Short sentence – Page 29 – Disability Day of Mourning

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

Terrance Cottrell, Jr.

School photo of a young boy with brown skin and short, curly black hair, wearing a black and white checked shirt. Name: Terrance Cottrell, Jr.
Died: Aug. 25, 2003.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Positional asphyxia.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Terrance’s mother took him to church for an exorcism, hoping to cure his autism. The boy was pinned to the ground by several adults, and died of suffocation while his mother watched.

Case status:
Patricia Cooper (Mother); not charged.
Ray Hemphill (Pastor); convicted of child abuse; sentenced to 2-and-a-half years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Terrance Cottrell Jr.
Hemphill Sentenced Over Boy’s “Exorcism” Death
Minister Charged In Exorcism Death
Faith Healing Death
Exorcism Death Sparks Debate

Jason Dawes

Black and white photo of a smiling boy with light skin and short hair. Name: Jason Dawes.
Died: August 4, 2003.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Suffocated.
Location: New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Jason was suffocated by his mother, who believed there was “no hope for her son”.

Jason communicated by using sign boards.

Case status:
Daniela Dawes (Mother). Convicted of manslaughter; served no jail time.

Source:
Deadly Currents Beneath Calm Waters: Persons with Disability and the Right to Life in Australia
Child murder case highlights lack of services for carers of disabled
When Love is Not Enough
R v Daniella Dawes
Autism Memorial: Jason Dawes

Stephanie Ramos

No Photo Name: Stephanie Ramos.
Died: July 9, 2003.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Undetermined.
Location: Queens, New York, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability, blindness, cerebral palsy, diabetes.

Details:
Stephanie’s body was found in a garbage truck. Her foster mother had thrown the body in the trash and reported her missing.

Stephanie’s cause of death could not be exactly determined because the garbage truck crushed her body before it could be found. Because of the lack of evidence and Stephanie’s profound disabilities, her death was ruled natural and her mother was only charged with dumping the body. Stephanie’s foster home was filthy, and Stephanie herself weighed only 23 pounds at death. The most likely scenario is that Stephanie died of illness because her foster mother did not want anyone to know how dirty her house was, and so left the illness untreated.

Case status:
Renee Johnson (Foster mother), 60 days in jail for improper disposal of a body.

Source:
Girl Found in Trash Truck Lived in Filth, Officials Say

Christopher Forder

Photo of Christopher Forder, a young boy with olive skin and black hair, smiling. Name: Christopher Forder.
Died: November 22, 2002.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Seabeck, Washington, USA.
Disability: Reactive attachment disorder.

Details:
Christopher died of untreated pneumonia. He had been beaten and starved by his adoptive mother.

Case status:
Kimberly Ann Forder (Adoptive mother), pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Source:
Christopher Forder

Andy and Michael Scott

Photo of Andy and Michael Scott, two men with black hair and light-brown skin. There are balloons in the background. Name: Andy Byron Scott.
Age at death: 41.

Name: Michael Randy Scott.
Age at death: 42.

Died: June 8, 2002.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Spalding County, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Huntington’s disease.

Details:
Andy and Michael’s mother went to their nursing home and shot them.

Case status:
Carol Carr (Mother), pleaded guilty to assisted suicide, sentenced to 5 years in prison.

(There is no evidence that the two men ever asked their mother to help them commit suicide; she seems to have been the one who decided they should not live any longer. –Ed.)

Source:
Carol Carr

Unknown Man

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: March 12, 2002.
Age at death: 50s.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disability, fronto-temporal dementia.

Details:
This man, whose name was not released, had a life-long intellectual disability, but began needing full-time care in his fifties, so he moved in with his father, his niece, and her baby son. His dementia had become quite severe, resulting in behavioral disinhibition, when he became confused and masturbated in the presence of his niece’s baby. She reacted by beating and kicking him to death.

He was a Vietnam veteran who worked stocking shelves before the dementia forced him to retire.

Case Status:
KMB (Niece), sentenced to 3-7 years.

Sources:
R v KMB [2005] NSWCCA 185 (6 May 2005)

Olga Law

No Photo Name: Olga Law.
Died: March 6, 2002.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Thames, New Zealand.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Olga’s husband drugged her with sleeping pills, bludgeoned her with a hammer, and then smothered her.

Case status:
Rex Arthur Law (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 18 months in prison, with the possibility of applying for home confinement.

Source:
Wife killer sealed his deed with a kiss
The Queen v Rex Arthur Law
‘Honourable man’ faces 9 months’ jail

Brahim Dukes

No Photo Name: Brahim Dukes.
Died: December 29, 2001.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
When Brahim’s father was jailed for unpaid traffic tickets, he was left with his stepmother, under whose care Brahim starved to death.

Case status:
Audrey McDaniels (Stepmother); convicted of third degree murder; conviction was later reversed due to violation of double jeopardy rule, and she was released.

Source:
COM. v. McDANIELS | 886 A.2d 682 (2005) | a2d68231489
Autism Memorial: Brahim Dukes
Audrey McDaniels v. Winstead, et al.

Johnny Churchi

No Photo Name: Johnny Churchi.
Died: October 10, 2001.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Johnny’s mother strangled him.

Case status:
Jadwiga Miskiewicz (Mother); charged with first-degree murder; sentenced to time in a psychiatric hospital.

Source:
Autism memorial: Johnny Churchi
School Struggles To Come To Grips With Johnny’s Death