Status: Sentenced – Page 9 – Disability Day of Mourning

Enedina Sohlke

Photo of a woman with brown hair and olive-tone skin, wearing a white sweater and sitting at a table with food in front of her. She is wearing glasses. Name: Enedina “Nina” Sohlke.
Died: October 11, 2020.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: South Bend, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Leg amputee, kidney transplant.

Details:
Nina began living with her caregiver and romantic partner, but he prevented her from seeing her family, kept her from her medical appointments, and finally beat her to death.

Nina was known for helping children from bad homes.

Case Status:
Mark Coleman (Caregiver, partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to 65 years.

Sources:
‘In the most heinous way possible:’ Man given maximum sentence in Webster Street murder
Family honoring SB woman murdered in Oct. 2020

Kaylea Titford

Name: Kaylea Titford.
Died: October 11, 2020.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Infected bedsores.
Location: Newtown, Powys, Wales, UK.
Disability: Spina bifida, hydrocephalus.

Details:
Kaylea died from “inflammation and infection in extensive areas of ulceration arising from obesity and its complications in a girl with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.” Kaylea’s parents kept her in her room, in filthy conditions. They fed her take-out, and did not help her into her wheelchair, so that she was forced to remain immobile and stranded in her bedroom. Kaylea gained weight steadily, and her parents then did not address the pressure sores that resulted when she was left for a long time in the same position.

Kaylea was a talented wheelchair basketball player. Friends remember her as “fiercely independent”.

Case Status:
Alun Titford (Father), found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person, sentenced to 10 years.
Sarah Lloyd-Jones (Mother), pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person, sentenced to 8 years.

Sources:
Parents’ jail terms for manslaughter of disabled teenage daughter increased
Parents jailed for killing disabled teenage daughter
Inside the filthy home where disabled 23st girl was left to die
Kaylea Titford’s parents jailed for manslaughter after disabled girl’s death
Kaylea Titford: Father jailed for more than 7 years over obese daughter’s manslaughter – as mother gets 6 years
Parents sentenced for gross negligence manslaughter of their teenage daughter | The Crown Prosecution Service
Father found guilty of killing disabled daughter (16) by letting her become obese
Father of obese teen found dead in ‘misery’ guilty of manslaughter
How the abhorrent neglect of a vulnerable teen was hidden from the outside world
Obese teenager’s father guilty of her death in squalid family home
Father guilty of manslaughter after vulnerable daughter dies from obesity
Tragic teenager’s dad found guilty over her death in squalid conditions
Kaylea Titford: how ‘fiercely independent’ Welsh teenager ended up dying in bed
Father of obese teenager found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence
Father let daughter down because he was lazy, court hears
A disabled teenager found dead with maggots and flies on her body was the victim of alleged parental neglect, court hears
Parents ‘killed girl, 16, found dead in squalor by letting her weight hit 23st’
Kaylea Titford: Morbidly obese teen died in conditions ‘unfit for any animal’ after parents ‘seriously neglected her’, court hears
Mum admits killing daughter, 16, by allowing her to become severely overweight
Welsh parents deny being responsible for their disabled daughter’s death
Parents accused of killing disabled daughter to go on trial next year
Parents accused of killing disabled girl who became morbidly obese to face trial
Trial for parents accused of killing daughter by allowing her to become obese
Trial date given for parents accused of killing disabled teen daughter
Mum faces court over death of disabled daughter ‘after letting her become obese’
Man and woman charged with manslaughter after death of 16-year-old girl
Parents charged with killing disabled teen by letting her become morbidly obese
Kaylea Titford: Parents of obese girl charged with causing her death
Police investigating after teen girl found dead at home
Mum found daughter, 16, dead in bed as two people arrested in police probe

Karen Gillen

Name: Karen Gillen.
Died: September 23, 2020.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Brain injury; beating.
Location: Waxahachie, Texas, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Karen, a widow who depended on her only son to care for her, was brought to the emergency room dead from a beating, with bruises all over her body, a broken arm, and 21 rib fractures in different stages of healing. Her son had used the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic to neglect and abuse her for six months until she finally died from brain trauma.

Case Status:
Chad Gillen (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 70 years.

