Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Names on the main memorial list.
Name: Cassandra Taine Killpack.
Died: June 10, 2002.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Water intoxication.
Location: Springville, Utah, USA.
Disability: Reactive attachment disorder.
Details:
Cassandra’s adoptive parents forced her to drink so much water that she died of water poisoning.
Case status:
Jennete Killpack (Adoptive mother), child abuse, 1 to 15 years in prison (served 6 years).
Richard Killpack, acquitted.
Source:
Cassandra Taine Killpack
Name: Andy Byron Scott.
Age at death: 41.
Name: Michael Randy Scott.
Age at death: 42.
Died: June 8, 2002.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Spalding County, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Huntington’s disease.
Details:
Andy and Michael’s mother went to their nursing home and shot them.
Case status:
Carol Carr (Mother), pleaded guilty to assisted suicide, sentenced to 5 years in prison.
(There is no evidence that the two men ever asked their mother to help them commit suicide; she seems to have been the one who decided they should not live any longer. –Ed.)
Source:
Carol Carr
Name: Mitchell Dickson.
Died: June 4, 2002.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Seymour, Texas, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Mitchell’s mother slashed him to death with razor blades and then tried to disguise it as a car accident.
Case status:
Melanie Rochelle Dickson (Mother); pled guilty to murder; sentenced to 15-30 years.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Mitchell Dickson
Mom Gets 30 Years In Prison For Son’s Murder
Name: Lilian Leilani Gill.
Died: March 1, 2002.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: San Bernardino, California, USA.
Disability: Mother claimed she was autistic.
Details:
Lillian was killed by her mother, who then claimed that Lilian had been sent to a special school to be treated for her autism. Lilian was later found buried in the backyard.
Case status:
Sharon Michelle Gill (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to “almost 14” years in prison and 5 years probation.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Lilian Leilani Gill
Lillian Leilani Gill
Woman gets prison for child’s killing in 2002
Remains found of missing girl
Name: Brahim Dukes.
Died: December 29, 2001.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
When Brahim’s father was jailed for unpaid traffic tickets, he was left with his stepmother, under whose care Brahim starved to death.
Case status:
Audrey McDaniels (Stepmother); convicted of third degree murder; conviction was later reversed due to violation of double jeopardy rule, and she was released.
Source:
COM. v. McDANIELS | 886 A.2d 682 (2005) | a2d68231489
Autism Memorial: Brahim Dukes
Audrey McDaniels v. Winstead, et al.
Name: Johnny Churchi.
Died: October 10, 2001.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Johnny’s mother strangled him.
Case status:
Jadwiga Miskiewicz (Mother); charged with first-degree murder; sentenced to time in a psychiatric hospital.
Source:
Autism memorial: Johnny Churchi
School Struggles To Come To Grips With Johnny’s Death
Name: Mark Owen Young.
Died: September 17, 2001.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Fall/drowning.
Location: Consett, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Mark was given an overdose of medication by his mother; then she slashed both their wrists, went to a nearby bridge, pushed Mark off, and jumped off after him.
When Mark was five years old, he hated bubbles on the surface of the water in the toilet, and he watched a “Fireman Sam” video repeatedly–but only on rewind.
Case status:
Helen Rogan (Mother), deceased.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Mark Owen Young
Mother killed herself and son
A Mother’s Last, Terrible Act of Love
Despair of mother in fatal leap with son
Name: Sean Hurtt.
Died: June 13, 2001.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Garfield, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Sean and his mother, Kathy Hairston, were both bludgeoned to death with a hammer by Sean’s stepfather. His stepfather was facing imprisonment for rape, and claimed that he had killed them because no one could take care of them the way he could.
Case status:
Kenneth Hairston (Stepfather). Sentenced to death.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Sean Hurtt
Husband killed wife, son to spare them ordeal of his trial for rape, detective says
Kenneth Hairston Pennsylvania Death Row | My Crime Library
COMMONWEALTH v. HAIRSTON
Name: Matthew Sutton.
Died: April 22, 2001.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Sedative overdose, smothered.
Location: Leonay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Trisomy 13
Details:
Matthew was given a fatal dose of sedative before he was smothered by his parents, who claimed it was “euthanasia”.
Case status:
Margaret Sutton and Raymond Sutton (Parents). Convicted of manslaughter; served no jail time.
Source:
Double death of parents who killed their son Matthew Sutton
Regina v Raymond Douglas Sutton; Regina v Margaret Ellen Sutton [2007] NSWSC 295 (4 April 2007)
Name: Chelsea Craig.
Died: March 19, 2001.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Prescription drug overdose.
Location: Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Rett syndrome.
Details:
Chelsea was poisoned by her mother with a mix of prescription drugs. At trial, The judge ruled that she was not at fault for Chelsea’s death because of her own history of abuse and because of the “stress caused by Chelsea’s disability”.
Chelsea had a pet bulldog named Penny. She was a freshman in high school.
Case status:
Rachel Capra Craig (Mother). Found not guilty because of a mental disorder; hospitalized; died July 2002.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Chelsea Craig
Mother found not responsible in death of disabled daughter
Murderpedia: Rachel Capra Craig
Inclusion Daily Express: Mother Charged With Poisoning Teenage Daughter