Status: Other – Page 9 – Disability Day of Mourning

20-year-old man

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: April 26, 2015.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
This young man was fatally stabbed in the neck by his younger sister. She told police, “I’ve just always hated him because he has ruined my life.”

Case status:
His 15-year-old sister. Ruled not guilty because of mental illness; sent to a psychiatric ward for treatment and eventual release.

Source:
15-årig pige erkender at have stukket sin bror ihjel
15-årig pige erkender: Jeg slog min storebror ihjel
15-årig pige stak sin bror ihjel: Moderen skrev lang artikel om deres problemer
15-årig pige stak storebror ihjel: ‘Nu har de mistet begge børn’
15-årig pige tilstår knivdrab: Stak storebror i halsen
16-årig pige hadede sin storebror og dræbte ham med kniv
Danish girl killed disabled brother who ‘ruined life’

Name: Gary Blanton III.
Died: April 18, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Fractured skull.
Location: Chattaroy, Washington, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability, possible autism.

Details:
Gary died from a fractured skull while in the custody of his aunt, who had custody of him after his parents died. Authorities discovered that his caseworker had been falsifying health-and-wellness visit reports.

Gary was a rambunctious child who ran up and down the hallways and even climbed into the washing machine.

Case status:
Cynthia Rose Khaleel (Aunt); charged with second-degree murder, acquitted.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Gary Blanton III
Jury acquits Chattaroy woman of killing 5-year-old nephew
Chattaroy woman arrested for five-year-old nephew’s death
Obituary
‘Everyone failed him’: Boy’s aunt accused of murder, DSHS accused of ‘critical errors’

5-year-old boy

Photo of a small boy, with a censor blur obscuring the face. The child has blond hair and fair skin and is wearing a blue hoodie. Name Unknown.
Died: March 26, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Drug overdose.
Location: Pennant Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Epilepsy, Hepatitis C.

Details:
This young boy had allegedly been abused by his foster family before he died of an overdose of several drugs, including diazepam, morphine, and other opiates.

He had been taken from his birth mother because she used drugs.

Case status:
His foster family is under investigation.

Source:
Five-year-old foster boy had ‘toxic drug cocktail’ in system at death, reports
Dead five-year-old foster child “had drugs in system”
Five-Year-Old Boy Who Died in Foster Care Had Heroin in His System
Police investigate death of boy, five, in notorious foster home
Boy, five, in foster care died with a cocktail of drugs in his system
Boy, 5, dies under same care as Girl X

Ahziya Osceola

Photo: A toddler with olive-toned skin, wearing a plastic fireman's hat and a denim shirt, smiling. Name: Ahziya Osceola.
Died: March 19, 2015 (Body found).
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Internal injury from abdominal trauma.
Location: Hollywood, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Ahziya’s stepmother initially claimed that he had gone missing, but the toddler’s body was found, and his cause of death determined to have been blunt-force abdominal trauma that severely injured his liver and pancreas. He also had a broken leg which had gone untreated.

Case status:
Analiz Osceola (Stepmother), convicted of aggravated manslaughter of a child, sentenced to 30 years.
Nelson Osceola (Father), charged with child neglect, charges dropped.

Source:
Stepmother Found Guilty in 2015 Death of Hollywood Toddler
Stepmother sentenced for fatally beating 3-year-old boy so badly his pancreas broke into pieces
Slain Hollywood Toddler’s Father Testifies in Murder Trial of Ex-Wife
Autism Memorial: Ahziya Osceola
Massive Search In Hollywood For Missing 3-Year-Old Child
Stepmother, Father In Jail Following Death Of Toddler
Ahziya Osceola Had Been Living With Untreated Broken Leg For Weeks Before Death
Behind smiles, a Florida child’s short, troubled life
Father, stepmother of boy found dead in Hollywood home arrested
Stepmother of Dead South Florida Boy Held on on $230,000 Bond

Iblah Pilo

No Photo Name: Iblah (Ibrahim) Pilo.
Died: January 16, 2015.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Chimtanda village, Malawi.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Iblah’s mother was worried that he would be kidnapped and sold for his body parts, but her husband told her to stay with him, saying that he would protect the little boy.

Days later, Iblah’s mother woke in the night to hear him screaming; he was being kidnapped. She was unable to save him.

Iblah’s body was never found, but it is likely that he was indeed sold for his body parts, which are used in ritual magic. Police arrested his father and two other men.

Case status:
Iblah’s father and two others were charged with kidnapping and burglary, but released due to insufficient evidence.

Source:
Malawi: Killing spree of people with albinism fuelled by ritual practices and policing failures
Prejudice against people with albinism in Malawi

Kendrea Johnson

Photo of Kendrea Johnson. She is an African-American girl wearing a yellow dress, her hair in hair clips. She has her hands on her hips and is leaning forward, lips puckered, as though she is trying to kiss the camera. Name: Kendrea Johnson.
Died: December 27, 2014.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Hanging.
Location: Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: PTSD.

