No Photo – Page 63 – Disability Day of Mourning

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

Alejandra Molina

No Photo Name: Alejandra Molina.
Died: August 1, 2011.
Age at death: 7 months.
Cause of death: Heat stroke, dehydration.
Location: Columbus, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Prematurity, special dietary needs.

Details:
Alejandra was neglected by her mother. Born premature and needing extra calories to grow, she was supposed to be fed every few hours, but instead, her mother left her alone for sixteen hours in a hot room. She died of dehydration and heat stroke, five pounds underweight and covered with insect bites.

Case status:
Jessica Shah (Mother), found guilty of first-degree murder, sentenced to life; sentence overturned because of inappropriate jury instructions; granted new trial; found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, sentenced to 7-10 years.

Source:
Mother gets new sentence in infant death case in which bugs fed on chld’s body.
Columbus mom whose dead baby was eaten by bugs gets reduced sentence
A mother was sentenced to life for killing her baby. Then her conviction was thrown out.
S16A1083. SHAH v. THE STATE.
Columbus pediatrician: 7-month-old baby died slowly; 9 lbs. at death

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

Joseph and Nacuma Conant

No Photo Name: Joseph Conant.
Age at death: 11.
Disability: Autism.

Name: Nacuma Conant.
Age at death: 33.
Disability: Mentally disabled.

Died: July 7, 2011.
Cause of death: Multiple murder.
Location: Wheatland, Wyoming, USA.

Details:
Joseph and Nacuma were both killed by Joseph’s father, Nacuma’s brother, in a mass shooting that also claimed the lives of Everett Conant, 18, and Charles Conant, 13, both Joseph’s brothers.

Nacuma was extremely talented in art, and could draw anything anyone asked him to draw. He was working on a post-apocalyptic novel.

Joseph loved animals. As a toddler, he used to ride on his grandmother’s guide dog.

Case status:
Everett E. Conant III; pleaded no contest to murder; sentenced to five consecutive life sentences without parole.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Joseph Conant and family
Pastors recount lives of four slain Wyoming family members
Grieving Town Mourns 4 Wyoming Shooting Victims

Romana Bones

No Photo Name: Romana Bones.
Died: June 30, 2011.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Duval County, Florida, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Romana was starved and neglected by her mother. She died of septic shock.

Case status:
Jessica Rivera (Mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 12-18 years in prison.

Source:
Romana Bones, 13
DCF releases child neglect case documents
Woman Gets 18 Years for Daughter’s Death

Jonathan Singer

No Photo Name: Jonathan Singer.
Died: Approx. April 11, 2011.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Jonathan was being neglected; he wasn’t getting enough to eat. His father reported his death, claiming he had drowned in the bathtub, but coroners determined that Jonathan had been badly malnourished.

Case status:
Tina Louise Madrid (Mother), pled guilty to injury to a child, sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Jeffrey Singer (Father), pled guilty to injury to a child, sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Source:
Mom charged in death of son whose body was found in a box
Texas mom charged in death of son whose body was found in a box
Parents Gone Wild! Tina Louise Madrid and Jeffrey Singer charged with the murder of their 10-year-old son, Jonathan Singer

Kyla Puhle

No Photo Name: Kyla Puhle.
Died: March 19, 2011.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: North Brighton, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Six months before Kyla died, her parents stopped taking her to her day program and instead left her lying, alone, on a bean bag while they went to work. Gradually they fed Kyla less and less, until Kyla died of malnutrition and pneumonia, weighing only 12 kilos.

Case status:
Harry Puhle (Father), died by suicide before he could be tried.
Angela Puhle (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, freed with five-year suspended sentence.

Source:
Disability is no justification for murder
Mercy urged for mum who starved daughter
Angela Puhle, Former Principal, Admits To Starving Disabled Daughter To Death: A Burden Too Great?
Adelaide mother spared jail over malnutrition manslaughter of disabled daughter
Former school principal Angela Puhle receives suspended sentence for manslaughter of disabled daughter

Brandy Ardon

No Photo Name: Brandy Ardon.
Died: March 6, 2011.
Age at death: 2 months.
Cause of death: Morphine poisoning, fire.
Location: Reno, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.

Details:
Brandy’s mother drugged her with morphine; then she put the baby in a bag, took her to a field, doused her with gasoline, and burned her. The coroner confirmed that there was smoke in the baby’s lungs; she had been alive when she was set on fire.

Case status:
Suceli Ardon (Mother), pleaded guilty to arson, given time served and ordered to get 5 years of mental health counseling.

Source:
GUILTY NV – Randi Ardon, 2 mos, body found burned, Sparks, 6 March 2011
Police: Baby burned alive by mother in Nevada

Yasushi Yamamoto

No Photo Name: Yasushi Yamamoto.
Died: March 5, 2011.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Tokyo, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified mental illness.

Details:
Mr. Yamamoto’s family took him out of the hospital where he was being treated. His son, a doctor, killed him later that day. Prosecutors say that they considered Mr. Yamamoto to be “burdensome” because of his illness.

Case Status:
Junko Yamamoto (Wife), convicted of conspiracy to murder, sentenced to 11 years.
Naoki Yamamoto (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 13 years.
Yoshikazu Okubo (Doctor; acquaintance), charged with murder.

Sources:
Woman gets 11 yrs for murder of mentally ill husband with son’s help in Japan
Woman denies killing mentally ill husband with help of doctor son
Kyoto court hands ex-doctor 13 yrs in prison for murdering father
Doctors held over ‘mercy killing’ accused in another death

Rene Vera

No Photo Name: Rene Vera.
Died: March 2, 2011.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Flushing, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Rene was stabbed and smothered by his mother.

Case status:
Migdalia Vera (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 7 years.

Source:
A Queens Woman Is Accused of Murdering Her Ailing Son
Mom allegedly kills wheelchair-bound son
Sentenced to 7 years