Relationship: Parent – Page 89 – Disability Day of Mourning

Katonya Jackson

Name: Katonya Jackson.
Died: 1983.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Untreated epilepsy.
Location: Micanopy, Florida, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
Katonya’s mother was in a cult called the House of Prayer, and gave her and her brother to the pastor of the church to care for.

Katonya had seizures, which the pastor took to mean that she had the devil in her. Katonya’s family says she starved and beat Katonya and refused to give her her epilepsy medication.

Katonya died, covered in bruises, from untreated epilepsy. Her death was ruled “preventable”.

Case status:
Lea Vera Jackson (Mother), arrested and released without charges.
Anna Young (House of Prayer pastor), convicted of child abuse in the case of Nikki Nickelson; served six months; convicted of manslaughter, in the case of Katonya Jackson, sentenced to 15 years; convicted of first-degree murder of Eamon “Moses” Harper, sentenced to 30 years concurrent with the manslaughter sentence.

Source:
Cult leader’s daughter gives an inside look at the House of Prayer
Anna Young gets 30 years in toddler’s death
Death, abuse and questions — life in an Alachua County cult
House of Prayer residents say torture, abuse was common
Survivors ask: Why did cult misdeeds go by ‘wayside’?
Mother Anna: The Cult Leader Suspected of Torture and Murder

Michelle and Scott Sandor

No Photo Name: Michelle Sandor.
Age at death: 14.

Name: Scott Sandor.
Age at death: 11.

Died: September 3, 1982.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Marfan syndrome.

Details:
Scott and Michelle Sandor were shot by their mother, who then shot herself. Their mother also had Marfan syndrome.

Case status:
Linda V. Sandor, deceased.

Source:
3 IN GREENWICH ARE FOUND SLAIN AT THEIR HOME

Stephen Hughes

Photo of Stephen Hughes, a small boy with a large head, wearing a Mickey Mouse T-shirt; he has straight brown hair and fair skin. Name: Steven Paul Hughes.
Died: June 1, 1982.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Boise, Idaho, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.

Details:
Steven was born with spina bifida, but his parents didn’t take him to see a doctor because they didn’t believe in doctors. He didn’t get a wheelchair and had to drag himself around on his forearms instead.

Steven died of untreated pneumonia shortly before his third birthday.

Case status:
William Hughes (Father) and his mother, no crime because denying children medical treatment on religious grounds is legal in Idaho.

Source:
These Coffins Represent Kids Who Died Because Their Parents Were Faith-Healers
Idahoans protest faith healing exemptions in Boise
183 Coffins For Idaho Children Killed By Faith Healing Parents
Hundreds March for Repeal of Idaho’s Faith Healing Exemptions
Steven Paul Hughes (1979-1982) – Find A Grave
In Idaho, medical-care exemptions for faith healing come under fire

“Baby Doe”

Baby Doe's gravestone. It reads, Baby Doe. You are loved. 1982. Name: “Baby Doe”, Anonymous Male.
Died: April 15, 1982.
Age at death: 6 days.
Cause of death: Starvation, pneumonia.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Baby Doe was born with Down syndrome and an esophageal atresia, which untreated would result in death, but could be treated surgically with a 90% success rate. Advised by their doctor that the baby would have an intellectual disability, Baby Doe’s parents decided not to proceed with surgery. The hospital staff tried to have the court appoint a guardian for Baby Doe, to override the parents’ decision; but the court denied them. Baby Doe died six days later of starvation and pneumonia from aspirated stomach acid.

Case status:
Parents; Walter Owens (Doctor). No crime.

Source:
Baby Doe Law

James Lloyd

Photo of James Allen Lloyd's tombstone, reading "James Allen, son of Thomas Jay Lloyd. April 25, 1977 to November 25, 1981." Name: James Allen Lloyd.
Died: November 23, 1981.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Shadow Creek, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
After hearing that James might not be able to go to kindergarten because he was “slow”, James’s mother put him in the bathtub and shot him dead.

Case status:
Caroline Lloyd (Mother), convicted of murder.

Source:
The Loss of Innocents
James Allen Lloyd

Matthew Robles

No Photo. Name: Matthew Robles.
Died: September 1, 1980.
Age at death: 4 months.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: El Cajon, California, USA.
Disability: Hydrocephalus.

Details:
Matthew was smothered by his mother. His death was presumed natural until five years later, when his mother killed his brother, John Robles, and confessed to both killings.

Case status:
Debra Sue Robles (Mother), pled guilty to murder, sentenced to 30 years to life.

Source:
An American Tragedy: Mother Kills 2 Children as System Fails
Woman Held in Deaths of Her Disabled Sons

5-year-old boy

Name Unknown.
Died: July 16, 2023.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Starvation/dehydration.
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
This five-year-old boy’s mother was charged with starving him so badly that he weighed only thirteen-and-a-half pounds when he died.

Case Status:
Marcella Montelongo (Mother), charged with child abuse resulting in death, died before trial.

Sources:
Mom charged for starving special needs son to death in Albuquerque
Woman accused of starving special needs child found dead at MDC
Albuquerque mom arrested after special needs son dies
New Mexico mother accused of allowing her 5-year-old son to slowly starve to death
Marcella Montelongo, N.M mom red flags were obvious to see

Robert Fish

Name: Robert Blake Fish.
Died: October 8, 2022.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, dehydration.
Location: Duncan, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Details:
Robert died from starvation, weighing 47 pounds; his family is accused of neglecting to feed him. Police say they also found unused seizure medication, which Robert needed but had not been given.

Robert’s obituary says he “loved Mickey Mouse, dinosaur sounds, Christmas time and milkshakes from Cookout.”

Case Status:
Hope Fish (Mother), charged with murder, felony child abuse, and unlawful neglect towards a child.
Freddie Fish II (Uncle), charged with accessory to murder and unlawful neglect toward a child.
Freddie Fish Sr. (Grandfather), charged with unlawful neglect towards a child.

Sources:
SC teen weighed 47 pounds when he died. His mother is charged with his murder
3 charged in death of Spartanburg Co. teen with special needs
3 family members charged in death of teen boy who weighed 47 pounds
Robert Blake Fish – Thomas McAfee Funeral Homes

3-year-old girl

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: December 4, 2021.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Townsville, Queensland, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This toddler girl’s father, who was the only adult home to take care of her and her two-year-old brother, had been awake for 31 hours, taking and selling methamphetamine. He was sleeping it off when his three-year-old daughter opened the unlocked front door, left the house, and drowned in a storm drain. Prosecutors called his drug use “criminally negligent” and the little girl’s death “entirely preventable”.

Case Status:
Her father pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child endangerment.

Sources:
Father found guilty of non-verbal, autistic daughter’s manslaughter after drowning death

Aston Starkey

No Photo Name: Aston Starkey.
Died: March 2, 2024.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Malnutrition/dehydration.
Location: Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Aston’s body was found in the motel where he and his mother had been staying. His cause of death was established as malnutrition and dehydration, contributed to by neglect.

Case Status:
Serena Starkey (Mother), wanted on suspicion of murder; found dead a little under 4 months later.

Sources:
Mother sought on Alabama murder charge in death of son with special needs found dead in Texas
Autopsy reveals 13-year-old Birmingham boy with Down Syndrome died of malnutrition and dehydration, mother wanted on murder charges
Media Release 130- Homicide Investigation- Cahaba Park Circle
Hunt for mom after her son, 13, found starved to death in motel
Boy, 13, living in Birmingham motel dies from malnutrition, dehydration; mother sought on murder warrant