Relationship: Parent – Page 64 – Disability Day of Mourning

Marcus Hill

No Photo Name: Marcus Hill.
Died: December 2, 2010.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Bessemer, Alabama, USA.
Disability: “Special Needs”.

Details:
Marcus was severely beaten by his stepfather and died of head injuries.

Case status:
Jeremy Coleman (Stepfather), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Tynecia Stewart (Mother), charged with failure to protect Marcus from child abuse.

Source:
Detective testifies timeline makes Bessemer man only one who could have beaten 4-year-old to death
Bessemer man on trial for capital murder in 2010 death of 4-year-old stepson
Bessemer man sentenced for murder conviction in death of 4-year-old step son

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: November 18, 2010.
Age at death: 6 months.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: Sydney, Australia.
Disability: None; mother believed she had dwarfism.

Details:
This baby girl was born without any congenital conditions, but because she had skin tags on her ears, her mother believed her daughter had a disability. She had doctors test her over and over, each time with negative results, but became fixed on the idea that the baby had dwarfism. When a friend told her to stop worrying because it wasn’t cancer, she replied that it would be “better to deal with a terminal illness than to spend a lifetime with a dwarf”.

Her mother drowned the six-month-old girl in the bathtub.

Case status:
Her mother, sentenced to up to 20 years in a mental health institution; found fit to stand trial in August 2016, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Source:
Australian mother sentenced to 20 years jail for drowning 6-month-old child
Mother who killed baby believing she was a dwarf should not be jailed, court told
Mother who drowned her baby after worrying she had dwarfism sentenced to 20 years
NSW mother to face baby’s murder trial
Sydney mother who drowned her baby in the bath found guilty of murder
Sydney woman who drowned her daughter convicted of murder
Mother accused of drowning her baby in a bath
Mother found guilty of murdering baby she believed had a genetic defect
Mother fit to stand trial over baby death
Mother drowned her girl because she thought she had dwarfism

Karandeep Arora

No Photo Name: Karandeep Arora.
Died: October 25, 2010.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: New Delhi, India.
Disability: Visual and mobility impairment.

Details:
Karandeep’s parents either smothered or poisoned him, and then both of them committed suicide.

Case status:
Saminder Singh Arora and Mini Arora (Parents), deceased.

Source:
Couple kill disabled son, commit suicide

Chase Ogden

Portrait photos of two adolescents. One is Chase Ogden, a boy with an awkward smile and a mop of black hair; the other is Olivia Ogden, a girl with shoulder-length brown hair. Both siblings have fair skin. Name: Chase Ogden.
Died: October 4, 2010.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Chase and his twin sister Olivia were killed by their mother, who then shot herself.

Case status:
Rene Ogden (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Chase Ogden
Rene Ogden killed twins Chase and Olivia, then committed suicide, says El Paso County coroner
Colo. Police Probe Deaths of Mother, Twin Children
Essex Lane deaths apparent murder-suicide
Coroner: Mother, twins shot in head

Shah Amin Shariffudin

No Photo Name: Shah Amin Shariffudin.
Died: September 26, 2010.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Marsiling, Singapore.
Disability: Global developmental delay, mobility impaired (wore leg braces).

Details:
Shah was strangled by his father, who then killed himself. Reportedly, his father had gone into debt and did not want to “burden” the family with Shah’s care.

Case status:
Shariffudin Abdul Kader (Father), deceased.

Source:
Death at Marsiling leads police to second body at hotel
Man kills himself, leaves note confessing to son’s murder
$1m debts led to two deaths

Zahra Baker

Photo of Zahra Baker, a girl with straight brown hair and freckles, smiling at something to the left of the viewer. Name: Zahra Baker.
Died: September 24, 2010.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Homicide, undetermined.
Location: Hickory, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Leg amputee, hearing impairment, cancer survivor.

Details:
Zahra was born in Wagga-Wagga, Australia, and at five years old she survived bone cancer, though her leg had to be amputated. When she was eight, her father married an American woman and moved to North Carolina.

In the nine months before Zahra was reported missing, multiple reports of abuse came in to child protective services. Her mother took her out of school to “home-school” her.

More than a month after she went missing, Zahra’s body was found. It could not be determined how she died, but her stepmother admitted to killing her.

Case status:
Elisa Baker (Stepmother); pled guilty to murder; sentenced to 18 years. Sentence extended for 10 years on drug charges.

Source:
Murder of Zahra Baker

Teyshawn Young

Photo of Teyshawn Young. He is a toddler with dark skin, wearing a red shirt and a blue hat. Name: Teyshawn Daryl Young.
Died: September 20, 2010.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Blunt-force trauma.
Location: Toms River, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Teyshawn was beaten by his mother’s boyfriend; he died of blunt-force injuries to his stomach.

He liked dancing to his favorite TV shows and music.

Case status:
Corey C. Fitzgerald (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, sentenced to 12 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Teyshawn Young
NJ man faces prison for death of autistic child
Questions surround child’s death in New Jersey
Teyshawn Daryl Young Obituary

Rohit Singh

No Photo Name: Rohit Singh.
Died: September 10, 2010.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Fatal abuse.
Location: Bthinda, India.
Disability: Visual impairment and injured leg from previous abuse.

Details:
When he soiled his bed, Rohit’s father allegedly beat him to death with a hammer.

Case status:
Gurmeet Singh (Father), accused of murder.

Source:
Man kills disabled son for defecating on bed

Marchella Brett-Pierce

Photo of Marchella Brett-Pierce, a girl with brown skin, her brown hair in messy pigtails. Around her neck is a tracheotomy collar. Name: Marchella Brett-Pierce .
Died: September 2, 2010.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: drug poisoning, blunt impact injuries and malnutrition.
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Disability: Medically fragile due to prematurity.

Details:
Marchella died of neglect, starvation, and physical abuse by her mother and grandmother.

Case status:
Carlotta Brett-Pierce (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to 32 years to life.
Loretta Brett (Grandmother), convicted of manslaughter, 5-15 years.

Source:
A Bleak Life, Cut Short at 4, Harrowing From the Start
Marchella Brett-Pierce’s brother brought food to her funeral so she could eat in heaven
The Tragic Path to a 4-Year-Old’s Death
Carlotta Brett-Pierce Found Guilty of Murder in Battered Daughter’s Death
Carlotta Brett-Pierce Sentenced To Decades In Prison For Death Of Battered Daughter
The Death of Marchella Pierce: Collaboration, Conflict, and Accountability in Child Protective Services
MARCHELLA PIERCE TIED TO HER BED, BEATEN, DRUGGED AND STARVED, DIED AT AGE 4 WEIGHING 18 POUNDS

Tia McShane

Name: Tia McShane.
Died: August 30, 2010 (Body found); died sometime in 2006.
Age at death: About 7.
Cause of death: Unsolved.
Location: Pensacola, Florida, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
It is not known how Tia died. Her body was found, years later, hidden in a storage unit owned by her mother.

Case status:
Alicia McShane (Mother). Died before Tia’s body was found.

Source:
Remains Found In Storage Unit Identified

Category: Relationship: Parent