Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Parents, foster parents, stepparents, parents’ significant others.
Name: Meah Weidner.
Died: July 7, 2009.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Meah’s mother’s boyfriend killed her by shaking her and dropping her on her head.
Case status:
David “Tony” Tyre (Mother’s boyfriend), homicide by child abuse, life without parole.
Source:
Child’s death stuns friends in Carolina Miracle League
Name: Michael “Mikey” Becht Jr.
Died: July 6, 2009.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Michael’s mother poisoned him with a drug overdose.
Michael had befriended the neighbor’s six-year-old, with whom he played “Whales and Sharks”, a modified version of tag.
Case status:
Patricia Becht (Mother); pled guilty to murder; Sentenced to 38 years, 3 months with possibility of parole in 25-and-a-half years.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Michael Becht Jr.
In Loving Memory Of Michael Becht Jr (Mikey)
Mother investigated in South St. Paul boy’s death
South St. Paul mother suspected of killing 10-year-old son
South St. Paul mom charged in attempted murder-suicide by drug overdose that left son dead
Mom admits to killing autistic son
Minnesota Mother Charged With Poisoning Children Says She Had Planned to Commit Suicide With Them at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch
Name: D’Amber Myles.
Died: June 30, 2009.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Cerebral Palsy.
Details:
D’Amber’s mother allegedly put her in the bathtub and turned the water on, then closed the door and left her there with the water running as the bathtub filled. Because she could not hold her head out of the water, D’Amber drowned.
Case status:
Raven Gibbons (Mother), charged with second-degree murder.
Source:
Woman arrested, charged in drowning of daughter
Mother charged in drowning of 5-year-old daughter – Las Vegas Sun Newspaper
Mother charged with murder
Name: Peter Mugo.
Died: June 25, 2009.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Limuru, Kiambu County, Kenya.
Disability: Deaf.
Details:
Peter’s mother killed him and threw his body into a latrine. She had been hiding his existence from her current husband, and killed him to try to save her marriage.
Case status:
Alice Njoki (Mother), sentenced to 6 years.
Source:
Alice Njoki
Name: Faheem Mohamed Farook.
Died: April 24, 2009.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Fall.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Asperger syndrome.
Details:
Faheem and his parents moved to Singapore from India when he was just a year old; at five, Faheem was diagnosed with autism, and his parents were “troubled by his condition”.
When he was seven, his father pushed him out a high-rise window and jumped out after him.
Case status:
Mohamed Farook (Father), deceased.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Faheem Farook
Husband leaped to death with son: She taps into grief to help others heal
Book of stories about conquering mental illness launched at charity’s 5th anniversary dinner
Name: Caden Rivera.
Died: April 22, 2009.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Blunt force abdominal trauma.
Location: Cape May County, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Caden’s mother’s boyfriend beat him to death.
Case status:
Damian Rodriguez (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, sentenced to 11-13 years.
Source:
Cape May disabled toddler dies while under DYFS supervision
Wildwood man sentenced to 13 years in Woodbine toddler’s death
Name: Christian Milton Chaote.
Died: April 5, 2009.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma; internal bleeding, skull fracture.
Location: Gary, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Depression, anxiety, ADHD.
Details:
Christian’s parents abused him, eventually beating him to death.
Case status:
Riley Choate (Father), sentenced to 80 years.
Kimberly Kubina (Stepmother), sentenced to 25-35 years.
Source:
Angelizd’s Place: Christian Milton Chaote
Chilling letters of Christian Coate, boy kept in dog cage by his parents
Name: Jeremy Fraser.
Died: March 30, 2009.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Leukemia.
Location: Salem, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Autism, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Details:
Jeremy was in remission, on the last stage of his cancer therapy, when his mother deliberately withdrew the medication that probably would have saved his life. He died of recurrent leukemia.
Case status:
Kristen LaBrie (Mother), convicted of attempted murder, sentenced to 8-10 years; served 5 years before being granted new trial; pleaded guilty to attempted murder, sentenced to time served.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Jeremy Fraser
New Trial Granted for Salem Mother in Attempted Murder of Son
Woman Who Withheld Chemotherapy Medication From Ill Son Gets Time Served, Freed
Name: Julian Adams-Lacas.
Died: February 2, 2009.
Age at death: 6 months.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Bilateral cleft lip and palate.
Details:
Julian’s father killed him by shaking him or smashing his head against the floor.
Case status:
Justin Taylor (Father), child abuse resulting in death, 48 years.
Source:
Julian Adams Lacas
Name: Alexis “Lexie” Agyepong-Glover.
Died: January 7, 2009.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Hypothermia, drowning.
Location: Woodbridge, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Reactive attachment disorder; mother claimed she had autism and sickle-cell anemia.
Details:
Lexie’s adoptive mother abandoned her in a freezing creek, in January. She died of drowning and exposure.
Case status:
Alfreedia Gregg-Glover (Adoptive mother), pled guilty to murder, child abuse, and filing a false police report; sentenced to 26 years.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Alexis “Lexie” Agyepong-Glover
Disabled Girl Described Beatings, Neighbor Says
Lexie Agyepong-Glover — a Tragedy in Plain Sight
Alexis “Lexie” Agyepong-Glover
Mother Indicted In Va. Killing