Location: UK – Page 10 – Disability Day of Mourning

Carolyn Hyatt

Photo of Carolyn Hyatt. She is a middle-aged woman with dark hair and fair skin, wearing a pink hat and blue-and-yellow tank top. Name: Carolyn Hyatt.
Died: August 28, 2015.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Stroke secondary to burn injury.
Location: Shirebrook, Derbyshire, England, UK.
Disability: Intellectual disability from having meningitis as a child; diabetes, mobility impairment from stroke.

Details:
Carolyn’s boyfriend poured alcohol over her as she lay in bed, then lit her on fire. Carolyn managed to put out the fire and call emergency services before collapsing on her bed. She was found with burns to 20 percent of her body and taken to the hospital, where she stayed for three weeks before another massive stroke, brought on by her burn injuries, killed her.

Case status:
David Dunstan (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
Mansfield man murdered girlfriend he had been seeing for just a month
David Dunstan who murdered special needs girlfriend Carolyn Hyatt is jailed for life
Family pay tribute to murdered sister

Louis Spires

No Photo Name: Louis Spires.
Died: May 15, 2015.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Louth, England, UK.
Disability: Alcoholic, visually impaired, mobility impaired.

Details:
Louis’s partner smothered him by putting a pillow over his face and sitting on it.

Case status:
Lynn Stallard (Partner, caretaker), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 12 years to life.

Source:
Pensioner who murdered her housebound and disabled partner by putting a pillow on his head and SITTING on it faces life in jail

Alex Robinson

Photo of a thin boy sitting on a park bench, his shoes off and his feet drawn up onto the bench. He is wearing a baseball cap and drinking from a bottle of juice. Name: Alex Robinson.
Died: December 23, 2014.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Lincoln, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Alex hated water, hated getting his face wet, and would only bathe while standing. His grandfather put him in the bathtub and held him underwater until he drowned.

Alex was fond of trains and wind turbines. He was particularly fascinated when his school visited a power plant, and asked such insightful questions that he amazed his teachers.

Case status:
Stewart Greene (Grandfather), convicted of murder, sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Source:
Mum shares poignant memories of murdered son Alex Robinson six years on
Autism Memorial: Alex Robinson
Alex Robinson murder trial: Grandfather drowned autistic grandson, 9, court told
“Vengeful” man drowns autistic grandson
Death of young boy murdered by grandfather ‘could not have been predicted or prevented’
Family hits out after review into murder of schoolboy by his granddad

Patrick

No Photo Name: “Patrick” (Family name unknown).
Died: November 2014.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Multiple organ failure.
Location: Bedford, England, UK.
Disability: Coffin-Lowry syndrome.

Details:
Patrick’s care was neglected by his grandmother. He was kept in a filthy room without a working light. By the time he was hospitalized, he weighed only 95 pounds, had bruises all over his body, and was in multiple organ failure. He died age 17.

Patrick was good at swimming and had just learned cycling. Despite his limited ability to speak, he had memorized all of his classmates’ names.

Case status:
His grandmother was interviewed for case review. Belford Borough Safeguarding Children Board concluded that the agency did not adequately support Patrick’s needs or ensure that his grandmother cared for him adequately.

Source:
Disabled teenager who died weighing just 6 stone was ‘invisible’ to social services
‘Neglected’ disabled Bedford teen ‘unsupported’ by social services before ‘shocking’ death
Tragic death of ‘invisible’ Bedford teen failed by system
Patrick Final Report for PUBLICATION 23.5.16

Nancy Fitzmaurice

Photo of a young girl with fair skin and auburn hair, wearing a pink shirt and smiling; she is leaning against a white silk pillow. Name: Nancy Fitzmaurice .
Died: August 21, 2014.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Dehydration.
Location: London, UK.
Disability: Hydrocephalus, epilepsy, neurological disorders.

Details:
Nancy’s mother fought for a court order to have fluids withdrawn from her disabled daughter; Nancy died of dehydration.

Case status:
Charlotte Fitzmaurice (Mother); no charges.

Source:
‘My daughter is no longer my daughter… the light from her eyes is now gone’: Mother tells of heartbreak behind the hardest decision any parent could make – to let her disabled child die

Cecily Kurtz

No Photo Name: Cecily Kurtz.
Died: July 2, 2014.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Pulmonary embolism.
Location: Didcot, England, UK.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, OCD.

Details:
Cecily was unable to care for her own needs because of her mental illness, but her daughter left her on the couch and did not care for her. Having been neglected for years, she died of a pulmonary embolism in a filthy room, weighing 85 pounds.

