Status – Page 48 – Disability Day of Mourning

Tracy Hamby

Name: Tracy Hamby.
Died: February 13, 2020.
Age at death: 37.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Tavares, Florida, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; receiving disability payments.

Details:
Tracy’s boyfriend, a military police officer, fatally shot her. He claimed that he had shot her because she startled him, but the prosecution pointed out that he and Tracy had been arguing that day because Tracy’s boyfriend had been taking her disability payments. The gun, which her boyfriend said had gone off accidentally, had a trigger that was very hard to pull. The jury agreed and convicted Tracy’s boyfriend.

Case Status:
Renee Aviles (Boyfriend), convicted of domestic manslaughter with a firearm, sentenced to 20 years.

Sources:
Lake County man found guilty of killing girlfriend in 2020

Ma’Leyah Hardin

Name: Ma’Leyah Ayesha Hardin.
Died: February 10, 2020.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Marietta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; used breathing tube.

Details:
Ma’Leyah’s mother strangled her.

Case status:
Shekinah Akbar (Mother), pleaded guilty but mentally ill to felony murder and cruelty to children in first degree; sentenced to life.

Source:
Mother sentenced to life after killing daughter during exorcism attempt, prosecutors say
Mother charged with strangling disabled daughter, 5, to death
Ma’Leyah Ayesha Hardin
Churchgoing ‘pretty good’ mom accused of strangling 5-year-old daughter
Mother charged with strangling disabled daughter, 5, to death

Makeisha Maynard

Name: Makeisha Maynard.
Died: February 9, 2020.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Trauma.
Location: Caroni, Trinidad and Tobago.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Makeisha’s father beat her to death with a cutlass because she wet the bed. He hung himself the next day.

Makeisha knew her numbers, colors, and shapes, but had trouble writing.

Case status:
Michael Maynard (Father), deceased.

Source:
Girl, 8, beaten to death after wetting bed, father takes own life
Girl, 8, beaten to death with cutlass
Trinidad: Father beats 8yro daughter to death with cutlass
Autism Memorial: Makeisha Maynard

Masatoshi Chiba

No Photo Name: Masatoshi Chiba.
Died: February 2, 2020.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified chronic disease.

Details:
Masatoshi was allegedly strangled by his wife, who said she was “worn out from looking after him”.

Case status:
Mitsuko Chiba (Wife), arrested and confessed to murder.

Source:
69-year-old woman arrested over death of ailing husband

Jordynn Barrera

Name: Jordynn Barrera.
Died: January 31, 2020.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Bay City, Texas, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome, cerebral palsy.

Details:
Jordynn was found dead in her bed when police were called for a welfare check to her mother’s house. Her mother had left her and her younger siblings, ages 5 and 3 months, alone to go to a bar, and Jordynn died from neglect. Her mother was arrested, and her two younger siblings were taken into foster care.

Case status:
Lauren Kay Dean (Mother), pleaded guilty to murder and child endangerment; sentenced to life and a concurrent 20 year term.

Source:
Texas mother pleads guilty to the murder and abandonment of disabled, bedridden daughter
Mom Who Left Bedridden Daughter Alone Gets Life Sentence for Murder
Texas mother gets life after bedridden seven-year-old daughter died home alone while she went out to bar
Bedridden girl, 7, found dead after her mom left the house to go partying
What did Lauren Kay Dean do? Texas mom pleads guilty to murder of bedridden daughter
Mother arrested after bedridden daughter, 7, found dead in home
Mother arrested after 7-year-old daughter found dead inside home. She joked about poisoning someone hours earlier: Police
Lauren Kay Dean: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
How you can help grieving family of 7-year-old found dead

Rosalia Garofalo

Blurry photo of a middle-aged woman wearing a black-and-white checked scarf. Her hair is tied back; overexposure of the photo has given her skin an orange tint. Name: Rosalia Garofalo.
Died: January 29, 2020.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Trauma-related pneumothorax and respiratory failure.
Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Rosalia’s husband allegedly beat her to death over the course of three days. She had been abused by her husband many times over the years of her marriage.

Case status:
Vincenzo Frasillo (Husband), charged with voluntary homicide, domestic abuse, and assault.

Source:
Omicidio Rosalia Garofalo. Rinviato a giudizio il marito Vincenzo Frasillo
Processo femminicidio Mazara del Vallo, sentiti investigatori della Polizia
Man indicted for beating to death disabled wife
Al via processo per l’omicidio della mazarese Rosalia Garofalo uccisa un anno fa dal marito

Ishanth

No Photo Name: Ishanth.
Died: January 28, 2020.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Trauma.
Location: Korukkupeet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Disability: Intellectual disability, mobility impaired, unspecified disorder of the nerves.

Details:
When her son was taken to the hospital, Ishanth’s mother claimed that he had tripped and fallen while playing. He died of his injuries three days later. However, the autopsy and investigation found that he could not have tripped, because he could not walk yet. His mother admitted during questioning that she had beaten him because she did not want a child with a disability.

Case status:
Nadiya (Mother), charged with murder.

Source:
Stressed over son’s learning disability, Chennai mother kills toddler, held after 11 months
Chennai woman admits to murdering 3-year-old son who had disability
Chennai: Mother arrested for special kid’s death after 11 months

James Tate

No Photo
Name: James Tate.
Died: January 19, 2020.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: West Town, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; used a walker after recent arm and heart surgery.

Details:
James and his wife had told their son that he wasn’t allowed in the house if he was drunk. But his son came home drunk anyway, and when they confronted him about it, his son stabbed him to death and tried to kill his wife, who survived.

Case status:
Michael Tate (Son), convicted of murder and attempted murder; sentenced to 32-35 years.

Source:
Man murdered disabled dad, tried to stab mom in in West Town, prosecutors say

Dustin Baggett

Name: Dustin Baggett.
Died: January 18, 2020.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Smoke inhalation and burns.
Location: Florissant, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Dustin was pulled out of his burning house by firefighters, but died a day later in the hospital. The fire was investigated and shown to be arson, and police suspected a man who lived in his house.

Dustin’s neighbors had long been worried about how he and the other children in his house were being treated. They called authorities repeatedly. Dustin, though nonverbal, was a friendly boy and constantly smiling. A neighbor remembers, “We all kind of took him in, knowing he needed our love.”

Case status:
Bobby Copass (Household member), charged with second-degree murder and first-degree arson.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Dustin Baggett
Man suspected of setting fatal fire in Florissant now charged with murder
15-year-old Missouri boy who lived with autism died after arson fire; upgraded charges expected
Police: Boy, 15, with autism killed in arson fire

John Miller III

No Photo Name: John Miller III.
Died: January 17, 2020.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Multi-system organ failure.
Location: Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome with autistic traits.

Details:
John’s parents allegedly neglected him until one day his father called the police and explained that his son was dead. John’s body was found on his bed, extremely emaciated, dirty, and covered in bedsores. He had not seen a doctor in nine years. His death was ruled to be caregiver neglect.

Case status:
John Miller Jr. (Father), charged with second-degree murder and second-degree vulnerable adult abuse.
Maria Miller (Mother), charged with second-degree murder and second-degree vulnerable adult abuse.

Source:
Judge vacates plea deal in neglect, murder case: Aquilina, in rare move, vacates a plea deal for John Miller, Jr.
Autism Memorial: John Miller III
Lansing parents ordered to stand trial on murder charge in adult son’s January 2020 death
Lansing couple charged with neglecting, killing adult son who had Down syndrome