Sources:
Waxahachie man sentenced to 70 years for beating mother to death
Son Gets 70 Years For Killing His Mother
Karen Gillen Obituary 2020

Cameron Gordon

Photo of a small fair-skinned boy with short blond hair, smiling for the camera, wearing plastic-rimmed glasses and a flannel shirt over a white T-shirt. Name: Cameron Joseph Gordon.
Died: September 6, 2020.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Duluth, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Cameron’s mother went to work, leaving him with her fiancé. When she returned, she found him unresponsive and rushed him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a brain injury, a broken rib, and extensive bruising. Cameron died two days later from his injuries.

Case Status:
Jordan William Carter (Mother’s fiancé), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years.

Sources:
‘Cameron will forever be 3’: Duluth man sentenced to 15 years for boy’s murder
Duluth man found guilty of second-degree murder in 2020 death of then-fiancee’s 3-year-old
Trial begins for Duluth man charged in toddler’s murder
Medical examiner rebuked for delay in Duluth murder trial
Trial in Lakeside boy’s death pushed back to 2023
Duluth Man Charged With Second-Degree Murder in Death of 3-Year-Old
Child advocates speak out after death of Duluth 3-year-old
Trial Involving The Death Of Three Year Old Duluth Boy Delayed By Defense Team Until 2023
Medical evidence awaited in Duluth child death
Autism Memorial: Cameron Gordon

Fat-lun Wong

No Photo Name: Fat-lun Wong.
Died: September 5, 2020.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Hong Kong, China.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Investigators believe that Fat-lun’s mother strangled him with a plastic tablecloth.

Fat-lun was a student at Tsui Tsin Tong School, a residential care home for children with intellectual disabilities. At age 21, he had just grown too old to stay there.

Case status:
Xueping Chen (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter; sentenced to 1 year, to be served in a psychiatric hospital to treat her depression.

Source:
Hong Kong mother sent to psychiatric ward for killing mentally disabled son
Hong Kong police arrest mother after son dies in suspected murder-suicide bid
Mom held at hospital over death of handicapped son
Mother charged over handicapped son’s death

Leslie Hartman

Name: Leslie Lynn Hartman.
Died: August 26, 2020.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Denton, Texas, USA.
Disability: Paralysis, wheelchair user.

Details:
Leslie’s boyfriend, a sheriff’s deputy, shot her, then claimed she had shot herself. Instant messages show that they were arguing about him shooting a milk bottle in the backyard. Later messages include a picture of him holding a pistol and a message that refers to him shooting her. He also wiped his phone before police could take it into evidence.

Leslie made stained glass and jewelry and was excited about getting a new puppy. She was a nature-lover who cared about the environment, and in her last text she wrote about how gorgeous the rain was.

Case status:
Jay Allen Rotter (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Ex-Sheriff’s Deputy Convicted of Fatally Shooting Wheelchair-Bound Girlfriend, after He Claimed It Was Suicide
Former Deputy Claimed Death of Girlfriend Who Used Wheelchair Was Suicide. Now He’s Convicted of Murder
Tx. Cop Claimed His Girlfriend Killed Herself, But Police Say He Killed Her, Bragged About It Online
Tarrant County deputy hid texts prior to arrest in his girlfriend’s murder, police say
Texas sheriff’s deputy accused of murdering girlfriend
Deputy who said girlfriend shot herself charged with her murder
Texas deputy fatally shot girlfriend, then claimed it was suicide, cops say
Texas sheriff’s deputy accused of murdering wheelchair-bound girlfriend, claiming it was suicide

Dylan Freeman

Name: Dylan Freeman.
Died: August 16, 2020.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Acton, west London, England, UK.
Disability: Cohen syndrome, autism.

Details:
Dylan’s mother admitted to drugging him, then suffocating him.

Dylan’s father says, “Dylan was a beautiful, bright, inquisitive and artistic child who loved to travel, visit art galleries and swim.” He often took his son on vacation overseas.

Case status:
Olga Freeman (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility; detained indefinitely at a psychiatric hospital.

