Bay Area Day of Mourning: Program Information and List of Names

Bay Area Day of Mourning

Mourn for the Dead. Fight like Hell for the Living!

On Sunday, March 1, 2015, the Bay Area disability community gathered at the Ed Roberts Campus to remember and mourn the deaths of disabled people at the hands of their parents, caregivers or care providers or by law enforcement and other authorities. The event this year was co-organized by Brent White and Corbett Joan OToole.

The Day of Mourning is in its fifth year with similar local events taking place in cities across the US and internationally.

Below is the program, what you can do after the Day of Mourning, and the list of names recited at the event. This list for 2015 has 224 names of disabled people who were murdered since 2000. The list is created from three communities: the ASAN list, a list of people killed by authority figures, and a list of disabled trans and queer folks killed. This list is incomplete because many murders of disabled are never reported in the media. Nearly all media reports sympathize with the murderer and not the disabled victim.

PROGRAM

Emcee: Nina G.

Opening Remarks: Corbett OToole

Corbett’s speech: http://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2015/02/28/bay-area-day-of-mourning-corbett-otoole/

Speaker: Ella Callow (Through the Looking Glass)

Short reading of names by Bella

Speakers: Aracelia Aguilar and Leala Holcomb (Deaf Hope)

Speaker: La Mesha Irizarry (Idriss Stelley Foundation)

La Mesha’s speech: http://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2015/02/28/bay-area-day-of-mourning-lamesha/

Speaker: Mark Romoser (Silicon Valley Independent Living Center)

Short reading of names by Fiona Hinze

Speaker: Alice Wong (Disability Visibility Project)

Alice’s speech: http://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2015/02/28/bay-area-day-of-mourning-alice-wong/

Speaker: Leroy Moore (Krip Hop Nation)

Leroy’s speech: http://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2015/02/28/bay-area-day-of-mourning-leroymoore/

Reading of names (3 readers) by Maddy Ruvolo and 2 others

Music by singer Alillia Johnson

Socializing and Refreshments

SPONSORS:

* Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco

* Ala Costa Centers

* DREDF [Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund]

* ASAN [Autistic Self Advocacy Network]

THANKS:

* Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco for the donation of the American Sign Language Interpreters

* Kathryn Hedges of Splendid Colors for the “Mourn for the Dead but Fight Like Hell for the Living” pendants

* Tara Ayres for the snacks

* All the volunteers

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Raise awareness by being proactive and believing survivors of abuse, ask what they want you to do to help, and then support them.

• Push for improved documentation (data collection, statistics at the local, state and federal level) of violence toward people w/ disabilities by law enforcement including deaths, beatings and harassment.

• Advocate for a centralized database of children and adults with disabilities killed, tortured or neglected by their adult caregivers/parents/care providers.

• Join a task force creating a “Know your Disabled Rights” workshop.

• If you are on Facebook, join the Healing Circle for the Soul, which is a Bay Area support group for people who have lost a Loved One to violent crime.

• Learn more about this issue of the denial of family and removal of children through history, whether we are talking about the Gypsy Laws in medieval Europe, the mass removal of American Indian/Alaska Native children to boarding schools in the 20th century, or the issue of disability and denial of parenting today.

• Sign up to urge disability community agencies to push for changes to the law and policy in California. There is a signup sheet for those who are interested in this project.

• Support efforts for ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

On Our Backs, We Will Carry Them: Reflections on the 2015 Disability Day of Mourning by ASAN Ari Ne’eman (February 27, 2015):

http://autisticadvocacy.org/2015/02/on-our-backs-we-will-carry-them/

National Council on Disability Supports Annual “Day of Mourning” for People with Disabilities Killed by Family Members and Caregivers (February 28, 2015): http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/02282015

 

