Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Parents, foster parents, stepparents, parents’ significant others.
Name: Ekanthachari.
Died: February 1, 2021.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Assault.
Location: Shanivarsanthe, Karnataka, India.
Disability: A “behavioral disorder”.
Details:
Ekanthachari’s father reported his death as an accident, saying he had fallen from a tree. But a post-mortem examination found that he had died from assault.
Case Status:
Mahendra Kumar (Father), arrested for murder.
Name: Guadalupe “Lupita” Martinez.
Died: January 28, 2021.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Othello, Washington, USA.
Disability: Autism, intellectual disability.
Details:
Guadalupe, called “Lupita” by her family, lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. Her mother’s boyfriend killed her mother after an argument; then, when Guadalupe walked in on the killing, he slammed her head against the cement and cut her throat.
Guadalupe loved nail polish, costume jewelry and music.
Case status:
Mauricio Nava-Garibay (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 43 years.
Source:
Man who killed, dismembered 2 Othello women gets 43 years in prison
Guadalupe Martinez Obituary
Autism Memorial: Guadalupe Martinez
‘We are all scared’: Neighbors speak after the murders of two women in Othello
Othello man admits to murdering two women: Court documents
Man Stabs and Chops Up Girlfriend And Her Daughter After Argument
Name: “Sonam.”
Died: January 17, 2021.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Disability: Mentally disabled.
Details:
“Sonam” (not her real name), a 22-year-old young woman, was found dead in a field, and her family claimed she had been raped. However, a postmortem discovered that she had not been raped, and police began investigating the family. According to police, Sonam’s family admitted that they wanted to “get rid of her” because she was mentally disabled, and they had heard that the families of rape victims were receiving large sums in compensation. After they lured her out to a nearby field, police say, her mother held her, her brother strangled her, and her father served as lookout.
Case status:
Her mother, arrested, legal action initiated.
Her father, arrested, legal action initiated.
Her brother, arrested, legal action initiated.
Source:
Body of young woman found in mustard field, investigation underway
Barabanki: Family wanted to get rid of mentally disabled girl, so killed her and created the story of rape and murder
Name: Chadaporn Khamkeaw.
Died: January 16, 2021.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Disability: Physical disability (Wheelchair user), intellectual disability.
Details:
After their bodies were found, police concluded that Chadaporn’s mother had pushed Chadaporn’s wheelchair to a pond, pushed her daughter into the pond, and followed her, upon which both drowned.
Case status:
Thongbai Khamkeaw (Mother), committed suicide.
Source:
Elderly mother, disabled daughter drowned in Chiang Mai murder-suicide
Ill Chiang Mai Mother Drowns Mentally Disabled Daughter in Murder-Suicide
Name: Felicity-May Harvey.
Died: January 11, 2021.
Age at death: 20 days.
Cause of death: Shaken baby.
Location: Heywood, England, UK.
Disability: Cleft lip and palate.
Details:
Felicity-May died from being shaken hard. After her father was arrested on suspicion of murder, the prosecution said he had killed her; but the defense said her mother had done it, because she was growing frustrated with feeding Felicity.
Felicity was a content, alert baby who was known for taking in the world through her big blue eyes.
Case Status:
Darin Harvey (Father), charged with murder.
Sources:
Dad accused of murdering baby daughter denies lying to police
Dad left disabled baby daughter ‘like a rag doll’ after shaking her to death
Defence claim ‘mum killed baby daughter’ after issues with feeding her
Tragic details surrounding death of ‘beautiful’ baby girl emerge at inquest
The family of a two-week-old baby girl who died in Heywood has paid tribute to her
Felicity-May Harvey: Family pay tribute to baby girl after murder arrest
Name: Gopi.
Died: December, 22, 2020.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India.
Disability: Mobility impaired after accident.
Details:
Gopi had become disabled after an accident, and his father was frustrated that he had to care for him. Gopi’s father came home drunk one day, killed his son with a machete, dumped the body in an unused septic tank, and fled.
Case Status:
Thangavel (Father), convicted of murder and concealing/destroying evidence; sentenced to life.
Sources:
Man gets life imprisonment for killing son in Tiruchi
55-year-old man gets life for killing disabled son
Murder of differently-abled son: Father gets life sentence; Trichy Court Judgment
Name: Ms. Hsu.
Age at death: 57.
Disability: Cancer.
24-year-old man.
Disability: Epilepsy.
11-year-old girl.
Disability: Aphasia.
