Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Nikolas Chavez III.
Died: November 30, 2005.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability.
Details:
Nikolas was beaten to death by his godfather.
Case status:
Robert Knutsen (Godfather); sentenced to 7 years, served 4 years and released.
Source:
Nikolas Tyler Chavez III
Trial begins of N.B. man accused of beating his godson to death
Name: B. L. (Initials; full name unknown.)
Died: November 26, 2005.
Age at death: 13 months.
Cause of death: Brain damage; shaken baby.
Location: Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Developmental delay.
Details:
B. L. died of shaken baby syndrome, caused by his foster father.
Case status:
His foster father pleaded guilty to manslaughter; he was sentenced to five years, paroled within 2 years.
Source:
Learning from a sad, short life
Name: Dylan Walborn.
Died: November 11, 2005.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Dehydration.
Location: Thornton, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Perinatal brain damage, cerebral palsy, epilepsy.
Details:
Dylan had a stroke in utero, and was not supposed to live to see his first birthday. But he lived to be four years old.
At four, Dylan died of starvation and dehydration because his parents stopped feeding him through his feeding tube. It took him twenty-four days to die.
Case status:
Kerri Bruning (Mother) and Dave Walborn (Father), no crime.
Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Letting go: Dylan’s last days
Children’s Hospital Euthanizes Dylan Walborn
“Dylan Must Die”
Name: Jason Ritzert.
Died: November 10, 2005.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Jason’s roommates, who often abused him under the pretext of “punishing” him, set him on fire and then left his severe burns untreated for days before strangling him.
Case status:
Timothy Caldwell, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison.
Melissa Adams, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 30-60 years.
Russell Lee Hilliard, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 20-40 years.
Name: Mary Mount.
Died: October 19, 2005 (Body found; died around January 4, 2004).
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Cape Coral, Florida, USA.
Disability: Russell Silver Syndrome.
Details:
Mary left home to stay in a hotel room with her boyfriend. Sometime during that time, she disappeared. Her boyfriend was questioned; initially, he said that she had taken her car and left, then that she had died of natural causes and he had buried her body. Years later, new evidence led to murder charges, and he admitted to smothering Mary to death.
Case Status:
Terry Daniel McDonald (Boyfriend), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 25 years.
Sources:
Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for 2004 killing of Lee County woman
Terry McDonald charged with murder of Mary Mount, State Attorney’s Office says
Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for 2004 killing of Lee County woman
El Paso Police Department Voluntary Statement
Family says suspect has gotten away with murder for 14 years
Name: Sarah Naylor.
Died: September 29, 2005.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Springdale, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Sarah’s mother shot her dead and then committed suicide.
Case status:
Jane Naylor (Mother), deceased.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Sarah Naylor
Mother kills autistic daughter, then herself
Name: Stefanie Christina Brummer.
Died: September 18, 2005.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Eagleby, Logan, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Stefanie’s mother smothered her. She was reportedly frustrated with the child for “doing the wrong thing and being naughty”.
Case Status:
Alice Maree Potter (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 3-8 years.
Sources:
R v Potter; ex parte A-G (Qld) [2008] QCA
Mother smothers 5yo to death
Name: Abubakar Tariq Nadama.
Died: August 23, 2005.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Chelation therapy.
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
In an effort to cure his autism, Abubakar’s parents took him to a doctor for chelation therapy. The doctor administered the wrong medication, too quickly, and Abubakar died.
Case status:
Roy Kerry (Doctor), charged with negligent manslaughter, charges dropped.
Abubakar’s parents (No crime).
Source:
Autism Memorial: Abubakar Nadama
Justice may yet prevail in the case of Abubakar Nadama
5-year-old British autistic boy dies after alternative therapy in U.S.
Abubakar Tariq Nadama – More Quackery Revealed
Name: Britney Abbott.
Died: August 21, 2005.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Car crash.
Location: Auckland, New Zealand.
Disability: Usher syndrome.
Details:
Britney and her little sister both had Usher syndrome. Their father put them in the car and drove off a mountain, killing Britney. Her little sister survived.
Case status:
Garth Duwayne Abbott (Father), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 4 1/2 years, released after serving 19 months.
Source:
Father found guilty of manslaughter
Charges ‘ridiculous’ says wife
Killer may not be deported
Parole may bar father from family
Family fights to stay in NZ
Sentencing for man who killed daughter
Mass of the Angels for Britney
Killer immigrant given work permit instead of deportation order
Name: Talia Williams.
Died: July 16, 2005.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Abuse.
Location: Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, USA.
Disability: Incontinence.
Details:
Talia was beaten to death by her father and stepmother.
Case status:
Naeem Williams (Father), murder, life without parole.
Delilah Williams (Stepmother) murder, sentenced to 20 years.
Source:
Talia Williams