Relationship: Parent – Page 26 – Disability Day of Mourning

5-year-old girl

Name Unknown.
Died: March 10, 2019.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Kwadela, Davel, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
This five-year-old girl’s abusive parents claimed she had fallen out of bed; but her body showed signs that she had been severely abused, and her parents were convicted of her murder.

Case status:
Bheki Hlophe (Mother), convicted of murder.
Sibongile Shongwe (Father), convicted of murder.

Source:
They were arrested for the death of their five-year-old daughter at their home in Kwadela, Davel on 10 March
Father and girlfriend convicted of five-year-old’s murder
Ouers in hof oor dogter se dood

Photo of a girl in a polka-dot skirt and gold plastic crown, sitting in a green play tunnel; she has short strawberry-blond hair and fair skin. Name: Mia Edmundson.
Died: February 27, 2019.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Avon Park, Florida, USA.
Disability: Congenital heart disease; no spleen.

Details:
Mia loved life and loved to have her nails painted pink. She also loved to swim and pull pranks on people.

Police investigation revealed that Mia’s mother had not filled her prescriptions or taken her to cardiology appointments. When Mia became seriously ill with pneumonia, her mother waited several days to take her to the hospital. Lacking the medication she needed to support her weakened immune system, Mia died from sepsis.

Case status:
Elizabeth Danielle Markley (Mother), convicted of child neglect with great bodily harm, sentenced to 15 years probation.

Source:
Disabled girl died ‘because mother couldn’t be bothered to collect live-saving prescriptions’
Obituary

Julie Burdett

No Photo Name: Julie Burdett.
Died: January 15, 2019.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Pressure ulcers, malnutrition.
Location: Leicester, England, UK.
Disability: “A disease similar to multiple sclerosis”; wheelchair user.

Details:
Julie died from extreme pressure sores. Allegedly, she was not moved or fed properly, and before she died, was left alone in her bedroom for two weeks.

Case Status:
Philip Burdett (Brother), convicted of gross negligence manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years.
Ralph Burdett (Father), convicted of allowing death, sentenced to 2 years, suspended for 2 years.

Sources:
‘Extreme hoarder’ Philip Burdett jailed for gross negligence manslaughter after death of vulnerable sister
Brother of vulnerable woman jailed for gross negligence manslaughter
Julie Burdett: Woman left to die ‘surrounded by filth’ after her father and brother failed to care for her, court told
Immobile woman ‘left to die alone in agony by extreme hoarder father’

Zha-Nae Wilkerson

Name: Zha-Nae Wilkerson, aka Zah-Nae, aka Zah-Nae Rothgeb.
Died: January 3, 2019.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Warwick, Rhode Island, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Zha-Nae lay neglected in a filthy house while her mother left her fifteen-year-old brother, also disabled, to care for her. She was denied her wheelchair because the house was either not accessible or simply too cluttered for the chair to fit, and had to crawl down the hall. She was found face-down in the bathtub, having died from drowning, and her mother was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Later she was also charged with neglecting Zha-Nae’s seven siblings.

Case status:
Michelle Rothgeb (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to manslaughter and 8 counts of cruelty or neglect to a child; sentenced to 18 years in prison and 15 years suspended.

Source:
Rothgeb Sentenced to 18 Years For 9-Year-Old’s Death
Woman whose adoptive special needs daughter dies in bathtub changes plea
New charges filed against Warwick woman accused of manslaughter in death of 9-year-old
Warwick woman pleads not guilty in adopted girl’s death
9-year-old RI child’s death due to ‘inaction’ by DCYF, report notes
Child Advocate’s Office to release report on death of Warwick child
Mom charged with manslaughter in death of 9-year-old Warwick girl
Warwick woman charged with manslaughter in death of adoptive daughter
DCYF Director: Neglect, deficiencies contributed to 9-year-old’s death
Warwick girl whose death is under investigation had cerebral palsy, according to uncle
Police arrest guardian in death of 9-year-old Warwick girl
Guardian arrested in death of Warwick girl
DCYF: Child, 9, dies; Police investigating
Mother held on bail at arraignment in death of 9-year-old Warwick girl
Handicapped 9-Year-Old Dies In Filthy Home, Mother Jailed
DCYF head to address questions surrounding death of 9-year-old girl in Warwick
Disabled girl died after mom made 8 adopted kids fend for themselves to beat flu
Mother of 8 adopted children with special needs arrested after one dies
DCYF making changes in light of 9-year-old’s death in Warwick
A year before death of 9-year-old girl in Warwick, DCYF social workers raised red flag
Warning signs missed in home where Warwick girl died
Biological family has ‘questions and concerns’ for DCYF after child’s death
Death of girl prompts changes to RI child welfare agency

