Location: Canada – Page 7 – 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

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

Name: Scott Dell.
Died: December 28, 1995.
Age at death: 44.
Cause of death: Antifreeze poisoning.
Location: Killaloe, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cancer of the mouth/throat; in remission.

Details:
When Scott Dell was found dead, poisoned with antifreeze, his wife tried to call it a suicide. Scott was depressed, she claimed, because he was afraid of his cancer coming back. But her story fell apart. Witnesses testified that Scott had wanted to live and had hope for his future. The family cat had died from antifreeze poisoning. And Scott’s wife was the only person who could have given him the antifreeze-tainted wine that killed him.

Case status:
Cherrylle Dell (Wife; estranged), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
How sex, lies and antifreeze convicted the `Angel’ of death, Cherrylle Dell

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

Cecil Brush

No Photo Name: Cecil Brush.
Died: August 18, 1994.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease, blindness.

Details:
Cecil was stabbed to death by his wife, who called it a mercy killing and said Cecil wanted to die. There was no proof that Cecil was suicidal or that he wanted to die.

Case status:
Jean Brush (Wife), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, given a suspended sentence and 18 months of probation.

Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Woman Sentenced in Mercy Killing
Of Life and Death – Appendices D-L
Regina v. Brush: March 2, 1995

Tracy Latimer

Name: Tracy Latimer.
Died: October 24, 1993.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Wilkie, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Tracy’s father put her in his truck, connected the exhaust to the cab, and poisoned her with carbon monoxide.

Media coverage of Tracy’s death, which tended to support her killer, may have sparked several copycat crimes.

Case status:
Robert Latimer (Father), convicted of second degree murder, sentenced to life; paroled after 9 years, 11 months.

Source:
25 years after conviction, Robert Latimer still believes he was right to kill his daughter
Wikipedia: Robert Latimer
Right or wrong, Latimer’s actions touched off national debate on euthanasia
The Latimer Case: The Reflections of People with Disabilities
Robert Latimer seeking pardon for killing of severely disabled daughter
Community Living urges no pardon for murderer Robert Latimer
Trudeau asked to consider pardon or retrial for Saskatchewan man convicted of killing his daughter who suffered from cerebral palsy
Robert Latimer seeking pardon for killing of severely disabled daughter
Tracy Latimer’s killer does not deserve a pardon
Pardoning Robert Latimer is not justified
Lakritz: Pardoning Latimer would reduce Tracy’s value to the level of a dog
Robert Latimer’s request for clemency is a slam-dunk ‘no.’ Does Ottawa get that?

Layton Myers

No Photo Name: Layton Myers.
Died: May 15, 1993.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Disability: Terminal cancer.

Details:
Layton Myers was killed by his daughter and her husband, who put a pillow over his face and smothered him.

Case status:
Michael Power (Daughter’s common-law husband), pled guilty to manslaughter and were given suspended sentences, three years’ probation, and 150 hours of community service.
Cheryl Myers (Daughter), pled guilty to manslaughter and were given suspended sentences, three years’ probation, and 150 hours of community service.

Source:
No jail for N.S. “mercy-killers”
Of Life and Death – Appendices D-L
Robert Latimer: Justice gone awry

James Nazar

Photo: Tombstone of James Nazar, reading, THEIR LOVE AND TENDERNESS TOUCHED OUR HEARTS FONDLY LOVED AND DEARLY MOURNED Name: James Nazar.
Died: January 23, 1992.
Age at death: 44-45.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada.
Disability: Quadriplegic.

Details:
James was shot to death by his father in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
John Nazar (Father), deceased.

Source:
People with Disabilities Outraged by Murders
Remembering…
In Memory
Find a Grave: John Nazar

3-year-old girl

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: December 4, 2021.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Townsville, Queensland, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This toddler girl’s father, who was the only adult home to take care of her and her two-year-old brother, had been awake for 31 hours, taking and selling methamphetamine. He was sleeping it off when his three-year-old daughter opened the unlocked front door, left the house, and drowned in a storm drain. Prosecutors called his drug use “criminally negligent” and the little girl’s death “entirely preventable”.

Case Status:
Her father pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child endangerment.

Sources:
Father found guilty of non-verbal, autistic daughter’s manslaughter after drowning death