Category: Location: UK

Ajit Singh

Photo of Ajit Singh, a boy with tan skin and black hair, in a red hoodie.Name: Ajit Singh-Mahal.
Died: February 9, 2010.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Multiple organ failure.
Location: London, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Ajit’s mother, facing a social services investigation for neglect, forced him to drink bleach. He died of multiple organ failure.

Case status:
Satpal Kaur-Singh (Mother); pled guilty to manslaughter; sentenced to 7 years.

Source:
Mother kills autistic son by forcing him to drink bleach
Mother killed her autistic son, 12, by forcing him to drink bleach as she ‘feared that social services would take him away’
Woman jailed for killing autistic son, 12, with bleach
Autism Memorial: Ajit Singh

Charlotte Avenall

Photo of Charlotte Avenall, a small, strawberry-blonde, fair skinned girl sitting on a bed with her chin on her hand, wearing pink pants and a white shirt, looking thoughtful.Name: Charlotte Avenall.
Died: September 12, 2009.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Hanging.
Location: Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, intellectual disability.

Details:
Even though they took good care of their exotic pets, Charlotte’s parents neglected their daughter. Despite her disabilities and age requiring supervision, she was locked into a filthy room, completely alone; on the day she died, she had been left alone for fourteen hours. She had just learned to tie a knot in school when she hanged herself by the cord on the window blinds and died.

Case status:
Simon Moody (Father), pleaded guilty to child cruelty, sentenced to 12 months in prison.
Susan Moody (Mother), pleaded guilty to child cruelty, sentenced to 12 months in prison.

Source:
Hanged girl’s parents jailed for child cruelty
Charlotte Avenall’s ‘atrocious’ neglect shocked town
Police arrest parents of eight-year-old girl found hanged at home

Lindsey Alvarez

No PhotoName: Lindsey Angela Alvarez.
Died: August 4, 2009.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Salt poisoning.
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Lindsey was brought to the emergency room, vomiting and having difficulty breathing. A few days later, she was dead from severe brain swelling caused by an excess of salt.

Doctors determined that Lindsey had ingested at least seven and a half teaspoons of salt–a fatal dose. A coroner also found that Lindsey had fractured ribs, a broken ankle, and fingertip-shaped bruises on her neck.

Case status:
Nearly five years after her death, a judge decided that there was a good chance Lindsey had been deliberately abused or murdered and that despite her severe autism, Lindsey would not voluntarily have eaten such a large amount of salt. The investigation into her death is ongoing.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Lindsey Angela Alvarez
Child salt poison inquest is halted after coroner felt an ‘offence may have been committed’
Coroner halts inquest into salt poisoning death
Autistic girl, 4, killed by too much salt
Adult could have administered salt that killed girl of four, inquest told
Coroner uneasy over little girl’s injuries after inquest fails to establish how she died from salt poisoning

Tom Inglis

Photo of Tom Inglis, a young man with short brown hair, fair skin, and red lips.Name: Thomas “Tom” Inglis.
Died: November 21, 2008.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Heroin overdose.
Location: Dagenham, Essex, UK.
Disability: TBI.

Details:
Tom’s mother went to the rehabilitation facility where he was recovering from a head injury and injected him with an overdose of heroin.

Case status:
Frances Inglis (Mother), convicted of murder and attempted murder, sentenced to life, served 5 years and was released.

Source:
‘Devoted’ mother who gave brain-damaged son lethal heroin injection has jail term slashed

Eileen Martin

Photo of an older woman with pale skin and red cheeks, her short curly hair colored auburn. she is wearing glasses and smiling for the camera.Name: Eileen Martin.
Died: November 10, 2008.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Davyhulme, Greater Manchester, England, UK.
Disability: Vascular dementia.

Details:
Eileen’s husband killed her by hitting her in the head before committing suicide.

