Location: UK – Page 3 – Disability Day of Mourning

Felicity-May Harvey

Name: Felicity-May Harvey.
Died: January 11, 2021.
Age at death: 20 days.
Cause of death: Shaken baby.
Location: Heywood, England, UK.
Disability: Cleft lip and palate.

Details:
Felicity-May died from being shaken hard. After her father was arrested on suspicion of murder, the prosecution said he had killed her; but the defense said her mother had done it, because she was growing frustrated with feeding Felicity.

Felicity was a content, alert baby who was known for taking in the world through her big blue eyes.

Case Status:
Darin Harvey (Father), charged with murder.

Sources:
Dad accused of murdering baby daughter denies lying to police
Dad left disabled baby daughter ‘like a rag doll’ after shaking her to death
Defence claim ‘mum killed baby daughter’ after issues with feeding her
Tragic details surrounding death of ‘beautiful’ baby girl emerge at inquest
The family of a two-week-old baby girl who died in Heywood has paid tribute to her
Felicity-May Harvey: Family pay tribute to baby girl after murder arrest

Kaylea Titford

Name: Kaylea Titford.
Died: October 11, 2020.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Infected bedsores.
Location: Newtown, Powys, Wales, UK.
Disability: Spina bifida, hydrocephalus.

Details:
Kaylea died from “inflammation and infection in extensive areas of ulceration arising from obesity and its complications in a girl with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.” Kaylea’s parents kept her in her room, in filthy conditions. They fed her take-out, and did not help her into her wheelchair, so that she was forced to remain immobile and stranded in her bedroom. Kaylea gained weight steadily, and her parents then did not address the pressure sores that resulted when she was left for a long time in the same position.

Kaylea was a talented wheelchair basketball player. Friends remember her as “fiercely independent”.

Case Status:
Alun Titford (Father), found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person, sentenced to 10 years.
Sarah Lloyd-Jones (Mother), pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person, sentenced to 8 years.

Sources:
Parents’ jail terms for manslaughter of disabled teenage daughter increased
Parents jailed for killing disabled teenage daughter
Inside the filthy home where disabled 23st girl was left to die
Kaylea Titford’s parents jailed for manslaughter after disabled girl’s death
Kaylea Titford: Father jailed for more than 7 years over obese daughter’s manslaughter – as mother gets 6 years
Parents sentenced for gross negligence manslaughter of their teenage daughter | The Crown Prosecution Service
Father found guilty of killing disabled daughter (16) by letting her become obese
Father of obese teen found dead in ‘misery’ guilty of manslaughter
How the abhorrent neglect of a vulnerable teen was hidden from the outside world
Obese teenager’s father guilty of her death in squalid family home
Father guilty of manslaughter after vulnerable daughter dies from obesity
Tragic teenager’s dad found guilty over her death in squalid conditions
Kaylea Titford: how ‘fiercely independent’ Welsh teenager ended up dying in bed
Father of obese teenager found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence
Father let daughter down because he was lazy, court hears
A disabled teenager found dead with maggots and flies on her body was the victim of alleged parental neglect, court hears
Parents ‘killed girl, 16, found dead in squalor by letting her weight hit 23st’
Kaylea Titford: Morbidly obese teen died in conditions ‘unfit for any animal’ after parents ‘seriously neglected her’, court hears
Mum admits killing daughter, 16, by allowing her to become severely overweight
Welsh parents deny being responsible for their disabled daughter’s death
Parents accused of killing disabled daughter to go on trial next year
Parents accused of killing disabled girl who became morbidly obese to face trial
Trial for parents accused of killing daughter by allowing her to become obese
Trial date given for parents accused of killing disabled teen daughter
Mum faces court over death of disabled daughter ‘after letting her become obese’
Man and woman charged with manslaughter after death of 16-year-old girl
Parents charged with killing disabled teen by letting her become morbidly obese
Kaylea Titford: Parents of obese girl charged with causing her death
Police investigating after teen girl found dead at home
Mum found daughter, 16, dead in bed as two people arrested in police probe

Dylan Freeman

Name: Dylan Freeman.
Died: August 16, 2020.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Acton, west London, England, UK.
Disability: Cohen syndrome, autism.

Details:
Dylan’s mother admitted to drugging him, then suffocating him.

Dylan’s father says, “Dylan was a beautiful, bright, inquisitive and artistic child who loved to travel, visit art galleries and swim.” He often took his son on vacation overseas.

Case status:
Olga Freeman (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility; detained indefinitely at a psychiatric hospital.

Source:
UK woman who killed disabled son detained in hospital indefinitely
Mum who suffocated disabled son during lockdown given hospital order
Wife of celeb photographer who suffocated disabled son, 10, given hospital order
Mother is given indefinite hospital order after she suffocated son
Mum who suffocated disabled son, 10, in lockdown given indefinite hospital order
Lockdown Contributed to Death of Disabled Boy: UK Judge
Mother admits killing disabled son, 10, while struggling to care for him in lockdown
Celebrity photographer’s autistic son was ‘suffocated with a sponge’
Celebrity photographer’s autistic son, 10, suffocated with sponge as mother ‘struggled’ to take care of him
Celeb photographer’s ex gave autistic son, 10, sleeping drug before ‘putting sponge in his mouth and tying it’
Woman in her 40s is arrested for murder after boy, 10, was found dead at house in west London
Celebrity photographer’s ex-wife charged with murder of 10yo son in London
Mother charged with murdering her autistic son, 10, is pictured arriving at court
Celeb snapper ‘can’t comprehend’ loss of son, 10, as mum charged with murder
Mum charged with murdering son, 10, she shared with celebrity photographer

Lola James

Photo of a pale-skinned toddler girl with pale-blond hair in two ribbons. She is smiling, and wearing a pink coat. Name: Lola James.
Died: July 21, 2020.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK.
Disability: ADHD (Suspected).

