Ethan Kirby

Photo of a small boy with pale skin and auburn hair, wearing a blue and white checked polo shirt.Name: Ethan Scott Kirby.
Died: August 23, 2008.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Conroe, Texas, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Ethan died of a head injury inflicted by his mother’s boyfriend during a beating.

Case status:
Chase Cannon (Mother’s boyfriend), murder, 50 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Ethan Scott Kirby
Conroe man receives 50 years for murder of autistic child
Child murderer sentenced

Mason Scott

School photo of a small boy with pale skin, strawberry-blond hair in a bowl cut, and brown eyes, wearing a red polo shirt.Name: Mason Scott.
Died: August 16, 2008.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Burned.
Location: Russellville, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Mason’s mother locked him in their house and set it on fire. Mason burned alive.

Case status:
Christie Scott (Mother), first-degree murder, death sentence.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Mason Scott
Murderpedia Article (Includes newspaper articles and court case.)
Christie Bray Scott’s Road to Death Row
A Mother’s Murder?

James Many White Horses

Blurry photo of a baby with light skin and dark-brown hair.Name: James Many White Horses.
Died: Around July 21, 2008.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Suspicious death.
Location: Great Falls, Montana, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
James’s mother abused him, neglected him, and finally put him in her car trunk and left him there. He was found dead in the trunk over a month later.

Case status:
Summer Many White Horses (Mother), convicted of negligent homicide and tampering with evidence, sentenced to 13 years 9 months to 55 years in prison.

Source:
Mother gets 55 years for son’s death
Autism Memorial: James Many White Horses
Family gathers to remember toddler
James Many White Horses
Many White Horses sentenced on federal fraud charges
Summer Many White Horses’ 2-year-old has been found
Affidavit: Mom of Toddler Found Dead in Trunk Told Police Son Died Accidentally Months Before

Kevin Johnson

Blurry photo of a small boy in a suit; he has brown skin and a shaved head.Name: Kevin Johnson.
Died: July 20, 2008.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Fatal abuse.
Location: Crete, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Kevin’s foster father physically abused him, and eventually beat him so badly that he was taken to the hospital, unconscious, and died two days later.

His favorite hymn was the gospel song “I Need You To Survive.”

Case Status:
Fred D. Johnson II (Foster father), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 5-17 years.

Source:
Man charged with beating disabled foster child
Crete murderer seeks reduced sentence
Kevin Johnson
Family mourns loss of Crete boy

Jason Rimer

Photo of Jason Rimer, a boy in a yellow T-shirt with a confused expression on his face; he has short, wispy brown hair and fair skin.Name: Jason Rimer.
Died: June 8, 2008.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Heat stroke.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Myotonic dystrophy.

Details:
Jason’s parents left him in a hot car in June for more than seventeen hours. When they finally returned for him, he had died of heat stress.

Case status:
Stanley Rimer (Father), manslaughter and child neglect, 8-30 years; Colleen Rimer (Mother), manslaughter and child neglect, 5-20 years.

Source:
Trial of parents charged in Jason Rimer’s death concludes

Margaret Benjo

No PhotoName: Margaret Mary “Peggy” Benjo.
Died: June 5, 2008.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Deltona, Florida, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness, dementia; disabled elder.

Details:
Peggy was shot to death by her husband.

Case status:
Robert Benjo (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to two years house arrest and 13 years probation.

Source:
Elderly Deltona man charged in wife’s murder, saying she no longer had will to live
Deltona man, 82, pleads guilty to killing wife
Mercy or Murder? Man Kills Dying Wife
Sheriff: Elderly husband charged in Deltona wife’s murder earlier today — accused says wife no longer had will to live with illness
Deltona man, 82, gets suspended sentence for killing his ailing wife

Katherine Mudski

No PhotoName: Katherine Mudski.
Died: June 3, 2008.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, infection.
Location: Flint, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Breast cancer.

Details:
Katherine’s son neglected her, and she died from a combination of malnutrition, dehydration, and infected bedsores.

Two years before Katherine’s death, she called a mailman into her home and asked him to help. The mailman called the police, who came to the house, stayed for 13 minutes, and did nothing to help Katherine.

Case status:
Christopher A. Mudski (Son), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 316 days time served. Arrested later for similarly neglecting his cousin, who was hospitalized.

Source:
911 tapes show police were called by mailman months before Katherine Mukdsi’s death; son faces murder charges for alleged neglect
Man convicted in mother’s death accused in similar neglect case
Elder abuse cases bring big charges, offenders actually receive lesser sentences
Flint Township man will stand trial for murder in neglect case involving his elderly mother

Peggy Mehrman

Black and white photo of Peggy Mehrman, an elderly woman with pale freckled skin and short permed white hair, her eyebrows carefully shaped.Name: Peggy Albury Mehrman.
Died: May 28, 2008.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Overdose.
Location: Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA.
Disability: A “debilitating neuromuscular disease”.

Details:
Peggy was poisoned over several months with overdoses of her own medication by a neighbor who had moved in with her as her caregiver.

Case status:
Jana Porter Mallory (Caregiver/Neighbor), second-degree murder and elderly abuse, 30 years.

Source:
Jana Porter MALLORY

Jamie Hawley

Photo of a balding man with light skin and a mustache.Name: Jamie Hawley.
Died: May 26, 2008.
Age at death: 41.
Cause of death: Starvation, pneumonia, infection.
Location: Brockville, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy and intellectual disability.

Details:
Jamie was neglected by his brother. Because he used a wheelchair, Jamie’s brother was able to confine him to the second floor of their home, which had no wheelchair ramps.

While his brother collected his disability checks, Jamie died of starvation, pneumonia, and infected bedsores.

Case status:
Jerry Hawley (Brother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 20 years; reduced to 14 years 11 months on 1.5x credit for time served.

Source:
Man who starved brother receives extra credit for time served
Inquest to begin Dec. 7 into disabled man’s starvation death
Ontario man gets 20 years for starving disabled brother to death

Jaylen Brown

No PhotoName: Jaylen Brown.
Died: May 13, 2008.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Chicago, Illinios, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Even though she had help from two nurses, Jaylen’s mother neglected him so badly that he died from blood poisoning due to severe, infected bedsores.

Case status:
Kesheia Phillips (Mother), convicted of misdemeanor child neglect.
Loren Brown (Nurse), acquitted.
Morris Brinkley (Nurse), sentenced to 2 years of probation and 60 days of community service, license suspended.

Source:
Mom, home care aide go on trial in neglect death
‘Severe’ neglect blamed in death
Severely Disabled 13-Year-Old Died From Neglect