Category: Relationship: Parent

Parents, foster parents, stepparents, parents’ significant others.

Jacee Sanner

Photo of Jacee Sanner, in black and white. The photo is cropped so that just her face can be seen. Jacee is a young girl with fair skin. She is smiling and looking away to the side.Name: Jacee Lynn Sanner.
Died: August 10, 2014.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Wilson, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Brain injury from fever in infancy.

Details:
Jacee died of severe neglect; she weighed only 23 pounds when she died, less than half of what she had weighed only two months earlier, and she had not been given her seizure medication.

Jacee liked listening to her sister sing.

Case status:
Ashley Naoma Milligan (Mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 1 year 6 months prison and 8 years 6 months probation.

Source:
Jacee Sanner – Sunday, August 10th, 2014
Review of the Death of Jacee L. Sanner
Four children dead or nearly died from abuse had prior DHS contact
Jacee Lynn Sanner
Ok Offender Search

Linda Kelley

Photo of a heavyset teenage girl with light skin and brown hair cut in messy bangs; she is wearing glasses and smiling, mouth closed, for the camera.Name: Linda Kelley.
Died: August 4, 2014.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Acute and chronic bedsores.
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.

Details:
Linda died after she was left without care on her kitchen floor for long periods of time. She developed bedsores which worsened and eventually killed her.

Case status:
John Kelley (Father), charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.
Lavonne Kelley (Mother), pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, sentenced to 1 year in prison and 5 years in community corrections.

Source:
Mother sentenced in death of her paralyzed daughter
Indianapolis couple charged with neglect in death of paralyzed daughter

Jarrod Tutko, Jr.

Photo of Jarrod Tutko Jr. as a baby, holding and drinking from a bottle.Name: Jarrod Tutko, Jr.
Died: July 29, 2014.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Starvation, dehydration.
Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Fragile X, autism.

Details:
Jarrod’s parents locked him into a bare attic, where Jarrod died of starvation and thirst. He weighed less than 17 pounds at his death.

Case status:
Jarrod Tutko Sr. (Father), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 21-42 years.
Kimberly Tutko (Mother), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 20 to 40 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jarrod Tutko, Jr.
Police report and charges
Harrisburg mother said she didn’t know son was dead upstairs in her house
Inside the Harrisburg home where child died: ‘They were a fighting family’
Cause of death undetermined for 9-year-old Harrisburg boy Jarrod Tutko Jr.
Authority on Fragile X: Child with this syndrome belonged in school
Coroner: Starvation contributed to death of Harrisburg boy, 9
Parents of autistic Pennsylvania boy charged in starvation death
Court refuses to cut Kimberly Tutko’s prison term for starving death of her 9-year-old son

Katharine Mihok

Black and white newspaper photo of a smiling girl with a round face and short, light hair. She is wearing glasses.Name: Katharine Renai Mihok.
Died: July 23, 2014.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
Disability: A rare chromosomal disorder affecting movement and intellectual development.

Details:
Katharine’s mother shot her to death, then killed herself.

From Katharine’s obituary: “Katharine was an energetic and happy child. She loved throwing kisses in the air, posing for pictures, being outdoors discovering, dancing to music, being in the pool, going to school, Girl Scouts and earning badges, and visiting with people. Most of all, she loved her family and her big sister.”

Case status:
Karla M. Mihok (Mother), deceased.

Source:
UPDATE: Norfolk mother kills 8-year-old daughter before taking her own life; woman now identified
Obituary: Karla Mae and Katharine Renai Mihok
Region sees 2 murder-suicides by women – rare tragedy

On-Yu Choy

No PhotoName: On-Yu Choy.
Died: June 25, 2014.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Hong Kong, China.
Disability: Autism, ADHD.

Details:
On-yu’s father killed him by stabbing him more than 100 times with a pair of kitchen knives, reasoning that “if he is gone, the whole family will have peace”.

