18 – Disability Day of Mourning

Kinsley James

Name: “Princess” Kinsley Armani James.
Died: May 20, 2024.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Darlington County, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Kinsley’s mother left her with relatives who were supposed to watch her; but they allegedly left her alone, and she left the house, fell into a creek, and drowned. At their bail hearing, Kinsley’s mother told the judge that her relatives had been so inattentive that 45 minutes passed before they even realized the toddler was gone.

Kinsley was a big fan of Cocomelon and loved anything that made music.

Case Status:
Christian Deon James (Uncle), charged with homicide by child abuse.
Nashanti McCollugh (Family member), charged with homicide by child abuse.

Sources:
2 charged in Darlington Co. drowning of nonverbal, autistic 3-year-old child
Caretakers charged after child was left unattended, drowned in nearby creek
‘My child was innocent’: Darlington Co. mom of 3-year-old who drowned demands justice
Autism Memorial: Kinsley James
Princess Kinsley James Obituary | May 20, 2024 | Florence, SC

Alex

No Photo Name: Alex (Surname unknown).
Died: January 9, 2023.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Anorexia nervosa.
Location: South Island, New Zealand.
Disability: Autism, anorexia, OCD.

Details:
Alex was a transgender boy whose parents refused to accept his identity, insisting that it was an expression of his eating disorder and eventually driving him to leave home at the age of sixteen. Alex died from anorexia at the age of seventeen while living in a hotel room.

Case Status:
No one has been charged. After the publication of an article written by a biased journalist, anti-trans activists have blamed Alex’s death on the support services he used, claiming that they were ignoring his declining health in favor of “playing gender games.” A second journalist, in contact with Alex’s friends, challenged that story and portrayed Alex as a troubled but compassionate young man who had been unable to reach out for help because of a long history of rejection and abuse by parents and professionals.

Sources:
All sources have a content warning for transphobia, deadnaming, and misgendering. Sources from a transphobic viewpoint are specifically labeled.
The Life and Death of Alex
Update: On RNZ and Ruth Hill
Autistic trans teen starves to death
Stop conflating being transgender with being sick
The Weekend: Dignity in death shouldn’t be so hard
Rights Aotearoa Demands Immediate Action Over RNZ’s Unconscionable Misrepresentation Of Deceased Trans Youth
Autism Memorial: Alex
Teenager starves to death alone in emergency accommodation (CW: Transphobic viewpoint.)
The tragic loss of our [son] [Alex] (CW: Transphobic viewpoint.)

Dominic Paddock-Wood

Name: Dominic Landon Paddock-Wood.
Died: July 15, 2022.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Cocaine and Fentanyl poisoning.
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
Dominic was found unresponsive in his mother’s house, in a dangerously filthy environment. He was declared dead, and an autopsy revealed he had died from poisoning with cocaine and Fentanyl. His mother and her boyfriend were arrested and charged with child neglect.

Case Status:
Noel Wood (Mother), charged with neglect of a dependent causing death.
Jonathan Mulvihill (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with neglect of a dependent causing death.

Sources:
Police arrest couple in connection to death of 4-year-old
Police searching for couple wanted in child neglect death
Couple arrested in connection to death of four-year-old
Fort Wayne couple arrested on neglect charges after death of 4-year-old child
Dominic Paddock-Wood Obituary – Fort Wayne, IN

Ivy Allen

Name: Ivy Allen.
Died: May 12, 2022.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Michigan City, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Ivy’s body was found floating in a lake; she had drowned. After nearly a year of investigation, authorities believe that Ivy’s death was not a typical accidental drowning, and charged her parents with neglect.

Ivy “enjoyed dolls, dressing up, batman, dinosaurs, climbing, unicorns, mermaids, the movie Frozen, Disney and the color lavender,” according to her obituary.

Case Status:
Breanne Smith (Mother), convicted of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury, sentenced to 3-6 years in prison.
Andrew Allen (Father), pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent, sentenced to 2 years probation and 100 hours community service.

Sources:
LaPorte prosecutor reaches deal with dad of autistic girl who drowned, will focus on mom
Indiana Incarcerated Database Search
Parents Charged in Death of Toddler With Autism Who Died in Indiana Lake
Parents charged with neglect in May death of daughter with autism, Michigan City police say
Michigan City parents charged in 2022 death of 3-year-old daughter
Parents Charged in Death of 3-Year-Old Girl with Autism Who Drowned in Lake
Parents Charged in Death of 3-Year-Old Girl with Autism Who Drowned in Lake
Autism Memorial: Ivy Allen

Logan Starling

Name: Logan Starling.
Died: September 28, 2018.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Heat stroke.
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Logan’s father remembers him as “my little Logo on the go go”, a hyperactive child who would hop around like a kangaroo. He liked watching the SunRail trains and pretending they were Thomas the Tank Engine. He went to school in a pre-K class.

Logan’s father’s fiance left him locked inside her van on a hot day in Florida, parked outside the school. He died of heat stroke and wasn’t found until 2:30 in the afternoon.

Logan’s great-aunt says that Logan was not the sort of quiet child who could be forgotten in a van by accident; if he wasn’t there, you would notice it.

Case status:
Mariah Butler (Father’s girlfriend), pleaded guilty to child neglect, sentenced to 5 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Logan Starling
Woman pleads guilty to child neglect in Logan Starling death – Orlando Sentinel
Happening today: Woman accused of leaving 4-year-old boy in hot car to die to be sentenced
Woman accused in death of 4-year-old boy released on bond
After boy’s hot-car death, 4-year-old Logan Starling’s family seeks answersl

Judson Duncan

Name: Judson Cash Duncan.
Died: March 19, 2017.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Auto accident.
Location: Antlers, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Judson’s father put him in the car and led the police in a high-speed chase. He crashed the car, killing Judson. It is unknown whether the wreck was an accident, but since Judson died because his father endangered him during the course of the commission of a crime, his father was charged with felony murder.

Case status:
Carl Duncan (Father), pleaded guilty to felony murder, sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Source:
Judson Cash Duncan – View Obituary & Service Information
Okla man to serve 30 years in prison for killing son
Oklahoma man sentenced to prison for murder after disabled son dies in car crash
Fatal wreck may not have been an accident, Denison Police say
Judson Duncan Obituary – Antlers, Oklahoma
Man pleads guilty to murder in son’s death

Taariq Cross

Name: Taariq Cross.
Died: July 11, 2012.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Hit by car.
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Taariq was left unsupervised and was fatally hit by a car. He had often been left to fend for himself, and just days previously had nearly been hit by a car while unsupervised.

Case status:
Latasha Kendrick (Mother). Not charged.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Taariq Cross
Innocents lost: Taariq Cross, 7
FHP: Autistic boy run over, killed
Taariq Cross: Family wants answers after autistic boy’s tragic death
Petition: Kendrick should face criminal charges for death of Autistic 7yr old son

3-year-old girl

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: December 4, 2021.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Townsville, Queensland, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This toddler girl’s father, who was the only adult home to take care of her and her two-year-old brother, had been awake for 31 hours, taking and selling methamphetamine. He was sleeping it off when his three-year-old daughter opened the unlocked front door, left the house, and drowned in a storm drain. Prosecutors called his drug use “criminally negligent” and the little girl’s death “entirely preventable”.

Case Status:
Her father pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child endangerment.

Sources:
Father found guilty of non-verbal, autistic daughter’s manslaughter after drowning death