Relationship: Parent – Page 66 – Disability Day of Mourning

Lylah Johnson

Photo of a girl with light-brown skin, her dark-brown hair done in two braids. She is leaning back against a pillow with her eyes closed; she is wearing light makeup. Next to her on the pillow is a doll with matching light-brown skin and dark-brown hair. Name: Lylah Johnson.
Died: March 11, 2011.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Carbon monxide poisoning.
Location: San Leandro, California, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, scoliosis.

Details:
Lylah’s mother poisoned her with car exhaust from the family van.

Case status:
Christel Johnson (Mother), convicted of second-degree murder; declared insane; committed to state psychiatric hospital for 15 years to life.

Source:
People Vs. Christel Irene Johnson
Update: Mother Arrested on Murder Charge In Daughter’s Death
Mother Charged with Killing Disabled Daughter Had Received Medical Malpractice Settlement Related to Girl’s Birth
San Leandro mother convicted of murder in death of disabled daughter, 8

Brandy Ardon

No Photo Name: Brandy Ardon.
Died: March 6, 2011.
Age at death: 2 months.
Cause of death: Morphine poisoning, fire.
Location: Reno, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.

Details:
Brandy’s mother drugged her with morphine; then she put the baby in a bag, took her to a field, doused her with gasoline, and burned her. The coroner confirmed that there was smoke in the baby’s lungs; she had been alive when she was set on fire.

Case status:
Suceli Ardon (Mother), pleaded guilty to arson, given time served and ordered to get 5 years of mental health counseling.

Source:
GUILTY NV – Randi Ardon, 2 mos, body found burned, Sparks, 6 March 2011
Police: Baby burned alive by mother in Nevada

Rene Vera

No Photo Name: Rene Vera.
Died: March 2, 2011.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Flushing, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Rene was stabbed and smothered by his mother.

Case status:
Migdalia Vera (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 7 years.

Source:
A Queens Woman Is Accused of Murdering Her Ailing Son
Mom allegedly kills wheelchair-bound son
Sentenced to 7 years

Makayla Norman

Photo of Makayla Norman, a teen girl with brown skin and fuzzy black hair, sitting in a bean bag chair, with her head propped against a pillow. She is wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. Name: Makayla Norman.
Died: March 1, 2011.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, sepsis.
Location: Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Makayla’s mother had hired three nurses to help take care of her. Despite that, she managed to neglect Makayla so badly that she died of malnutrition and infected bedsores. The young girl spent her last years in a filthy, trash-ridden house and died weighing 28 pounds.

Case status:
Angela Norman (Mother), involuntary manslaughter, nine years.
Mollie E. Parsons (Nurse), manslaughter, 10 years; health care fraud, 3 years.
Marky K. Kilby (Nurse), convicted of failing to provide for functionally-impaired person, sentenced to probation; convicted of failing to report abuse; 180 days in jail, all but 15 days suspended.
Kathryn Williams (Nurse), convicted of failure to report child abuse or neglect and failing to provide for a functionally-impaired person; sentenced to 30 days in jail, 160 hours community service, and one year of probation.

Source:
Makayla M. Norman
Angela Norman: Murderpedia
Nurse in prison for teen’s death accused of health care fraud
Middletown caregiver sentenced for defrauding Medicaid in disabled Dayton teen’s death
Woman sentenced in Medicaid fraud case related to a minor’s death

Cynara Ali

Name: Cynara Ali.
Died: February 21, 2011.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Hypoxia.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Cynara’s mother called emergency services, saying that masked intruders had smothered her daughter. Cynara was rushed to the hospital where she died two days later from a hypoxic brain injury.

Prosecutors alleged Cynara’s mother had actually smothered Cynara with a pillow and staged the home invasion to cover up the crime; but after thirteen years and two trials, a judge acquitted Cynara’s mother because, he stated, the crime could not be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt”. No trace of any intruders was ever found.

16-year-old Cynara was a recent immigrant from Trinidad to Canada. She had been in Canada only a month before her death.

Case status:
Cindy Ann Sherry Ali (Mother), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life; retrial ordered, charged with first-degree murder; acquitted.

