Relationship: Parent – Page 70 – Disability Day of Mourning

Asher Bashir

Name: Asher Abdussalam Bashir.
Died: August 26, 2009.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, autism.

Details:
Asher loved being in the water. Though he could not swim, he had no fear of drowning. Knowing this, his mother led him to their backyard pool and left him sitting next to it while she went into the house for twenty minutes. Asher got into the pool and drowned.

Case status:
Nadia Bashir (Mother), convicted of negligent homicide and child abuse; faces a maximum sentence of 4 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Asher Bashir
Woman found guilty in ’09 drowning death of son, 4
Jury Finds Nadia Bashir Guilty in Drowning Death of Her Four Year-Old Child
Asher Bashir
Nadia H. BASHIR, Petitioner, v. The Honorable Susanna C. PINEDA, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, in and for the County of Maricopa, Respondent Judge, State of Arizona, Real Party in Interest.

Camden Fry

Photo of Camden Fry, a young girl with light-brown hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Her hair is held back in a hair band and she is smiling for the camera, revealing dimples in her cheeks. Name: Camden Alexis Fry.
Died: August 9, 2009.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Positional asphyxia.
Location: North Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA.
Disability: ADHD, anxiety.

Details:
Camden liked animals, nature, and art. She enjoyed swimming, hockey, and playing with her friends. She took art and cooking classes and liked to arrange her stuffed animals every night before bed.

When Camden struggled because she didn’t want a bath, her mother restrained her and eventually strangled her with pressure on her chest and hands on her neck and mouth.

Case status:
Kimberly Fry (Mother), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Source:
Mother asks court to throw out her conviction for killing daughter
Mom who killed child argues cops have done same to suspects
Rhode Island mother to serve 20 years in death of daughter, 8 – The Boston Globe
Camden Fry Obituary
Local child’s death stuns community
Therapist: Kimberly Fry Blamed Daughter For Depression; Felt Hopeless
UPDATE: Key Information Disclosed Two Years After Girl’s Death

Peter Eitzen

No Photo Name: Peter Eitzen.
Died: July 26, 2009.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Mount Barker, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disabilty.

Details:
Peter was drugged and stabbed to death by his mother. She told the court that she had intended to kill them both with carbon monoxide in the car, but after she sedated her son, he woke up and struggled, so she stabbed him instead.

Case status:
Beverley Eitzen (Mother); ruled mentally unfit to stand trial due to depression, and released on mental health supervision.

Source:
Mother freed over disabled son’s killing

Giovanni Kopystenski

Photo of a young boy with olive skin and black hair, wearing an athletic jersey, standing in front of some palm trees. Name: Giovanni Kopystenski.
Died: July 21, 2009.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Giovanni’s father says he left a loaded gun on the center console of the car while he and the boy were in the car, and that Giovanni took the gun and shot himself in the head.

Giovanni was playful and mischievous, a great swimmer who loved Thomas the Tank Engine and McDonald’s chicken nuggets.

Case status:
Alex Kopystenski (Father), pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm; sentenced to 5 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Giovanni Kopystenski
Mother in Shock After Death of Son
Boy’s father charged with endangerment after fatal shooting
Sentencing delayed for father who admits guilt in boy’s fatal shooting
Grandmother disputes police report that boy was shot with gun left on vehicle’s console
Giovanni’s Legacy Foundation

Parion Williams

No Photo Name: Parion Williams.
Died: July 9, 2009.
Age at death: 16 months.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, congenital syphillis.

Details:
Parion was losing weight, and his doctor told his mother that he needed to see a specialist. Parion never saw the specialist, and died of starvation.

Case status:
Mandisa Z. Randolph (Mother), charged with child neglect.

Source:
Investigators tried to visit home of baby who later died
Woman failed to seek treatment for baby who died, complaint says

Meah Weidner

Photo of Meah Weidner, a young girl with short blond hair and fair skin, sitting in a power chair, smiling mischievously with her tongue stuck out. There is an ocean in the background. 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

Michael Becht Jr.

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

D’Amber Myles

No Photo 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

Peter Mugo

No Photo 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

Faheem Farook

No Photo 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