Relationship: Parent – Page 8 – Disability Day of Mourning

Yu Hau-ching

No Photo Name: Yu Hau-ching.
Died: December 11, 2022.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Bludgeoning; head injury.
Location: Wong Tai Sin, Hong Kong, China.
Disability: Chronic illness, bedridden.

Details:
Yu’s parents allegedly bludgeoned her to death with a hammer. Police say that the motive for the killing was the “unbearable pressure” of taking care of her.

Case Status:
Leung Yuet-mei (Mother), charged with murder.
Yu Ping (Father), charged with murder.

Sources:
Hong Kong elderly couple arrested over suspected murder of ill daughter, 47
Elderly couple charged with killing ill daughter with hammer
Hong Kong elderly couple charged with murdering chronically ill daughter

Josiah Green

No Photo Name: Josiah Green.
Died: December 4, 2022.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
When Josiah’s father called for an ambulance, medics found the teenager dead, with severe burns over 90% of his body. His father allegedly told authorities that Josiah had accidentally fallen into a bathtub full of scalding water two days before, and he had treated the boy with over-the-counter remedies instead of taking him to the hospital. Police say that the extent of the teen’s burns is not consistent with the brief exposure to hot tap water that his father reported.

Case Status:
Josiah’s death has been ruled a homicide. Police are still investigating the possibility that Josiah was accidentally burned, after which medical care was delayed for two days.

Sources:
Death of special needs Brooklyn teen found burned in apartment deemed a homicide, NYPD says
Special needs teen Josiah Green found burned to death in NYC home
Teenager with special needs found burned to death in bathtub
Brooklyn special needs teen’s death from scalding water burns a homicide, NYPD says

Edwin Colleson

No Photo Name: Edwin Colleson.
Died: December 4, 2022.
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Undetermined.
Location: Hitchcock, Texas, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Edwin was admitted to the hospital in critical condition, covered in scars and bedsores and with multiple injuries as well as evidence of having been tied up. He weighed 70 pounds, and died six days later. His parents claimed they had been trying to cure his disability with “holistic treatment” that, police say, amounted to torture.

Case Status:
Billie Jean Barnes (Mother), found guilty of injury to a disabled person, sentenced to 5-10 years.
Timothy Ray Ellis (Stepfather), found guilty of murder, sentenced to 30-60 years.

Sources:
HORRIFYING DETAILS: Texas man sentenced for murdering special needs stepson, left him hogtied in trailer
A 45-year-old man police say was abused by his mother and step-father died on Sunday
45-year-old with intellectual disability dies 5 days after Hitchcock police find him disfigured
Disabled man dies from injuries after subjected to torturous ‘holistic’ procedures by mother, stepfather, Hitchcock police say

Milagros Martin

No Photo Name: Milagros Nazareth Martín.
Died: November 28, 2022 (Body found).
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Respiratory infection.
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Disability: Prematurity, developmental delay, bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Details:
Milagros’s body was found encased in concrete, in a box her mother had been using as a nightstand. Her mother was arrested. An autopsy determined that Milagros had died from a respiratory infection, and police suspect that it was lack of proper care that caused her death.

Case Status:
Vanesa Mansilla (Mother), charged with negligent homicide.

Sources:
Argentinian Woman Arrested After Missing, Disabled Daughter Found In Cement Nightstand
Argentina mom allegedly put dead girl in concrete block
Body of girl, 5, found in concrete block used as bedside table by mother in Buenos Aires
La autopsia a la niña hallada en una caja de madera determinó que murió por una infección

Madelin Day

Photo of a pale-skinned girl with curly blond hair, lying in a big yellow head-support pillow, fists bunched up next to her face. She has strabismus in one eye. She is smiling. Name: Madelin Anika Day.
Died: November 16, 2022.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Cocaine overdose.
Location: Mattoon, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; mobility impaired.

Details:
Madelin died from a cocaine overdose while in the care of her mother and her boyfriend. It is unknown whether she got into the cocaine on her own, or whether it was deliberately administered.

Madeline liked being outdoors, floating in the pool or soaking up the sun. She had a collection of stuffed animals, and loved her grandma’s dog Milo. Her favorite color was blue.

Case Status:
Taylor West (Mother), charged with first-degree murder and drug-induced homicide.
Maverick Bowman (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with first-degree murder and drug-induced homicide.