“I think that all people who feel that there is injustice in the world anywhere should learn

as much of it as they can bear. That is our duty.” –Alice Walker

 LIST OF NAMES READ AT DAY OF MOURNING

• Justin Malphus, 5 years old, beaten and drowned by his mother in April 2000.
• Gabriel Britt, 6 years old, suffocated by his father in March 2001.
• Idriss Stelley, 23 years old, killed by SFPD during a 5150 mental health intervention in June 2001.
• Mark Owen Young, 11 years old, poisoned and then pushed off a bridge by his mother in a murder-suicide in September 2001.
• Jahid Akbar, 32 years old, killed by police while holding a knife in November 2001.
• Brahim Dukes, 18 years old, starved by his stepmother in December 2001.
• Johnny Churchi, 13 years old, strangled by his mother in in 2001.
• Lilian Leilani Gill, 4 years old, strangled by her adoptive mother in March 2002.
• Richard Tims, , 28 years old, killed by police at a bus stop for holding a swiss army blade in March 2002.
• Mitchell Dickson, 10 years old, slashed to death by his mother in June 2002.
• Dale Bartolome, 27 years old, killed by his father in a murder-suicide in July 2002.
• Craid Holden, 20 years old, denied access to this asthma inhalant, died in police precinct in 2002.
• Paul Childs III, 15 years old, killed in a catastrophic encounter with police, July 2003.
• Torrance Cantrell 8 years old, killed by a brutal church exorcism attempt to ‘cure’ his autism, August 2003.
• Jason Dawes, 10 years old, suffocated by his mother in August 2003.
• Maggie Caraballo, 38 years old, beaten to death by her sister in August 2003.
• Scott Olsen, 29 years old, starved to death by his sister in December 2003.
• Angelica Auriemma, 20 years old, drowned by her mother who first tried to electrocute her to death in 2003.
• Eric Bland, 38 years old, starved to death by his sister in March 2004.
• Scarlett Chen, 4 years old, drowned by her mother in July 2004,
• Patrick Markcrow, 36 years old, drugged and suffocated by his mother in March 2005.
• Tiffany Pinckney, 23 years old, locked in a basement and starved to death by her sister and brother-in-law in April 2005.
• Ronald Madison, 40 years old was shot in the back during by police officers during the The Danziger Bridge shootings 6 days after Hurricane Katrina. In September 2005.
• Sarah Naylor, 27 years old, shot by her mother in a murder-suicide in September 2005.

• Christopher DeGroot, 19 years old, died of severe burns after he was locked in his parents’ apartment alone during a fire in May 2006.
• Katie McCarron, 3 years old, suffocated by her mother in May 2006.
• Asa Sullivan, 26 years old, bipolar, shot 16 times by police while he hid in a 2 1/2 foot crawling space in June 2006.
• William Lash III, 12 years old, shot by his father in a murder-suicide in July 2006.
• Lakesha Victor , 10 years old starved to death after months of horrific abuse by her mother in July 2006.
• Marcus Fiesel, 4 years old, wrapped in heavy blankets by his foster parents and left in a closet to suffocate while they went out of town in August 2006.
• Ulysses Stable, 12 years old, throat slit by his father in November 2006,
• Brandon Williams, 5 years old, poisoned and beaten to death by his mother in March 2007.

• Francecca Hardwick, 18 years old, locked in a burning car with her mother in a murder-suicide in October 2007.
• Naomi Hill, 4 years old, drowned by her mother in November 2007.
• Shellay Ward, 7 years old, starved and neglected by her parents in November 2007.
• Maxwell Eyer, 2 years old, beaten to death by his father in December 2007.
• Jared Greenwood, 26 years old, died of infected bed sores after being left in place and neglected by his mother in 2007.
• Criste Reimer, 47 years old, thrown from a balcony by her husband in 2007.
• Xiao Fei, 20 years old, poisoned and suffocated by her mother in 2008.
• Calista Springer, 16 years old, chained to a bed and abandoned in a fire by her entire family in 2008.
• Courtney Wise, 17 years old, starved to death by her mother in February 2008.
• Mohammad Usman Chaudhry , 21 years old was shot in a catastrophic encounter with law enforcement in March 2008.