Yulia Nezhikhovskaya

No Photo Name: Yulia Nezhikhovskaya.
Died: December 17, 2018.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Drug and alcohol poisoning.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Quadriplegic; cerebral palsy.

Details:
Yulia’s mother called emergency services to report that her daughter was not breathing. Yulia died; toxicology results showed she had been poisoned with a combination of Valium, sleeping pills, muscle relaxants, and alcohol.

Case status:
Yelena Nezhikhovskaya (Mother), charged with third-degree murder and drug delivery resulting in death.

Source:
Woman accused of killing quadriplegic daughter can be released on house arrest, judge rules
Philadelphia woman accused of killing adult quadriplegic daughter
Philadelphia mother charged in murder of quadriplegic daughter
Mother Charged With Killing 32-Year-Old Quadriplegic Daughter At Home
Philadelphia woman charged with killing quadriplegic daughter inside home

Kayla Mirsky

No Photo Name: Kayla Mirsky.
Died: December 12, 2018.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Hypothermia.
Location: Scottsville, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Kayla’s mother regularly made her stand in the corner for hours as a punishment. She did this so often that Kayla learned to sleep standing up. But one night, Kayla was unable to stand any longer, so her mother put her outside in the cold. In the morning, Kayla was dead from hypothermia.

Kayla leaves behind 17-year-old and 14-year-old siblings.

Case status:
Suzanne Ruth Mirsky (Mother), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child abuse; sentenced to 16 years.

Source:
Scottsville woman sentenced in death of autistic daughter – Fluvanna Review
Scottsville woman to serve 16 years in prison for death of daughter
Fluvanna Co. Sheriff’s Office makes arrest in connection with 2018 murder
Autism Memorial: Kayla Mirsky

Kyoko and Hiroki Naito

No Photo Name: Kyoko Naito.
Age at death: 69.
Disability: Diabetes, mobility impaired.

Name: Hiroki Naito.
Age at death: 36.
Disability: Mental illness/hikikomori.

Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Ono, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.
Died: November 26, 2018.

Details:
Kyoko’s husband allegedly killed her and her son Hiroki by strangling them with a necktie.

Case status:
Hisaki Naito (Husband/Father), arrested.

Source:
Man arrested for killing bedridden wife, ‘hikikomori’ son
Gifu: Man strangles bedridden wife and shut-in son
Autism Memorial: Hiroki Naito

Cyra Harrison

Photo of Cyra Harrison, a teenage girl with brown hair tied up in a ribbon, grinning excitedly at the camera and wearing two blue first-place ribbons pinned to her hoodie. Name: Cyra Shantell Marie Harrison.
Died: November 23, 2018.
Age at death: 25.
Cause of death: Failure to thrive and dehydration due to neglect.
Location: Elizabeth, Louisiana, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
When Cyra’s death was reported, sheriff’s deputies who examined Cyra’s body and the conditions she had been living in concluded that she had died from “severe intentional neglect”. She died of dehydration in a filthy house.

The first-place ribbons she is wearing in her picture may be bowling ribbons, a sport Cyra enjoyed.

