Relationship: Parent – Page 51 – Disability Day of Mourning

Iblah Pilo

No Photo Name: Iblah (Ibrahim) Pilo.
Died: January 16, 2015.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Chimtanda village, Malawi.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Iblah’s mother was worried that he would be kidnapped and sold for his body parts, but her husband told her to stay with him, saying that he would protect the little boy.

Days later, Iblah’s mother woke in the night to hear him screaming; he was being kidnapped. She was unable to save him.

Iblah’s body was never found, but it is likely that he was indeed sold for his body parts, which are used in ritual magic. Police arrested his father and two other men.

Case status:
Iblah’s father and two others were charged with kidnapping and burglary, but released due to insufficient evidence.

Source:
Malawi: Killing spree of people with albinism fuelled by ritual practices and policing failures
Prejudice against people with albinism in Malawi

Cyrus Buskirk

Name: Cyrus Buskirk.
Died: January 12, 2015.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Untreated diabetes.
Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes.

Details:
When Cyrus’s diabetes made him sick, his mother didn’t get him medical help. She called the doctor, but didn’t follow any of the doctor’s instructions. By the time she called 911, it was too late; Cyrus died of complications of juvenile diabetes.

Cyrus’s obituary says that he “loved school, baseball, the Iron Pigs, karate and being a ninja”.

Case status:
Ashleigh Buskirk (Mother), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, sentenced to 16 months to 10 years.

Source:
Cyrus T. Buskirk Obituary (2007 – 2015) Morning Call
Mother sentenced for letting diabetic child die
Allentown mother pleads guilty in death of diabetic son

Hayden Dukes

Name: Hayden Dukes.
Died: January 8, 2015.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Underwood, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Autism, DiGeorge syndrome.

Details:
Hayden’s father was watching TV, and Hayden was getting in the way. Instead of paying attention to his son, Hayden’s father beat him to death.

Case status:
Christopher Bruck (Father); charged with aggravated battery and neglect of a dependent, sentenced to 40 years in prison and 2.5 years parole.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Hayden Dukes
Family: Child beaten by father dies
Southern Indiana man convicted in 4-year-old son’s death given 40 year prison sentence

Alexandra, Maxim, and Mikhail Kordyukova

Photo of Misha Kordyukova, a baby with fair skin and short blond hair, photographed against a background of water. — Misha Kordyukova

Gravestone of Sasha and Maxim Kordyukova. Their names are written in Cyrillic characters, and above each name is a dim black-and-white image of a young child. The bottom of the photograph is torn off so that the dates of birth and death cannot be seen. — Gravestone of Sasha and Maxim Kordyukova

Name: Alexandra “Sasha” Kordyukova.
Name: Maxim Kordyukova.
Name: Mikhail “Misha” Kordyukova.

Died: Unknown; mother arrested in 2015.
Age at death: All were under 3.
Cause of death: Warfarin poisoning.
Location: Ekaterinburg, Russia.
Disability: Atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome.

Details:
Sasha, Maxim, and Misha died before their brother Ilya was taken to the hospital, gravely sick from warfarin poisoning. Ilya survived, but the attempted murder tipped off police that his siblings’ deaths might not have been accidental. After exhumation and autopsy, it was determined that Maxim and Misha had both died from warfarin poisoning. Their sister Sasha’s autopsy was inconclusive, but like them, she died young and suddenly.

Their mother, when arrested, claimed she had tried to cure her children, but that it was too difficult; so she wanted to kill them and start a new family with healthy children.

Ilya, who recovered from the poisoning, is now living with his father.

Case status:
Elena Kordyukova (Mother), convicted, sentenced to 18 years.

Source:
Mum accused of killing her two sick kids with rat poison
Russian murdered sons with genetic condition with Warfarin
Evil mum jailed for killing two of her disabled sons with ‘rat poison’

Kendrea Johnson

Photo of Kendrea Johnson. She is an African-American girl wearing a yellow dress, her hair in hair clips. She has her hands on her hips and is leaning forward, lips puckered, as though she is trying to kiss the camera. Name: Kendrea Johnson.
Died: December 27, 2014.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Hanging.
Location: Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: PTSD.

Details:
Foster child Kendrea was showing signs of severe mental illness; she had been experiencing suicidal ideation every day for months. But her foster home did nothing to help her; instead, she was threatened with beatings and locked in her room. Four times, her foster home was reported for neglect, but not investigated.

Kendrea was found hanging from her bunk bed with a jump rope tied around her neck; the death was ruled a “ligature hanging” and showed all the signs of suicide, including a suicide note reading “I’m sorry”. If that is the case, then Kendrea’s death was the result of neglect, with her mental illness left untreated to the point that the little girl died by suicide. However, Kendrea’s grandmother believes her death was a murder rather than a suicide, since the knot in the jump rope might have been too complex for a six-year-old to tie.