• Ethan Scott Kirby, 3 years old, beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend in August 2008.
• Tom Inglis, 22 years old, died after his mother administered an overdose of heroin to him in November 2008.
• Kyle Dutter, 12 years old, shot by his father in a murder-suicide in 2008.
• Jacob Grabe, 13 years old, shot by his father in 2008.
• Christian Clay Jenkins, 14 years old, given an overdose of oxycodone by his father in 2008.
• Jeremy Fraser, 9 years old, died of recurrent leukemia after his mother withheld the medication that would have saved his life in March 2009.
• Pamela Camille Hall, 59 years old, stabbed by her son-in-law in April 2009.
• Shylea Myza Thomas, 9 years old, starved to death by her aunt, who then hid her body in order to continue to collect money she received for Shylea’s care in April 2009.
• Lloyd Yarbrough, 62 years old, fed an overdose of prescription medication through his feeding tube by his wife in May 2009.
• Peter Eitzen, 16, stabbed by his mother in July 2009.
• Tony Khor, 15 years old, strangled by his mother in October 2009.
• Betty Anne Gagnon, 48 years old, tortured to death by her sister and brother-in-law in November 2009.
• Walter Knox Hildebrand Jr, 20 years old, died of a seizure induced by his brother’s physical abuse in November 2009.
• Jeremy Bostick, 11 years old, gassed by his father in 2009.
• Lexie Agyepong-Glover, 13 years old, left in a frigid creek by her mother and died of drowning and exposure in 2009.
• Terrell Stepney, 19 years old, poisoned by his grandmother in a murder-suicide in 2009.
• Laura Cummings, 23 years old, raped and tortured to death by her mother and brother in January 2010.
• Jude Mirra, 8 years old, forced by his mother to overdose on prescription medications in February 2010.
• Ajit Singh, 12 years old, forced by his mother to drink bleach in February 2010.
• Steven Eugene Washington, age unknown, was shot by police after he approached them and appeared to remove something from his waistband in March 2010.
• Gerren Isgrigg, 6 years old, died of exposure after his grandmother abandoned him in a remote area in April 2010.
• Leosha Barnett, 17 years old, starved to death by her mother and sister in May 2010.
• Payton Ettinger, 4 years old, starved by his mother in May 2010.
• Glen Freaney, 11 years old, strangled by his mother in May 2010.
• Christopher Melton, 18, gassed by his mother in a murder-suicide in June 2010.
• Rylan Rochester, 6 months old, suffocated by his mother because she believed him to be autistic in June 2010.
• Zain Akhter, 5 years old, and Faryaal Akhter, 2 years old, strangled by their mother after she first tried to get them to drink bathroom cleaner in July 2010.
• Kenneth Holmes, 12 years old, shot by his mother in a murder-suicide in July 2010.
• Emily Belle Molin, 85 years old, hit and run over with a car by her son in August 2010.
• Rohit Singh, 7 years old, beaten to death by his father in September 2010.
• Karandeep Arora, 18 years old, suffocated by his parents in October 2010.
• Zahra Baker, 10 years old, murdered and dismembered by her stepmother and perhaps her father in October 2010.
• Chase Ogden, 13 years old, shot by his mother in a murder-suicide in October 2010.
• Jawara Henry, 27 years old, was asphyxiated, the city medical examiner’s office said, ruling the death a homicide in December 2010.
• Matt Cicelski, 38 years old, killed by police during a mental health crisis in January 2011.
• Donald Parojinog, 83 years old, starved by his daughter in January 2011.