Case status:
Karen Johnson Harrison (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, sentenced to 50 years.
Marilyn Sue Maricle (Housemate), pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit cruelty to the infirmed, and conspiracy to commit cruelty to a juvenile; sentenced to 15 years.
Glen Elva Maricle (Housemate), pleaded no contest to manslaughter, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, and cruelty to the infirm; sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Glen Maricle gets 30 years in starvation death of woman with cerebral palsy
As part of a plea deal, suspect outlines plot to starve young Rapides Parish woman with cerebral palsy
Woman testifies cousin, husband were having affair as they plotted to starve daughter
Mother takes plea deal in case of daughter’s death day before jury selection
Attempt to continue trial of mother accused in daughter’s death fails
Trial for mother accused of neglect in daughter’s death moved to June 2020
Mother accused in daughter’s death denied release from jail
Attorney makes bid for sanity commission, trial delay in neglect-death case
Trial for Karen Johnson Harrison, accused in daughter’s death, moved to June 2020
Mom of Rapides neglect-death victim to face trial first
State will prosecute mother of neglected daughter first in Rapides murder case
2 defendants in neglect death case reject offers of life sentences
3 accused in Elizabeth woman’s neglect death to be arraigned next week
Arrests made after special needs patient died, found in deplorable living conditions
Sheriff: Extreme neglect leads to death of special needs person
Mom, couple charged in death of Elizabeth special-needs patient
Arrests made after special needs patient died, found in deplorable living conditions
Elizabeth woman who died from alleged neglect identified
Police release identity of woman killed
Authorities ID special-needs woman believed slain by neglect
Prosecutor intends to seek bond increase in ‘heinous’ neglect death case
Cyra Harrison Obituary
Court dates set for 2 in case of Elizabeth woman’s neglect death
Rapides grand jury indicts three in the murder of woman with cerebral palsy
Arraignment set for three charged with murder of woman with cerebral palsy
3 accused in Elizabeth woman’s neglect death plead not guilty

Desiree Tan

No Photo Name: Desiree Jiaping Tan.
Died: November 19, 2018.
Age at death: 36.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Anxiety disorder (Agoraphobia, health anxiety, panic attacks).

Details:
Desiree’s father beat her with a metal pole, then strangled her. The court decided that he had done so due to caregiver stress, and allowed a defense of diminished responsibility.

Desiree was a university graduate. Due to her mental illness, she was unable to leave home by herself and could not find a job.

Case status:
Tian Chye Tan (Father), convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder; sentenced to two years and nine months in jail, released on time served.

Source:
Father gets jail for killing mentally ill daughter in ‘tragic case’
Man charged with murder of daughter in Bedok flat
33 months jail for S’pore man, 66, who killed mentally ill daughter due to depression, caregiver stress
Man jailed 2 years and 9 months for killing ‘overbearing’ daughter who almost drove him, wife to suicide

Emily Hampshire

Name: Emily Ikue-Rose Hampshire.
Died: November 3, 2018.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Diabetic ketoacidosis.
Location: Alton, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Type I diabetes.

Details:
When Emily was diagnosed with diabetes, her mother concealed the diagnosis and neglected to treat her. Emily died of diabetic ketoacidosis, and her mother only called the paramedics after her heart stopped.

Emily was an outgoing girl who “never met a stranger”. She was a cheerleader, a dancer, a singer, and an actor. She played volleyball and competed in local beauty contests and talent shows. At school, she was a good student who focused on reading and writing.

Case status:
Amber L. Hampshire (Mother), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 7 years.

Source:
Amber Hampshire sentenced in diabetic teen daughter’s death | ksdk.com
Teenager’s Death Is a Reminder of How Critical It Is for Parents to Support Chronically Ill Kids
Alton teen died after mother concealed her diabetes, charges allege — ‘totally treatable’ and ‘heartbreaking’, says prosecutor
Mother charged with involuntary manslaughter in death of diabetic teen
Emily Ikue-Rose Hampshire of Alton Obituary
Emily Hampshire Fundraiser
Teen died after mother concealed diabetes, charges claim
Mother Allegedly Hid Daughter’s Diabetes Diagnosis, Leading to the Girl’s Death
Mother Charged With Manslaughter After Daughter Dies From Lack of Diabetes Treatment
Mother charged with involuntary manslaughter for daughter’s death after concealing girl’s diabetes
A Woman Was Arrested For Allegedly Not Treating Her Daughter’s Diabetes And Letting Her Die
Girl that Died from Diabetes Saw a Chiropractor Instead of a Doctor