Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Parents, foster parents, stepparents, parents’ significant others.
Name: Seo (First name unknown).
Died: June 2013.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Yeosu, South Korea.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
This four-year-old girl’s mother strangled her to death.
Case status:
Ms. Seo (Mother); sentenced to 3 years.
Source:
Seo, 4-year-old female, name unknown
Korean Mother Kills Her Autistic Child, Gets 3 Years in Prison
Name: Levai Bonnar.
Died: May 21, 2013.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Sydney, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Levai was beaten, starved, and humiliated by his parents. The abuse eventually proved fatal when Levai died of head injuries.
Levai’s killers nearly escaped justice by claiming the boy had died from falling off a pogo stick.
Case status:
Kayla James (Mother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 10½ years.
Kodi James Maybir (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 31½ to 38 years.
Source:
Boy spent last months being abused: court
Life term urged for child killer Kodi Maybir
Christian hip-hop producer Kodi Maybir jailed for killing partner’s child
Name: Alexandru Radita.
Died: May 7, 2013.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Sepsis, untreated diabetes.
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes.
Details:
Alexandru was neglected and confined to his room, and treatment for his diabetes was withheld. He died of a bacterial infection he could not fight because he was so badly malnourished.
Case status:
Emil Radita (Father), convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life.
Rodica Radita (Mother), convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life.
Source:
Testimony from convicted father of teen in malnourishment death delayed until June
Supreme Court won’t hear appeals of couple convicted in diabetic son’s death
Alex Radita’s Parents Guilty Of Murder: Dead 15-Year-Old Starved, Neglected
Parents face homicide charges in death of son
Alex Radita, 15, weighed 37 pounds when he died, murder trial hears
Alex Radita lay dead for up to 36 hours, police officer testifies at parents’ murder trial
Calgary murder trial hears diabetic teen was malnourished, covered in ulcers
Raditas guilty of 1st-degree murder of teen son who weighed 37 lb. at death
Diabetic boy’s parents who ‘didn’t believe in doctors’ found guilty of murder
A diabetic boy’s religious parents ‘didn’t believe in doctors.’ Now they’re guilty of his murder.
Can the sad, short life of one boy save others?
Appeal dismissed for Calgary parents convicted of murder in teen’s death
Name: Aliyah Marie Branum.
Died: April 26, 2013.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Blunt force trauma; fractured skull.
Location: Citrus County, Florida, USA.
Disability: Multiple congenital disabilities.
Details:
Aliyah was beaten to death by her mother.
Case status:
Chelsea Huggett (Mother), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse; sentenced to 30 years.
Source:
Chelsea HUGGETT
ANGELIZD’s Place – Child Abuse Pages – Aliyah Marie Branum
Name Unknown.
Died: April 22, 2013.
Age at death: 40.
Cause of death: Drugged and asphyxiated.
Location: Poissy, France.
Disability: Autism, hypoxic brain injury.
Details:
This 40-year-old man was found dead, drugged and smothered with a plastic bag over his head. His father was found unconscious but alive in a similar state.
Case Status:
His father was charged with murder.
Sources:
Poissy : désespéré, il tue son fils autiste
Autisme : les entendre vivants, ou les comprendre… morts ?
Name: Adrian Colon.
Disability: Autism.
Name: Alexis Colon.
Disability: Cerebral Palsy.
Died: April 11, 2013.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: West Allis, Wisconsin, USA.
Details:
Adrian and Alexis, twin brothers, and their sister Nayeli, were left locked into their room by their mother while she went out. While they were alone, a fire started and killed the three siblings. Their mother had received prior warnings about her neglect of the children.
Case status:
Angelica Belen (Mother), pleaded guilty to neglect, sentenced to 18 years in prison and 18 years of probation.
Source:
Three young children die in West Allis house fire, mother in custody
Mother of victims in fatal West Allis fire faced previous neglect charges
Couple wishes they would have done more for children killed in fire
Find a Grave: Adrian Colon
Autism Memorial: Adrian Colon
Name: Terrilynn Destiny Julz Dennis.
Died: April 4, 2013.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Peritonitis.
Location: Newport News, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.
Details:
Terrilynn died of peritonitis from blows to the stomach, complicated by physical and medical neglect. Her parents allegedly waited eight hours after she became unresponsive to take her to the hospital, and she died shortly thereafter.
From her obituary: “Terrilynn had a warm spirit; she enjoyed playing with her sisters and learning about the Bible.”
Case status:
Terri W. Dennis (Adoptive father), charged with murder.
Pamela T. Dennis (Adoptive mother), charged with murder.
Source:
Girl adopted by Terri and Pamela Dennis
Terrilyn Destiny Julz Dennis
Name: Michael Stevens.
Died: April 1, 2013.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Choking.
Location: Lakeland, Florida, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability, epilepsy.
Details:
Michael’s mother neglected him. She didn’t keep him clean, and she often locked him into his room or tied him to a chair. She hadn’t filled his seizure medication prescription in over a year when Michael had a seizure, choked on his vomit, and died.
Case status:
Janet Wade Stevens (Mother), convicted of manslaughter, obstruction of justice, and aggravated abuse; sentenced to 20 years.
Name: Harry Aspley.
Died: April 1, 2013.
Age at death: 23 months.
Cause of death: Head injury; shaken baby.
Location: Stoney Stanton, England, UK.
Disability: Developmental delay; suspected autism.
Details:
Harry was violently shaken by his foster mother. This caused brain injuries which killed him.
Case status:
Wendy Hardy (Foster mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to six and a half years.
David Hardy, charged with child cruelty.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Harry Aspley
Death of toddler shaken by foster mum “could have been prevented”
Foster mother jailed for killing toddler by violently shaking him
Woman jailed after death of 23-month-old Harry Aspley
Name: Heidi Good-Swiacki.
Died: March 25, 2013.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Asphyxiation.
Location: Solvang, California, USA.
Disability: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Details:
Heidi died when her ventilator failed. At the time, she was in the care of her mother and a hired caregiver. The caregiver left to go shopping, and in the meantime, the ventilator failed. Her mother and caregiver were charged with deliberately sedating her and disconnecting the ventilator, but the jury deadlocked on her mother’s trial, and the caregiver’s conviction was overturned.
Heidi wrote a blog using an eye-based input device. In the introduction to her blog, she said, “I will share my ALS story which will hopefully encourage others. It will show that quality of life comes in many forms… Since I have had ALS I have seen many miracles.”
She was a deeply spiritual woman with two children, and she started a company to set up accounting systems for new wineries. Although non-verbal and ventilator-dependent, Heidi saw her life as “filled with laughter, trust and love”.
Case status:
Marjorie Good (Mother); jury deadlocked on involuntary manslaughter charge; charges dropped.
Wanda Nelson (Caregiver), convicted of involuntary manslaughter; conviction overturned because conspiracy could not be proved.
Source:
Case dismissed for caretaker convicted of involuntary manslaughter of ALS patient Heidi Good
Solvang woman acquitted of murdering her daughter
Case dismissed for caretaker convicted of involuntary manslaughter of ALS patient Heidi Good
Tragic Tale of ALS Patient Heidi Good Swiacki’s Death Emerges in Criminal Grand Jury Transcripts
Good Times