Case status:
Ken Martin (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Shock over tragedy of ‘devoted couple’
Families REJECT claims a mystery serial killer slaughtered their elderly relatives and insist it was murder-suicide
Elderly husband killed dementia-suffering wife and himself ‘so she didn’t become a burden on family’

Sonya Todd

Photo of Sonya Todd, a young woman with shoulder length light-brown hair, wearing a black sleeveless dress. She has pale skin and blue eyes.Name: Sonya Todd.
Died: March 23, 2008.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury and diabetic crisis.
Location: Methil, Fife, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Diabetes, asthma.

Details:
Sonya’s boyfriend beat her during a diabetic episode; the injuries he inflicted on her, in addition to the diabetic crisis, were enough to kill.

She was an academically talented young woman who liked doing volunteer work. She left behind a six-year-old daughter.

Case status:
David Craige (Partner), pleaded guilty to culpable homicide, sentenced to 6 years. Released; now dating another woman with a disability.

Source:
Killer who beat mum to death with dog chain free and has ‘vulnerable’ girlfriend
Horror find at Methil flat
Man jailed for dog chain killing
Jealous Fife man jailed for killing girlfriend
Grieving dad’s anger as daughter’s killer gets six years

Michelle Thomson

Photo of Michelle Thomson, a teenage girl with wavy brown hair and light skin, wearing a striped shirt.Name: Michelle Thomson.
Died: March 5, 2008.
Age at death: 25.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Buckhaven, Fife, Scotland.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Michelle and her little brother Ryan were stabbed to death by her father.

Case status:
Rab Thomson (Father), sentenced to 17 years to life in prison.

Source:
Mother tells of agony after disabled daughter, 25, and son, 7, are brutally murdered by ex-husband bent on revenge
Traumatised mum who endured terrible loss of two children fears being made homeless after cruel benefits blow
Criminologist reveals how killer Rab Thomson murdered his children in a bid to seek revenge against his wife
Handicapped woman and brother found murdered

Sharon Birchwood

Photo of Sharon Birchwood, a woman with fair skin and straight, shoulder-length gray hair; she is wearing a black dress and smiling for the camera.Name: Sharon Birchwood.
Died: December 7, 2007.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Ashtead, England, UK.
Disability: Myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Details:
Sharon was tied up and strangled by a hit man hired by her husband. He had planned to claim her life insurance, sell her house, and flee the country.

Case status:
Graham Birchwood (husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 29 years, died in prison.
Paul Cryne (Hitman), convicted of murder, sentenced to 28-and-a-half years, died in prison.

Source:
Man who ordered hitman to kill disabled ex-wife dies in prison
Documentary unravels Sharon Birchwood murder plot
Hunt on for killer of woman
Murder accused ‘calm and relaxed’ at death scene
Sharon Birchwood’s chilling message from the grave predicting her own murder
Sharon Birchwood’s brutal murder led police to Thailand in shocking kill plot

Naomi Hill

Photo of Naomi Hill, a small, curly-haired girl in a red shirt. She has auburn hair, fair skin, and brown eyes; she is smiling. Her hair is a little messy.Name: Naomi Hill.
Died: November 26, 2007.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales, UK.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Naomi’s mother drowned her in the bathtub because she was ashamed of Naomi’s cerebral palsy.

Case status:
Joanne Hill (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.

Source:
Mother jailed for life for killing cerebral palsy daughter

Francecca Hardwick

Photo: A teenage girl, her brown hair cut short. She has fair skin and blue eyes. There is a gap between her two front teeth. She is wearing a yellow polo shirt.Name: Francecca “Frankie” Hardwick.
Died: October 23, 2007.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Earl Shilton, Leicestershire, England, UK.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Francecca’s mother locked herself and Francecca into their car and set it on fire. 18-year-old Frankie burned to death.

Francecca’s schoolteachers remember how she loved to jump in puddles, play on swings, and give massages.

Case status:
Fiona Pilkington (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Bullies ‘drove mother and daughter to fireball death’
Francecca Hardwick: portrait of a victim
A Pilkington Malaise? Have We Really Learnt the Lessons for 2020?