Status: Other – Disability Day of Mourning

Yashasvi Pawar

No Photo Name: Yashasvi Pawar.
Died: February 20, 2025.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Poisoned.
Location: Naupada, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Disability: Congenital disability; mobility impaired, nonspeaking.

Details:
Police believe that Yashasvi’s mother, frustrated because Yashasvi’s recent illness caused her to cry out in pain through the night, poisoned her with medication. Yashasvi’s mother, grandmother, and a family friend were captured on CCTV carrying her body into a car, intending to take it to be cremated. All three have been charged with murder.

Case Status:
Snehal Pawar (Mother), charged with murder; at large/wanted.
Surekha Mahangade (Grandmother), arrested on suspicion of murder.
An unidentified family friend, charged with murder; at large/wanted.

Sources:
Woman poisons differently abled, bedridden daughter to death in Naupada

Tegan Fredericks

Name: Tegan Fredericks.
Died: October 28, 2024.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Severe pressure sores.
Location: Port Augusta, South Australia, Australia.
Disability: Physical and intellectual disability.

Details:
Medics were called to Tegan’s home, where she lived with her mother, because she had fallen and could not be put back into her chair. They found her in serious condition and rushed her to the hospital, but she died four days later from severe pressure sores. The home where Tegan had been living was “not fit for human habitation”; authorities say they have found “clear indicators of criminal neglect”.

Case Status:
Tegan’s death has been declared “a major crime”. She lived with her mother, who served as a caregiver, but police are still investigating who exactly was responsible for Tegan’s condition. No one has yet been charged.

Sources:
Death of disabled woman being investigated as major crime
Death of 26yo woman who lived with ‘significant’ disabilities in ‘squalid’ conditions declared a major crime
Woman with disability found dead was in home ‘not fit for humans’

Baba Junior

Name: Baba Junior.
Died: September 5, 2023.
Age at death: 4 months.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Berekum, Bono, Ghana.
Disability: Suspected autism.

Details:
Suspecting that the little boy had autism, Baba’s father allegedly hired a fetish priest to suffocate the child. Baba’s parents went to the cemetery at night to bury the body. Neighbors who heard about the incident reported it to the police, who are now investigating.

Case Status:
Dj Poli (Father), wanted and at large.
Madam Paulina (Mother), arrested but later released.
Nana (Hired killer), status unspecified.

Sources:
Man allegedly pays fetish priest GHS800 to kill 4-month-old autistic son, buries him secretly
Man Allegedly Kills His 4-Month-Old Autistic Son
Man allegedly kills and secretly buries his 4-month-old son — Kasapa102.5FM
B/R: Level 200 Legon student allegedly kills four-month-old son for being autistic baby
Autism Memorial: Baba Junior

Rashta

Photo Unavailable Name: Rashta (Also spelled Riasat).
Died: March 13, 2023.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Injury from edged weapon.
Location: Baldia Town, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Disability: Polio survivor.

Details:
Rashta’s father and brother tried to pressure him into selling his home; when he refused, they allegedly killed him. Rashta was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

Rashta worked as a laborer.

Case Status:
Zardar (Father), arrested.
Asim (Brother), wanted for murder; at large.

Sources:
Property dispute father kills disabled elder son along with younger son Pipa News
Polio-disabled man stabbed to death by father, brother over land dispute

Bijay Pradhan

A seated man with brown skin, black hair, and a mustache; he is wearing a collared shirt with blue, red, and white stripes. His expression is neutral. Name: Bijay Pradhan.
Died: February 18, 2023.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Patharapunja Village, Odisha, India.
Disability: Physical disability.

Details:
Bijay wanted to be married; so his uncle arranged a marriage for him. But his stepmother did not want him married because she thought he would inherit all the family’s property, and she did not want a “divyang” (Hindu: a disabled person, lit., “one with a divine body part”) to inherit. She recruited his father and stepbrothers, and together they allegedly beat him and starved him for months. Neighbors found Bijay, rescued him, and rushed him to the hospital; but even after he was transferred for advanced treatment, his injuries proved fatal, and he died.

Bijay was an autorickshaw driver.

