Relationship: Parent – Page 84 – Disability Day of Mourning

Charles-Antoine Blais

No Photo Name: Charles-Antoine Blais.
Died: November 6, 1996.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Montreal, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Charles-Antoine was drowned by his mother in her bathtub.

Case status:
Danielle Blais (Mother). Pled guilty to manslaughter, given a 23-month suspended sentence and offered a job at the Autism Society of Montreal. No jail time.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Charles-Antoine Blais
Solomon, A. (2014). Far from the tree: Parents, children and the search for identity. Scribner Classics.
Blais decision brings new concern to the disabled
People with Disabilities Outraged by Murders
History of euthanasia in Canada
Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer

Robin Appleby

Name: Robin Appleby.
Died: November 5, 1996.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability, epilepsy.

Details:
Robin’s parents kept her in a locked room without a toilet or sufficient food. There, she starved to death.

Case status:
Billy Appleby (Father), convicted of reckless homicide, sentenced to 5-20 years.
Alice Appleby (Mother), convicted of reckless homicide, sentenced to 5-20 years.
Billy Ray Appleby II (Brother), convicted of tampering with evidence, sentenced to 0-5 years.

Source:
Retarded Woman Dies Locked in Bedroom; Abused, Malnourished, Police Say
Robin Appleby’s Parents Deny Guilt; Lawyer says they were “overwhelmed” but cared for her

Katie Baker

No Photo Name: Katie Lynn Baker.
Died: May 28, 1996.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: British Columbia, Canada.
Disability: Rett syndrome.

Details:
Katie’s mother deliberately starved her to death because she believed that Katie did not want to live.

Case status:
Cheryl Baker (Mother). Never charged.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Katie Lynn Baker
Crown Will Not Lay Charges in Death of Katie Lynn Baker
People with Disabilities Outraged by Murders
Remembering…
History of euthanasia in Canada Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer

Brenda Thomas

A gravestone reading, Brenda Kay Thomas. July 3, 1972 to April 9, 1996. Here lies an angel. Name: Brenda Kay Thomas.
Died: April 9, 1996.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Head injury, pneumonia.
Location: Sand Springs, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Brenda’s mother abused and starved her; she died of a combination of head injury and pneumonia when her 36-pound body finally succumbed to her mother’s mistreatment.

Case status:
Eva Nell Thomas (Mother), convicted of second-degree manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years in prison.

Source:
Woman Held in Daughter’s Death

Justin and Sandra Blair

Photo of a gravestone. It reads: Blair, Sandi Kay, 1960-1996. Justin Michael, 1987-1996. Mother and son. Name: Sandra Blair.
Age at death: 36.
Disability: Injury from a car accident.

Name: Justin Blair.
Age at death: 8.
Disability: Cerebral palsy; blindness.

Died: March 11, 1996.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned with hammer.
Location: Concord, New Hampshire, USA.

Details:
Sandra and Justin, mother and son, were killed by Sandra’s husband, Justin’s father, who bludgeoned them with a hammer.

Case status:
Robert Blair (Father); convicted of murder; sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Source:
Man Convicted in Hammer Slayings of Wife, Son

Danielle Tucker

Name: Danielle Tucker, born Danielle R. Dornan.
Died: December 10, 1995.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Coldwater, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, spina bifida.

Details:
Danielle died of head injuries after she was pushed down a flight of stairs by her adoptive mother, who claimed she had fallen. Danielle died on December 10, eight days short of her fourth birthday.

To avoid facing scrutiny for her death, the family moved, taking Danielle’s two siblings with them, but two years later Danielle’s sister was found locked in the basement, starving and neglected, and rescued. Danielle’s case was re-opened and her mother was charged.

Case status:
Becky Tucker (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to child abuse, sentenced to 8-15 years.
Christopher Tucker (Adoptive father), not charged but served 6 years, 2 months for abusing Danielle’s sister.

Source:
Tucker sentenced for Michagan death
Danielle and Brittany Tucker (Dornan)

Fiona Mitchell

No Photo Name: Fiona Mitchell.
Died: July 12, 1995.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Brain injury from meningitis, causing blindness and deafness.

Details:
While her siblings lived in the rest of the house, little Fiona was shut up in a room and forgotten, denied care, medical attention, and even food and water. She died of starvation.

“…Fiona was among those whose cases were diffused by factual findings by the coroner. Though Fiona died of malnutrition, the Medical examiner attributed her death to her having had meningitis and said it was “amazing she lived as long as she did.” —Misplaced Mercy

Case status:
Mary Mitchell (Mother), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide; two-year suspended sentence.

Source:
Misplaced Mercy
Girl’s Mother Indicted on Murder Charge

Lucas Ciambrone

Name: Lucas Ciambrone; birth name, Pedro Garcia.
Died: May 13, 1995.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Florida, USA.
Disability: Reactive Attachment Disorder.

Details:
Lucas was kept naked in a bathroom, abused by his parents, and died of a head injury. He had multiple broken ribs that had gone untreated for months, and was malnourished. At trial, defense experts argued that because he had an attachment disorder, Lucas’s behavior traumatized his parents so much that it excused what they had done to him.

Lucas liked Star Wars.

Case Status:
Joseph Ciambrone (Adoptive father), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life.
Heather Ciambrone (Adoptive mother), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 55 years; appealed sentence, sentenced to life.

Sources:
‘Almost like he’s possessed;’ Couple convicted of murdering adopted son tried RAD defense
AT Victim — Lucas Ciambrone
Lucas Ciambrone

Ryan Wilkieson

No Photo Name: Ryan Wilkieson.
Died: December 5, 1994.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, deafblind.

Details:
Ryan’s mother took him to the garage and poisoned him and herself with exhaust fumes. He died only 19 days after the verdict in the Tracy Latimer murder trial.

Case status:
Cathy Wilkieson (Mother), deceased.

Source:
People with Disabilities Outraged by Murders
Remembering…
Open Season
The Latimer Case: The Reflections of People with Disabilities
History of euthanasia in Canada
Brandon Sun Newspaper Archives, Dec 7, 1994, p. 3
Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer

Sophie Préfaut

No Photo Name: Sophie Préfaut.
Died: August 7, 1994.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Montpellier, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Sophie’s mother drugged her, then smothered her to death. She said that she had done it because Sophie did not want to go back to the hospital, where she had been subjected to neuroleptics and electroshock.

Sophie was an intelligent young woman with a good sense of humor, who could solve cube roots in her head.

Case Status:
Jeanne-Marie Préfaut (Mother), convicted of premeditated voluntary homicide, sentenced to 5 years; sentence suspended.

Sources:
Sanction de principe pour la mère meurtrière de sa fille autiste. Les jurés de la cour d’assises de l’Héraut ont condamné hier Jeanne-Marie Préfaut, 51 ans, à cinq ans de prison avec sursis pour avoir tué le 7 août 1994 sa fille Sophie, 23 ans, autiste, à qui elle avait promis qu’elle ne serait plus jamais hospitalisée. Elle encourait une peine de prison à perpétuité.