No Photo – Page 57 – Disability Day of Mourning

Pendo Nundi

No Photo Name: Pendo Emmanuelle Nundi.
Died: Missing December 2014.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Unknown (Missing).
Location: Mwanza, Tanzania.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Because Pendo was an albino, her body parts were considered valuable for ritual magic. With the alleged consent of her father and other relatives, she was kidnapped from her home. Her body has not been found, but she was almost certainly murdered, dismembered, and her body parts sold.

Case status:
Police arrested 15 people, including her father and two uncles.

Source:
Tanzania police offer reward for missing albino girl
Kidnapped Tanzanian albino boy found dead with limbs hacked off
Another Albino Child Is Murdered and Mutilated in Tanzania
Tanzania: Kidnapping of albino boy raises witchcraft fears – BBC News
1-Year-Old Albino Yohana Bahati Killed for Limbs in Tanzania
Mutilated Tanzanian albino baby body found: police

“Sheila”

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: December 2014.
Age at death: Child.
Cause of death: Chest trauma.
Location: Nguthuru, Murang’a, Kenya.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
This young girl, given the pseudonym “Sheila”, was allegedly abused by her mother. Neighbors testifed that at one point Sheila’s mother had put her on the road, hoping a car would run her over; but the car stopped, and Sheila survived. She was eventually found dead at home, after having spent the whole day alone with her mother. Many of her bones were broken, and she had died from chest trauma.

Case status:
Her mother was charged with murder, but acquitted because the evidence was “circumstantial”. Kenya’s double jeopardy law prohibits a new trial.

Source:
Mother acquitted of murder of handicapped daughter

Samauri Page

No Photo Name: Samauri J. Page.
Died: November 30, 2014.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Diabetic ketoacidosis.
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes, autism.

Details:
Samauri died of diabetic ketoacidosis because he had been either not given enough to eat, or not given his insulin.

His favorite sport was wrestling.

Case status:
Bakari J. Page (Father), under investigation.

Source:
Samauri J. Page
Autism Memorial: Samauri Page
Diabetic teen dies despite multiple warnings to Children Services

Maria Fuentes

No Photo
Name: Maria Fuentes.
Died: November 14, 2014.
Age at death: Adult.
Cause of death: Internal injuries.
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Disability: “Physically and mentally disabled”.

Details:
Maria was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries, including broken bones and bruises in multiple stages of healing. Her sole caregiver was arrested on suspicion of having beaten her to death.

Case status:
Patrici Devonne Reader (Caregiver), convicted of murder, sentenced to 45 years.

Source:
Autopsy reveals disabled patient suffered ‘painful’ death at hands of caregiver
Patrici Devonne Reader | Christina Melton Crain Unit Prison | Texas Inmates & Offenders

21-year-old man

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: November 10, 2014.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Udon Thaini, Muang district, Thailand.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This 21-year-old man lived with his parents and ten-year-old sister. His father came in from his rice field, had dinner, and then, at 2 o’clock at night, shot his son and then killed himself. The young man’s grandfather-in-law found them the next morning.

Case status:
His father, deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: 21-year-old male, Name unknown
Father shoots son dead in suspected murder suicide
Music teacher kills autistic son, self

Patrick

No Photo Name: “Patrick” (Family name unknown).
Died: November 2014.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Multiple organ failure.
Location: Bedford, England, UK.
Disability: Coffin-Lowry syndrome.

Details:
Patrick’s care was neglected by his grandmother. He was kept in a filthy room without a working light. By the time he was hospitalized, he weighed only 95 pounds, had bruises all over his body, and was in multiple organ failure. He died age 17.

Patrick was good at swimming and had just learned cycling. Despite his limited ability to speak, he had memorized all of his classmates’ names.

Case status:
His grandmother was interviewed for case review. Belford Borough Safeguarding Children Board concluded that the agency did not adequately support Patrick’s needs or ensure that his grandmother cared for him adequately.

