Location: Argentina – Disability Day of Mourning

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

Luis Benítez

No Photo Name: Luis Benítez.
Died: June 12, 2022.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Posadas, Misiones, Argentina.
Disability: Schizophrenia, anemia, breathing problems.

Details:
Luis lived with his sister and her husband, who did not want him to leave the house. One night, when he tried to do so, his brother-in-law allegedly slammed his head against the doorway. Luis was found dead in his home the next day.

Case Status:
Pedro Walter E. (Brother-in-law), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sources:
From natural death to homicide after autopsy
De muerte natural a homicidio luego de la autopsia

Martina Ávila

No Photo
Name: Martina Ávila.
Died: April 13, 2019.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Martina was stabbed to death by her father.

“If she were here, she would hug you. She would hug everyone,” Martina’s aunt told the court.

Case Status:
Manuel Ávila (Father), pled guilty to murder; faces a mandatory life sentence.

Source:
“I wanted the two of us to leave, but I had no luck”: the aberrant confession of the man who killed his 6-year-old daughter with a disability
Culpable: Manuel Ávila condenado por el asesinato de su hija de seis años
Declaró la vecina de Martina: «la nena era hermosa, un ángel», recordó

Zamira Domínguez

Name: Zamira Domínguez.
Died: September 29, 2018.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Internal bleeding.
Location: Monte Grande, Argentina.
Disability: Deaf.

Details:
After being beaten by her mother’s boyfriend, Zamira was brought to the hospital, severely injured and bleeding internally, and died shortly afterward. During trial, her mother and stepfather claimed that it was her fault she had been beaten, because she couldn’t tell them she felt pain.

Case Status:
Brenda Fernández (Mother), convicted of neglect of a relative resulting in death, sentenced to 18 years.
Brandon González (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to life in prison.

Sources:
Así fue el calvario de Zami, la niña sordomuda golpeada por sus padres hasta morir
Zamira was 5 years old, she was deaf and dumb and they lived beating her: her mother and stepfather beat her to death
Update on the case of Zamira Dominguez, a deaf and mute girl who was beaten to death by her mother and stepfather