Category: Status: Sentenced

Suspect convicted and sentenced.

Camden Fry

Photo of Camden Fry, a young girl with light-brown hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Her hair is held back in a hair band and she is smiling for the camera, revealing dimples in her cheeks.Name: Camden Alexis Fry.
Died: August 9, 2009.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Positional asphyxia.
Location: North Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA.
Disability: ADHD, anxiety.

Details:
Camden liked animals, nature, and art.  She enjoyed swimming, hockey, and playing with her friends. She took art and cooking classes and liked to arrange her stuffed animals every night before bed.

When Camden struggled because she didn’t want a bath, her mother restrained her and eventually strangled her with pressure on her chest and hands on her neck and mouth.

Case status:
Kimberly Fry (Mother), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Source:
Mother asks court to throw out her conviction for killing daughter
Mom who killed child argues cops have done same to suspects
Rhode Island mother to serve 20 years in death of daughter, 8 – The Boston Globe
Camden Fry Obituary
Local child’s death stuns community
Therapist: Kimberly Fry Blamed Daughter For Depression; Felt Hopeless
UPDATE: Key Information Disclosed Two Years After Girl’s Death

Charles Billis

Photo of Charles Billis, a middle-aged man with brown hair and pale skin, wearing a plaid shirt.Name: Charles Billis.
Died: July 22, 2009.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Automobile collision.
Location: Charleston, Orleans County, Vermont, USA.
Disability: Legally blind.

Details:
Charles’s wife deliberately crashed their car, killing Charles, who was not wearing a seatbelt. She was wearing a seat belt and survived with minor injuries.

Case status:
Christine Billis (Wife), pleaded guilty, sentenced to 7-15 years.

Source:
Murderpedia: Christine Billis
Charles Billis Murder: Where is Christine Billis Now?

Giovanni Kopystenski

Photo of a young boy with olive skin and black hair, wearing an athletic jersey, standing in front of some palm trees.Name: Giovanni Kopystenski.
Died: July 21, 2009.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Giovanni’s father says he left a loaded gun on the center console of the car while he and the boy were in the car, and that Giovanni took the gun and shot himself in the head.

Giovanni was playful and mischievous, a great swimmer who loved Thomas the Tank Engine and McDonald’s chicken nuggets.

Case status:
Alex Kopystenski (Father), pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm; sentenced to 5 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Giovanni Kopystenski
Mother in Shock After Death of Son
Boy’s father charged with endangerment after fatal shooting
Sentencing delayed for father who admits guilt in boy’s fatal shooting
Grandmother disputes police report that boy was shot with gun left on vehicle’s console
Giovanni’s Legacy Foundation

Meah Weidner

Photo of Meah Weidner, a young girl with short blond hair and fair skin, sitting in a power chair, smiling mischievously with her tongue stuck out. There is an ocean in the background.Name: Meah Weidner.
Died: July 7, 2009.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Meah’s mother’s boyfriend killed her by shaking her and dropping her on her head.

Case status:
David “Tony” Tyre (Mother’s boyfriend), homicide by child abuse, life without parole.

Source:
Child’s death stuns friends in Carolina Miracle League

Michael Becht Jr.

Photo of a boy with fair skin, brown eyes, and short brown hair.Name: Michael “Mikey” Becht Jr.
Died: July 6, 2009.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Michael’s mother poisoned him with a drug overdose.

Michael had befriended the neighbor’s six-year-old, with whom he played “Whales and Sharks”, a modified version of tag.

Case status:
Patricia Becht (Mother); pled guilty to murder; Sentenced to 38 years, 3 months with possibility of parole in 25-and-a-half years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Michael Becht Jr.
In Loving Memory Of Michael Becht Jr (Mikey)
Mother investigated in South St. Paul boy’s death
South St. Paul mother suspected of killing 10-year-old son
South St. Paul mom charged in attempted murder-suicide by drug overdose that left son dead
Mom admits to killing autistic son
Minnesota Mother Charged With Poisoning Children Says She Had Planned to Commit Suicide With Them at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch

Peter Mugo

No PhotoName: Peter Mugo.
Died: June 25, 2009.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Limuru, Kiambu County, Kenya.
Disability: Deaf.

Details:
Peter’s mother killed him and threw his body into a latrine. She had been hiding his existence from her current husband, and killed him to try to save her marriage.

Case status:
Alice Njoki (Mother), sentenced to 6 years.

Source:
Alice Njoki

Lloyd Yarbrough

Photo of Lloyd Yarbrough, a middle-aged man in shirt and jeans. His hair is graying and he wears a mustache.Name: Lloyd Yarbrough.
Died: May 27, 2009.
Age at death: 62.
Cause of death: Prescription drug overdose.
Location: Austin, Texas, USA.
Disability: Brain injury from encephalitis.

Details:
Lloyd’s wife poisoned him with a prescription drug overdose.

Case status:
Kim Yarbrough (Wife); pled guilty to injury to a disabled person; sentenced to 10 years probation and 400 hours of community service.

Source:
After ending husband’s life, woman tries to go on with hers

Cynthia Burns

No PhotoName: Cynthia Burns.
Died: April 27, 2009.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Wylie, Texas, USA.
Disability: Paralysis due to stroke.

Details:
Cynthia’s daughter and son-in-law denied her food and medical care. She died of pneumonia, her body too weak from neglect to survive the illness.

Case status:
Christina Gaines (Daughter), knowingly causing serious bodily injury to a disabled person, 12 years.
Gary Gaines, recklessly causing serious bodily injury to a disabled person, 6 months in jail and community service.

Source:
Wylie woman gets 12 years for mother’s death in ‘extraordinarily terrible’ neglect case
Woman abused disabled mother to the point she ‘resembled a Holocaust victim’ and died

Shylae Thomas

Photo of Shylae Thomas, a girl with her hair in braids and barrettes, propped up against a cushion. She has light-brown skin and dark-brown hair, and her shirt is a red and white striped tank top.Name: Shylae Myza Thomas; sometimes spelled “Shylea”.
Died: April 22, 2009.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Flint, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Quadriplegia.

Details:
Shylae was starved to death by her aunt.

Case status:
Lorrie Thomas (Aunt, adoptive mother), convicted of involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 10-15 years.

Source:
Lorrie Thomas Gets 10 Years for Starving Quadriplegic Daughter Shylae Thomas to Death
A Memorial Page for Shylae Myza Thomas | Facebook
Shylae Thomas: Starved to Death

Caden Rivera

Vignette photo of Caden Rivera, a toddler boy with wavy brown hair and olive-toned skin.Name: Caden Rivera.
Died: April 22, 2009.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Blunt force abdominal trauma.
Location: Cape May County, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Caden’s mother’s boyfriend beat him to death.

Case status:
Damian Rodriguez (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, sentenced to 11-13 years.

Source:
Cape May disabled toddler dies while under DYFS supervision
Wildwood man sentenced to 13 years in Woodbine toddler’s death