• Joseph Conant, 11 years old, and Nacuma Conant, 33 years old, shot by their father/brother in July 2011.
• Julie Cirella, 8 years old, poisoned by her mother in July 2011.
• Charles Hill, 45 years old , killed by police in July 2011.
• Chad Jackson, 25 years old, starved and neglected by his mother in July 2011.
• Benjamin Barnhard, 13 year old, shot by his mother in a murder-suicide in August 2011.
• Jori Lirette, 7 years old, decapitated by his father in August 2011
• Noe Medina Jr, 7 months old, thrown 4 stories by his mother in August 2011.
• Al Bing. 48 years old .dead as a result of negligent homicide while in the care of staff at a group home facility in September 2011.
• Stephon Watts, 14 years old, fatally shot in catastrophic encounter in February 2012 .
• Daniel Corby, 4 years old, drowned by his mother in March 2012.
• George Hodgins, 22 years old, shot by his mother in a murder-suicide in March 2012.
• Malea Blakely-Berry, 16 years old, starved by her mother in June 2012.
• Matthew Graville, 27 years old, tortured and beaten to death by his half-brother in July 2012.
• Pralith Pralourng, 36 years old, killed in the financial district while holding a box cutter by Officer Mary Godfrey in August
• Kadeem Jesse Shillingford, 15 years old, drowned at a back to school pool party in view of lifeguards in September 2012.
• Corey Foster, 16 years of age, after being restrained by school staff members for allegedly refusing to leave the basketball court in December 2012.
• Melissa Stoddard, 11 years of age, died from asphyxiation after her father and step-mother hog-tied her to her bed & covered her mouth with duct tape in December 2012.

• Robert Gensiak, 32 years old, starved by his mother and sisters in March 2013.
• Alex Spourdalakis, 14 years old, poisoned and stabbed by his mother and godmother in June 2013.
• Matthew Hafer, 28 years old, poisoned by his mother in July 2013.
• Marian Roberts, 57 years old, shot by her father in a murder-suicide in August 2013.
• Jaelen Edge, 13 years old, poisoned by his mother along with his sister Faith in September 2013.
• Tamiyah Audain, 12 years old, starved, abused and neglected by her cousin in September 2013.
• Dameian “Luke” Gulley, 14 years old, strangled by his stepfather in November 2013.
• Randle Barrow, 8 years old, drowned by his mother in a murder-suicide in December 2013.
• Mickey Liposchok, 52 years old, shot by his father in a murder-suicide in December 2013.
• Isabella Herrera. 7 years of age died after school bus driver failed to properly secure her wheelchair in January 2014.
• Vincent Phan, 24 years old, shot by his mother in a murder-suicide in January 2014.
• Damien Veraghen, 9 years old, poisoned and suffocated by his mother in a murder-suicide in January 2014.
• Errol Chang, 34 years old, killed by police in February 2014.

• Matt Hoffman, 32 years of age, killed by police during a mental health crisis in January 2015.

