11-year-old boy

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: October 29, 2022.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Stab wounds, head injury.
Location: Marseille, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This 11-year-old boy’s mother told police she had lost sight of him and he had gotten lost; but the next day, his body was found on the banks of a river; he had been murdered. Police, who suspected his mother of killing him, arrested her and soon reported that she had admitted to killing her son because she “couldn’t deal with him anymore”.

Case Status:
His mother, age 39 (Arrested).

Sources:
11-year-old boy
Mum ‘admits killing’ autistic son, 11, after dad found his body on riverbank
12-year-old autistic child found dead in Marseille: mother admits killing him
Enfant autiste de 11 ans tué à Marseille : la mère mise en examen pour “meurtre sur mineur”
Enfant autiste tué à Marseille: la mère mise en examen pour meurtre
Infanticide à Marseille : la mère du garçon de 11 ans mise en examen

Kannan Kutty

Photo of an Indian man with light-brown skin and dark hair and mustache, wearing a peach-colored dress shirt. He has a streak of red and yellow paint across his forehead.Name: Kannan Mukundan Kutty.
Died: October 21, 2022.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Palakkad, Kerala, India.
Disability: Diabetes, leg ulcers.

Details:
Kannan’s father killed Kannan, then himself. Neighbors said that Kannan’s health had been deteriorating; they believe that Kannan’s father was tired from taking care of him.

Case Status:
Balakrishnan (Father), deceased.

Sources:
Palakkad man murders diabetic son, kills self
Murder-suicide in Palakkad: Man kills unwell son, then hangs

Hunter Drew

Photo of a light-skinned boy with blue eyes, wearing a gray hoodie and eating a cupcake with white frosting.Name: Hunter Drew.
Died: October 20, 2022.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Mount Auburn, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Developmental delay, chronic illness.

Details:
Hunter had gotten into a scuffle with a sibling when his father’s girlfriend allegedly grabbed him, threw him so that his head hit a hard object, and then drove him around in her car for three hours while he died of a head injury.

Hunter loved motorcycles, trains, race cars, and big loud trucks.

Case Status:
Ashley N. Bottoms (Father’s girlfriend), charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment causing death.

Sources:
Did custody change cause Hunter’s death?
Charges filed in death of 3-year-old
Family and friends gather for Hunter Drew’s visitation
The short life of a 3-year-old boy taken too soon
DCFS facilitates 3-year-old downstate boy’s move in with his father, and now the boy is dead

Bernadette, Lisa, and Matthew Steadman

Name: Bernadette A. Steadman.
Age at death: 92.
Disability: Chronic illness; wheelchair user. 

Name: Lisa B. Steadman.
Age at death: 60.
Disability: Chronic illness.

Name: Matthew Steadman.
Age at death: 34.
Disability: Autism.

Died: October 15, 2022.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Elyria, Ohio, USA.

Details:
After a man called 911, saying he had killed his family and was going to kill himself, police responded to his address and found the whole family shot dead. Matthew, the youngest at 34, was autistic; his mother Lisa, 60, and grandmother Bernadette, had chronic illness. They had all been killed by their caregiver, who died by suicide before police arrived.

The family lived in a quiet mobile home park, well-liked by their neighbors, one of whom says she used to call Bernadette “Grandma”. The family had recently added a ramp to their home so that Bernadette and Lisa could maneuver in and out of the home more easily.

Case Status:
James Steadman (Son/Husband/Father), deceased.

Photo of an elderly woman with wispy white chin-length hair and pale skin.
Photo of a middle-aged woman with brown hair growing out into gray roots, wearing glasses; she has pale skin, and is smiling for the camera.
Portrait photo of a young man smiling for the camera; he has curly brown hair and is wearing glasses.

Sources:
‘I’m in shock’: Police release identities, details in the murder-suicide of Elyria family
Family of 4 found dead in Elyria home after apparent murder-suicide – cleveland.com
Elyria police identify victims of murder-suicide
Autism Memorial: Matthew Steadman

Shanice Watts

No PhotoName: Shanice Nicole Watts.
Died: October 5, 2022.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Unspecified.
Location: Laurel, Mississippi, USA.
Disability: Unspecified special needs.

Details:
Shanice’s body was found in her home; she had been dead for six months or more. Her mother was arrested and charged with murder.

Case Status:
Phyllis Watts-Tiller (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Body ID’d as murder suspect’s daughter
Woman’s body found in Laurel identified, mother charged with murder
Police: Victim found in Mississippi house more than six months after she died has been identified. Mother charged with her murder.

