Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Michelle Sandor.
Age at death: 14.
Name: Scott Sandor.
Age at death: 11.
Died: September 3, 1982.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Marfan syndrome.
Details:
Scott and Michelle Sandor were shot by their mother, who then shot herself. Their mother also had Marfan syndrome.
Case status:
Linda V. Sandor, deceased.
Name: Steven Paul Hughes.
Died: June 1, 1982.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Boise, Idaho, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.
Details:
Steven was born with spina bifida, but his parents didn’t take him to see a doctor because they didn’t believe in doctors. He didn’t get a wheelchair and had to drag himself around on his forearms instead.
Steven died of untreated pneumonia shortly before his third birthday.
Case status:
William Hughes (Father) and his mother, no crime because denying children medical treatment on religious grounds is legal in Idaho.
Source:
These Coffins Represent Kids Who Died Because Their Parents Were Faith-Healers
Idahoans protest faith healing exemptions in Boise
183 Coffins For Idaho Children Killed By Faith Healing Parents
Hundreds March for Repeal of Idaho’s Faith Healing Exemptions
Steven Paul Hughes (1979-1982) – Find A Grave
In Idaho, medical-care exemptions for faith healing come under fire
Name: “Baby Doe”, Anonymous Male.
Died: April 15, 1982.
Age at death: 6 days.
Cause of death: Starvation, pneumonia.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.
Details:
Baby Doe was born with Down syndrome and an esophageal atresia, which untreated would result in death, but could be treated surgically with a 90% success rate. Advised by their doctor that the baby would have an intellectual disability, Baby Doe’s parents decided not to proceed with surgery. The hospital staff tried to have the court appoint a guardian for Baby Doe, to override the parents’ decision; but the court denied them. Baby Doe died six days later of starvation and pneumonia from aspirated stomach acid.
Case status:
Parents; Walter Owens (Doctor). No crime.
Source:
Baby Doe Law
Name: James Allen Lloyd.
Died: November 23, 1981.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Shadow Creek, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
After hearing that James might not be able to go to kindergarten because he was “slow”, James’s mother put him in the bathtub and shot him dead.
Case status:
Caroline Lloyd (Mother), convicted of murder.
Name: Matthew Robles.
Died: September 1, 1980.
Age at death: 4 months.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: El Cajon, California, USA.
Disability: Hydrocephalus.
Details:
Matthew was smothered by his mother. His death was presumed natural until five years later, when his mother killed his brother, John Robles, and confessed to both killings.
Case status:
Debra Sue Robles (Mother), pled guilty to murder, sentenced to 30 years to life.
Source:
An American Tragedy: Mother Kills 2 Children as System Fails
Woman Held in Deaths of Her Disabled Sons
Name Unknown.
Died: July 16, 2023.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Starvation/dehydration.
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
This five-year-old boy’s mother was charged with starving him so badly that he weighed only thirteen-and-a-half pounds when he died.
Case Status:
Marcella Montelongo (Mother), charged with child abuse resulting in death, died before trial.
Sources:
Mom charged for starving special needs son to death in Albuquerque
Woman accused of starving special needs child found dead at MDC
Albuquerque mom arrested after special needs son dies
New Mexico mother accused of allowing her 5-year-old son to slowly starve to death
Marcella Montelongo, N.M mom red flags were obvious to see
Name: Ellen Alice Wiggs.
Died: May 4, 2024.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Independence, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Kidney disease.
Details:
Ellen’s husband allegedly strangled her as she lay in her hospital bed, where she was staying because she needed a new dialysis port. A detective says he told them that he had done it because he was tired of taking care of his wife and he could not pay the medical bills they owed. He also allegedly confessed that he had already tried to kill his wife twice before.
Case Status:
Ronnie Wiggs (Husband), charged with second-degree murder.
Sources:
Ellen Alice Wiggs (Tippie) Obituary 2024
Missouri Man Allegedly Murders Wife In Hospital Over Depression, Cost Of Providing Care
Man Says He Killed His Wife Because He Couldn’t Pay Her Medical Bills
Husband Strangles Wife in Hospital Over Cost of Medical Bills: Police
Name Unknown.
Died: December 4, 2021.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Townsville, Queensland, Canada.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
This toddler girl’s father, who was the only adult home to take care of her and her two-year-old brother, had been awake for 31 hours, taking and selling methamphetamine. He was sleeping it off when his three-year-old daughter opened the unlocked front door, left the house, and drowned in a storm drain. Prosecutors called his drug use “criminally negligent” and the little girl’s death “entirely preventable”.
Case Status:
Her father pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child endangerment.
Sources:
Father found guilty of non-verbal, autistic daughter’s manslaughter after drowning death
Name: Aston Starkey.
Died: March 2, 2024.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Malnutrition/dehydration.
Location: Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.
Details:
Aston’s body was found in the motel where he and his mother had been staying. His cause of death was established as malnutrition and dehydration, contributed to by neglect.
Case Status:
Serena Starkey (Mother), wanted on suspicion of murder; found dead a little under 4 months later.
Sources:
Mother sought on Alabama murder charge in death of son with special needs found dead in Texas
Autopsy reveals 13-year-old Birmingham boy with Down Syndrome died of malnutrition and dehydration, mother wanted on murder charges
Media Release 130- Homicide Investigation- Cahaba Park Circle
Hunt for mom after her son, 13, found starved to death in motel
Boy, 13, living in Birmingham motel dies from malnutrition, dehydration; mother sought on murder warrant
Name: Brittini Ward.
Died: May 5, 2010.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Paranoid schizophrenia.
Details:
Brittini’s cousin showed up unannounced at their home, convinced her parents that Brittini was “possessed”, and moved in, saying he would take care of the problem. Only weeks later, Brittini’s family returned home to find her unresponsive. Her cousin had raped her and strangled her.
For a few hours, Brittini’s cousin insisted that she was bloody and unresponsive because she was possessed and needed the demons removed. So the family, under orders from Brittini’s cousin, washed her body and prayed. Nothing happened.
Eventually, Brittini’s mother called her church elders, explaining that her daughter was possessed and they needed help. When one of them came to visit the home, he saw the situation and made Brittini’s mother call 911. Emergency responders arrived to find Brittini had been dead for several hours.
Case Status:
Derek Ward (Cousin) was found unfit to stand trial and hospitalized to restore competency. Competency restored over ten years later, he was convicted of rape and murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Dawn Wheeler (Mother) pleaded guilty to concealing a death.
Sources:
After he killed his cousin, he moved into her bedroom, Charlotte murder witnesses testify
Mother of slain Charlotte woman takes the stand, directly faces accused killer at trial
Charlotte man found guilty of raping, killing his own cousin in 2010