Status: Sentenced – Page 63 – Disability Day of Mourning

Liam Fee

Name: Liam Fee, a.k.a. Liam Johnson.
Died: March 22, 2014.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury to heart.
Location: Thornton, Fife, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Liam was beaten so badly by his mother and stepmother that his heart burst. They tried to blame his death on his seven-year-old brother, but were later charged with murder. It turned out that they had also abused Liam’s two older brothers, and probably intimidated one of them into falsely confessing to murder.

Case status:
Rachel Fee (Mother), convicted of murder, child abuse and neglect, sentenced to 23-and-a-half years to life.
Nyomi Fee (Stepmother), convicted of murder, child abuse and neglect, sentenced to 24 years.

Source:
Rachel Fee and Nyomi Fee jailed for life for the murder of tragic tot Liam Fee
Autism Memorial: Liam Fee
Mother and partner deny murdering Fife toddler Liam Fee
Lesbian partners found GUILTY of murdering 2-year-old boy subjected to ‘heartless cruelty’ before he died
Gateshead murder accused took toddler out of nursery after concerns raised by social services
New evidence of Liam Fee social work visit weeks before murder

James Sootheran

Photo of a middle-aged man in a beige cardigan, sitting in a living chair and reading a book. He has light skin, balding black hair and a beard. Name: James “Anthony” Sootheran.
Died: March 18, 2014.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: South Newington, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
Disability: Mental illness.

Details:
James lived with his elderly mother and a couple who cared for them. He and his mother owned a large property. After James’s mother died, his caregiver and her husband decided that they wanted the family’s money, so they forged a will that entitled them to an inheritance. Realizing that they couldn’t inherit until James was dead, they took advantage of his mental illness and tendency to self-neglect. They locked him in a single filthy room where he starved to death.

Mr. Sootheran was a retired auctioneer’s clerk.

Case status:
Lynda Rickard (Tenant, household member), convicted of murder, sentenced to 28 years to life.
Wayne Rickard (Tenant, household member), convicted of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult, sentenced to 10-and-a-half years.

Source:
Lynda Rickard: Woman who forged millionaire’s will and starved him to death to inherit slice of his estate is jailed for life
Oxfordshire couple starved man to death for windfall, court hears
Husband and wife starved their live-in landlord to death, court hears

June Lang

No Photo Name: June Lang.
Died: March 16, 2014.
Age at death: 75.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Blind.

Details:
After June insisted that the couple should move into an assisted living center, her husband shot her to death.

Case status:
Jack Lang (Husband); pleaded guilty to reckless homicide; sentenced to 8 years.

Source:
Police: Man killed wife after 56 years of marriage because she was “nagging” him
Oak Creek man who killed wife of 55 years sentenced to 8 years in prison

Anayah Williams

Name: Anayah Navaeh Williams.
Died: March 15, 2014.
Age at death: 1.
Cause of death: Internal injuries.
Location: Frederick, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Anayah was badly injured from one of her father’s beatings, and her mother did not call for help because her father said Child Protective Services would get involved. Anayah died from her injuries.

There is some evidence that Anayah’s cerebral palsy was actually caused by her father, who hit her when she was an infant, causing a skull fracture. The Maryland legislature later passed “Anayah’s Law”, meant to help prevent children from being returned to abusive parents.

Case status:
Frankie Williams (Father), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse, sentenced to 60 years to life in prison.
Stephanie Ramirez Williams (Mother), pled no contest to first-degree child abuse resulting in death; sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
Mother faces 20 years after entering plea in Anayah Williams’ death
Man pleads guilty in high-profile toddler death case
Man gets life for fatally abusing his disabled daughter

Alexa-Marie Quinn

Photo: A fair-skinned, brown-haired girl wearing a pink shirt with a yellow flower, smiling. Name: Alexa-Marie Quinn.
Died: March 12, 2014.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Extreme blunt-force trauma.
Location: Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK.
Disability: Fetal alcohol syndrome.

Details:
Alexa-Marie’s father beat her to death.

Case status:
Carl Wheatley (Father), convicted of murder, sentenced to 21 years to life.

