Main List – Page 16 – Disability Day of Mourning

Evan Watkins

Photo of a young boy with sandy blond hair, fair skin, turned-up nose and brown eyes. He is smiling for the camera. Name: Evan Watkins.
Died: September 30, 2011.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Lakeland, Florida, USA.
Disability: Developmental delay, possible autism.

Details:
Evan was beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend because he would not go to sleep.

Case status:
Marton Pal (Mother’s boyfriend); pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse and first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Evan Watkins
Man charged with beating child to death
Polk man gets life sentence for Lakeland boy’s death
Innocents Lost: Evan Hayden Watkins, 4

Matthew Degner

No Photo Name: Matthew Degner.
Died: September 8, 2011.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Matthew was neglected by his mother. He died of pneumonia.

Case status:
Lydia Price (Mother), charged with neglect, cruelty to animals; sentenced to probation and forbidden from owning animals.

Source:
Woman Gets Probation in Berwyn Squalor Death
What went wrong in disabled Berwyn teen Matthew Degner’s death?
WATCH: Boy Found Dead Outside Squalid Home With More Than 200 Animals
Disabled teen found dead at suburban Chicago home, mother charged
Dead teen Matthew Degner lived with over 100 animals in squalid conditions, authorities say
Boy, 14, found dead in squalid bungalow housing more than 200 animals riddled with disease

Noe Medina Jr.

Name: Noe Medina Jr.; also called Noe Hermosillo Jr.
Died: August 25, 2011.
Age at death: 7 months.
Cause of death: Fall injury.
Location: La habra, California, USA.
Disability: Congenital muscular torticollis, plagiocephaly (Twisted neck, flat head).

Details:
Noe’s mother thought his congenital conditions made him unacceptable; she threw him off a four-story parking garage to his death.

Case status:
Sonia Hermosillo (Mother); found guilty of first-degree murder and assault of a child causing death, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
Mother who hurled disabled baby son to his death could get PAROLE
California mother gets 25-to-life for pushing infant son off parking structure
Jury: Mom who dropped 7-month-old son to his death from parking garage was sane at the time
Mom convicted of murder for dropping her baby off parking garage
California mom convicted of murder after baby dropped from hospital’s parking garage
California mom who pushed disabled baby son to his death didn’t love him, murder trial hears
Baby Noe Medina Jr. allegedly tossed from hospital roof dies, mother Sonia Hermosillo to face a murder charge
California mother to stand trial in 4-story drop that killed baby

Barbara Rabins

No Photo
Name: Barbara Rabins.
Died: August 18, 2011.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Dehydration, choking.
Location: Ross, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability, stroke.

Details:
Barbara’s caregivers neglected her and stole her trust fund money. When she died, she was underweight, dehydrated, and covered in bedsores.

Case status:
John Tedesco and Tina Tedesco, friends of the family, charged with third-degree murder; initially pled guilty, but revoked the plea; convicted of third-degree murder, sentenced to 15 1/4 – 30 1/2 years in prison.

Source:
Defendants in fatal elder neglect case: ‘We did the best we could’
Ross Twp. couple gets state prison time for fatal neglect
Sleeping juror claim doesn’t save man from prison for neglect death of disabled woman

Jori Lirette

Photo of Jori Lirette, a young boy with fair skin and short blond hair in a buzz cut, wearing an orange striped polo shirt. Name: Jori Lirette .
Died: August 15, 2011.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Decapitation.
Location: Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Jori Lirette was killed and decapitated by his father, who had been talking about killing him to “put him out of his misery” since Jori was born.

Case status:
Jeremiah Wright (Father); not guilty by reason of insanity.

Source:
Hundreds mourn murdered boy, 7
Court: Dad threatened to kill slain son as baby
Man Who Decapitated 7-Year-Old Son, Left His Head In Driveway Learns His Fate

Christina Sneary

Portrait photo of a solemn teenage girl with brown skin and black hair, wearing large hoop earrings and a black-and-white outfit. Name: Christina Sneary.
Died: August 3, 2011.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Ferry Pass, Florida, USA.
Disability: Developmentally disabled.

Details:
Christina’s older foster sister shot her.

Case status:
Elena Rendell (Foster sister, age 17), convicted as a youthful offender of manslaughter, sentenced to 1 year in jail and 5 years probation.

Source:
Former Northview Student Convicted Of Killing Younger Adoptive Sister; Will Serve One Year In Jail

Benjamin Barnhard

Photo of a teenage boy with fair skin and brown, curly hair, wearing a black suit and a lei draped around his neck. Name: Benjamin Barnhard.
Died: August 3, 2011.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Kensington, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Benjamin was shot to death by his mother, who killed herself one day later.

Case status:
Margaret Ferne Jensvold (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Benjamin Barnhard
Autism Tragedy as Psychiatrist Mother Allegedly Murders Son, Commits Suicide in MD
‘She was going to kill me too,’ says ex-husband of psychiatrist who shot her autistic ‘Too Fat For 15’ son before turning the gun on herself
Mother, Son Deaths In Kensington, MD Ruled Murder-Suicide

Julie Cirella

Name: Julie Cirella .
Died: July 23, 2011.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Anaphylaxis.
Location: Plainview, Nassau County, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, severe peanut allergy.

Details:
Julie was asphyxiated by her mother. Her mother initially said she had given Julie peanuts, to which Julie had a severe allergy; however, though medics found the girl had died of asphyxiation, they found no peanuts in her system–but they also found no Benadryl or epinephrine, both medications which her mother claimed to have administered. How Julie died may never be known, but she was either actively killed by her mother, or else died because her mother refused to use her EpiPen or antihistamines when she had a deadly allergic reaction.

Julie’s mother made a suicide gesture, which she survived; she was found with a ligature around her neck, and a suicide note nearby that read “her daughter should die”.

8-year-old Julie Cirella died on the day she was supposed to be a flower girl in her uncle’s wedding. Her uncle was the one who found her body.

Case status:
Veronica Cirella (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 12 years, released after 6 years.

Source:
Veronica CIRELLA

Isabella Leiper

No Photo Name: Isabella Leiper.
Died: July 17, 2011.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Internal bleeding from abdominal injury.
Location: Clarence Town, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Isabella’s father allegedly killed her by punching her in the stomach, causing fatal internal injuries.

Case status:
David Leiper (Father); charged with manslaughter, out on bail as of February 2014.

Source:
Coroner suspends inquest into death of disabled girl
NSW dad charged over disabled daughter’s death
Nine-year-old’s death: Jury to determine what caused injuries
Man accused of killing cerebral palsy-suffering daughter faces court
NSW dad charged over disabled daughter’s death
Case delays in disabled girl’s death
Inquest into Clarence Town death hears triple-O call
Man charged over death of severely disabled girl

JaQuinn Brewton

Photo of a small boy with dark skin and short black hair, wearing a blue jacket. He is holding up both forefingers to the camera. Name: JaQuinn Brewton.
Died: July 12, 2011.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Pancreatic laceration from blunt trauma.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
JaQuinn was beaten and burned by his godmother and her boyfriend. His mother had turned him over to their care because she was staying in a homeless shelter. He died from internal injuries after two weeks at the hospital.

Case status:
Nadera Batson (Godmother), convicted of third-degree murder, sentenced to 28 1/2 to 57 years in prison.
Marcus King (Godmother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 10-20 years in prison.

Source:
Godmother Sentenced in Blow Torch, Beating Death of 3-Year-Old Boy
Guilty verdict in torture death of boy, 3
Police: boy died from horrific abuse