Memorial Wall
Adrian Jones
died on November 25th, 2015
7yo Adrian from Kansas, USA, lived with his dad, stepmom, and 7 sisters. All the children were homeschooled, and the police is investigating allegations of physical abuse, neglect, unsanitary conditions, food deprivation, and torture (Adrian was forced to stand in stress positions for hours at a time). The boy disappeared sometime in September but the police only learned of it when they came to the house because of an unrelated domestic violence call. They believe Adrian's body was fed to pigs the couple purchased around the time of his disappearance. The parents were charged with murder, the surviving children were removed from the house.
"He was so sweet, and these big eyes just filled with wonderment, very inquisitive and begged, begged for love and attention," Adrian's nanny said.
Christopher Valdez
died on November 25th, 2011
4yo Christopher from Chicago, USA, was a happy, appealing boy, who loved Spiderman, according to his grandpa. "He also had this little rabbit that he would squeeze and it would sing a song. He would walk around with it all day," the grandpa said. Christopher lived with his mom and mom's boyfriend, and attended a Thanksgiving family dinner with a black eye covered with concealer, wearing a hoodie, and not eating. The family notified police of suspected child abuse, meanwhile preparing for Christopher's birthday party, with a cake and presents. Police found the boy dead, he was beaten to death on his 4th birthday.
Marie-France Comeau
died on November 25th, 2009
37yo Mrs Comeau from Canada was a corporal in the Canadian Forces and a flight attendant with the 437 transport squadron at CFB Trenton. "She was a fun person who loved life and seemed to find the best about everything she did," according to her friends and coworkers. "She was an absolutely beautiful person and friend. She was always so happy and positive... Her smile will forever live on in the hearts of those who knew her and were lucky enough to call her a friend."
Mrs Comeau was raped and murdered by a Canadian Forces colonel. As commander, he had access to her personal information including schedule, phone number, etc. He once broke into her house while she was on a trip and took pictures of himself while posing in her underwear. On November 25th he broke into her house again, concealed himself near the furnace area, and waited for Mrs Comeau to go to bed. However, she noticed him because her cat was standing next to him and staring. Mrs Comeau tried to escape, and he brutally raped, tortured, and murdered her.
Devon Wade
died on November 26th, 2017
29yo Devone from Texas, USA, was raised by his grandparents because both his mom and dad were in prison. While a high school student, Devone enrolled in No More Victims, a program for young people whose parents are incarcerated. He eventually became an honors graduate at Louisiana State University, a Harry S. Truman scholar and then a doctoral student at Columbia in New York City, studying sociology. On November 26th Devone was shot to death by his boyfriend during a domestic dispute. "Devon Wade was a force, an angel amongst men. He was a gentle spirit, who generated electricity in all spaces he dwelled," said Jeffrey McCune of Washington University in St. Louis, a mentor and friend to Wade. "His life’s work, examining the impact of incarcerated parents on children, was to be a shape-shifter to the sociology of education. He is sorely missed."
Naomi Hill
died on November 26th, 2007
4yo Naomi from Wales, UK, was drowned by her mom, Joanne, in a bathtub. Naomi had mild cerebral palsy, and Joanne said she was ashamed of her daughter's disability. Joanne was having mental health issues since she was 17, but her treatment was discontinued three months prior to Naomi's death because NHS felt she didn't need it any longer. Naomi's dad said, "Joanne is a non-swimmer with a fear of water. To be held under water is her biggest fear. What she did to my princess Naomi was evil. There's not a minute that goes by without me wishing that [Naomi] was still here. She was my constant companion, she was my best friend, she was my little princess.".
Eleanore Tibble
died on November 27th, 2000
Eleanore joined Australian Defence Force as a cadet when she was 14. She was sexually abused by her superior officer (30yo guy), and told to either resign or get dishonorably discharged. On November 12th a wing commander decided that she should not be charged with fraternization - but nobody updated 15yo Eleanore on this decision. Two weeks later she committed suicide. Her mom said, "Not a day goes by that I don't think about my daughter and the abject waste of her life. She died probably thinking she was doing something honourable, saving her family the shame of a dishonourable discharge."
Conner Conley
died on November 28th, 2009
10yo Conner from Indiana, USA, was killed by his 17yo brother who wanted to be like Dexter, a fictional serial killer from a TV show. He choked Conner, dragged him into the kitchen unconscious, strangled him there for 20 minutes, and then wrapped Conner's head in two plastic bags and sealed them with electrical tape. Conner might have been alive at that point. The brother then put him in his truck, drove to his girlfriends house, and they watched a movie about a man on death row for murdering a child. Here's how he explained what happened: "Like I had to… like when people have something like they are hungry and there is a hamburger sitting there and they knew they had to have it and I was sitting there and it just happened." The teen was obviously mentally unwell, and yet the parents were comfortable leaving the 10yo alone with him. Moreover, when he dumped Conner's body in the fields, he explained to the parents that Conner is visiting with grandparents and will be spending the night - and the parents didn't think to double-check.