Details:
Lola’s mother’s boyfriend suspected her of having ADHD and called her “a crazy kid”. She died from a head injury after being severely beaten.

Case Status:
Kyle Bevan (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 28 years to life.
Sinead James (Mother), convicted of causing or allowing death, sentenced to 6 years.

Sources:
Lola James murder: The timeline that led to the death of a two-year-old
Lola James: Mum and her boyfriend jailed over girl’s brutal murder

Pauline Brown

Name: Pauline Brown.
Died: July 8, 2020.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Monk Bretton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Pauline’s husband strangled her, then killed himself. Police say that he had told family members that there was “only one cure–murder and suicide.”

Case Status:
Malcolm Brown (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Retired barber, 74, took his own life after suffocating wife, 73, to death because she was suffering hallucinations due to dementia, inquest hears
Barnsley dementia patient killed before husband took own life

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes

Name: Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
Died: June 16, 2020.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Traumatic brain injury.
Location: Solihull, West Midlands, England, UK.
Disability: Father told neighbors he was autistic or had ADHD.

Details:
Arthur died of a brain injury received while he was at home with his stepmother. His father and stepmother were arrested and charged with murder. Prosecutors say that Arthur was subjected to constant abuse; he was being denied food, made to sleep on the floor, exiled to the apartment hallway, and beaten. Two weeks before his death, a neighbor reports, Arthur’s father came to them and said that if the neighbors heard Arthur saying, “Please don’t kill me,” they should ignore him because Arthur “[had] issues; he suffers from ADHD or autism.”

Case Status:
Emma Tustin (Stepmother), convicted of murder, sentenced to 26 years to life in prison.
Thomas Hughes (Father), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 21 years.

Sources:
Murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes
Autism Memorial: Arthur Labinjo-Hughes
Dad accused of killing son told neighbour to ignore ‘please don’t kill me’ cries
Boy, 6, ‘murdered’ by parents cried ‘no one loves me’ as he begged for mercy
Family sent photos of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’ injuries to police, court told
What happened to Arthur Labinjo-Hughes?
Sentencing Remarks

Louise Smith

Name: Louise Smith.
Died: May 8, 2020.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Havant, Hampshire, England, UK.
Disability: Mental illness.

Details:
Louise’s uncle killed her by punching her in the face repeatedly until she died. Police described the murder as “sexually motivated.”

Case status:
Shane Mays (Uncle), convicted of murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
‘A monster’: Uncle jailed for life over 16-year-old’s ‘sexually motivated’ murder
Louise Smith murder: Social workers probed after uncle found guilty
Uncle jailed for life for ‘sexual murder’ of Louise Smith, 16, in woods

Ruth Brown

Name: Ruth Brown.
Died: April 11, 2020.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Bognor, England, UK.
Disability: COPD, chronic back pain.

Details:
Ruth died after being bludgeoned with a plastic tray. Her partner sent a text message to his brother reading, in part, “…I’ve killed Ruth,” and told police that he didn’t remember killing her because he had been drunk, but that he must have killed her, because “nobody else could have done it.”

Ruth was “the centre of [her] family”, an outgoing woman who could talk on the phone for hours. She volunteered for MIND and other mental health charities. Her family is raising money for a memorial plaque.

Case Status:
Wayne Morris (Partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to 17 years to life.

Source:
Man given life imprisonment for murder of Ruth Brown in Bognor
‘S***, what have I done, I panicked’ claims man accused over lockdown murder
‘Man bludgeoned partner to death with plastic tray after lockdown row’
Man accused claims he ‘panicked’ when he found partner’s body
Scots woman ‘killed by partner’ as he ‘couldn’t storm out house’ due to lockdown
Memorial plaque fundraiser launched for much-loved mother killed in Bognor Regis
Memorial garden for my mum, organized by Lauren Brown

Vanita Nowell

No Photo Name: Vanita Nowell.
Died: March 8, 2020.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: TBI, fractured ribs and spine.
Location: Peckham, London, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Vanita’s son beat her so severely she died from her injuries, which included dozens of fractures and bleeding into her brain. He claimed her injuries were due to falls related to her dementia, but was convicted of murder.

Case Status:
Steffon Hewitt (Son), convicted of murder.

Sources:
Man who said mother’s rib and spine fractures were from dementia-related falls guilty of murder
Murderer claimed mother’s fatal injuries were due to her dementia

Cherith Van Der Ploeg

No Photo
Name: Cherith Van Der Ploeg.
Died: February 15, 2020.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Costessey, Norwich, England, UK.
Disability: Terminal lung cancer.

Details:
Cherith was dying of cancer when her ex-husband smothered her to death. His actions, Cherith’s daughter told the court, had robbed her of precious time with her mother; instead of grieving normally after her mother’s natural death on hospice care, she had to come to terms with her mother’s death while giving evidence to police about her murder.

Cherith was an introverted, family-oriented woman who always waved and greeted her neighbors when she saw them.

Case status:
Cornelius Van Der Ploeg (Ex-husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to six years to life.

Source:
It was not his decision to make – children devastated by murder of mum
Tributes paid to Cherith Van Der Ploeg who was found dead at Costessey home
Jailed: Telford father killed terminally ill ex-wife