Source:
Toronto mother acquitted in death of disabled daughter launches $10.5-million lawsuit against police, city
Toronto mom acquitted in daughter’s death sues police, city
‘Project Litoria’: How Toronto police charged a now-acquitted mother in the death of her disabled daughter
Mother acquitted in retrial of disabled daughter’s death
‘After so long it’s done’: Cindy Ali acquitted of daughter’s murder in retrial
Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in 2011 death of disabled daughter
Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in disabled daughter’s death
Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in 2011 death of disabled daughter
MANDEL: Mom cleared of murder 13 years after disabled daughter’s death
Toronto mother Cindy Ali’s retrial: Who killed Cynara?
Toronto mom’s trial focuses on decade-old memories of death scene
Convicted of killing her child over 10 years ago, Ontario woman seeks to clear name in 2nd trial
After appealing conviction in death of disabled daughter, Ontario mother begins new murder trial in Toronto
Cynara Ali death: Week 1 of Cindy Ali trial in Toronto. What happened? | CP24.com
Convicted of killing her child over 10 years ago, Ontario woman seeks to clear name in 2nd trial
Cindy Ali trial: Day 2 updates | CP24.com
After appealing conviction in death of disabled daughter, Ontario mother begins new murder trial in Toronto
Cynara Ali death: Week 1 of Cindy Ali trial in Toronto. What happened? | CP24.com
Toronto mom guilty of killing severely disabled teen daughter
‘My baby’s not breathing’: 911 call of mother accused in disabled teen’s death
Crown in murder trial challenges mother’s story of child’s death: DiManno
Mom blamed home invaders after smothering disabled daughter: Crown
Trinidadian sentenced to life in prison in Canada for killing disabled daughter

Marcus Hill

No Photo Name: Marcus Hill.
Died: December 2, 2010.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Bessemer, Alabama, USA.
Disability: “Special Needs”.

Details:
Marcus was severely beaten by his stepfather and died of head injuries.

Case status:
Jeremy Coleman (Stepfather), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Tynecia Stewart (Mother), charged with failure to protect Marcus from child abuse.

Source:
Detective testifies timeline makes Bessemer man only one who could have beaten 4-year-old to death
Bessemer man on trial for capital murder in 2010 death of 4-year-old stepson
Bessemer man sentenced for murder conviction in death of 4-year-old step son

Baby Girl

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: November 18, 2010.
Age at death: 6 months.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: Sydney, Australia.
Disability: None; mother believed she had dwarfism.

Details:
This baby girl was born without any congenital conditions, but because she had skin tags on her ears, her mother believed her daughter had a disability. She had doctors test her over and over, each time with negative results, but became fixed on the idea that the baby had dwarfism. When a friend told her to stop worrying because it wasn’t cancer, she replied that it would be “better to deal with a terminal illness than to spend a lifetime with a dwarf”.

Her mother drowned the six-month-old girl in the bathtub.

Case status:
Her mother, sentenced to up to 20 years in a mental health institution; found fit to stand trial in August 2016, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Source:
Australian mother sentenced to 20 years jail for drowning 6-month-old child
Mother who killed baby believing she was a dwarf should not be jailed, court told
Mother who drowned her baby after worrying she had dwarfism sentenced to 20 years
NSW mother to face baby’s murder trial
Sydney mother who drowned her baby in the bath found guilty of murder
Sydney woman who drowned her daughter convicted of murder
Mother accused of drowning her baby in a bath
Mother found guilty of murdering baby she believed had a genetic defect
Mother fit to stand trial over baby death
Mother drowned her girl because she thought she had dwarfism

Karandeep Arora

No Photo Name: Karandeep Arora.
Died: October 25, 2010.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: New Delhi, India.
Disability: Visual and mobility impairment.

Details:
Karandeep’s parents either smothered or poisoned him, and then both of them committed suicide.

Case status:
Saminder Singh Arora and Mini Arora (Parents), deceased.

Source:
Couple kill disabled son, commit suicide

Chase Ogden

Portrait photos of two adolescents. One is Chase Ogden, a boy with an awkward smile and a mop of black hair; the other is Olivia Ogden, a girl with shoulder-length brown hair. Both siblings have fair skin. Name: Chase Ogden.
Died: October 4, 2010.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Chase and his twin sister Olivia were killed by their mother, who then shot herself.

Case status:
Rene Ogden (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Chase Ogden
Rene Ogden killed twins Chase and Olivia, then committed suicide, says El Paso County coroner
Colo. Police Probe Deaths of Mother, Twin Children
Essex Lane deaths apparent murder-suicide
Coroner: Mother, twins shot in head

Shah Amin Shariffudin

No Photo Name: Shah Amin Shariffudin.
Died: September 26, 2010.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Marsiling, Singapore.
Disability: Global developmental delay, mobility impaired (wore leg braces).

Details:
Shah was strangled by his father, who then killed himself. Reportedly, his father had gone into debt and did not want to “burden” the family with Shah’s care.

Case status:
Shariffudin Abdul Kader (Father), deceased.

Source:
Death at Marsiling leads police to second body at hotel
Man kills himself, leaves note confessing to son’s murder
$1m debts led to two deaths