Main List – Page 22 – Disability Day of Mourning

Tony Khor

Name: Tony Khor.
Died: October 25, 2009.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Mississauga, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Tony was strangled by his mother after an argument about whether to put him in residential care.

Case status:
Seow Cheng Sim (Mother); pled guilty to manslaughter; sentenced to 6-10 years. With credit for pre-trial custody, she served 2 more years before her release.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Tony Khor
Filicide: Boy with Autism Dead by Mother’s Hand
Mother charged with autistic son’s death
Mother Charged in Murder of Her Autistic Son

Black and white portrait photo of Jeremy Bostick, a young boy with light skin and hair, a crew cut, and a gap between his front teeth, smiling for the camera. Name: Jeremy Bostick.
Died: September 27, 2009.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Jeremy’s father gassed himself and his son with carbon monoxide.

Case status:
Jeffrey Bostick (Father), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jeremy Bostick
Dad in murder-suicide had sought help for autistic son
Dad ‘snapped’ when autistic son sent to home, court told
Fatality inquiry into murder-suicide of father and autistic son reveals years-long struggle
Alberta has a tragic history of murder-suicides within families

Christopher Churchill

No Photo Name: Christopher Justin Churchill (First name sometimes spelled “Christophe”).
Died: September 18, 2009.
Age at death: 33.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
When Christopher died while in the care of his adoptive sister, weighing only 60 pounds, police could not find enough evidence to tell whether he had been neglected. His death, due to “protein calorie malnutrition”, was listed as natural.

Six years later, however, another sibling was found, alive but malnourished and dehydrated, locked in their sister’s closet. After she was rescued, Christopher’s death investigation was re-opened, but no charges were brought.

Case status:
Candy Lawson (Sister), charged with abuse-related offenses against Christopher’s sister; under investigation for Christopher’s murder; sentenced to 10-20 years in prison for abuse, false imprisonment, and embezzling.

Source:
Candy Lawson trial focuses on tiny closet, brother’s death in Kentucky
Abuse charge leads to new look at malnutrition death
Inside tiny closet where woman kept her disabled sister for seven years
Woman Found Guilty Of Locking Disabled Sister In 4×8 Closet With Just Bucket For 7 Years
Candy Lawson trial focuses on tiny closet, brother’s death in Kentucky
Candy Lawson receives maximum sentence for locking sister in closet
Abuse Charge Against Michigan Woman Leads To New Look At Man’s Malnutrition Death
Michigan Woman Faces Prison For Locking Disabled Sister In Closet For Years
Woman Who Locked Deaf Sister In Room For 7 Years Convicted
Not My Sister’s Keeper: Woman Locks Deaf/Mute Sister In 7′ X 4′ Closet For Years Until Hero Handyman Turns Her In
Mich. abuse charge leads to new look at malnutrition death
Police Searching For Abuse Suspect’s Missing Siblings

David Lauberts

No Photo Name: David Lauberts.
Died: September 15, 2009.
Age at death: 49.
Cause of death: Suspicious death.
Location: Greeley, Denver, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Mental and physical disabilities.

Details:
David’s brother allegedly burned down their home to try to hide David’s death. It is not known exactly how David died.

Case status:
James Thorpe Lauberts (Brother), charged with criminally negligent homicide, arson, and tampering with evidence.

Source:
Greeley man charged in brother’s death
Greeley man offered plea deal in death of developmentally disabled brother

Lindsey Alvarez

No Photo Name: 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

Peter Eitzen

No Photo Name: Peter Eitzen.
Died: July 26, 2009.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Mount Barker, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disabilty.

Details:
Peter was drugged and stabbed to death by his mother. She told the court that she had intended to kill them both with carbon monoxide in the car, but after she sedated her son, he woke up and struggled, so she stabbed him instead.

Case status:
Beverley Eitzen (Mother); ruled mentally unfit to stand trial due to depression, and released on mental health supervision.

Source:
Mother freed over disabled son’s killing

Charles Billis

Photo of Charles Billis, a middle-aged man with brown hair and pale skin, wearing a plaid shirt. Name: Charles Billis.
Died: July 22, 2009.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Automobile collision.
Location: Charleston, Orleans County, Vermont, USA.
Disability: Legally blind.

Details:
Charles’s wife deliberately crashed their car, killing Charles, who was not wearing a seatbelt. She was wearing a seat belt and survived with minor injuries.

Case status:
Christine Billis (Wife), pleaded guilty, sentenced to 7-15 years.

Source:
Murderpedia: Christine Billis
Charles Billis Murder: Where is Christine Billis Now?

Parion Williams

No Photo Name: Parion Williams.
Died: July 9, 2009.
Age at death: 16 months.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, congenital syphillis.

Details:
Parion was losing weight, and his doctor told his mother that he needed to see a specialist. Parion never saw the specialist, and died of starvation.

Case status:
Mandisa Z. Randolph (Mother), charged with child neglect.

Source:
Investigators tried to visit home of baby who later died
Woman failed to seek treatment for baby who died, complaint says

Meah Weidner

Photo of Meah Weidner, a young girl with short blond hair and fair skin, sitting in a power chair, smiling mischievously with her tongue stuck out. There is an ocean in the background. Name: Meah Weidner.
Died: July 7, 2009.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Meah’s mother’s boyfriend killed her by shaking her and dropping her on her head.

Case status:
David “Tony” Tyre (Mother’s boyfriend), homicide by child abuse, life without parole.

Source:
Child’s death stuns friends in Carolina Miracle League

Michael Becht Jr.

Name: Michael “Mikey” Becht Jr.
Died: July 6, 2009.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Michael’s mother poisoned him with a drug overdose.

Michael had befriended the neighbor’s six-year-old, with whom he played “Whales and Sharks”, a modified version of tag.

Case status:
Patricia Becht (Mother); pled guilty to murder; Sentenced to 38 years, 3 months with possibility of parole in 25-and-a-half years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Michael Becht Jr.
In Loving Memory Of Michael Becht Jr (Mikey)
Mother investigated in South St. Paul boy’s death
South St. Paul mother suspected of killing 10-year-old son
South St. Paul mom charged in attempted murder-suicide by drug overdose that left son dead
Mom admits to killing autistic son
Minnesota Mother Charged With Poisoning Children Says She Had Planned to Commit Suicide With Them at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch