Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Parents, foster parents, stepparents, parents’ significant others.
Name: Mitchell Dickson.
Died: June 4, 2002.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Seymour, Texas, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Mitchell’s mother slashed him to death with razor blades and then tried to disguise it as a car accident.
Case status:
Melanie Rochelle Dickson (Mother); pled guilty to murder; sentenced to 15-30 years.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Mitchell Dickson
Mom Gets 30 Years In Prison For Son’s Murder
Name: Gloria Thomas Sam.
Died: May 8, 2002.
Age at death: 9 months.
Cause of death: Infection.
Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Chronic eczema.
Details:
Gloria had eczema, a skin condition that needed treatment; but her father, a homeopath, refused to take her to the doctor. They took the sick little girl with them to India and delayed her treatment because they were jet-lagged. By the time she was finally taken to the hospital, her skin had deteriorated to the point that an infection had taken over her body, and she died three days later.
Case Status:
Thomas Sam (Father), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 6 to 8 years, banned from practicing homeopathy.
Majnu Sam (Mother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 4 years to 5 years 4 months.
Sources:
Parents put social life before baby
Parents jailed over baby’s death
Baby Gloria’s parents jailed
Name: Lilian Leilani Gill.
Died: March 1, 2002.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: San Bernardino, California, USA.
Disability: Mother claimed she was autistic.
Details:
Lillian was killed by her mother, who then claimed that Lilian had been sent to a special school to be treated for her autism. Lilian was later found buried in the backyard.
Case status:
Sharon Michelle Gill (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to “almost 14” years in prison and 5 years probation.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Lilian Leilani Gill
Lillian Leilani Gill
Woman gets prison for child’s killing in 2002
Remains found of missing girl
Name: Reese Darren Baulne.
Died: December 30, 2001.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Reese’s parents filled their motor home with carbon monoxide, killing themselves and Reese in a murder-suicide.
Case status:
Maurice Baulne (Father) and Belva Baulne (Mother), deceased.
Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer
Couple’s suicide note reveals struggle to care for son
BC COUPLE MURDER DISABLED SON AND COMMIT SUICIDE
Reese Darren Baulne (1967-2001) – Find A Grave
Name: Brahim Dukes.
Died: December 29, 2001.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
When Brahim’s father was jailed for unpaid traffic tickets, he was left with his stepmother, under whose care Brahim starved to death.
Case status:
Audrey McDaniels (Stepmother); convicted of third degree murder; conviction was later reversed due to violation of double jeopardy rule, and she was released.
Source:
COM. v. McDANIELS | 886 A.2d 682 (2005) | a2d68231489
Autism Memorial: Brahim Dukes
Audrey McDaniels v. Winstead, et al.
Name: Johnny Churchi.
Died: October 10, 2001.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Johnny’s mother strangled him.
Case status:
Jadwiga Miskiewicz (Mother); charged with first-degree murder; sentenced to time in a psychiatric hospital.
Source:
Autism memorial: Johnny Churchi
School Struggles To Come To Grips With Johnny’s Death
Name: Megan Lavon McCullar.
Died: September 18, 2001.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Rocky Comfort, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability.
Details:
Megan had been removed from her parents’ custody and was living with a foster family she died of massive head trauma, allegedly caused when her high chair was deliberately slammed into a wall. Megan died of shaken baby syndrome, and her foster mother was charged with child abuse, but charges were dropped.
Her foster mother initially claimed that she had not killed Megan; but years later, diagnosed with late-stage cancer, she reportedly confessed to her husband that she had done exactly what they said she had done.
Case status:
Jessica Newhard (Foster mother), charged with second-degree murder. Charges dropped because the case was no longer viable 15 years later and the pathologist who had done the autopsy had died in the meantime.
Source:
Confession leads to murder charges in 15-year-old child death
Charge in 2001 child death dismissed
Missouri trial ordered for woman accused in foster child’s death
Long-dormant shaken baby case moves forward
Missouri Trial Ordered for Accused in Foster Child’s Death
Confession leads to murder charges in 15-year-old child death case
Woman Arrested In 2001 Death Of A 2-Year-Old Girl
Woman charged in 2001 death of Missouri child, 2
Name: Mark Owen Young.
Died: September 17, 2001.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Fall/drowning.
Location: Consett, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Mark was given an overdose of medication by his mother; then she slashed both their wrists, went to a nearby bridge, pushed Mark off, and jumped off after him.
When Mark was five years old, he hated bubbles on the surface of the water in the toilet, and he watched a “Fireman Sam” video repeatedly–but only on rewind.
Case status:
Helen Rogan (Mother), deceased.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Mark Owen Young
Mother killed herself and son
A Mother’s Last, Terrible Act of Love
Despair of mother in fatal leap with son
Name: Sean Hurtt.
Died: June 13, 2001.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Garfield, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Sean and his mother, Kathy Hairston, were both bludgeoned to death with a hammer by Sean’s stepfather. His stepfather was facing imprisonment for rape, and claimed that he had killed them because no one could take care of them the way he could.
Case status:
Kenneth Hairston (Stepfather). Sentenced to death.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Sean Hurtt
Husband killed wife, son to spare them ordeal of his trial for rape, detective says
Kenneth Hairston Pennsylvania Death Row | My Crime Library
COMMONWEALTH v. HAIRSTON
Name: Matthew Sutton.
Died: April 22, 2001.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Sedative overdose, smothered.
Location: Leonay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Trisomy 13
Details:
Matthew was given a fatal dose of sedative before he was smothered by his parents, who claimed it was “euthanasia”.
Case status:
Margaret Sutton and Raymond Sutton (Parents). Convicted of manslaughter; served no jail time.
Source:
Double death of parents who killed their son Matthew Sutton
Regina v Raymond Douglas Sutton; Regina v Margaret Ellen Sutton [2007] NSWSC 295 (4 April 2007)