Short sentence – Page 28 – Disability Day of Mourning

Scarlett Chen

Photo of an Asian toddler with tan skin and short black hair, smiling, and wearing a white silk blouse. Name: Scarlett Chen, also called Jia Jia.
Died: July 12, 2004.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
After Scarlett’s mother was told by a doctor that Scarlett’s autism could not be surgically cured, she drowned Scarlett in the bathtub.

Case status:
Xuan “Linda” Peng (Mother); pled guilty to manslaughter; served five years in prison.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Scarlett Chen
Killer of autistic daughter released
History of euthanasia in Canada
Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer

Sophie Jaworski

Photo of a gravestone that reads Jaworski, Sophie, 1920 to 2004. The stone is decorated with sheaves of wheat and an icon of a woman with a halo. Name: Sophie Jaworski.
Died: May 8, 2004.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease, colon cancer.

Details:
Sophie was recovering in the hospital after surgery when her husband stabbed her to death.

Sophie enjoyed bowling, baking, shopping, and spending time with her family, who called her “Baba”.

Case Status:
Tony Jaworski (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to three years probation.

Sources:
Senior sentenced for wife’s death, lawyer calls it ‘mercy killing’
JAWORSKI SOPHIE – Obituaries – Winnipeg Free Press Passages

“Baby C”

No Photo Name: “Baby C” (Female).
Died: May 2004.
Age at death: 5 months.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Nelson, New Zealand.
Disability: Lissencephaly.

Details:
When he learned that her diagnosis would cause lifelong severe disability, Baby C’s father smothered her.

Case status:
Her father; charged with manslaughter but acquitted, even though he confessed during the trial.

Source:
Complaint from family over Baby C

Mia Depaillat

No Photo Name: Mia Depaillat.
Died: April 18, 2004.
Age at death: 21 months.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Cumming, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Developmental delay.

Details:
Mia died of injuries that her mother claimed had been caused when she had accidentally dropped Mia and she fell down a flight of stairs. However, the injuries Mia had sustained matched shaken baby syndrome, not a fall down stairs. Mia died two days afterward.

Case status:
Jill Ellen Depaillat (Mother), charged with murder; hung jury; mistrial.

Source:
Pound Pup Legacy: Mia Depaillat

Ida Heginbotham

No Photo Name: Ida Heginbotham.
Died: April 1, 2004.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Preesall, Lancashire, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia, arthritis, hip replacements.

Details:
Ida’s husband cut her throat because he didn’t want her to be transferred to a dementia ward.

She was “a keen horsewoman” and the mother of six children.

Case status:
Bernard Heginbotham (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility; given a 12-month community rehabilitation order and released.

Source:
Wheelchair-bound pensioner, 96, becomes one of UK’s oldest murder suspects
100-year-old cut his ailing wife’s throat in ‘act Husband, 100, spared jail for ‘act of love’ killing
Freedom for 100-year-old who killed his wife
BRITAIN’S OLDEST KILLER DIES AGE 102

Alex Pavlis

Photo of Alex Pavlis, a boy with neatly cut short blond hair. The photo is stamped, like it might have come from a passport. Name: Alex Pavlis, born Alex Geiko.
Died: December 19, 2003.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Beating.
Location: Schaumburg, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Fetal alcohol syndrome.

Details:
Alex was beaten to death by his adoptive mother. She had adopted him from Russia, and was angry that the adoption agency had not told her about the extent of Alex’s developmental delay.

Case status:
Irma Pavlis (Adoptive mother), sentenced to 12 years, paroled after 5 years.

Source:
Alex Pavlis

Scott Olsen

No Photo Name: Scott Olsen.
Died: December 7, 2003.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Blind and quadriplegic after brain injury.

Details:
Scott’s sister deliberately starved him to death.

Case status:
Kimberly Loebig (Sister); pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter; sentenced to 60 days, freed on time served.

Source:
Sis Charged In Brother Starve Case
GUILTY – PA – Scott Olsen, 29, quadriplegic, starved to death, Glenshaw, 7 Dec 2003

Angelica Auriemma

Name: Angelica Auriemma.
Died: December 5, 2003.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Soon after Angelica was diagnosed with autism, her mother tried to electrocute her; when that didn’t work, she drowned her in the bathtub.

Case status:
Ioanna Auriemma (Mother); convicted of manslaughter; sentenced to up to 5 years and served three years in prison.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Angelica Auriemma
Autistic Brooklyn Woman Is Drowned at Home
McGuire, A. (2016). War on autism: On the Cultural Logic of normative violence. University of Michigan Press.

Daniel Thomas

Photo of Daniel Thomas, a baby with dark hair and eyes. There is some bruising on his fair skin. He is wearing an orange and teal shirt. Name: Daniel Thomas.
Died: October 13, 2003.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Unknown suspicious death.
Location: Myrtleford, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Asthma, speech delay, allergies, eczema.

Details:
How Daniel he died is not known because his body was not found for several years, but the coroner suggested he might have been killed through strangulation, drowning, or a head injury. Police suspect that he was abused by his babysitter, and his mother ignored the abuse.

Case status:
Mandy Martyn (Babysitter) and Donna Thomas (Mother). No charges.

Source:
Coroner finds babysitter Mandy Martyn killed toddler Daniel Thomas —but also blames his mother Donna Thomas for doing nothing to help the boy
Cackling babysitter Mandy Martyn denies killing toddler Daniel Thomas, gives reporters a spray

E. A.

No Photo Name: E. A. (Initials; full name unknown.)
Died: August 29, 2003.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Pneumonia and pyelonephritis.
Location: Mortdale, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Physical and intellectual disability; likely osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome.

Details:
EA was born disabled, but his parents did not seek medical attention for him because his father did not believe in modern medicine. EA’s neonatal jaundice and cataracts were only treated once child welfare services became involved. His parents did not respond to his failure to thrive, small size, and weakness, believing that God would heal the child without a doctor’s help. At four years old, he was the size of a fifteen-month-old when he died from infections in his lungs and kidneys.

Case Status:
J. A. (Father), charged with manslaughter, died before trial.
H. A. (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years, suspended for 2 years; released.

Sources:
R v HA
Religious mother admits to son’s death