Case status:
Sin-hung Choy (Father), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to four years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: On-Yu Choy
Man, 61, kills autistic teenage son because he felt burden was ‘tough for the whole family’
A martyr for his family? Hong Kong court jails father four years for killing autistic son

Kenyon Slacks

Photo of a young boy in a wheelchair, wearing a "Cars" sweatshirt. He has dark skin and close-cut black hair.Name: Kenyon Jakobian Slacks.
Died: June 24, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Morphine overdose.
Location: Augusta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Multiple medical problems, including Ohtahara syndrome (rare epilepsy type).

Details:
Kenyon may have died from a morphine overdose administered by his foster mother. However, because his health had been so delicate beforehand, murder could not be proven and his foster mother walked free.

Case status:
Elizabeth Osei (Foster mother), charged with murder, acquitted.

Source:
Parent At Nation’s Leading For-Profit Foster Care Firm Facing Murder Charges
Care-giver indicted on murder charges in child’s overdose death
Murder trial begins in death of disabled foster child
Elizabeth Osei acquitted of murder in foster child case
PHOTOS: Toddler Kenyon Slacks and foster mom Elizabeth Osei
Foster Care news and Updates: Foster mom killed 3-year-old boy with morphine dose

Sayane Kishimoto

Photo of a Japanese toddler with short, shaggy black hair, her face solemn.Name: Sayane Kishimoto.
Died: June 15, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan.
Disability: Congenital myopathy.

Details:
Sayane died from malnutrition. On autopsy, non-food items were found in her stomach, and she weighed half of what she should have.

Case status:
Yuki Kishimoto (Father), convicted of negligence, 18-month suspended sentence.
Her mother, arrested; charges unknown.

Source:
Parents arrested for starving 3-year-old daughter to death
High court overturns ruling on death of disabled child

Samantha Marcus

Black and white school photo of Samantha Marcus, a girl with light skin and long, dark hair, smiling for the camera.Name: Samantha Marcus.
Died: June 8, 2014.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Waukegan, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Muscular dystrophy.

Details:
Samantha and her mother, Sun Marcus, were both strangled to death by her father.

Samantha’s favorite subject in school was graphic arts. She played video games in her free time, and had two dogs named Snickers and Penny.

Case status:
Anthony Marcus (Father), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 45 years.

Source:
Waukegan Man Charged With Killing Wife, Disabled Daughter
SAMANTHA MARCUS Obituary (1997 – 2014)

Rebecca Cotten

Photo of Rebecca Cotten, a very thin young woman. She is leaning forward toward another woman standing in front of her, so that her face is not visible.Name: Rebecca Cotten.
Died: May 29, 2014.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Rebecca was allegedly abused and starved by her mother. She died weighing 40 pounds.

Case status:
Jennifer Cotten (Mother); charged with abuse and aggravated assault.
Nicholas Newquest, charged with abuse.

Source:
Second arrest made in death of 24-year-old woman with disabilities
Abused woman who weighed 40 pounds dies
Mother charged in death of disabled daughter, 22, who weighed 40lbs

Heaven Woods

Photo of Heaven Woods, a little girl with tan skin and curly brown hair, in a pink tutu, holding a doll.Name: Heaven Woods.
Died: May 20, 2014.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Internal bleeding, blunt trauma.
Location: Forsyth, Georgia, USA.
Disability: ADHD; mother claims autism.

Details:
When Heaven had hand-shaped bruises on her throat, her mother claimed she was autistic and tried to choke herself. Eventually, Heaven was beaten to death by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.

Case status:
Amanda Hendrickson (Mother), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life.
Roderick Buckner (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Heaven Woods
Man pleads guilty in Heaven Woods’ death, mother still facing death penalty
Mom guilty in ‘savage’ beating death of 5-year-old Heaven Woods
Rome girl, 5, died of blunt force trauma; pregnant mother arrested
Grandmother of slain girl wants death penalty for daughter
Mother and boyfriend ‘beat her five-year-old daughter named Heaven to death three weeks after child services dropped abuse investigation’
Father of 5-year-old Heaven still in shock over her death