Case status:
Emma-Jane Kurtz (Daughter), convicted of willful neglect, sentenced to serve at least half of a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence; sentence overturned when judge determined that the court had not proved that Cecily lacked the ability to make her own decisions.

Source:
Daughter left mum to die in own faeces
Emma-Jane Kurtz jailed after mum is found dead due to neglect
Daughter jailed for leaving mother to die in her own feces
Neglected mum’s body ‘looked like photograph from WW2 concentration camp’
Doctor who cared for ‘neglected’ mother ‘blocked by family’
Daughter cleared of neglect after mum, 79, died in ‘pool of urine and diarrhoea’

Jessica Watkins

Name: Jessica Watkins.
Died: May 4, 2014.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Stabbed, strangled.
Location: Newport, Wales, UK.
Disability: Learning disability, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder.

Details:
Jessica was an extrovert who liked to party. She was a gaming fan who frequented Newport City Gaming, a club that creates videos and live shows based on video games.

Jessica was abused by her boyfriend, who finally killed her by stabbing and strangling her. He had nearly strangled her a month earlier, but the people who completed a Vulnerable Adult Review on her situation did nothing to help, and Jessica returned to her boyfriend.

Case status:
Kristopher Mitchell (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 16 years 8 months to life.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jessica Watkins
Woman murdered by her boyfriend had been strangled by him a month before – Wales Online
Kristopher Mitchell jailed for Jessica Watkins murder
Newport man, Kristopher Mitchell, admits murder of Jessica Watkins whose body was found in the bath of a house on Bryn Bevan, Brynglas
Jessica Watkins’ murder ‘could not have been prevented’ – report finds
‘This was a brutal attack on a defenceless 21-year-old’: Boyfriend jailed for fatally stabbing Jessica Watkins 27 times in his bathroom

Olivia, Ben, and Max Clarence

Photo of a small boy with fair hair and pale skin, giggling and waving.

Photo of a small boy with fair hair and pale skin, smiling broadly.

Name: Olivia Clarence.
Age at death: 4.

Name: Ben Clarence.
Age at death: 3.

Name: Max Clarence.
Age at death: 3.

Died: April 22, 2014.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: New Malden, London, UK.
Disability: Spinal muscular atrophy type 2.

Details:
When twins Ben and Max were babies, their mother had requested DNR orders on them and Olivia; later on there were allegations that she had been tampering with their medical equipment, neglecting, and emotionally abusing her children. These allegations were dropped.

Oliva, Ben, and Max were all smothered by their mother when Olivia was four and Ben and Max were three years old.

Case status:
Tania Clarence (mother) pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility, and was hospitalized.

Source:
Woman smothered disabled twin sons before killing their sister, court hears
Was mum who smothered disabled kids ignored by social services because she was middle class?

Baby Boy

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: April 9, 2014.
Age at death: 5 months.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Connsbrook Avenue, East Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Disability: None.

Details:
There was no objective evidence that this little boy was disabled, but his mother thought he would be disabled because her older son’s autism meant she had “passed on bad genes”. Sure that the baby boy would grow up to be disabled, she suffocated him.

Case status:
His mother was sentenced to three years of probation.

Source:
Mum who killed baby son freed on probation
Belfast Crown Court told details of mother’s admission to killing her child
Tears in court as details emerge of how Belfast mother killed five-month-old son
Belfast mum cries as she reveals why she killed her baby son
Woman who killed her baby son is freed on probation
Police still questioning mum about bid to smother baby
Autism Memorial: 5-month-old boy

Liam Fee

Name: Liam Fee, a.k.a. Liam Johnson.
Died: March 22, 2014.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury to heart.
Location: Thornton, Fife, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Liam was beaten so badly by his mother and stepmother that his heart burst. They tried to blame his death on his seven-year-old brother, but were later charged with murder. It turned out that they had also abused Liam’s two older brothers, and probably intimidated one of them into falsely confessing to murder.

Case status:
Rachel Fee (Mother), convicted of murder, child abuse and neglect, sentenced to 23-and-a-half years to life.
Nyomi Fee (Stepmother), convicted of murder, child abuse and neglect, sentenced to 24 years.

Source:
Rachel Fee and Nyomi Fee jailed for life for the murder of tragic tot Liam Fee
Autism Memorial: Liam Fee
Mother and partner deny murdering Fife toddler Liam Fee
Lesbian partners found GUILTY of murdering 2-year-old boy subjected to ‘heartless cruelty’ before he died
Gateshead murder accused took toddler out of nursery after concerns raised by social services
New evidence of Liam Fee social work visit weeks before murder