Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Parents, foster parents, stepparents, parents’ significant others.
Name: Mahalakshmi.
Died: October 17, 2020.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Chatrapatti, Tamil Nadu, India.
Disability: Paralysis, unspecified; nonspeaking/mobility impaired.
Details:
Mahalakshmi’s father allegedly smothered her because having to take care of her made it difficult for him and his wife to go to work.
Case status:
V Paalanikumar (Father), charged with murder.
Source:
TN man murders disabled daughter
Tamil Nadu: Man kills disabled daughter, 7
Name: Kaylea Titford.
Died: October 11, 2020.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Infected bedsores.
Location: Newtown, Powys, Wales, UK.
Disability: Spina bifida, hydrocephalus.
Details:
Kaylea died from “inflammation and infection in extensive areas of ulceration arising from obesity and its complications in a girl with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.” Kaylea’s parents kept her in her room, in filthy conditions. They fed her take-out, and did not help her into her wheelchair, so that she was forced to remain immobile and stranded in her bedroom. Kaylea gained weight steadily, and her parents then did not address the pressure sores that resulted when she was left for a long time in the same position.
Kaylea was a talented wheelchair basketball player. Friends remember her as “fiercely independent”.
Case Status:
Alun Titford (Father), found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person, sentenced to 10 years.
Sarah Lloyd-Jones (Mother), pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person, sentenced to 8 years.
Sources:
Parents’ jail terms for manslaughter of disabled teenage daughter increased
Parents jailed for killing disabled teenage daughter
Inside the filthy home where disabled 23st girl was left to die
Kaylea Titford’s parents jailed for manslaughter after disabled girl’s death
Kaylea Titford: Father jailed for more than 7 years over obese daughter’s manslaughter – as mother gets 6 years
Parents sentenced for gross negligence manslaughter of their teenage daughter | The Crown Prosecution Service
Father found guilty of killing disabled daughter (16) by letting her become obese
Father of obese teen found dead in ‘misery’ guilty of manslaughter
How the abhorrent neglect of a vulnerable teen was hidden from the outside world
Obese teenager’s father guilty of her death in squalid family home
Father guilty of manslaughter after vulnerable daughter dies from obesity
Tragic teenager’s dad found guilty over her death in squalid conditions
Kaylea Titford: how ‘fiercely independent’ Welsh teenager ended up dying in bed
Father of obese teenager found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence
Father let daughter down because he was lazy, court hears
A disabled teenager found dead with maggots and flies on her body was the victim of alleged parental neglect, court hears
Parents ‘killed girl, 16, found dead in squalor by letting her weight hit 23st’
Kaylea Titford: Morbidly obese teen died in conditions ‘unfit for any animal’ after parents ‘seriously neglected her’, court hears
Mum admits killing daughter, 16, by allowing her to become severely overweight
Welsh parents deny being responsible for their disabled daughter’s death
Parents accused of killing disabled daughter to go on trial next year
Parents accused of killing disabled girl who became morbidly obese to face trial
Trial for parents accused of killing daughter by allowing her to become obese
Trial date given for parents accused of killing disabled teen daughter
Mum faces court over death of disabled daughter ‘after letting her become obese’
Man and woman charged with manslaughter after death of 16-year-old girl
Parents charged with killing disabled teen by letting her become morbidly obese
Kaylea Titford: Parents of obese girl charged with causing her death
Police investigating after teen girl found dead at home
Mum found daughter, 16, dead in bed as two people arrested in police probe
Name Unknown.
Died: September 20, 2020.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Cherus Village, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya.
Disability: Paralysis.
Details:
When this 3-year-old girl vanished, police questioned her parents. Police say her parents admitted to killing her because she was “a nuisance” and “to save their love”, and that they led police to her body, which was buried in the woods. Neighbors said that they usually locked the little girl in the house alone while they went to work as day laborers.
Case status:
Charity Cheruto (Mother), charged with murder.
Timoth Lihanya (Father), charged with murder.
Source:
Couple admits killing and burying disabled daughter
What Is The World Turning Into, A Couple Admits Killing Their Disabled Child
Wapenzi wasema walimuua mtoto kuokoa uhusiano wao
Name: Jonathan Lambert.
Died: September 9, 2020.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Pearl River, Louisiana, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
When they found Jonathan unresponsive, his family members called emergency services. Responders arrived to find that he had died; he appeared “severely malnourished and neglected”. Investigating further, they found Jonathan’s adoptive father and two of his adopted siblings alive, but suffering from dehydration, starvation, and neglect. Jonathan’s adoptive mother was arrested; another caregiver, whom authorities said was equally responsible, died before trial.
Case Status:
Sharon Lambert (Adoptive mother), charged with manslaughter and three charges of cruelty to the infirm.
Dianne Hester (Caregiver), deceased.
Sources:
Slidell woman indicted, accused of neglecting disabled people
Pearl River Woman Arrested on Warrants Stemming from Son’s 2020 Death
Name: Cameron Joseph Gordon.
Died: September 6, 2020.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Duluth, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Cameron’s mother went to work, leaving him with her fiancé. When she returned, she found him unresponsive and rushed him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a brain injury, a broken rib, and extensive bruising. Cameron died two days later from his injuries.