Trevion Winningham
died on November 29th, 2016
7yo Trevion from Arkansas, USA, and his 9yo brother were staying with their mom's cousin and another woman she shared household with. The brothers were malnourished and regularly tied up and severely beaten with extension cords, belts, and shoes. When other children in the house were allowed to have something to eat, the brothers were told "you can't have crap." Trevion died of severe malnutrition and injuries "too numerous to count" according to medical examiner. "These children, these babies almost didn't even look human," said the judge, while comparing them to the Holocaust victims. "This is not me, I am not a monster," the defendant said. "I'm not a criminal, I don't have a criminal record, I'm not messed up in the head. I got plenty of sense, sir."
Roderick RJ Arrington, Jr
died on November 30th, 2012
RJ was a 7yo boy from Las Vegas beaten to death by his parents, Dina and Markiece Palmer, because he didn't finish his homework and lied about reading the Bible. Investigators said that his mom "stood by and let her husband" shake and beat RJ to death. When admitted to the hospital, he had extensive bruising and abrasions all over his body, from previous beatings (some of which were inflicted by his mom as well), and brain swelling. RJ died the following afternoon.
Jeffrey Baldwin
died on November 30th, 2002
Jeffrey was a 5yo boy from Toronto, Canada who died of neglect. There's a bronze statue in Greenwood Park, Toronto depicting Jeffrey dressed as Superman, a superhero he loved. When he was 1yo, his parents lost custody due to allegations of abuse, and he and his older sister went to live with their grandparents.
According to later court testimony, Jeffrey and his sister were kept in a locked room at night with furnace vents shut, and when released were forced to eat with their hands from a mat on the floor. The boyfriend of Jeffrey's aunt who also lived in the house, declared that Jeffrey's grandmother did not love him or his sister, and that they were purely a "dollars and cents" matter, as his grandparents received social assistance for their care.
Jeffrey was covered in sores, bruises, and cuts, and died of septic shock. His weight at death was slightly less than his weight at his first birthday, almost five years earlier.
Dione Payne
died on December 1st, 2013
16yo Dione from Ohio, USA, was raped and beaten to death by two full-grown men. He used to deal drugs, they were addicts, and wanted his stash. After a lot of beating they found $260 and some cocaine, got high, but believed Dione must have had more, so they beat him more. At 10:30AM on the next morning they dropped Dione off at a hospital, where he passed away.
Brian Nees
died on December 2nd, 2017
Brian Nees, 64, was killed on Dec. 2, 2017. Detectives quickly identified Tyler Nees as the suspect. Police have not said why Nees killed his father. The DA's Office filed paperwork indicating that if they are able to get a conviction, they will be seeking an enhanced sentence. The Multnomah County Chief Deputy District Attorney wrote that Tyler Nees had previously been convicted of attempted second-degree assault...had attacked a disabled man whom he encountered on a TriMet bus. Nees hit the man in with a champagne bottle in what was described as an unprovoked attack. He had also previously attacked his father, jail inmates and staff within Multnomah County.
Daniil Podchapko
died on December 3rd, 2016
1yo Daniil from Ukraine lived with his mom and 2yo sister Anna. Their parents divorced, mom was dating a new boyfriend, and just gave birth to a third child. On November 27th she took the baby to her boyfriend, and left Daniil and Anna home alone for nine days. They had no food except for some candy. Neighbors heard them crying and called the police, but the police had no authority to break the door to rescue the children. Their grandma came by with food, but also couldn't get into the apartment. The children tried to eat wallpaper, and tore off linoleum floor by the entrance door, trying to escape from the apartment. Daniil died on December 3rd. Anna stayed in the apartment with his dead body for three more days, spent some time in ICU, but survived and is now in foster care.
Ronin Shimizu
died on December 3rd, 2014
Ronin was a 12yo boy from California who committed suicide because he was bullied for being the only male cheerleader on the team. Here's the statement of his parents:
The tragic loss of our son has and will forever change our life. The love and support that we received from family, friends and the Folsom community has been immeasurable and words cannot begin to express our gratitude through this most difficult grieving process. The people close to our family know exactly who Ronin was, but since the story of this tragedy has spread worldwide, we want to take a minute to let the world know who he was. Ronin was one of the most loving, compassionate, empathetic, artistic and funny kids to grace this earth. Ronin was a child who was not afraid to follow his heart, and we as his parents did everything in our power to allow him to pursue his passions, while protecting him from the minority that could not understand the specialness he possessed. As you already know, Ronin loved to do Cheer, but he also loved art, fashion, being a Scout and most recently crew/rowing. It is true that because of his specialness, Ronin was a target of bullying by individuals that could not understand or accept his uniqueness. Ronin was not just a target of bullying because of his participation in cheer, but for him just being Ronin. We as his parents always knew that he would make an impact on the world, we just thought it would be in something like fashion design or art related. We had no idea that God and Buddha had a more important role for him, and we as his parents will make it our mission in life to turn this tragedy into something positive and hopefully prevent another senseless tragedy. In closing, please remember that education in regards to bullying prevention does not only need to occur in our schools but also in the home.
Thank you,
Brandon and Danielle Shimizu
Macy Grace Ditty
died on December 4th, 2015
Macy Grace, was covered in bruises and medical staff determined the child had suffered life-threatening injuries consistent with child abuse. She was transferred to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill where police said it was determined her injuries were inflicted within 24 hours of the child being taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. Macy Grace died from her injuries Dec. 4. Her mother Jeanie Ditty, and her boyfriend Zachary Keefer, were both charged with first-degree murder and negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury for the death of Ditty's daughter, Macy Grace.