Joshua Djuric

No PhotoName: Joshua Djuric.
Died: September 26, 2022.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Yagoona, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Joshua’s body was found in his home. He had not been taken to the doctor despite his declining health, and his mother said she had given him only bread and soft drinks to eat. Joshua had been kept in the house, with the windows covered, and had not been allowed to attend school.

Case Status:
Keti Jovanovska (Mother), charged with manslaughter.

Sources:
Yagoona mother charged with manslaughter after death of her autistic son
Mom who killed her starving autistic teen son by feeding him just bread and soft drinks charged | MEAWW
Mother charged with manslaughter after son starved to death
Autism Memorial: Joshua Djuric

Frederico Mendes

Photo of a brown-eyed, brown-haired, fair-skinned boy in a white dress shirt. A cartoon heart has been added to the upper-left of the image.Name: Frederico Mendes.
Died: September 15, 2022.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Leeds, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Frederico was killed by his mother in a murder-suicide.

Case Status:
Dalia Baptista (Mother), deceased.

Sources:
Mum and murdered son, 10, found dead in flat after both struggled with autism
Mum and son, 10, found dead in Leeds flat named as cousin speaks out
Mum and murdered son, 10, found dead in flat after autism struggles
Heartbroken family speaks out after mum, 30, and son, 10, found dead in flat
Mother and son found in suspected murder-suicide named
Autism Memorial: Frederico Mendes

Jonathan Runion

No PhotoName: Jonathan Runion.
Died: September 12, 2022.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Boone County, West Virginia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Jonathan was shot by his mother in a murder-suicide.

Case Status:
Tammy Runion (Mother), deceased.

Sources:
West Virginia mother allegedly fatally shoots 48-year-old bedridden son and self
Victims identified in Boone County murder-suicide
Deputies | Mother kills son in apparent murder-suicide

Louise Nash

Somewhat blurred photo of a teenage girl with a round face, tan skin, and frizzy black hair tied back in a ponytail. She is wearing a dark zip-up sweater and a seat belt stretches across her chest. Her expression is neutral and relaxed, eyes half-closed.Name: Louise Nash.
Died: September 8, 2022.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Great Waldingfield, Suffolk, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Louise and her mother Jillu lived in Suffolk, where Louise attended a special-needs school. Louise’s parents lived in India, and the mother and daughter sometimes went to visit them. They were well-known to neighbors, who remember them always waving from their car when they drove past.

Someone called the authorities, worried about Louise and Jillu, and police went to check on them. They found Louise and Jillu dead, a gas leak in the home, and Louise’s father, badly injured and immediately taken to the hospital, who they suspect is responsible for the killings. The neighborhood had to be evacuated while the gas leak was repaired, but no one else was hurt.

Case Status:
Peter Nash (Father), convicted of murder; sentenced to 40 years to life.

Sources:
Man handed life prison sentence for murders of wife and daughter, 12
Suffolk double murder: Man called wife ‘validated cheater’
Ipswich Crown Court shown footage of Great Waldingfield family murder accused, Peter Nash, referring to 12-year-old daughter as his ‘property’ in video recorded by wife before her death
After Neely homicide, mental health workers explain what to do if someone is in crisis on the subway
Murder trial set to enter closing stages
Husband who murdered wife and daughter thought they were his ‘property’
Man faces mandatory life sentence for murder of wife and daughter
Autism Memorial: Louise Nash
Tributes paid to ‘devoted’ mum and her daughter, 12, found at home dead
Council chair speaks of shock after suspected double murder
Injured man arrested over deaths of a mother and her 12-year-old daughter
Family of ‘murdered’ mother and daughter, 12, tell of ‘utter despair’
Dad ‘stabbed severely disabled daughter, 12, to death and strangled wife’
Father in court after being charged with murder of wife and kid
Man ‘killed wife and autistic daughter’
Husband ‘stabbed autistic daughter & strangled his wife who was leaving him’
Man accused of double murder ‘confessed to psychiatrist’, court told

Unnamed Baby Girl

No PhotoUnnamed Baby Girl.
Died: September 6, 2022.
Age at death: 1 day.
Cause of death: Abandonment.
Location: Mandya, Karnataka, India.
Disability: Unspecified congenital disability.

Details:
This baby girl, never named, was abandoned by her parents. A pack of wild dogs found her and dragged her onto the grounds of a hospital, where staff rescued her; but she died of her injuries not long after. It is believed that she was abandoned because of her visible disability, because she was born a girl, or both.

Case Status:
Unsolved. Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage and searching for her parents.

Sources:
Karnataka: Abandoned newborn girl dies after being partially eaten by stray dogs in hospital premises; probe on