Kiara LaSalle

Photo of Kiara LaSalle, a teenage girl in a green graduation cap and gown, smiling broadly. She has curly brown hair and brown skin and is carrying a bunch of flowers and a balloon that says "2017 graduate".Name: Kiara LaSalle.
Died: September 1, 2017.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Sacramento, California, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability.

Details:
Kiara and her mother Erica Wallace were both shot by her mother’s boyfriend.

Kiara was a recent high school graduate who worked in retail, volunteered at an animal shelter, and planned to attend Sacramento City College. Her dance instructor remembers her as his most dedicated student.

Case status:
Eric Dawan Arnold (Mother’s boyfriend), killed by police after shooting two officers.

Source:
Her mother and sister were killed in their house. Now she wants to use it to help other women.
First, a mother and daughter died. Then two officers were shot
Neighbors relieved double murder suspect is dead
Woman Speaks Out After Man Suspected of Killing Her Mom, Sister is Shot, Killed by Police
Vigil held for mother, daughter killed in their South Sacramento home

Dominique

No PhotoName: Dominique (last name unknown).
Died: August 30, 2017.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Elda, Alicante, Spain.
Disability: Autism, epilepsy.

Details:
Dominique lived with his foster father and his foster father’s girlfriend. While the foster father was at work, his girlfriend strangled Dominique with a T-shirt; then she staged a home invasion and claimed she and the boy had been assaulted.

Inconsistencies in her story made the truth come out, and she was convicted of murder.

Case status:
Alejandra G. P. (foster father’s girlfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Source:
Prisión permanente revisable para la mujer que asesinó al hijo de acogida de su pareja
Las tres muertes de Dominique
«El niño de Elda murió estrangulado y la acusada sabía lo que hacía»
SHOCK CRIME: Woman on trial over autistic boy killing on the Costa Blanca
Pregnant woman raped while her 8-year-old boy murdered
8-year-old autistic boy murdered in Alicante as the killers raped his father’s pregnant partner
Child found dead, woman beaten, inside home in Spanish coastal town
Child’s murder and beating of pregnant woman shocks inland Spanish town
Investigan la muerte de un niño de 8 años y la agresión a la novia del padre de acogida
Investigan en Elda la muerte de un niño de 8 años y la agresión a la novia del padre de acogida
Elda despide con gran dolor al niño fallecido en el asalto a su piso
La Fiscalía pide prisión permanente revisable para la acusada de matar al hijo de su pareja en Elda
La fiscalía pide prisión permanente revisable para la acusada de asesinar en Elda al hijo de su pareja
Fiscalía pide prisión permanente revisable para la acusada de matar al hijo de su pareja en Elda
Piden la prisión permanente a la mujer que mató al hijo de su pareja en Elda
La fiscal reclama prisión permanente para la acusada de matar al hijo de su pareja en Elda
Piden prisión permanente revisable a la acusada de asesinar a un niño autista
Fiscalía pide prisión permanente revisable para la acusada de asesinar en Elda (Alicante) al hijo de su pareja

Aishika Sarkar

No PhotoName: Aishika “Shreya” Sarkar.
Died: August 27, 2017.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Fall injuries.
Location: J. P. Nagar, Bengaluru, India.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Shreya was “screaming and being stubborn”, so her mother allegedly decided to kill her. Shreya’s mother allegedly threw her off the third-floor balcony. Neighbors say that when she saw that Shreya was still breathing, she carried Shreya back up the stairs and threw her off the balcony again. This time, the impact killed Shreya.

Shreya’s neighbors chased down and captured Shreya’s mother and tied her to a telephone pole, then called the authorities.

When she died, Shreya had just begun to learn how to talk.

Case status:
Swathi Sarkar (Mother), charged with murder.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Aishika Sarkar
‘We shouldn’t say Swati killed her child… hers was cry of desperation’
7-Year-Old B’Luru Girl Dies After Being Thrown Off Building Twice
7-year-old girl dies after her mother throws her off a terrace twice in Bengaluru
Bengaluru 9-Year-Old Survived First Fall; Mother Threw Her Off Roof Again
Bengaluru: Depressed woman flings daughter from third floor building, twice
Bengaluru: Mentally unstable mother throws 7-year-old girl off a building, twice!
Bengaluru: Mother throws differently-abled daughter off terrace twice, kills her
Evil mum killed her little girl, 7, by throwing her off a roof terrace… so an angry mob strung her up to telephone post and beat her GE
Flung twice from terrace by mother, seven-year-old child dies in Bengaluru
Here is why this mother threw 7-year-old daughter from fourth floor, killed her
Mother kills her 7-year-old daughter by flinging her from the terrace of a 4-storey building twice
Nine-year-old girl dies after mother throws her from terrace
Bengaluru horror: Woman killed seven-year-old child to ‘teach’ husband a lesson, say the police

Rookiya

No PhotoName: Rookiya.
Died: August 25, 2017.
Age at death: 5 months.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Amruthanagar, Andhra, India.
Disability: Hydrocephalus.

