Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Parents, foster parents, stepparents, parents’ significant others.
Name: James Joseph Cummings Jr.
Died: November 16, 1999.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Red Bank, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Autism; Stroke.
Details:
James was stabbed to death by his father, who went to the care facility where he was staying and killed him with a kitchen knife to the heart.
Case status:
James Cummings Sr. (Father). Sentenced to five years in prison.
Source:
Autism Memorial: James Joseph Cummings Jr.
Father Admits Killing Autistic Son
Name: Daniel “Danny” Leubner.
Died: September 4, 1999.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Smoke inhalation.
Location: Auburn, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Danny died by smoke inhalation in a house fire deliberately set by his mother.
Case status:
Michelle Davis (Mother). Pled guilty to manslaughter; sentenced to six years.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Daniel Leubner
Justice for Danny
Cayuga County child killer back in court
Name: Kirk Hammersley-Baker.
Died: March 22, 1999.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Stoke-on-Trent, England, UK.
Disability: Epilepsy.
Details:
Kirk’s neglectful father and unstable home life was relieved by his attendance at school, which served as his safe haven. He was a loving boy who had a big smile and liked hugs.
Involved in a custody battle and afraid he had lost custody, Kirk’s father drugged him, strangled him with a scarf, wrapped him in a blanket, and dumped his body in an outhouse.
His school opened a new play area in his memory, which was revamped in his honor for the 20th anniversary of his death.
Case status:
Karl Hammersley-Baker (Father), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.
Source:
Tragedy of ‘little boy lost’ strangled to death by own dad
The chilling murder of Stoke-on-Trent boy, 7, strangled to death by his own dad
Murdered Kirk, 7, to be remembered with play area revamp 20 years on
Tragedy of ‘little boy lost’ who wanted love and affection.
Father in custody row killed son, 7
Life for man who strangled son
Name: Pierre Pasquiou.
Died: December 28, 1998.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Saint-Brieuc, France.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Pierre was drowned by his mother; she pushed him off a pier into the Atlantic Ocean.
Case status:
Annie Pasquiou (Mother). Given a three year suspended sentence; served no time.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Pierre Pasquiou
Solomon, A. (2014). Far from the tree: Parents, children and the search for identity. Scribner Classics.
Life with Aspergers: Murdering Disabled People
Name: Jim Helm.
Died: November 8, 1998.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Unspecified; homicide.
Location: Nelson, New Zealand.
Disability: Down syndrome, Autism.
Details:
Jim’s mother killed him and herself because she was afraid of what would happen to him if she died.
Case status:
Nancy Helm (Mother), deceased.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Jim Helm
Jim Helm died at the hands of a loving mother who despaired of his future.
Name: Shi Rui “Serena” Wang.
Died: September 23, 1998.
Age at death: 23 months.
Cause of death: Medication overdose.
Location: Padstow, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Serena’s parents were Chinese living in Australia, and Serena’s mother was afraid that if she committed suicide, her husband would take Serena back to a Chinese orphanage. She tried to tie up her husband to stop him from saving Serena’s life, but he fought back and she instead killed him. Then she killed Serena with a medication overdose, and attempted suicide, but was found by police.
Case status:
Joyes Hong Wang (Mother); convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 4-6 years in prison.
Name: Lenka Orlikova.
Died: August 29, 1998.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Brain damage from meningitis.
Details:
Lenka was stabbed to death by her father. He also tried to kill her mother, who survived. Her twin sister was unhurt.
Case status:
Oto Orlik (Father), convicted of murder, sentenced to life term.
Source:
ORLIK’S OTHER DAUGHTER TAKES WITNESS STAND.(Local/Wisconsin)
ORLIK GETS LIFE TERM FOR KILLING DAUGHTER RESEARCHER SANE, JURY SAYS.(Local/State)
Stabbing Death Charges
Family wants to see accused dad
Name: Tausha Lee Lanham.
Died: April 19, 1998.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Burgettstown, Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Prematurity, developmental delays.
Details:
Tausha’s mother kept her restrained and starved her to death. She was seven years old, but weighed less than twelve pounds, when she died.
Case status:
Michelle Tharp (Mother), first-degree murder, death sentence.
Source:
Under a rock, near some water
Michelle Tharp’s attorneys say she should not face death for starving daughter
Michelle Tharp | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
Name: Orachanee Anderson.
Died: January 15, 1998.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Long-term trauma, starvation.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Orachanee’s stepfather and mother beat and starved her to death.
Case status:
John Hester, Sr. (Stepfather), found guilty of murder, death sentence, commuted to life in prison.
Peggy Anderson (Mother), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Source:
Father guilty in death of disabled stepchild
Death Penalty archive
Name: Thy Chan.
Died: August 19, 1997.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Viral encephalitis.
Location: Oxford, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Thy (pronounced “tea”) came from Cambodia and lived in a foster home in the United States. Her foster parents were parents in name only; they took in children for the money, sometimes locked them in dog cages, abused and neglected them. Severely disabled children were cared for by other children rather than by their foster parents. Thy’s foster sister Jessica remembers seeing Thy horribly sick with a temperature of 106–something her foster mother, a nurse, would have recognized as serious–for two days before anyone called for an ambulance. Thy died of viral encephalitis in the hospital a few days later.
Thy’s death was put down to natural causes. However, years later when four former foster children came forward to report that they had been physically and sexually abused by their foster parents, they also testified that Thy had died from the same neglect they had all been subjected to.
Case status:
Susan Blouin (Foster mother), charged with indecent assault and battery, nursing license revoked.
Raymond Blouin (Foster father), charged with indecent assault and battery.
Philip Paquette (Susan Blouin’s ex-boyfriend), charged with statutory rape.
Source:
Man arraigned on child rape charges after foster home abuse investigation
Foster child died in troubled Oxford foster home in 1997
New charges issued in foster family abuse case
Former Oxford foster children file $40M lawsuit against couple, state over “house of horrors”