Location: USA – Page 33 – Disability Day of Mourning

Gerald Walton

Name: Gerald Walton.
Died: February 27, 2020.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Arson.
Location: Forsyth, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Special needs, unspecified.

Other Victim: Tasha Vandiver, 46, non-disabled; Gerald’s mother.

Details:
Gerald and his mother died in a house fire set by his sister.

He was a Special Olympics athlete. A teacher remembers that Gerald was a cheerful young man who “loved everyone he met”.

Case status:
Candace Walton (Sister), pleaded guilty to murder, arson, and theft, sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Kaleo Pangelian (Sister’s boyfriend), convicted of arson, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
Pangelinan gets 20 years for role in double murder; see murderous Instagram messages below
Monroe County teen pleads guilty to killing mother, brother in 2020 arson
Monroe County teen pleads guilty to killing her mother, brother with special needs in 2020 arson
Nearly 1 year since Monroe County arson that took lives of a mother, son
Georgia teen Candace Walton extradited from Kentucky on murder charge
Boyfriend of girl charged with killing her mom and brother is arrested
Boy, 17, set to be charged with murder for ‘helping girlfriend, 16, he met online kill her mom, 46, and special needs brother in a house fire before trying to start a new life with him’
Monroe County teen charged with killing mom, brother extradited to Georgia
16-year-old charged with murder, arson in Monroe County fatal fire
Georgia teen charged with arson, two counts of murder after fatal fire

Marvat Gerges

No Photo Name: Marvat Gerges.
Died: February 22, 2020.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Merrick, New York, USA.
Disability: Rheumatoid arthritis.

Details:
Marvat and her husband got into an argument over sink repairs, which her husband escalated by strangling her to death.

Case status:
John Gerges (Husband), pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter; sentenced to 21 years and five years post-release supervision.

Source:
Merrick man sentenced to 21 years for wife’s strangulation
Police: Man arrested for allegedly strangling his wife to death in their Merrick home
Merrick man charged in wife’s killing pleads not guilty

Derrick Christophe

No Photo Name: Derrick Christophe.
Died: February 14, 2020.
Age at death: 40.
Cause of death: Internal bleeding.
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability.

Details:
Derrick died of internal bleeding. Police allege that his father, who was regularly abusive, had been beating him with a broom handle.

Case status:
Ellsworth Hull (Father), charged with second-degree murder.

Source:
Bond set for father accused of killing his mentally handicapped son
Elderly dad turns himself in after accusations he beat his disabled son to death, cleaned the scene

Tracy Hamby

Name: Tracy Hamby.
Died: February 13, 2020.
Age at death: 37.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Tavares, Florida, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; receiving disability payments.

Details:
Tracy’s boyfriend, a military police officer, fatally shot her. He claimed that he had shot her because she startled him, but the prosecution pointed out that he and Tracy had been arguing that day because Tracy’s boyfriend had been taking her disability payments. The gun, which her boyfriend said had gone off accidentally, had a trigger that was very hard to pull. The jury agreed and convicted Tracy’s boyfriend.

Case Status:
Renee Aviles (Boyfriend), convicted of domestic manslaughter with a firearm, sentenced to 20 years.

Sources:
Lake County man found guilty of killing girlfriend in 2020

Ma’Leyah Hardin

Name: Ma’Leyah Ayesha Hardin.
Died: February 10, 2020.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Marietta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; used breathing tube.

Details:
Ma’Leyah’s mother strangled her.

Case status:
Shekinah Akbar (Mother), pleaded guilty but mentally ill to felony murder and cruelty to children in first degree; sentenced to life.

Source:
Mother sentenced to life after killing daughter during exorcism attempt, prosecutors say
Mother charged with strangling disabled daughter, 5, to death
Ma’Leyah Ayesha Hardin
Churchgoing ‘pretty good’ mom accused of strangling 5-year-old daughter
Mother charged with strangling disabled daughter, 5, to death

Jordynn Barrera

Name: Jordynn Barrera.
Died: January 31, 2020.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Bay City, Texas, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome, cerebral palsy.