Details:
Rookiya’s mother had no money for big-city medical treatment, and Rookiya’s neighbors had started referring to her as a “demon child” because of her large head. When her father came home to find Rookiya drowned in the washtub, police arrested and questioned her mother, who, they say, confessed to killing her daughter.

Authorities noted that the area has a district hospital and four children’s homes that are meant to help children like Rookiya.

Case status:
Shaik Fatima (Mother), charged with murder.

Source:
Too poor to afford her medical care, Andhra mother kills her own baby girl

Hui Yee Tang

Photo of a young Asian woman with short black hair, wearing a yellow shirt and a lanyard around her neck.Name: Hui Yee Tang.
Died: August 20, 2017.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Stab injury.
Location: Pasir Ris Street, Singapore.
Disability: Autism, intellectual disability.

Details:
Ms. Tang lived with her father, mother, and two siblings. She liked to play with water, and would stand under the shower for hours at a time. Neighbors remember her as “a pleasant, quiet girl”. She was enrolled in a program at the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS).

Ms. Tang’s father stabbed her to death before committing suicide. He was “worried about her future”.

case status:
Soh Ha Tang (Father), deceased.

Source:
Pasir Ris double deaths: ‘Depressed’ father was worried about future of autistic daughter
Father fatally stabbed intellectually disabled daughter, jumped to his death: Coroner’s inquiry
Pasir Ris double deaths: Man who killed daughter had history of mental problems
Pasir Ris deaths: In life as in death, father and daughter were inseparable
Pasir Ris double deaths: Neighbours describe father and daughter as ‘loving’

5-year-old girl

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: August 6, 2017.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Fatal abuse.
Location: Jahra, Kuwait.
Disability: Special needs.

Details:
For two months, this five-year-old girl was beaten and burned by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend because they “wanted to get rid of her” and resented her for the attention she needed. She died from a particularly vicious beating, and only then did her mother finally call the police, claiming that her daughter had fallen from a window.

Case status:
Mother and mother’s boyfriend, both convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.

Source:
Boyfriend, woman hearing adjourned in disabled girl’s killing
Woman, boyfriend sentenced to death in disabled girl’s murder
Mother, boyfriend sentenced to death for killing special-needs daughter
Kuwaiti mother sentenced to death for murdering her disabled daughter
Kuwaiti mother and boyfriend kill 5-year-old daughter, get death sentence
Kuwait Sentences Mother, Boyfriend to Death for Killing Daughter with Special Needs
Five year old girl murdered by mother and her boyfriend

Savannah Leckie

Photo of Savannah Leckie, a teenage girl with fair skin and light-brown hair, wearing a knit cap and sweatshirt. She is holding two black-and-white goat kids.Name: Savannah Leckie.
Died: August 4, 2017.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Unknown homicide.
Location: Ozark County, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Autism, depression, ADHD.

Details:
Exactly how Savannah died is unknown because her body was burned and only bone fragments were found. Her birth mother was convicted of abuse of a corpse.

She was a junior firefighter who liked to do volunteer work and care for farm animals.

Case status:
Rebecca Ruud (Birth mother), convicted of abuse of a corpse for burning Savannah’s body; acquitted of murder because suicide could not be ruled out as a cause of death; sentenced to 4 years, released on time served.
Robert Peat Jr. (Birth mother’s boyfriend), charged with first-degree murder and child abuse; charges dropped after he testified against Ruud.

Source:
Missouri Woman Sentenced to Time Served for Abandoning 16-Year-Old Daughter’s Corpse
Autism Memorial: Savannah Leckie
Missouri woman acquitted of murder in teen daughter’s death after judge deliberates for nearly a month
Missouri woman acquitted for killing her austic daughter
Ozark County woman Rebecca Ruud found not guilty of murder in daughter’s death
What happened to Savannah Leckie? Case explored as Rebecca Ruud is acquitted of murder in 2017 death of daughter
Missouri woman acquitted of murder in 2017 death of autistic teen daughter she gave up for adoption as a baby
Missouri woman acquitted of murder in teen daughter’s death after judge deliberates for nearly a month
Mum dragged ‘dead’ daughter onto fire – then knocked her out when she screamed
Trial set to begin for Ozark County mom accused of killing 16-year-old autistic daughter
Missouri Supreme Court says recording with attorney can be used against Ozark County murder suspect Rebecca Ruud
Recording Allowed as Evidence in Mother’s Alleged Slaying of Daughter
Candlelight vigil planned for murder victim Savannah Leckie
Savannah Leckie murder case broadens out of state
Teenage murder victim remembered
Husband, wife indicted in death of Ozark County teenager
Amid allegations of torture, Ozarks boyfriend and mother charged with murder of teen girl
Southern Missouri couple indicted in death of woman’s teen daughter who had autism
Adoptive mom, boyfriend at Leckie murder arraignment
Adoptive mother of Minnesota girl killed in Missouri asks, ‘What if?’
New trial date for woman accused of killing daughter
Suspect in Savannah Leckie homicide to be released after ‘developments’ in case

Olivia Kray

Close-up photo of Olivia Kray, a young woman with olive skin and long, dark brown hair. She is smiling.Name: Olivia Kray.
Died: July 21, 2017.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Herne Bay, England, UK.
Disability: Anxiety disorder, mental illness.

