Status: Sentenced – Page 105 – Disability Day of Mourning

John Robles

No Photo Name: John Robles.
Died: January 19, 1985.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: El Cajon, California, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
John had spent time in foster care, but was returned to his mother. In the end, he was smothered by his mother, who had gotten away with killing his brother Matthew five years before. John’s death was thought to be natural until his mother went to the police and confessed to both murders.

Case status:
Debra Sue Robles (Mother); confessed 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

Tara Kelly

Name: Tara Kelly.
Died: October 30, 1984.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Homicidal violence.
Location: Rochester, New York, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
While her mother’s boyfriend was babysitting Tara, he killed her by hitting, kicking, and suffocating her.

Case status:
Thomas Osburn (Mother’s boyfriend), second-degree murder, 20 years to life.

Source:
Man Sentenced in Death of Retarded Girl
Tara Jean Kelly (1975-1984) – Find a Grave`

Louise Brown

No Photo Name: Louise Brown.
Died: May 28, 1984.
Age at death: 14 days.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: London, England, UK.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Louise’s father told police that Louise had been in the family car when it was stolen. When the truth emerged, it was found that Louise had been killed by her father because he could not accept her disability, and her uncle had helped get rid of the body.

Case status:
Paul Brown (Father), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 5 years, served less than 2.
Ian Brown (Uncle), served 9 months in jail for helping dispose of Louise’s body.

Source:
Killer Dad Jailed for Murder of Brother; Daughter was first victim.

Matthew Robles

No Photo. 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

Desmond Thorpe

No Photo Name: Desmond Thorpe.
Died: August 10, 2009.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Ipswich, Suffolk, England, UK.
Disability: Chronic illness; physically disabled, alcoholism.

Details:
Desmond’s teenage daughter, worried that Desmond would turn her in for a murder she and another man had committed, killed him by suffocating him with a cushion. Desmond’s body and that of Rosalyn Hunt, 41, were soon found and Desmond’s daughter and her partner in crime were arrested.

Case Status:
Lorraine Thorpe (daughter) was convicted of both murders and sentenced to life with a minimum of 14 years.
Paul Clarke was convicted and imprisoned. He died by suicide in 2014.

Sources:
UK’s youngest double murderer who tortured pal with cheese grater could be freed
Lorraine Thorpe