Source:
UK woman who killed disabled son detained in hospital indefinitely
Mum who suffocated disabled son during lockdown given hospital order
Wife of celeb photographer who suffocated disabled son, 10, given hospital order
Mother is given indefinite hospital order after she suffocated son
Mum who suffocated disabled son, 10, in lockdown given indefinite hospital order
Lockdown Contributed to Death of Disabled Boy: UK Judge
Mother admits killing disabled son, 10, while struggling to care for him in lockdown
Celebrity photographer’s autistic son was ‘suffocated with a sponge’
Celebrity photographer’s autistic son, 10, suffocated with sponge as mother ‘struggled’ to take care of him
Celeb photographer’s ex gave autistic son, 10, sleeping drug before ‘putting sponge in his mouth and tying it’
Woman in her 40s is arrested for murder after boy, 10, was found dead at house in west London
Celebrity photographer’s ex-wife charged with murder of 10yo son in London
Mother charged with murdering her autistic son, 10, is pictured arriving at court
Celeb snapper ‘can’t comprehend’ loss of son, 10, as mum charged with murder
Mum charged with murdering son, 10, she shared with celebrity photographer

Thaddeus Sran

Name: Thaddeus Sran.
Died: July 23, 2020.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Fresno, California, USA.
Disability: Due to prematurity (Nonspeaking; feeding tube).

Details:
Police grew suspicious when Thaddeus’s parents reported him missing, but almost immediately stopped cooperating with the missing-child investigation. A few days later, Thaddeus’s burned body was found and they were arrested. Further investigation revealed that Thaddeus’s mother had also killed his sister, Davina, five years earlier.

Case status:
Briseida Sran (Mother), pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of child abuse, and one count of mutilation; sentenced to 29 years.
Sukhjinder Sran (Father), pleaded guilty to murder; sentenced to 11 years.

Source:
California Mom Admits to Brutally Killing Her Two Young Children Five Years Apart
Prosecutors could pull from the past in Thaddeus Sran murder case
Parents of Special Needs Toddler Who Vanished in California Arrested for Murder
Charred Remains of Missing California Toddler Found, Parents Arrested for Murder
What Happened To Thaddeus Sran?

Sarah Curran

Name: Sarah Curran.
Died: July 23, 2020.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Choked, drowned, stabbed, and bludgeoned.
Location: Winchester, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Asperger syndrome.

Details:
Sarah’s ex-boyfriend killed her by choking, drowning, stabbing, and bludgeoning. They had recently broken up.

At ten years old, Sarah gave out Pop-Tarts to people waiting at a local bus stop. As a teen, she was a Special Olympics swimmer, bowler, and roller-skater and rode on a float in the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. She volunteered at a local food and clothing pantry. She loved animals, so she volunteered at the animal shelter. As an adult, she used to spend her Social Security check on buying people steak dinners at a restaurant.

When she moved out, her family worried that she would be taken advantage of because of her kind and trusting nature. Sarah was living in a homeless encampment when she died. She had strong political opinions, backing the Affordable Care Act on social media.

Case status:
Larry Lee Mullenax III (Ex-boyfriend), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 40 years.
Clara Ann Perdue, convicted of concealment of a body, sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.

Source:
Woman gets 5 years for body concealment
Man gets 40 years for killing ex-girlfriend
Sentencing delayed for convicted killer
Autism Memorial: Sarah Curran
Man facing up to 50 years for homeless woman’s murder
BREAKING NEWS: Man enters plea deal in homeless encampment murder
Judge orders second evaluation of body concealment suspect’s mental status
Man indicted for first-degree murder in woman’s death
Woman slain in Frederick Couty; ex-boyfriend charged
Missing Winchester woman found dead, suspect charged in her murder
Homicide victim identified as missing Winchester woman
Homicide victim fondly remembered
Homicide suspect planned killing for weeks, court documents indicate

Lola James

Photo of a pale-skinned toddler girl with pale-blond hair in two ribbons. She is smiling, and wearing a pink coat. Name: Lola James.
Died: July 21, 2020.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK.
Disability: ADHD (Suspected).

Details:
Lola’s mother’s boyfriend suspected her of having ADHD and called her “a crazy kid”. She died from a head injury after being severely beaten.

Case Status:
Kyle Bevan (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 28 years to life.
Sinead James (Mother), convicted of causing or allowing death, sentenced to 6 years.

Sources:
Lola James murder: The timeline that led to the death of a two-year-old
Lola James: Mum and her boyfriend jailed over girl’s brutal murder