Main List – Page 23 – Disability Day of Mourning

D’Amber Myles

No Photo Name: D’Amber Myles.
Died: June 30, 2009.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Cerebral Palsy.

Details:
D’Amber’s mother allegedly put her in the bathtub and turned the water on, then closed the door and left her there with the water running as the bathtub filled. Because she could not hold her head out of the water, D’Amber drowned.

Case status:
Raven Gibbons (Mother), charged with second-degree murder.

Source:
Woman arrested, charged in drowning of daughter
Mother charged in drowning of 5-year-old daughter – Las Vegas Sun Newspaper
Mother charged with murder

Peter Mugo

No Photo Name: Peter Mugo.
Died: June 25, 2009.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Limuru, Kiambu County, Kenya.
Disability: Deaf.

Details:
Peter’s mother killed him and threw his body into a latrine. She had been hiding his existence from her current husband, and killed him to try to save her marriage.

Case status:
Alice Njoki (Mother), sentenced to 6 years.

Source:
Alice Njoki

Lloyd Yarbrough

Name: Lloyd Yarbrough.
Died: May 27, 2009.
Age at death: 62.
Cause of death: Prescription drug overdose.
Location: Austin, Texas, USA.
Disability: Brain injury from encephalitis.

Details:
Lloyd’s wife poisoned him with a prescription drug overdose.

Case status:
Kim Yarbrough (Wife); pled guilty to injury to a disabled person; sentenced to 10 years probation and 400 hours of community service.

Source:
After ending husband’s life, woman tries to go on with hers

Cynthia Burns

No Photo Name: Cynthia Burns.
Died: April 27, 2009.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Wylie, Texas, USA.
Disability: Paralysis due to stroke.

Details:
Cynthia’s daughter and son-in-law denied her food and medical care. She died of pneumonia, her body too weak from neglect to survive the illness.

Case status:
Christina Gaines (Daughter), knowingly causing serious bodily injury to a disabled person, 12 years.
Gary Gaines, recklessly causing serious bodily injury to a disabled person, 6 months in jail and community service.

Source:
Wylie woman gets 12 years for mother’s death in ‘extraordinarily terrible’ neglect case
Woman abused disabled mother to the point she ‘resembled a Holocaust victim’ and died

Shylae Thomas

Photo of Shylae Thomas, a girl with her hair in braids and barrettes, propped up against a cushion. She has light-brown skin and dark-brown hair, and her shirt is a red and white striped tank top. Name: Shylae Myza Thomas; sometimes spelled “Shylea”.
Died: April 22, 2009.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Flint, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Quadriplegia.

Details:
Shylae was starved to death by her aunt.

Case status:
Lorrie Thomas (Aunt, adoptive mother), convicted of involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 10-15 years.

Source:
Lorrie Thomas Gets 10 Years for Starving Quadriplegic Daughter Shylae Thomas to Death
A Memorial Page for Shylae Myza Thomas | Facebook
Shylae Thomas: Starved to Death

Caden Rivera

Vignette photo of Caden Rivera, a toddler boy with wavy brown hair and olive-toned skin. Name: Caden Rivera.
Died: April 22, 2009.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Blunt force abdominal trauma.
Location: Cape May County, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Caden’s mother’s boyfriend beat him to death.

Case status:
Damian Rodriguez (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, sentenced to 11-13 years.

Source:
Cape May disabled toddler dies while under DYFS supervision
Wildwood man sentenced to 13 years in Woodbine toddler’s death

Pamela Hall

Name: Pamela Camille Hall.
Died: April 11, 2009.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Figsboro, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Spinal cord injury.

Details:
Pamela was stabbed to death by her son-in-law.

Case status:
James Cleveland Miller (Son-in-law) pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life.

Source:
Miller pleads guilty to murder in death of his mother-in-law

Christian Chaote

Name: Christian Milton Chaote.
Died: April 5, 2009.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma; internal bleeding, skull fracture.
Location: Gary, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Depression, anxiety, ADHD.

Details:
Christian’s parents abused him, eventually beating him to death.

Case status:
Riley Choate (Father), sentenced to 80 years.
Kimberly Kubina (Stepmother), sentenced to 25-35 years.

Source:
Angelizd’s Place: Christian Milton Chaote
Chilling letters of Christian Coate, boy kept in dog cage by his parents

Jeremy Fraser

Photo of a young boy with a buzz cut and navy blue sweater. He has light skin and brown eyes, and is smiling for the camera. Name: Jeremy Fraser.
Died: March 30, 2009.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Leukemia.
Location: Salem, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Autism, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Details:
Jeremy was in remission, on the last stage of his cancer therapy, when his mother deliberately withdrew the medication that probably would have saved his life. He died of recurrent leukemia.

Case status:
Kristen LaBrie (Mother), convicted of attempted murder, sentenced to 8-10 years; served 5 years before being granted new trial; pleaded guilty to attempted murder, sentenced to time served.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jeremy Fraser
New Trial Granted for Salem Mother in Attempted Murder of Son
Woman Who Withheld Chemotherapy Medication From Ill Son Gets Time Served, Freed

Betty Erickson

Portrait photo of Betty Erickson, a white-haired, pale-skinned elderly woman. Name: Betty Lou Erickson.
Died: March 24, 2009.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Hudson, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Betty’s husband shot her in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Claire Erickson (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Desperate act from a weary caregiver
More details released in Erickson deaths