Category: Location: Australia

5-year-old boy

Photo of a small boy, with a censor blur obscuring the face. The child has blond hair and fair skin and is wearing a blue hoodie.Name Unknown.
Died: March 26, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Drug overdose.
Location: Pennant Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Epilepsy, Hepatitis C.

Details:
This young boy had allegedly been abused by his foster family before he died of an overdose of several drugs, including diazepam, morphine, and other opiates.

He had been taken from his birth mother because she used drugs.

Case status:
His foster family is under investigation.

Source:
Five-year-old foster boy had ‘toxic drug cocktail’ in system at death, reports
Dead five-year-old foster child “had drugs in system”
Five-Year-Old Boy Who Died in Foster Care Had Heroin in His System
Police investigate death of boy, five, in notorious foster home
Boy, five, in foster care died with a cocktail of drugs in his system
Boy, 5, dies under same care as Girl X

Liam Milne

Photo of Liam Milne and his mother Susana. Liam is a light-brown-skinned boy with curly black hair, wearing a baseball cap and pink shirt. His mother is a woman with brown hair and pale skin, wearing sunglasses and a straw hat. She has her arms around Liam.Name: Liam Milne.
Age at death: 11.
Disability: Fragile X.
Died: February 1, 2015.
Cause of death: Car crash.
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Details:
Liam and his brother Ben both had Fragile X, and their mother Susana was six months pregnant with another boy. Their father, who feared that the boys would not be able to cope with their disabilities, bundled his whole family into the car and crashed it into a tree at 90 miles an hour.

Only seven-year-old Ben survived the crash, though he was severely injured. Ben is now living with his aunt, who says he is doing well.

Case status:
Darren John Milne (Father), deceased.

Source:
Darren John Milne who killed his pregnant wife and son in a car crash had set up bombs
Double murder-suicide driver planted bombs in engine bay
Horror crash mum Susana Milne was pregnant with third child
NSW coroner criticises dead father after horror car crash

Sandra Deacon

No PhotoName: Sandra Deacon.
Died: October 1, 2014.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Budgewoi, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Brain damage due to neonatal encephalitis.

Details:
Sandra was found dead of massive head injuries, and her partner was arrested. Support workers told authorities that her partner had been dominating and isolating her, possibly forcing her to distance herself from support services.

Case Status:
Garry Weigand (Partner), charged with murder, died before trial.

Sources:
DNA needed to identify victim
Murder accused Garry Weigand dies in custody | Newcastle Herald | Newcastle, NSW
Inquest into the death of Sandra Deacon

Kim and Fletcher Hunt

Sepia-tone portrait photo of a woman and three children, a boy and two girls. They are smiling at the camera.

Name: Kim Hunt.
Died: September 9, 2014.
Age at death: 41.
Disability: Traumatic brain injury (from car accident), causing hemiplegia and personality changes.

Name: Fletcher Hunt.
Age at death: 10.
Disability: ADHD.

Died: September 9, 2014.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lockhart, New South Wales, Australia.

Other victims: Mia (8 years) and Phoebe (6 years).

Details:
Kim’s husband shot her and her three children before committing suicide.

Before her car accident, Kim had been an intensive-care nurse. Now unable to do the physical work of nursing, Kim was planning to return to work as a nursing administrator instead.

Fletcher liked Australian rules football and riding his motorbike.

Case status:
Geoff Hunt (Husband, father), deceased.

Source:
‘He may have simply just snapped’: Disability worker breaks down as she describes Kim Hunt’s violent rages after a car crash left her with brain injuries before her husband shot his family dead
Hunt family inquest findings

Marcia Clark

Photo of Marcia Clark. She is a thin elderly woman with pale skin and gray hair, wearing glasses and a purple long-sleeved shirt. Name: Marcia Clark.
Died: July 20, 2014.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Starvation and infection.
Location: Taree, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Frail elder; caregiver claimed dementia and Parkinson’s.

Details:
Marcia died of infected bed sores and starvation after being neglected by her daughter.

The death was ruled as having been of “natural causes… the combined effects of severe malnutrition and infection… after a period of being neglected by her carer.”

Case status:
Nardia Clark (Daughter), no charges; went missing, found dead in 2016.

Source:
How the system failed this elderly mother and her daughter who couldn’t cope
Death of Marcia Clark: Coroner finds daughter struggled to care for elderly mother
Findings Marcia Clark.pdf

Tyron Honeywood

Photo of Tyron Honeywood, a young man with brown hair and light skin sitting cross-legged in a wheelchair and smoking a cigarette. He is wearing sunglasses, gloves, and black athletic pants and hoodie.Name: Tyron Paul Honeywood.
Died: March 21, 2014.
Age at death: 25.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Paraplegic.

Details:
Tyron was shot dead by his father.

Case status:
Brian Robert Honeywood (Father), pleaded guilty to murder, committed suicide just before sentencing.

Source:
Perth father charged with murder of paraplegic son
Brian Honeywood pleads guilty to murdering paraplegic son Tyron in their Midland home
Father, 60, in court on murder charge over disabled son, Tyron Paul Honeywood’s death
Midland man s death a homicide: police
Tyron HONEYWOOD Obituary

Steven Copo-Horton

School photo of a boy with brown spiky hair, wearing a white T-shirt.Name: Steven Copo-Horton.
Died: October 28, 2013.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Emerton, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Angelman syndrome.

Details:
Steven drowned in the bathtub. Prosecutors say he could not have gotten into the bathtub on his own.

“All [Steven] wanted to do was kiss and cuddle everyone,” his mother remembers.

Case status:
Charbel Younes (Stepfather), charged with murder. After being released on bail, he broke his wife’s arm and shot at his other stepson. Court subsequently denied bail. Acquitted.

Source:
Stepdad acquitted of murder at retrial
Drowned teen couldn’t have got in bath
Charles Younes trial: Man denies murder of disabled stepson in bathtub
Tradie charged with drowning murder of his disabled teenager stepson
Stepfather charged over teen’s bathtub death
‘Concerning history of violence’: Couple split one week before teen found dead in bath
Man charged with murder over 2013 bathtub drowning of teen
Man who drowned disabled stepson ‘broke ex-wife’s arm and shot a gun’

Martin Meffert

Photo of a man with fair skin and dark-blond hair, wearing a black and white print baseball cap. He has a stubbly beard and mustache.Name: Martin Meffert.
Died: October 24, 2013 (Body found); Missing February 8, 2005.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Terownie, South Australia, Australia.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
23-year-old Martin, grieving the death of his mother, arranged to stay with an aunt and some cousins. Then he disappeared.

Eight years later, one of his cousins, who had been collecting Martin’s disability payments, pulled out Martin’s skull and showed it to a friend. This was not reported until a firearms raid found Martin’s bones in plain view in the fireplace of his home. His cousin admitted to shooting Martin in the head and stealing his disability pension for ten years.

Martin loved Bruce Springsteen’s music. He was proud uncle to a baby nephew and awaiting a second nephew when he died.

Case status:
Christopher Travis Scott (Cousin), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life.

Source:
Teen who shot Martin Meffert dead then claimed his Centrelink payments
Martin Meffert murder: Police conduct doorknocks in Terowie, SA
Bones-in-fireplace murder: Sister of Martin Meffert wants to end her family’s torment and get justice
No one had spoken to Martin for years. Then police made a gruesome discovery.
Case against accused cold case murderer labelled ‘weak’
Cold case murder accused remanded in custody
Accused killer pulled skull out of box ‘like a show-and-tell’, court told
Accused Terowie murderer admits to killing relative whose bones were found in fireplace
Killer’s confession leads police to find remains of SA murder victim
Bones of murdered man found at Terowie property
Property searched to find murdered man’s remains

83-year-old woman

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: October 2013.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Stroke, dementia, mental illness, epilepsy.

Details:
This 83-year-old woman was neglected by her son and daughter-in-law, who were receiving government payments to care for her. She was denied her medication, starved, and left uncared for on a filthy mattress. She was severely malnourished and filthy, and had been fed by mouth even though her stroke had made it difficult for her to swallow. When she cried for help, her son bought everyone earplugs. She died of untreated bronchopneumonia.

Three of her grandchildren testified against their parents for the abuse that ended in their grandmother’s death.

Case status:
Her son, age 52, convicted of reckless conduct endangering life, sentenced to 12-18 months in jail.
Her daughter-in-law, age 46, convicted of reckless conduct endangering life, given a 12-month suspended sentence.

Source:
Son bought family ear plugs so they couldn’t hear grandmother’s cries
Judge considering tougher penalties for neglect couple
Man jailed for letting his mother die over 16 months without medicine
Man jailed for ‘inhumane’ neglect of elderly mum
Grandmother left to die in own filth
Australian man bought earplugs to drown out his elderly mother’s cries of pain
Son and his wife to stand trial on neglect charges after elderly mother’s death
Son and daughter-in-law to stand trial for mother’s horrific death
Dead woman’s grandchildren to give evidence in their parents’ neglect trial

Hayley Bell

Photo of a sleeping fair-skinned toddler girl, draped in cloth.Name: Hayley Dea Bell.
Died: August 1, 2013.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, malnutrition.
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Developmental disability; tube-fed; epilepsy.

Details:
Hayley’s mother refused services and took her daughter out of school. Hayley died of starvation and pneumonia, weighing 12 kilograms (26 pounds).

Case status:
Elisha Bell (Mother), caregiver. No charges.

Source:
Starved, sick and unschooled: Did child protection fail Hayley?
Bell, Hayley Dea