Died: December 4, 2020.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
Details:
Ms. Hsu and her two children were killed by her husband, their father, when he put them in the back seat of their car and gassed all of them to death with the exhaust fumes.
Case status:
Mr. Chien (Husband, father), deceased.
Source:
Group urges awareness of caregivers after deaths
Family of four found dead in apparent murder-suicide in Kaohsiung
Name: Karreon Walter-Franks.
Died: November 27, 2020.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Starvation, pneumonia.
Location: Vancouver, Washington, USA.
Disability: Autism, developmental delay, visually impaired.
Details:
At the time of his death, Karreon was known to the child welfare system. His aunt reported to social workers that Karreon and his siblings had been starved for years and had to steal food to survive, and that Karreon was emaciated and had collapsed from hunger. His brother told them that Karreon’s mother had hit him with a cane for throwing up. The last contact by child welfare to the home was only a week before Karreon died and the funeral home contacted police because his body weighed only 65 pounds and was in very poor condition.
After his death, Karreon’s two younger siblings were removed from the home.
Case Status:
Felicia Adams (Aunt, adoptive mother), convicted of second-degree murder and homicide by abuse, sentenced to 35 years.
Jesse Franks (Felicia’s husband), convicted of second-degree murder and homicide by abuse, sentenced to 30 years.
Source:
Karreon Franks’ adoptive parents sentenced to decades in prison for his murder
Couple Accused of Starving Blind Adoptive Son to Death Pleads Not Guilty After Turning Themselves In
Trial begins for parents accused of starving Washington teen to death
SW Washington couple deny starving 15-year-old son to death as murder trial nears end
Clark County jury convicts adoptive parents of homicide by abuse, murder in Vancouver boy’s starvation death
Adoptive parents testify in death of disabled Vancouver boy, say they never withheld food as punishment | The Spokesman-Review
Clark County jury convicts parents for starving disabled son to death
Autism Memorial: Karreon Walter-Franks
State records highlight years of suspected abuse in home where Clark County teen died
Couple arrested in Stockton appear in court on murder allegation in starvation case
Washington couple arrested in starvation death of child
Disabled 15-year-old boy dies weighing 65 pounds DAYS after CPS visits adoptive parents’ home: Reports
Parents of Vancouver teen who died from starvation face murder charges; arrest warrants issued
Washington teen’s death ruled homicide due to starvation and neglect
Police: Authorities visited starving teen days before death
Child welfare visited disabled 15-year-old boy DAYS before he died weighing only 65 pounds, court docs reveal
Name:William Harvey Smithson.
Age at death: 78.
Disability: Chronic illness/frail elder.
Name: Eric Russell Smithson.
Age at death: 54.
Disability: Unspecified special needs.
Died: November 24, 2020.
Cause of death: Shooting.
Location: Clermont, Florida, USA.
Details:
William and his son Eric lived with his wife. Authorities concluded that William’s wife shot and killed her husband and son, then killed herself.
Case status:
Joyce Lorraine Smithson (wife/mother), died by suicide.
Source:
Florida woman accused of killing husband, son with special needs in double murder-suicide
Deputies: Woman killed her husband, son with special needs before killing herself
Elderly Woman Murdered Her Ill Husband and Special Needs Son Before Dying by Suicide: Deputies
Incident 11-24-2020 Florida Clermont 2-1
Name: Jamarion Javante Delancy.
Died: November 18, 2020.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Internal injuries.
Location: St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Blind, developmental disability, used leg braces.
Details:
Jamarion’s mother was at the hospital, having a baby. She left Jamarion and his big sister with her boyfriend. The following day, Jamarion was brought to the hospital, unconscious and bleeding internally, and died hours later. Police arrested Jamarion’s mother’s boyfriend; he is accused of fatally beating Jamarion while his seven-year-old sister watched.
Case status:
Yoshuah Dallas (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with abuse or neglect of a child causing death and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Source:
Mom’s Boyfriend Allegedly Beat Her Blind 5-Year-Old to Death While She Was Giving Birth
Donations as far away as France pile up after blind boy killed in St. Louis County
5-Year-Old Blind Boy Beaten to Death While Mom Gives Birth: Cops
‘She has to bring a baby home from the hospital while planning her son’s funeral’ | St. Louis County police union raising money for victim’s family
As mom gives birth at hospital, boyfriend beats her blind 5-year-old son to death: Police
St. Louis police raising funds to help family of blind boy who was beaten to death
Please help the Delancy family