Source:
Alexa-Marie Quinn murder: Councils failed to understand risks
Carl Wheatley denies murder of daughter Alexa-Marie Quinn
Girl, 4, beaten to death by her dad was ‘let down’ by social services

Harlan Haynes

Photo: An older man with a full gray beard and hair; he is fair-skinned, balding, wearing tinted glasses. Name: Harlan Haynes.
Died: March 12, 2014 (Body found).
Age at death: 96.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: South Kitsap, Washington, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Harlan was neglected by his daughter; he died of starvation.

Case status:
Renee Roberta Nash (Daughter); pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree manslaughter; sentenced to 2 years in prison.

Source:
Caretaker gets 2 years in prison for father’s death
South Kitsap woman jailed on murder charge in father’s death

Billy Ray Young

Photo of a gravestone partly buried in sandy dirt. It reads "Billy R. Young, October 18, 1961 to March 11, 2014," and is etched with an image of Jesus with hands outstretched. Name: Billy Ray Young.
Died: March 11, 2014.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Belleville, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Physical and mental disability, blindness.

Details:
Billy was allegedly starved to death by his brother and sister-in-law.

Case status:
Richard R. Young (Brother); charged with criminal neglect of a person with a disability.
Elizabeth R. Young (Sister-in-law); convicted of reckless conduct with great bodily harm; sentenced to 1 year.

Source:
Belleville couple charged with neglecting disabled man found dead in home
Couple pleads not guilty in deadly neglect case
Billy Ray Young Obituary (2014) Belleville News-Democrat

Blanche Cowen

No Photo Name: Blanche Effie Cowen.
Died: March 10, 2014.
Age at death: 100.
Cause of death: Starvation, infection.
Location: Rushsylvania, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled.

Details:
Blanche’s daughter was supposed to be caring for her, but instead Blanche was exiled to a filthy trailer behind her daughter’s house. There she stayed with only her developmentally disabled son for company, and he was unable to care for her because of his own disability and health problems. Blanche died of starvation, dehydration, and untreated bedsores. Her son died several months after his mother, from natural causes, at the age of 67.

Case status:
Mary Strawser (Daughter); pled guilty to neglect; sentenced to 18 months, eligible for early release in 30 days.

Source:
Woman pleads guilty in 100-year-old mother’s death

Monique Johnson

No Photo Name: Monique Johnson.
Died: February 12, 2014.
Age at death: 37.
Cause of death: Starvation/dehydration.
Location: Sacramento, California, USA.
Disability: Developmentally disabled; mobility impaired; non-verbal.

Details:
Monique died of severe neglect, dehydration, and starvation, weighing only 37 pounds. Her mother and sister took the money the state gave them to care for her, refusing offers of help.

Case status:
Sheila Johnson (Mother), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.
Ravetra Jones (Sister), pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and fraud, sentenced to 4 years 8 months.

Source:
Mom, sister sentenced in case of woman ‘neglected to the point of death’
Sacramento Mother Who Starved Daughter to Death Sentenced
Mother & Daughter Convicted for Death of Disabled Victim
Sacramento Mom Tells CBS13 She Didn’t Starve Disabled Daughter To Death
Mother, sister of woman who starved plead in Sacramento court
Mom, sister sentenced in case of woman ‘neglected to the point of death’
Monique Johnson Obituary

Madoc O’Callaghan

Name: Madoc Hyunsu O’Callaghan (Also spelled Hyeonsu or Hyun-su).
Died: February 3, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury; blunt trauma.
Location: Damascus, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Hydrocephalus, premature birth, learning difficulties, speech delay.

Details:
Madoc was beaten to death by his adoptive father.

He was an international adoptee from South Korea. At the Daniel School for children with disabilities in Seoul stands a statue of him holding a butterfly. A replica of the statue stands at the Linwood School in Maryland.

Case status:
Brian Patrick O’Callaghan (Adoptive father); pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death, sentenced to 20 years, with 12 years suspended; ordered to serve 8 years and may be released earlier.

Source:
Madoc Hyunsu O’Callaghan
Korean American adoptees furious at light sentence for toddler killer
Former NSA Employee Sentenced for Adopted Son’s Death
Former NSA official sentenced to 12 years in death of adopted son
Former NSA official gets 12 years in death of adopted son
Former NSA Official Sentenced to 12 Years in Death of Adopted Special-Needs Son
U.S. school for disabled children to dedicate statue in memory of S. Korean adoptee
Korean-American Adoptees Dedicate Statue in Memory of Killed Boy