Details:
Foster child Kendrea was showing signs of severe mental illness; she had been experiencing suicidal ideation every day for months. But her foster home did nothing to help her; instead, she was threatened with beatings and locked in her room. Four times, her foster home was reported for neglect, but not investigated.

Kendrea was found hanging from her bunk bed with a jump rope tied around her neck; the death was ruled a “ligature hanging” and showed all the signs of suicide, including a suicide note reading “I’m sorry”. If that is the case, then Kendrea’s death was the result of neglect, with her mental illness left untreated to the point that the little girl died by suicide. However, Kendrea’s grandmother believes her death was a murder rather than a suicide, since the knot in the jump rope might have been too complex for a six-year-old to tie.

Case status:
Tannise Nawaqavou (foster mother), foster care license revoked.
$1.5 million settlement paid to Kendrea’s grandmother by Hennepin County.

Source:
SiebenCarey and NewmarkStorms File Civil Lawsuit Following Death of Six-Year-Old in Foster Care
String of failures came before suicidal 6-year-old’s death
Did 6-year-old Brooklyn Park girl kill herself? Police wonder
Hennepin County officials say little about death of girl in Brooklyn Park foster-care home
Girl, 6, died by hanging in foster care. County settles with family for $1.5 million.
$1.5 million settlement in Minnesota six-year-old’s foster care death
Minnesota girl, 6, died by hanging in foster care. Hennepin County settles with family for $1.5 million.

Rosemary Vincent

Photo of Rosemary Vincent. She is a middle-aged woman with a round face, pale skin, and short curly red hair. She is wearing big white feathered earrings. Name: Rosemary Vincent.
Died: December 24, 2014.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: McConnelsville, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.

Details:
Rosemary’s cousin, instead of caring for her or taking her to the doctor, stole her disability payments and neglected her. He would often tie her to a chair and put her in the closet. Weakened from lack of care, Rosemary was admitted to the hospital emaciated, with broken ribs and untended bedsores. She died of pneumonia.

Case status:
Jerry Campbell II (Cousin), pleaded guilty to theft from an elderly or disabled person, robbery, illegal use of food stamps, kidnapping, domestic violence, intimidation of a witness, and illegal manufacture of drugs; sentenced to 8 years.
Shannon Campbell (Cousin’s wife), pleaded guilty to neglect.
Linda Campbell (Jerry’s wife), charged with obstruction of justice/failure to report a crime, ruled incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
One pleads guilty in disabled person abuse case
Mother, son both remain in custody
Trial delayed in case involving Nelsonville woman’s death
Man accused of neglect in death of woman gets 8 years

Yana Voronova

Photo of Yana Voronova, a teenage girl with pale skin and brown hair, holding a large white stuffed animal. Her eyes have a censor blur over them. Name: Yana Voronova.
Died: Approx. December 19, 2014.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Decapitation.
Location: Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Yana’s mother decapitated her.

Case status:
Nadejda Voronova (Mother), held in a psychiatric ward.

Source:
Mother decapitates her disabled seven-year-old daughter

Samauri Page

No Photo Name: Samauri J. Page.
Died: November 30, 2014.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Diabetic ketoacidosis.
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes, autism.

Details:
Samauri died of diabetic ketoacidosis because he had been either not given enough to eat, or not given his insulin.

His favorite sport was wrestling.

Case status:
Bakari J. Page (Father), under investigation.

Source:
Samauri J. Page
Autism Memorial: Samauri Page
Diabetic teen dies despite multiple warnings to Children Services

Patrick

No Photo Name: “Patrick” (Family name unknown).
Died: November 2014.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Multiple organ failure.
Location: Bedford, England, UK.
Disability: Coffin-Lowry syndrome.

Details:
Patrick’s care was neglected by his grandmother. He was kept in a filthy room without a working light. By the time he was hospitalized, he weighed only 95 pounds, had bruises all over his body, and was in multiple organ failure. He died age 17.

Patrick was good at swimming and had just learned cycling. Despite his limited ability to speak, he had memorized all of his classmates’ names.

Case status:
His grandmother was interviewed for case review. Belford Borough Safeguarding Children Board concluded that the agency did not adequately support Patrick’s needs or ensure that his grandmother cared for him adequately.

Source:
Disabled teenager who died weighing just 6 stone was ‘invisible’ to social services
‘Neglected’ disabled Bedford teen ‘unsupported’ by social services before ‘shocking’ death
Tragic death of ‘invisible’ Bedford teen failed by system
Patrick Final Report for PUBLICATION 23.5.16