Source:
Disabled teenager who died weighing just 6 stone was ‘invisible’ to social services
‘Neglected’ disabled Bedford teen ‘unsupported’ by social services before ‘shocking’ death
Tragic death of ‘invisible’ Bedford teen failed by system
Patrick Final Report for PUBLICATION 23.5.16

Esihle Mosoeu

No Photo Name: Esihle Xoliswa Mosoeu.
Died: October 31, 2014.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Pomeroy, South Africa.
Disability: “Disabled child who could not sit or stand on her own”.

Details:
Esihle’s mother strangled her because she didn’t have enough money to feed her. She was receiving child grant money for her Esihle, but she used the money to transport her to a hospital for treatment, instead of to buy food.

Case status:
(Mother); pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 5 years, suspended for 5 years.

Source:
Child murder ‘was an act of despair’

Joann Canfield

No Photo Name: Joann Canfield.
Died: October 26, 2014.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Alameda, California, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Joann’s husband took her home from her nursing home and, after a failed attempt to poison her with sleeping pills, shot her in the head.

Case status:
Jerry “J.C.” Canfield (Husband), pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years.

Source:
He Shot His Wife and Confessed — Why Neighbors Are Coming to His Defense
3 years for Alameda man who claimed mercy in wife’s killing

Sandra Deacon

No Photo Name: Sandra Deacon.
Died: October 1, 2014.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Budgewoi, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Brain damage due to neonatal encephalitis.

Details:
Sandra was found dead of massive head injuries, and her partner was arrested. Support workers told authorities that her partner had been dominating and isolating her, possibly forcing her to distance herself from support services.

Case Status:
Garry Weigand (Partner), charged with murder, died before trial.

Sources:
DNA needed to identify victim
Murder accused Garry Weigand dies in custody | Newcastle Herald | Newcastle, NSW
Inquest into the death of Sandra Deacon

Bessie Looney

No Photo Name: Bessie Looney.
Died: September 29, 2014.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, sepsis.
Location: Baton Rouge, USA.
Disability: Dementia, heart disease, wheelchair user.

Details:
Bessie’s daughter and granddaughter neglected her. She was left strapped into a wheelchair, denied her medication, and not brought to the doctor when she became very sick. She died of starvation and septic shock from untreated bedsores.

Case status:
Joleslie Looney (daughter), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 40 years.
Lauren Looney (granddaughter), pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Source:
Louisiana high court upholds sentence in mom’s bedsore death
Woman pleads guilty to negligent homicide in 82-year-old grandmother’s death
Granddaughter pleads guilty to negligent homicide in 82-year-old woman’s gruesome 2014 death
Death of elderly Baton Rouge woman ruled a homicide
82-year-old found dead at home surrounded by flies, trash; two arrested
Doctors say woman facing charges was sane during the time of the death of her elderly mother
Baton Rouge woman declared sane when elderly mother died amidst deplorable conditions
Baton Rouge woman to be tried Aug. 28 in death of 82-year-old mother found in deplorable conditions
Daughter faces trial in death of bedsore-ridden mother, 82
Attorney for Baton Rouge woman accused of killing her mother doesn’t want her called ‘evil,’ ‘monster’ during trial
Elderly woman’s daughter told Baton Rouge police she wasn’t aware of severity of mother’s bedsores
‘A hard-working person that struggled,’ friends say of woman accused in elderly mother’s death
Daughter swiftly convicted of manslaughter in elderly mother’s 2014 bedsore-related death
Woman’s sentencing delayed in gruesome 2014 bedsore-related death of 82-year-old mother
Woman leaves grandmother in waste-covered wheelchair until bedsores kill her
Granddaughter sentenced in 82-year-old Baton Rouge woman’s bedsore-related death
Woman denied reduced sentence in death of elderly, malnourished mother
Judge won’t reduce Baton Rouge woman’s 40-year prison term in bedsore-related death of mother
Attorney says 40 years in bedsore-related death of 82-year-old woman is excessive punishment
Louisiana court upholds woman’s prison term for mom’s bedsore death
Court upholds woman’s prison term for mom’s bedsore death
Baton Rouge woman’s conduct ‘reprehensible’ in elderly mother’s bedsore death, appeals court says