Case status:
Tannise Nawaqavou (foster mother), foster care license revoked.
$1.5 million settlement paid to Kendrea’s grandmother by Hennepin County.

Source:
SiebenCarey and NewmarkStorms File Civil Lawsuit Following Death of Six-Year-Old in Foster Care
String of failures came before suicidal 6-year-old’s death
Did 6-year-old Brooklyn Park girl kill herself? Police wonder
Hennepin County officials say little about death of girl in Brooklyn Park foster-care home
Girl, 6, died by hanging in foster care. County settles with family for $1.5 million.
$1.5 million settlement in Minnesota six-year-old’s foster care death
Minnesota girl, 6, died by hanging in foster care. Hennepin County settles with family for $1.5 million.

Yana Voronova

Photo of Yana Voronova, a teenage girl with pale skin and brown hair, holding a large white stuffed animal. Her eyes have a censor blur over them. Name: Yana Voronova.
Died: Approx. December 19, 2014.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Decapitation.
Location: Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Yana’s mother decapitated her.

Case status:
Nadejda Voronova (Mother), held in a psychiatric ward.

Source:
Mother decapitates her disabled seven-year-old daughter

Pendo Nundi

No Photo Name: Pendo Emmanuelle Nundi.
Died: Missing December 2014.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Unknown (Missing).
Location: Mwanza, Tanzania.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Because Pendo was an albino, her body parts were considered valuable for ritual magic. With the alleged consent of her father and other relatives, she was kidnapped from her home. Her body has not been found, but she was almost certainly murdered, dismembered, and her body parts sold.

Case status:
Police arrested 15 people, including her father and two uncles.

Source:
Tanzania police offer reward for missing albino girl
Kidnapped Tanzanian albino boy found dead with limbs hacked off
Another Albino Child Is Murdered and Mutilated in Tanzania
Tanzania: Kidnapping of albino boy raises witchcraft fears – BBC News
1-Year-Old Albino Yohana Bahati Killed for Limbs in Tanzania
Mutilated Tanzanian albino baby body found: police

“Sheila”

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: December 2014.
Age at death: Child.
Cause of death: Chest trauma.
Location: Nguthuru, Murang’a, Kenya.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
This young girl, given the pseudonym “Sheila”, was allegedly abused by her mother. Neighbors testifed that at one point Sheila’s mother had put her on the road, hoping a car would run her over; but the car stopped, and Sheila survived. She was eventually found dead at home, after having spent the whole day alone with her mother. Many of her bones were broken, and she had died from chest trauma.

Case status:
Her mother was charged with murder, but acquitted because the evidence was “circumstantial”. Kenya’s double jeopardy law prohibits a new trial.

Source:
Mother acquitted of murder of handicapped daughter

Samauri Page

No Photo Name: Samauri J. Page.
Died: November 30, 2014.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Diabetic ketoacidosis.
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes, autism.

Details:
Samauri died of diabetic ketoacidosis because he had been either not given enough to eat, or not given his insulin.

His favorite sport was wrestling.

Case status:
Bakari J. Page (Father), under investigation.

Source:
Samauri J. Page
Autism Memorial: Samauri Page
Diabetic teen dies despite multiple warnings to Children Services

Brielle Gage

Photo of Brielle Gage, a toddler girl with very light, straight hair, wearing a pink t-shirt and holding a colorful toy. There is a small bruise on her chin. Name: Brielle Eternity Gage.
Died: November 25, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Blunt force injury.
Location: Nashua, New Hampshire, USA.
Disability: Torticollis (weak neck muscles); periventricular leukomalacia; perceived as intellectually disabled by her mother.

Details:
Brielle died of head trauma with more than 50 separate injuries on her body. She had been beaten to death by her mother who, on at least one occasion, complained to the police about her daughter’s “special needs”.

Only months before, Brielle’s mother and her boyfriend had been arrested for child abuse, but Brielle stayed in her mother’s custody anyway.

Case status:
Katlyn Marin (Mother), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 45 years to life.

Source:
NH Mother Sentenced To 45 Years For Killing 3-Year-Old Daughter
3-year-old Brielle Gage sustained 50 injuries prior to death
Marin told police she wanted to hold her baby after learning of daughter’s death
Legal team casts doubt on key witness in Brielle Gage murder case
Nashua mom claims falls killed tot
3-Year-Old Murdered After State Returns Her To Abusive Home
Murdered child, Brielle Gage, may have been victim of battered child syndrome
Brielle Gage Memorial Foundation
This Woman Is Charged With Second-Degree Murder For Beating Her Three-Year-Old Daughter To Death. She Was Arrested Just Six Months Earlier For Abusing Two Of Her Other Children.
Justice for Brielle Eternity