• Jennifer Caballero, 11 years of age, when missing from the middle school and was found dead six hours later in October 2012.
• Keith Coty, age 6, died after school staff delayed in getting him help for a medical emergency in February 2014.
• Ryan Davies, 12 years old, drowned after his mother caused him to fall off of a bridge in a murder-suicide in April 2006.
• Anita Gay, 54 years old, killed by police in February 2008.
• Yanira Serrano Garcia, 18 years old, killed by police during a mental health crisis in June 2014.
• Tai Lam, 67 years old, killed by three attackers while sleeping on the street December 2014
• Kelly Thomas, 37 years old, killed by police, in July 2007.
• Emmanuel Lee, age unknown, died while hospice equipment was taken from his home January 2012.
• Betty Skinner, 52 years old, murdered and attacked in home in December 2013 (trans person, dead name of Brian Skinner).
• Jennifer Daugherty, 30 years old, taken captive for two days, raped, and forced to drink cleaning fluids in February 2010.
• Bobby Bennett, 52 years old, shot and killed by police in October 2013
• Kimberly Daily, 16 years old, strangled by a person she met on Facebook in August 2010
• Chris Sorigani, 49 years old, beaten to death in attack by a stranger in October 2013
• Patricia Kohler, 72 years old, starved to death by her granddaughter and daughter in September 2009
• Otis Clay, 66, attacked and beaten outside his home in May 2012
• Mary Baker, 58, poisoned by her boyfriend with prescription medication in January 2013
• Christopher Blackwell, 23 years old, died of care negligence in institution in September 2013
• Andrew Deloatch, 45 years old, beaten to death and asphyxiated by housemate in September 2013
• Jonny Braning, 48 years old, beaten to death in his apartment in March 2002
• Robert Ethan Saylor, 26 years old, killed by three police officers over a dispute regarding a movie ticket in January 2013
• Joseph L. Taylor, 42 years old, both he and his attendant Mary F. Hale, age 42, were bludgeoned to death in August 2012
• Richard Gentry, 68 years old, murdered by roommate in August 2013
• Robert Gensiak, 24 years old, starved by family in October 2013
• Marian Roberts, 58 years old, shot by her father in August 2013
• Aliyah Mariue Branum, 2 years old, beaten by her mother until her skull cracked in August 2013
• Jessie Dziomba, 19 years old, died of illness due to parental neglect in March 2013
• Harvey Lee Crapo, 68 years old, hit by an intoxicated driver while strolling in his wheelchair in August 2013
• Terrance Sanders, 29 years old, left by caretaker to die in a hot car in July 2013
• Melissa Torres, 32 years old, strangled and suffocated by her boyfriend in August 2013
• Lola Mae Stout, 29 years old, left for dead in a van by her family in July 2013
• Melinda ‘Mindy’ Pace, 53 years old, shot by her sister in July 2013
• Lylah Johnson, 8 years old, murdered by her mother in March 2011
• Gerald Lee Lakes, 24 years old, starved to death by parents in May 2013
• Michael Stevens, 26 years old, neglected and abused by mother in April 2013
• Victoria Hines, 58 years old, neglected by boyfriend in April 2013
• Markea Blakely-Berry, 16 years old, starved to death by mother in April 2013
• Robin Adams Jr, 23 years old, starved to death and neglected by mother April 2013
• Darnell ‘DJ’ Hunter, 18 years old, died from medical neglect caused by father in February 2013
• Christina Harms, 22 years old, tortured and starved by her family in March 2013
• Francis Angelica Alfonso Pellarano, 19 years old, stabbed to death by boyfriend in March 2013
• Ronnie Joe Gammage, 24 years old, kidnapped and beaten to death in December 2013
• Victor Soderquist Jr., 62 years old, died of medical neglect in group home in December 2005
• Zahra Baker, 10 years old, murdered by stepmother after abuse in October 2010
• JoBeth Marchand, 52 years old, strangled to death Zahra Baker, December 2011
• Eliazar Hernandez, 16 years old, shot and killed Zahra Baker, October 2009
• Noe Medina, Jr. 7 months old, thrown off a parking structure and killed by mother in August 2011
• Louis Lockett, 72 years old, shot and killed by wife in August 2011
• Danieal Kelly, 14 years old, starved to death by parents in August 2006
• Daniel McDonnell, 40 years, went into respiratory distress when officers tazed him twice, not allowing him access to his medication in September 2011
• Matthew Degner, 14 years old, died of parental neglect in September 2011
• Teyshawn Young, 3 years 10 months old, beaten to death by mother’s boyfriend in September 2010
• Gerald Hyska, 56 years old, drowned in bathtub due to caretaker negligence in August 2011
• Jori Lirette, 7 years old, decapitated and dismembered August 2011
• Jennifer Pimentel, 27 years old, strangled to death, October 2011
• David Montambault, 39 years old, died from head wounds caused by a hit-and-run in September 2011
