Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Baby McKay (Never named).
Died: June 18, 1983.
Age at death: Newborn.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Harvey, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Trisomy 13 (Possibly).
Details:
When Baby McKay’s father saw his son’s cleft palate and webbed fingers and had it explained that the baby might have Trisomy 13, he bashed the infant’s head against the delivery room floor, killing him.
Case status:
Daniel McKay (Father). Charged with murder. Case dismissed after two hung juries.
Name: Michelle Sandor.
Age at death: 14.
Name: Scott Sandor.
Age at death: 11.
Died: September 3, 1982.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Marfan syndrome.
Details:
Scott and Michelle Sandor were shot by their mother, who then shot herself. Their mother also had Marfan syndrome.
Case status:
Linda V. Sandor, deceased.
Name: Steven Paul Hughes.
Died: June 1, 1982.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Boise, Idaho, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.
Details:
Steven was born with spina bifida, but his parents didn’t take him to see a doctor because they didn’t believe in doctors. He didn’t get a wheelchair and had to drag himself around on his forearms instead.
Steven died of untreated pneumonia shortly before his third birthday.
Case status:
William Hughes (Father) and his mother, no crime because denying children medical treatment on religious grounds is legal in Idaho.
Source:
These Coffins Represent Kids Who Died Because Their Parents Were Faith-Healers
Idahoans protest faith healing exemptions in Boise
183 Coffins For Idaho Children Killed By Faith Healing Parents
Hundreds March for Repeal of Idaho’s Faith Healing Exemptions
Steven Paul Hughes (1979-1982) – Find A Grave
In Idaho, medical-care exemptions for faith healing come under fire
Name: “Baby Doe”, Anonymous Male.
Died: April 15, 1982.
Age at death: 6 days.
Cause of death: Starvation, pneumonia.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.
Details:
Baby Doe was born with Down syndrome and an esophageal atresia, which untreated would result in death, but could be treated surgically with a 90% success rate. Advised by their doctor that the baby would have an intellectual disability, Baby Doe’s parents decided not to proceed with surgery. The hospital staff tried to have the court appoint a guardian for Baby Doe, to override the parents’ decision; but the court denied them. Baby Doe died six days later of starvation and pneumonia from aspirated stomach acid.
Case status:
Parents; Walter Owens (Doctor). No crime.
Source:
Baby Doe Law
Name: James Allen Lloyd.
Died: November 23, 1981.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Shadow Creek, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
After hearing that James might not be able to go to kindergarten because he was “slow”, James’s mother put him in the bathtub and shot him dead.
Case status:
Caroline Lloyd (Mother), convicted of murder.
Name: Matthew Robles.
Died: September 1, 1980.
Age at death: 4 months.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: El Cajon, California, USA.
Disability: Hydrocephalus.
Details:
Matthew was smothered by his mother. His death was presumed natural until five years later, when his mother killed his brother, John Robles, and confessed to both killings.
Case status:
Debra Sue Robles (Mother), pled guilty to murder, sentenced to 30 years to life.
Source:
An American Tragedy: Mother Kills 2 Children as System Fails
Woman Held in Deaths of Her Disabled Sons
Name Unknown.
Died: December 4, 2021.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Townsville, Queensland, Canada.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
This toddler girl’s father, who was the only adult home to take care of her and her two-year-old brother, had been awake for 31 hours, taking and selling methamphetamine. He was sleeping it off when his three-year-old daughter opened the unlocked front door, left the house, and drowned in a storm drain. Prosecutors called his drug use “criminally negligent” and the little girl’s death “entirely preventable”.
Case Status:
Her father pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child endangerment.
Sources:
Father found guilty of non-verbal, autistic daughter’s manslaughter after drowning death