Details:
Jordynn was found dead in her bed when police were called for a welfare check to her mother’s house. Her mother had left her and her younger siblings, ages 5 and 3 months, alone to go to a bar, and Jordynn died from neglect. Her mother was arrested, and her two younger siblings were taken into foster care.

Case status:
Lauren Kay Dean (Mother), pleaded guilty to murder and child endangerment; sentenced to life and a concurrent 20 year term.

Source:
Texas mother pleads guilty to the murder and abandonment of disabled, bedridden daughter
Mom Who Left Bedridden Daughter Alone Gets Life Sentence for Murder
Texas mother gets life after bedridden seven-year-old daughter died home alone while she went out to bar
Bedridden girl, 7, found dead after her mom left the house to go partying
What did Lauren Kay Dean do? Texas mom pleads guilty to murder of bedridden daughter
Mother arrested after bedridden daughter, 7, found dead in home
Mother arrested after 7-year-old daughter found dead inside home. She joked about poisoning someone hours earlier: Police
Lauren Kay Dean: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
How you can help grieving family of 7-year-old found dead

James Tate

No Photo
Name: James Tate.
Died: January 19, 2020.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: West Town, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; used a walker after recent arm and heart surgery.

Details:
James and his wife had told their son that he wasn’t allowed in the house if he was drunk. But his son came home drunk anyway, and when they confronted him about it, his son stabbed him to death and tried to kill his wife, who survived.

Case status:
Michael Tate (Son), convicted of murder and attempted murder; sentenced to 32-35 years.

Source:
Man murdered disabled dad, tried to stab mom in in West Town, prosecutors say

Dustin Baggett

Name: Dustin Baggett.
Died: January 18, 2020.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Smoke inhalation and burns.
Location: Florissant, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Dustin was pulled out of his burning house by firefighters, but died a day later in the hospital. The fire was investigated and shown to be arson, and police suspected a man who lived in his house.

Dustin’s neighbors had long been worried about how he and the other children in his house were being treated. They called authorities repeatedly. Dustin, though nonverbal, was a friendly boy and constantly smiling. A neighbor remembers, “We all kind of took him in, knowing he needed our love.”

Case status:
Bobby Copass (Household member), charged with second-degree murder and first-degree arson.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Dustin Baggett
Man suspected of setting fatal fire in Florissant now charged with murder
15-year-old Missouri boy who lived with autism died after arson fire; upgraded charges expected
Police: Boy, 15, with autism killed in arson fire

John Miller III

No Photo Name: John Miller III.
Died: January 17, 2020.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Multi-system organ failure.
Location: Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome with autistic traits.

Details:
John’s parents allegedly neglected him until one day his father called the police and explained that his son was dead. John’s body was found on his bed, extremely emaciated, dirty, and covered in bedsores. He had not seen a doctor in nine years. His death was ruled to be caregiver neglect.

Case status:
John Miller Jr. (Father), charged with second-degree murder and second-degree vulnerable adult abuse.
Maria Miller (Mother), charged with second-degree murder and second-degree vulnerable adult abuse.

Source:
Judge vacates plea deal in neglect, murder case: Aquilina, in rare move, vacates a plea deal for John Miller, Jr.
Autism Memorial: John Miller III
Lansing parents ordered to stand trial on murder charge in adult son’s January 2020 death
Lansing couple charged with neglecting, killing adult son who had Down syndrome

Samantha Roberts

Name: Samantha Roberts.
Died: January 17, 2020.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Nekoosa, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, nonspeaking.

Details:
Samantha was bludgeoned to death by her mother’s boyfriend.

She liked to go on walks with her grandfather. When she was a little girl, she liked Animal Planet and Dr. Seuss books.

Case status:
Paul M. Carter (mother’s boyfriend), convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, sentenced to 20 years to life.

Source:
Nekoosa man gets life without the possibility of release for killing woman unable to walk or talk
Trial dates set next month for man charged with disabled woman’s death
Nekoosa Man Charged with Murder in Disabled Woman’s Death
‘I’ll miss that girl forever’: Family, friends remember Nekoosa homicide victim Samantha Roberts
Nekoosa man accused of killing disabled woman
Wisconsin man held in connection to disabled woman’s death
Carter admitted to hitting disabled woman before her death