• Camren Conyer, 23 years old, stabbed to death in November 2011
• Anthony Parker, 16 years old, beaten to death in group home in December 2011
• Eva Alta Tice, 60 years old, attacked and murdered in December 2011
• Cindy Sumner, 21 years old, beaten to death in August 2009
• Richard Sonneberger, 40 years old, found unresponsive in bathtub due to caretaker negligence in January 2012
• Elma Sartuche, 61 years old, stabbed in her home in February 2012
• Sharon Lee Sklavos, 38 years old, beaten to death in July 1994
• Jordan Hickey, 21 years old, shot in a thrill-killing while riding his bicycle in April 2011
• Julie Cirella, 8 years old, murdered by purposely being given food she was allergic to in July 2012
• Jonathan Singer, 10 years old, murdered by mother and father in April 2011
• Wesley Lawson, 39 years old, starved to death in March 2010
• John Parisi, 45 years old, died in fight at group home in April 2012
• Perry Jones, 50 years old, he and his father were shot by his mother in April 2012
• Cherry Walker, 29 years old, beaten and burned by stepmother in May 2012
• Paul McCann, 42 years old, beaten to death in group home by caretaker in May 2012
• Asher Basir, 4 years old, drowned by mother in May 2012
• Michael Elkins, 25 years old, died of neglect in December 2011
• David Lynn Pennington, 50 years old, stabbed to death in his home in May 2011
• Anthony Chambers, 38 years old, beaten to death by police in June 2012
• Kyllia Lynett Holback, 33 years old, stabbed to death and strangled in June 2012
• Sedale Dorsey, 23 years old, shot in a drive by in October 2010
• Patrick Clare, 35 years old, murdered by father, father administered valium and morphine to induce overdose in June 2012
• Alfred Dobson Jr., 35 years old, shot and murdered by police officers in July 2012
• Arville Rhodes, 63 years old, died of dehydration and starvation caused by caretaker neglect and abuse.
• Lonnie Eason, 48 years old, died after being left in a hot car by bus driver and caretaker August 2011
• Kenneth Alberts, 59 years old, beaten and stabbed to death August 2012
• William Stull, 42 years old, burned in a fire due to an inaccessible safety exit August 2012
• Christopher Breese, 38 years old, burned in a fire due to an inaccessible safety exit August 2012
• Eddie Lee, 65 years old, burned in a fire due to an inaccessible safety exit August 2012
• Rene Veras, 39 years old, stabbed in the chest and asphyxiated by mother March 2011
• Shaneka Webber, age unknown, murdered by mother–hit in the head with a fire extinguisher until she died September 2012
• Johnny Castillo-Romero, 23 years old, shot and killed by police September 2012
• Shawn Francisco Vigil, 23 years old, committed suicide in jail cell due to lack of deaf accommodations in September 2005
• Brian Claunch, 45 years old, shot to death by Houston Police September 2012
• Patrick Caruthers, 19 years old, fatally shot September 2012
• Timothy Riley, 38 years old, murdered for his $40 paycheck September 2012
• Ginny Hughes, 2 years old, abused, died from noxic brain injury caused by babysittier July 2012
• Stanley Gibson, 43 years old, murdered by police December 2011
• Brandon Johnson, 25 years old, died of medical neglect while asking nurses for help October 2012
• Lauren Wolf, 56 years old, caregiver walked away while Wolf choked to death, 2009
• Ruth Pyne, 51 years old, beaten and murdered by son 2011
• Yolanda Reese-Brooks, 40 years old, died of negligence at husband’s hands October 2012
• Otto Zehm, 36 years old, beaten to death by police offer mistakenly identifying him 2006
• Matthew Graville, 27 years old, tortured, killed, then frozen and buried by step brother June 2012
• Casey Axsom, 25 years old, starved to death by mother, 2006
• Danielle Sinyella, 39 years old, abandoned at a cemetery to die June 2011
• Corey Foster, 16 years old, killed by school staff in April 2012
• Betty Jones, 60 years old, shot and killed by her half brother’s daughter’s ex-boyfriend April 2012
• Michael Victor Shull, 21 years old, robbed then stabbed to death December 2012
• Nathalyz Rivera, 3 years old, starved to death by her parents January 2013
• Louis Buddy Musso, 59 years old, tortured to death 1999
• Ramsay Scrivo, 32 years old, murdered by his mother January 2014
• Andrea Ruth, 12 years old, parental negligence November 2012
• Kevin Chadderton, 62 years old, hit in the head during an argument February 2014
• David Vernon, 56 years old, died from caretaker neglect July 2009
• Lucas Ruiz, 17 months old, poisoned by mother January 2014
• Marcus Hill, 3 years old, beat to death by stepson December 2010
• Jerome Murdough, 56 years old, died in a 100 degree jail cell after excessive heat was directed to his cell February 2014
• Gloria Martin, 55 years old, stabbed by nephew April 2014
• Ezell Ford, 25 years old, killed by LAPD August 2014