Status – Page 174 – Disability Day of Mourning

Kazimiera Hys

No Photo Name: Kazimiera Hys.
Died: May 27, 2006.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Sepsis, infected bedsores.
Location: Woodridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Kazimiera was left in her bed without necessary care; she developed severe bedsores, and her daughter did not seek care for her. The bedsores became infected and killed her.

She was an immigrant from Poland who worked as a cleaner.

Case Status:
Agnieszka Alojza Miller (Daughter), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, suspended after 12 months.

Sources:
Mum died with maggots in sores, court told
Daughter let mum ‘rot to death’
R v Miller
R v Miller [2011] QCA 160 | Supreme Court Library Queensland
Agnieszka Alojza Miller’s jail sentence for manslaughter of 76-year-old mother upheld

Casey Axsom

Photo of Casey Axsom, a young adult with short, messy strawberry-blonde hair, wearing a white polo shirt. Casey's mouth is slightly open. Name: Casey Axsom.
Died: May 26, 2006.
Age at death: 25.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy, cerebral palsy, possible multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Casey’s mother starved her to death. Casey died at age 25, weighing 50 pounds, covered in severe and untreated bedsores.

Case status:
Dorothy Axsom (Mother), pleaded guilty to neglect, sentenced to two years, three months in prison.

Source:
Bloomington woman charged with murder in disabled child’s 2006 death
Police: Mother Starved Disabled Daughter To Death
Bloomington Woman Pleads Guilty Of Starving Her Daughter To Death

Linda Blaauw

No Photo Name: Linda Edith Blaauw.
Died: May 23, 2006.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Bayswater, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Paranoid schizophrenia; cancer survivor.

Details:
The day before her death, Linda’s psychologist told her that he could not guarantee a cure, and that it was possible for her mental illness to relapse. The next morning, as Linda lay sleeping, her husband stabbed her in the neck with a kitchen knife, killing her.

Case Status:
Donovan Alexander Blaauw (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 7-11 years.

Sources:
R v Blaauw [2008] VSC 129 (24 April 2008)

Christopher DeGroot

No Photo Name: Christopher Aire DeGroot.
Died: May 19, 2006.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Albany, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Christopher’s parents locked him in his room and bolted it with a deadbolt. Then they set a fire in their home and left Christopher to burn to death.

Case status:
Nicolaas DeGroot (Father), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide, sentenced to 6 months in jail.
Agnes DeGroot (Mother), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide, sentenced to 6 months in jail.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Christopher DeGroot
Autistic Teen Struggled To Get Out Of Blazing Apartment
Couple Charged with Setting Fire to Kill Autistic Teen Son
Couple sentenced in fire death of autistic son

Katherine McCarron

Name: Katherine “Katie” McCarron Photo of Katie McCarron, a toddler girl with blond hair and pale skin, wearing a blue summer dresss, sitting on the carpet and playing with a Teletubby toy. .
Died: May 13, 2006.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Morton, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Katie’s mother suffocated her with a plastic bag because she would not take a nap, saying that she had done it “to end [Katie’s] pain”.

Case status:
Karen McCarron (Mother); convicted of first degree murder; sentenced to 36 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Katie McCarron
Karen McCarron
“Katie McCarron”, CCDI
“Board Suspends Dr. McCarron’s License Indefinitely”
“Grandfather says Murder had nothing to do with Autism”
Katie McCarron, Charles-Antoine Blais, real children, real people.

Jasmine and Minnet Bowman

Portrait photo of Minnet and Jasmine Bowman. They are young, dark-skinned girls with their hair in braids and barrettes, smiling at the camera. — Minnet Bowman, left, and Jasmine Bowman.

Name: Jasmine Nicole Bowman.
Age at death: 7.

Name: Minnet Cecelia Bowman.
Age at death: 9.

Died: May 2006.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Montgomery County, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Unspecified “special needs”.

Details:
Both Jasmine and Minnet were smothered by their adoptive mother. She then put their bodies in a freezer and continued to collect the subsidies she got for adopting special-needs children.

Case status:
Renee Bowman (Adoptive mother), murder, sentenced to 2 life terms plus 75 years without parole.

Source:
Renee Bowman

Ryan Davies

Photo of Ryan Davies, a boy with brown hair, squinting a little in bright sunlight. Name: Ryan Davies.
Died: April 12, 2006.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, UK.
Disability: Fragile X.

Details:
Ryan’s mother caused him to jump off a bridge, and then jumped off herself.

Ryan knew how to do wheelies on his bike.

Case status:
Alison Davies (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Ryan Davies
Ordeal that drove mum to suicide jump with autistic son
A mother and son smiling at the station. Then two specks on the edge of a bridge
Tragedy of mother and autistic son, 12

Graeme Wylie

Name: Graeme Wylie.
Died: March 22, 2006.
Age at death: 71.
Cause of death: Barbiturate poisoning.
Location: Cammeray, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Graeme had Alzheimer’s disease. His wife took him to Switzerland, hoping to have him euthanized; but the Swiss doctors told her that Graeme’s dementia was too severe for him to be able to consent to such a thing, and refused her. At the time, Graeme had moderate-to-severe dementia and was unable to remember things like how many children he had or what his birthday was.

Still intent on her husband’s death, Graeme’s wife asked a friend to travel to Mexico and buy her a high dose of a veterinary sedative. She administered this drug to Graeme, killing him.

Graeme’s daughters told reporters that Graeme had never said anything about suicide to them, and pointed out that his wife stood to inherit a large amount in his will when he died.

Graeme was a retired airline pilot.

Case Status:
Shirley Justins (Wife), found guilty of manslaughter, sentenced to 22-30 months of weekend detention.
Caren Jenning (Family friend), found guilty of being an accessory to manslaughter, died before sentencing.

Sources:
Dr Death chose life for Graeme
Woman gave Alzheimer’s husband fatal dose of drugs after Swiss authorities refused legal euthanasia
The death of Graeme Wylie
Graeme Wylie died a lonely death, says daughter.
Euthansia killer Shirley Justin escapes jail

Evelyn Joel

Name: Evelyn Joel.
Died: January 7, 2006.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Enniscorthy, Ireland.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Evelyn’s health rapidly declined while she was in the care of her family. By the time she was hospitalized with multiple infected bedsores, she was too weak to recover when she caught pneumonia.

Case status:
Eleanor Joel (Daughter) and Jonathan Costen (Daughter’s husband), convicted of manslaughter; given two-year suspended sentence; sentence overturned because the health care workers involved in Evelyn’s care had not been summoned to testify at trial.

Source:
Court quashes couple’s convictions for killing Evelyn Joel
Couple will not face retrial over death of MS sufferer
Court quashes couple’s convictions for killing Evelyn Joel
Couple who left MS sufferer, Evelyn Joel, to die in her own filth receive suspended sentence
Ma neglect killer walk free from court
Appeal by couple convicted of letting MS sufferer die with ‘maggots in her infected bedsores’

Hevin Jenkins

Photo of Hevin Jenkins, a baby looking at the camera over the bottle he is holding and sucking on. Name: Hevin Dakota James Lee Jenkins.
Died: December 15, 2005.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: Hurricane, West Virginia, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Hevin was drowned by his aunt, and her boyfriend disposed of his body, which has never been found.

Case status:
Tonya Sloan (Aunt), second-degree murder, sentenced to 40 years.
Anthony Milam (Aunt’s boyfriend), accessory after the fact, sentenced to 1 year in prison.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Hevin Jenkins
Hevin Dakota James Lee Jenkins
Woman charged in her autistic nephew’s death