Short sentence – Page 33 – Disability Day of Mourning

Noah Carroll

Name: Noah Carroll.
Died: November 15, 1992.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Inconclusive; hypoxia.
Location: Cedarville, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Prenatal cocaine exposure; epilepsy.

Details:
Noah’s cause of death has been ruled inconclusive, but it is likely that he was smothered.

Noah’s death is suspicious because the couple who adopted him has had five of their children die, and four of those deaths, including Noah’s, were investigated as possible homicides with both parents and 16-year-old older brother implicated.

Case status:
Kathleen Carroll (Mother), not charged.
Timothy Carroll (Father), not charged.
James Carroll (Brother), charged with delinquency by reason of involuntary manslaughter, acquitted.

Source:
Hannah, Noah, Molly and Joshua Carroll
Boy Saw Slaying, He Tells

Hannah Carroll

Name: Hannah Mercy Carroll.
Died: September 21, 1992.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Cedarville, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Hannah was burned with bleach over a third of her body–allegedly by her brother, who was babysitting, though he maintains it was an accident. Her parents did not seek medical attention until three days later when she was unconscious and dying from pneumonia.

Case status:
Kathleen Carroll (Mother), not charged.
Timothy Carroll (Father), not charged.
James Carroll (Brother), charged with delinquency by reason of involuntary manslaughter, acquitted.

Source:
Hannah, Noah, Molly and Joshua Carroll
Hannah, Noah, Mollie, and Josiah Carroll
Girl tried to protect self

Dorothy and Janet Cunningham

No Photo Name: Janet Cunningham.
Disability: Head injury from car accident.
Age at death: 43.

Name: Dorothy Cunningham.
Disability: Osteoporosis.
Age at death: 62.

Died: September 8, 1992.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Farmingham, Utah, USA.

Details:
Dorothy and Janet were hacked to death with a hatchet.

Dorothy, a homemaker, taught piano lessons. Janet loved skiing and was a former member of the National Ski Patrol.

Case status:
Ronald Cunningham (Janet’s father and Dorothy’s husband). Incompetent to stand trial; charges dropped.

Source:
Davis to drop murder counts against man in mental facility
MURDER SUSPECT TO REMAIN IN HOSPITAL

Julie Kirisits

No Photo Name: Julie Kirisits.
Died: October 21, 1990.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Homicidal violence.
Location: Tonawanda, New York, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Julie was beaten, strangled, and stabbed to death by her mother.

Case status:
Patricia Kirisits (Mother); pleaded not responsible due to insanity. Four years later she was “legally discharged from supervision”.

Source:
Court Discharges Mother in Child’s Killing
MOTHER FACING MURDER CHARGE WAIVES HEARING

Matthew Rosio

No Photo Name: Matthew Rosio.
Died: October 16, 1990.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
After seeing a television program on euthanasia, Matthew’s mother deliberately starved him to death.

Case status:
Patricia Rosio (Mother); she was given eight years of probation and ordered to serve a three-month jail sentence, but allowed out 16 hours a day.

Source:
Mother charged with starving her ailing son to death
Milwaukee Sentinel, Dec. 12, 1992, page 1A

Samuel Linares

Name: Samuel Linares.
Died: April 26, 1989.
Age at death: 16 months.
Cause of death: Hypoxia; ventilator disconnected.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: PVS due to hypoxic brain damage.

Details:
Samuel had choked on a balloon and, eight months later, was still on life support in the hospital. His father went to the hospital, pulled a gun on the staff, shut off the ventilator, and held the staff at gunpoint until Samuel died.

Case status:
Rudy Linares (Father), pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon, sentenced to 1 year probation. Grand jury refused to indict for first-degree murder.

Source:
When life is a fate worse than death
Questions of Law Live On After Father Helps Son Die
FATHER IS CLEARED IN ILL BABY’s DEATH
Grand Jury Rejects Murder Count : Teary Father Not Charged in Death of Comatose Boy
GRAND JURY REFUSES TO INDICT DAD WHO PULLED PLUG ON SON
Samuel Linares (1988 – 1989)

Gail Terrell

A gravestone made for a married couple, decorated with an urn for flowers. It reads: Terrell. Bernie Lee, Gail Melody. The death date for Bernie Lee is blank; the death date for Gail Melody is filled in. The dates are too small to make out. Name: Gail Terrell.
Died: November 13, 1988.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Smyrna, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy, cerebral palsy.

Details:
Gail’s mother shot her.

Case status:
Barbara Monroe (Mother); offered to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was ordered to serve 5 years of a 20-year sentence.

Source:
Mother wants year of home confinement in slaying plea

Aaron Norman

A gravestone. It says: Precious. Aaron John Norman, April 7, 1977 to December 20, 1987. Name: Aaron Norman.
Died: December 20, 1987.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Diabetes.
Location: Mead, Washington, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes.

Details:
Aaron’s parents abused him and denied him medical treatment. He died of untreated diabetes, aggravated by being beaten with a board.

Case status:
Bob Norman (Father), manslaughter, 41 months.
Judith Norman (Mother), charged with homicide.
Doug Kleber (Leader, No-Name Fellowship), convicted of second-degree criminal mistreatment, sentenced to 3 years.
Four elders in the No-Name Fellowship were charged with criminal mistreatment; one convicted.

Source:
Sect Leader Gets Three Years
Faith Gone Awry

Brian Myers

No Photo
Name: Brian Myers.
Died: November 27, 1987.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Skull fracture.
Location: Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Brian was beaten by his foster parents until he died of a skull fracture. Before Brian died they had been able to escape suspicion for their abuse despite the baby’s bruises because they blamed his injuries on Brian’s disability, claiming he hurt himself.

Case status:
Janet Portman (foster mother), pled guilty to second-degree criminal abuse, sentenced to 6 months in jail and 5 years probation.
Michael Portman (foster father), not guilty of child abuse.

Source:
Misplaced Mercy
Board rules cabinet was negligent in death of child, orders award
Agency found negligent in death of toddler; state to pay $100,000

Eric Bernstein

No Photo Name: Eric Bernstein.
Died: May 11, 1987.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Broomall, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Hypoxic brain injury at birth, causing cerebral palsy.

Details:
After putting her son through months of intensive, 15-hour-a-day therapy to try to cure him, Eric’s mother, seeing that he wasn’t going to be cured, shot him to death.

Case status:
Irene Torres Bernstein (Mother), pleaded no contest to third-degree murder, sentenced to a $1000 fine and 5 years probation.

Source:
Mom Pleads No Contest In Son’s Killing
Mom Given Probation Didn’t Ask For Mercy In Tot’s Death