Case Status:
Jordan William Carter (Mother’s fiancé), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years.
Sources:
‘Cameron will forever be 3’: Duluth man sentenced to 15 years for boy’s murder
Duluth man found guilty of second-degree murder in 2020 death of then-fiancee’s 3-year-old
Trial begins for Duluth man charged in toddler’s murder
Medical examiner rebuked for delay in Duluth murder trial
Trial in Lakeside boy’s death pushed back to 2023
Duluth Man Charged With Second-Degree Murder in Death of 3-Year-Old
Child advocates speak out after death of Duluth 3-year-old
Trial Involving The Death Of Three Year Old Duluth Boy Delayed By Defense Team Until 2023
Medical evidence awaited in Duluth child death
Autism Memorial: Cameron Gordon
Name: Fat-lun Wong.
Died: September 5, 2020.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Hong Kong, China.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Investigators believe that Fat-lun’s mother strangled him with a plastic tablecloth.
Fat-lun was a student at Tsui Tsin Tong School, a residential care home for children with intellectual disabilities. At age 21, he had just grown too old to stay there.
Case status:
Xueping Chen (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter; sentenced to 1 year, to be served in a psychiatric hospital to treat her depression.
Source:
Hong Kong mother sent to psychiatric ward for killing mentally disabled son
Hong Kong police arrest mother after son dies in suspected murder-suicide bid
Mom held at hospital over death of handicapped son
Mother charged over handicapped son’s death
Name: Emrik Osuna.
Died: September 2, 2020.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Untreated pneumonia worsened by starvation and repeated injury.
Location: Meridian, Idaho, USA.
Disability: ADHD.
Details:
When Emrik’s father and stepmother called 911 to report that Emrik was unconscious, medics found him dead on the floor of his house with bruises covering his body. He had died of pneumonia, which he was unable to fight because he was very malnourished. Police recovered nanny cams from the house, which showed the boy being beaten and forced to do exhausting exercises for long periods of time.
Emrik loved Transformers, ninjas, and dinosaurs.
Case Status:
Monique Osuna (Stepmother), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Erik Osuna (Father), charged with first-degree murder.
Source:
Idaho stepmom gets life sentence for killing 9-year-old boy
Nanny cameras captured abuse of Meridian boy at center of murder case
Emrik Osuna Obituary – Santa Ana, CA
Emrik Osuna: Idaho boy, 9, starved and tortured to death by stepmom, weighed 44 lbs and had trauma to penis
Boy, 9, tortured to death with parents ‘wrapping band around his genitals’
Name: Shanthi.
Died: September 2, 2020.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Shanthi’s father allegedly poisoned her and himself. Neighbors heard Shanthi screaming and rushed her to the hospital, but it was too late and she died. Police said he was worried about providing for her.
Case status:
Chellaiya (Father), deceased. Ruled murder-suicide.
Source:
Pudukkottai man poisons intellectually disabled daughter, kills himself later
Name: Dylan Freeman.
Died: August 16, 2020.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Acton, west London, England, UK.
Disability: Cohen syndrome, autism.
Details:
Dylan’s mother admitted to drugging him, then suffocating him.
Dylan’s father says, “Dylan was a beautiful, bright, inquisitive and artistic child who loved to travel, visit art galleries and swim.” He often took his son on vacation overseas.
Case status:
Olga Freeman (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility; detained indefinitely at a psychiatric hospital.
Source:
UK woman who killed disabled son detained in hospital indefinitely
Mum who suffocated disabled son during lockdown given hospital order
Wife of celeb photographer who suffocated disabled son, 10, given hospital order
Mother is given indefinite hospital order after she suffocated son
Mum who suffocated disabled son, 10, in lockdown given indefinite hospital order
Lockdown Contributed to Death of Disabled Boy: UK Judge
Mother admits killing disabled son, 10, while struggling to care for him in lockdown
Celebrity photographer’s autistic son was ‘suffocated with a sponge’
Celebrity photographer’s autistic son, 10, suffocated with sponge as mother ‘struggled’ to take care of him
Celeb photographer’s ex gave autistic son, 10, sleeping drug before ‘putting sponge in his mouth and tying it’
Woman in her 40s is arrested for murder after boy, 10, was found dead at house in west London
Celebrity photographer’s ex-wife charged with murder of 10yo son in London
Mother charged with murdering her autistic son, 10, is pictured arriving at court
Celeb snapper ‘can’t comprehend’ loss of son, 10, as mum charged with murder
Mum charged with murdering son, 10, she shared with celebrity photographer
Name: Angela Ng.
Died: August 10, 2020.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Disability: Bone cancer.
Details:
Angela’s father shot her in a murder-suicide.
Angela performed in dance recitals and did martial arts.
Case Status:
Kenbian Ng (Father), deceased.
Sources:
11-year-old Florida girl allegedly shot by father in murder-suicide
Incident | Gun Violence Archive
Man shoots his terminally ill daughter dead, then kills himself, cops say
Kenbian Ng Davie Florida father shoots Angela Ng dead then self
‘Terminally ill’ girl, 11, ‘killed by dad’ was due to have leg amputated
New details emerge after father kills terminally ill daughter in ‘murder-suicide’
Name and Ng – Child Fatality Summary C-17 2020