Details:
Olivia’s father strangled her to death; then he went after Olivia’s mother, who escaped and ran to a neighbor’s to call the police. The killer claimed that he was so stressed by Olivia’s mental illness that he had “snapped” and “couldn’t let her suffer any more”.

Case status:
Richard Kray (Father; employed as caregiver to autistic children in a special school), pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder, sentenced to 10 years, to be partially served in a psychiatric unit.

Source:
Desperate father who strangled teenage daughter sectioned
Dad who strangled daughter to death before trying to kill ex-wife is jailed
Dad gets 10 years for strangling daughter

Jonathan Crabtree

Photo of Jonathan Crabtree, a young man with light skin and brown hair, wearing a T-shirt.Name: Jonathan Crabtree.
Died: July 18, 2017.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Opiate poisoning.
Location: Upper Coomera, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Developmental disability, TBI from car accident.

Details:
Jonathan and his two disabled sisters were allegedly abused by their mother, who repeatedly sedated them with prescription drugs, likely worsening the effects of their disabilities. Jonathan’s sister Erin died in 2012, a victim of an opiate overdose; but her death had initially been ruled a suicide.

After Jonathan was hurt in a car accident, he had to take opiates and became addicted. His mother allegedly encouraged his addiction and even manipulated him into robbing a pharmacy for Tramadol. He died of an overdose of opiates, which police say his mother gave him after forging a suicide note.

Jonathan’s other sister survived their ordeal and was rescued when the murders were discovered.

Case status:
Maree Crabtree (Mother), charged with two counts of murder, grievous bodily harm, torture, fraud, and armed robbery.

Source:
Dramatic turn in court for mum accused of murdering kids, torturing woman
Mum’s strange decision before deaths
Witness claims mum accused of murdering children wished son was dead: court
Gold Coast mum Maree Mavis Crabtree accused of murdering her two disabled children
‘Very controlling’: Chilling allegations against Qld mum accused of killing her disabled kids
Mum’s strict rules before alleged murder
Mom murdered her two adult children for insurance payouts, police say
Australian mother arrested after she allegedly poisoned her disabled kids
Gold Coast mother killed two adult children for financial gain, police allege
Maree Crabtree ‘told disabled son to hold up a chemist’ | Daily Mail Online
Mum, 51, charged with murdering her kids told one to rob a chemist
Mother accused of poisoning her disabled adult children to death bagged $500k in insurance
‘Killer mum’ claimed $500k in insurance for disabled kids
Mum allegedly poisoned two children, prepared suicide note
Queensland mother allegedly murdered her two children with disabilities for money
Mother charged over children’s murders
QLD mother charged with murder, torture after allegedly poisoning two children to death
Friend says murdered Jonathon Crabtree was ‘full of life’
Jonathan Crabtree tried to call best mate an hour before his death
Australian mother arrested for the alleged murder of her two disabled children
Gold Coast mother killed two adult children for financial gain, police allege
Son of murder-accused had been ‘trying to pick up his life’ before he was found dead
Pictured: Disabled siblings ‘poisoned to death by rat-loving mother’
Australian mum ‘poisoned, killed disabled children for financial gain’, police claim
Murder-accused mother used prescription drugs to control children: police
Police say murder-accused mum helped son secure $200,000 disability benefits, then staged his suicide
Mum accused of disabled kids’ murder said one got Autism from a needle
Australian woman kills two ‘disabled’ adult children for financial gains
Mum partied as Erin died alone
Father of murdered siblings tried to have his son put in care
The missing Sprite cup in the police case against an accused double murderer

Palak

Photo of Palak, a teenager wearing a blue shirt. Her hair is short, and her skin is tan. The photo is indistinct and small.Name: Palak.
Died: July 15, 2017.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Asphyxiation.
Location: Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Before killing himself, Palak’s father hanged her because he was “worried about her future”.

Palak is survived by her brother and mother, who were not home at the time of the murder.

Case status:
Mukesh Kumar (Father), deceased.

Sources
Man kills autistic daughter, hangs self
Trader kills mentally ill daughter, ends life
Father kills daughter, hangs self in Jagraon
Autism Memorial: Palak