greenwood

No Photo Name: Jared Greenwood.
Died: September 30, 2007 (Body found).
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Bloomfield, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Autism, intellectual disability.

Details:
Jared’s mother neglected him; he died of blood poisoning from infected bedsores.

Case status:
Sandra Greenwood (Mother), convicted of neglect, sentenced to two and a half years in jail.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jared Greenwood
Updated at 7:40am — Mother Gets 2 1/2 Years for Leaving Son To Die

Jesse Weaver

Portrait photo of Jesse Weaver, a fair-skinned, brown-haired boy wearing a collared shirt, smiling slightly. Name: Jesse Weaver.
Died: July 8, 2007.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Seroquel overdose.
Location: Lincoln County, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Mental illness.

Details:
Jesse’s mother abruptly withdrew his psychiatric medication. Jesse committed suicide about three weeks later.

Case status:
Traci Weaver (Mother); Wade Weaver (Father). Department of Social Services concluded that they were responsible for emotional abuse, medical neglect, and failure to protect Jesse.

Source:
Children lost in the system
Child Fatality Review: Jesse Weaver

Kate Bugmy

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

Janene Devine

Photo of Janene Devine, a middle-aged white woman with short brown hair. Name: Janene Devine.
Died: April 16, 2007.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Infection, starvation.
Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Janene’s husband, a registered nurse, did not want anyone else to help his wife. He refused placement at a care home for her, and even rejected an offer of free installation of a wheelchair ramp so that she could get out of the house, preferring to carry her instead. Then he neglected her so badly that she died from infected bedsores and starvation.

Case status:
Andrew Devine (Husband), pled guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 6 months to 1 year.

Source:
Inquest into the death of Janene Devine
Dead Mother ‘Looked Like A Skeleton’
Andrew Devine jailed over death of wife Janene, who suffered multiple sclerosis and weighed 30kg at her death
“Filthy and infested with vermin”
Man refused help for wife with MS

M.E.

No Photo Name: M.E., possibly Michael Egan.
Died: November 22 (?), 2006.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Unknown; possibly Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unknown.

Details:
M. E. was “starved and deprived [of] medical care by his parents”.

Case status:
Unknown.

Source:
Day of Mourning: The List
SSDI: Michael Egan

Lakesha Victor

Photo of Lakesha Victor, a girl with a gap-toothed smile. Her head leans against a headrest. Name: Lakesha Victor.
Died: August 20, 2006.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Hinckley, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy.

Details:
Lakesha, who was supposed to be given formula through her feeding tube, was not fed often enough. She lost weight rapidly and soon starved to death.

Case status:
Ludusky Sue Hotchkiss (Mother), pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, sentenced to 32 months.
Ti-Heim Darrien Coston (Caregiver, mother’s boyfriend), charged with neglect, theft, and failure to report.

Source:
Arrest in girl’s starving death
“I didn’t notice. I wish I had.” Hotchkiss pleads guilty to manslaughter in daughter’s death
MN: Lakesha Victor – Disabled, Abused, Neglected, Dead
Autism Memorial: Lakeisha Victor
Mom Starved Disabled Daughter to Death, Say Cops

Marcus Fiesel

Photo of Marcus Fiesel, a small boy on a green lawn. He has pale skin and windswept brown hair in a bowl cut. He is shyly covering his mouth with his hands. Name: Marcus Fiesel.
Died: August 4-6, 2006 (exact day unknown).
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Dehydration, heat stroke, and/or positional asphyxia.
Location: Middletown, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Autism, developmental delay.

Details:
Marcus’s foster parents wrapped him up in a blanket, tied it with packing tape, and left him in a closet while they went away for three days. Marcus was dead when they returned.

Case status:
Liz Carrol (Foster mother), murder, sentenced to 54 to life.
David Carroll Jr. (Foster father), murder, sentenced to 16 years.

Source:
Parole denied for David Carroll, convicted of murder of Marcus Fiesel of Middletown
Man convicted in abuse, killing of 3-year-old foster son to get parole hearing
David Carroll is up for parole in murder of foster son, Marcus Fiesel, 3
Autism Memorial: Marcus Fiesel
Remembering the boy with the bright blue eyes