Sources:
Police: Disabled child dies of cocaine overdose; two individuals arrested
Two Mattoon people arrested for drug-induced homicide, murder of child
Two arrested in connection with 4-year-old’s cocaine overdose death, police say
Madelin Day Obituary (2017 – 2022)

5-year-old boy

Name Unknown.
Died: November 8, 2022.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Hat Yai, Songkhla Province, Thailand.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This five-year-old boy was found dead in his apartment. Police believe that his mother, who had to be hospitalized after a suicide attempt, smothered him with a pillow.

Case Status:
Thitirat Kongkerd (Mother), hospitalized and under investigation.

Sources:
Teacher murders her 5 year old autistic son in southern Thailand
Teacher kills autistic son before consuming toilet cleaner

11-year-old boy

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: October 29, 2022.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Stab wounds, head injury.
Location: Marseille, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This 11-year-old boy’s mother told police she had lost sight of him and he had gotten lost; but the next day, his body was found on the banks of a river; he had been murdered. Police, who suspected his mother of killing him, arrested her and soon reported that she had admitted to killing her son because she “couldn’t deal with him anymore”.

Case Status:
His mother, age 39 (Arrested).

Sources:
11-year-old boy
Mum ‘admits killing’ autistic son, 11, after dad found his body on riverbank
12-year-old autistic child found dead in Marseille: mother admits killing him
Enfant autiste de 11 ans tué à Marseille : la mère mise en examen pour “meurtre sur mineur”
Enfant autiste tué à Marseille: la mère mise en examen pour meurtre
Infanticide à Marseille : la mère du garçon de 11 ans mise en examen

Kannan Kutty

Name: Kannan Mukundan Kutty.
Died: October 21, 2022.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Palakkad, Kerala, India.
Disability: Diabetes, leg ulcers.

Details:
Kannan’s father killed Kannan, then himself. Neighbors said that Kannan’s health had been deteriorating; they believe that Kannan’s father was tired from taking care of him.

Case Status:
Balakrishnan (Father), deceased.

Sources:
Palakkad man murders diabetic son, kills self
Murder-suicide in Palakkad: Man kills unwell son, then hangs

Hunter Drew

Name: Hunter Drew.
Died: October 20, 2022.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Mount Auburn, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Developmental delay, chronic illness.

Details:
Hunter had gotten into a scuffle with a sibling when his father’s girlfriend allegedly grabbed him, threw him so that his head hit a hard object, and then drove him around in her car for three hours while he died of a head injury.

Hunter loved motorcycles, trains, race cars, and big loud trucks.

Case Status:
Ashley N. Bottoms (Father’s girlfriend), charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment causing death.

Sources:
Did custody change cause Hunter’s death?
Charges filed in death of 3-year-old
Family and friends gather for Hunter Drew’s visitation
The short life of a 3-year-old boy taken too soon
DCFS facilitates 3-year-old downstate boy’s move in with his father, and now the boy is dead

Bernadette, Lisa, and Matthew Steadman

Name: Bernadette A. Steadman.
Age at death: 92.
Disability: Chronic illness; wheelchair user.

Name: Lisa B. Steadman.
Age at death: 60.
Disability: Chronic illness.

Name: Matthew Steadman.
Age at death: 34.
Disability: Autism.

Died: October 15, 2022.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Elyria, Ohio, USA.

Details:
After a man called 911, saying he had killed his family and was going to kill himself, police responded to his address and found the whole family shot dead. Matthew, the youngest at 34, was autistic; his mother Lisa, 60, and grandmother Bernadette, had chronic illness. They had all been killed by their caregiver, who died by suicide before police arrived.

The family lived in a quiet mobile home park, well-liked by their neighbors, one of whom says she used to call Bernadette “Grandma”. The family had recently added a ramp to their home so that Bernadette and Lisa could maneuver in and out of the home more easily.

Case Status:
James Steadman (Son/Husband/Father), deceased.

Photo of an elderly woman with wispy white chin-length hair and pale skin.

Photo of a middle-aged woman with brown hair growing out into gray roots, wearing glasses; she has pale skin, and is smiling for the camera.

Portrait photo of a young man smiling for the camera; he has curly brown hair and is wearing glasses.

Sources:
‘I’m in shock’: Police release identities, details in the murder-suicide of Elyria family
Family of 4 found dead in Elyria home after apparent murder-suicide – cleveland.com
Elyria police identify victims of murder-suicide
Autism Memorial: Matthew Steadman