Case Status:
Bijay’s stepmother, father, and stepbrothers are under investigation by police, suspected of murder.

Sources:
Stepmother, father allegedly murder physically-challenged son in Nayagarh district
Stepmother, Father Beat Divyang Youth To Death For Expressing Desire To Marry | Odisha
Divyang man beaten to death by stepmother, father for ‘wanting’ to marry
Odisha woman kills stepson for property

14-year-old girl

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: December 20, 2022.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
This teenage girl’s body was found in her home with her mother. The girl had been strangled. Police say her mother killed her and then attempted suicide.

Case Status:
Her mother (Suspected of murder; hospitalized).

Sources:
Widow Strangles Handicapped Daughter to Death, Attempts Suicide
Bengaluru Woman Strangles Handicapped Daughter, Tries To Die By Suicide

Josiah Green

No Photo Name: Josiah Green.
Died: December 4, 2022.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
When Josiah’s father called for an ambulance, medics found the teenager dead, with severe burns over 90% of his body. His father allegedly told authorities that Josiah had accidentally fallen into a bathtub full of scalding water two days before, and he had treated the boy with over-the-counter remedies instead of taking him to the hospital. Police say that the extent of the teen’s burns is not consistent with the brief exposure to hot tap water that his father reported.

Case Status:
Josiah’s death has been ruled a homicide. Police are still investigating the possibility that Josiah was accidentally burned, after which medical care was delayed for two days.

Sources:
Death of special needs Brooklyn teen found burned in apartment deemed a homicide, NYPD says
Special needs teen Josiah Green found burned to death in NYC home
Teenager with special needs found burned to death in bathtub
Brooklyn special needs teen’s death from scalding water burns a homicide, NYPD says

Unnamed Baby Girl

No Photo Unnamed Baby Girl.
Died: September 6, 2022.
Age at death: 1 day.
Cause of death: Abandonment.
Location: Mandya, Karnataka, India.
Disability: Unspecified congenital disability.

Details:
This baby girl, never named, was abandoned by her parents. A pack of wild dogs found her and dragged her onto the grounds of a hospital, where staff rescued her; but she died of her injuries not long after. It is believed that she was abandoned because of her visible disability, because she was born a girl, or both.

Case Status:
Unsolved. Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage and searching for her parents.

Sources:
Karnataka: Abandoned newborn girl dies after being partially eaten by stray dogs in hospital premises; probe on

Sharon Mook

Name: Sharon Mook.
Died: May 15, 2022.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; nursing home resident.

Details:
Sharon’s husband stabbed her to death in her nursing home.

Case Status:
Dan Mook (Husband), charged with first-degree murder, third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and fourth-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Hospitalized indefinitely; incompetent to stand trial, unlikely to regain competency.

Sources:
N.J. man who stabbed ailing wife to death to remain hospitalized indefinitely
Mercy Killing? 84-year-old Mt. Laurel, NJ, Husband Charged With Wife’s Death
Mount Laurel man charged in wife’s death in nursing home, claims mercy killing

2-year-old girl

Name Unknown.
Died: May 10, 2022.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Davenport, Florida, USA.
Disability: Failure to thrive; possible muscular dystrophy, possible cystic fibrosis.

Details:
This girl, two months short of three years old, died weighing 9 pounds, with no food in her stomach. Although the girl’s doctors were worried about both cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy at her six-month checkup, her parents allegedly did not take her to the doctor until they found her dead.

Case Status:
Regis Johnson (Father), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Arhonda Tillman (Mother), found incompetent to stand trial due to intellectual disability.
Frank Robinson (Uncle), charged with negligent child abuse with great bodily harm and failure of an adult in a home to report child abuse.

Sources:
Father gets life in prison for starvation death of his nearly 3-year-old daughter
2-year-old starved to death, parents arrested, Polk sheriff says
Polk toddler weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces at death. Couple charged with felony child neglect
Couple Charged In Death Of 34 Month Old Who Starved To Death Weighing 9.5 Pounds
Couple charged for starving toddler to death, sheriff says
Davenport couple arrested for negligent child abuse resulting in death of 34-month-old toddler