Memorial Wall

Ethan Stacy
died on May 11th, 2010

Ethan was a 4yo boy who had been sent to visit his mom in Utah, USA, for the summer, as part of a custody agreement. He arrived to her and her boyfriend's home on April 28th, and she felt that her ex has "destroyed my boy." She asked her boyfriend to "teach him (Ethan) to be a man" by beating him or "whatever it took to get her boy back." It's unclear how exactly they went about it, but, bottom line, Ethan died ten days later. He had no food in his stomach, was dehydrated, and had various drugs in his system, bruises, lacerations, aspiration pneumonia, and his skin was "falling off" (according to medical examiner) because of burns he couldn't have acquired by accident. Aspiration pneumonia is caused by an inhalation of foreign materials into the lungs, potentially vomit, or as prosecutors suggested, fecal matter that the boy allegedly was forced to eat, according to prior police testimony.

The couple disfigured Ethan's body, buried it in a shallow grave, and sprinkled dog food on it. Mother reported her son missing three days later.

Hana Williams
died on May 12th, 2011

Hana was a 13yo girl adopted from Ethiopia by a couple from Washington, USA. According to them, Hana "enjoyed knitting and crocheting, reading, drawing and various crafts, playing soccer and riding her bicycle." Aside from Hana, the couple had seven biological children and one more adopted son, also from Ethiopia. The children were home-schooled. The family had a copy of the controversial parenting book To Train Up a Child, and, according to witnesses, followed the book recommendations "to use a switch, cold baths, withhold food and force children outside in cold weather as punishment."

According to Hana's adoptive mother, on the evening of May 12th Hana was outside (it was raining), and started removing her clothes and throwing herself onto the ground, hitting her head. The mother and eight children watched Hana's agony from inside the house, and, according to one of the kids, laughed at it. When the mother finally called 911, she said, "I think my daughter just killed herself... She's really rebellious."

Hana weighed 76lbs in 2008, 108lbs in 2009, and only 78lbs in 2011 when she died of hypothermia, malnutrition, and gastritis. She had marks on her body, from previous beatings.

Zhao Shanshan and Sun Qingqing
died on May 12th, 2010

According to the official version of events, two 14yo girls, Zhao and Sung, middle school students from China, voluntarily attended a party that consisted of adult men only, had sex with those men, and then committed suicide. According to the girls' relatives, however, the girls were kidnapped, raped, and murdered. Zhao's father said, "There are a dozen men in this town who are known to rob and rape. <...>The kids are scared of them. These hoodlums would beat those who refuse to do what they want. They raped many girls in the middle school, at least 30. The girls and their parents would not speak up out of fear. People in the surrounding villages are scared of them, too, and try to avoid them. <...> Leader Qu Tao celebrated his birthday and detained the two girls in his apartment. When we went looking for our daughter, three of them armed with screwdrivers tried to stop us from entering. I saw from outside through the apartment windows that the girls were fine. When we eventually got into the apartment they had already drunk the pesticide. Those men killed them to shut them up." Sung's sister added, "Local officials have not given us a reasonable answer. We went to the school trying to understand what happened. The people from school would not let us in and beat us. The coroner's examination revealed the girls’ hymens had been ruptured. <...> We tried to hire a lawyer. They told us they would not take our case because whoever takes the case would lose his job."

Vidhya Sivaloganathan
died on May 13th, 2015

18yo Vidhya from Sri Lanka attended school 2km from home and loved animals. "We reared the livestock," her mom said, "the goat, the cow and the chickens for eggs and milk but Vidhya always treated them like personal friends. I often scolded her over it because she was always cuddling them and getting her white uniform dirty. She would cuddle them before going to school and then cuddle them as soon as she returned from school too. It used to annoy me no end but now all those memories are so bitter-sweet to us. It is who she was. If I ever scolded her for talking to dumb animals as equals, she would say, ‘Amma they are not dumb animals. They are intelligent sentient beings without a voice. We have to be extra kind to them.'"

At 7:25AM on May 13th, 2015, Vidhya was riding her bike to school, when she was kidnapped and raped to death by four adults in their 30s and 40s and five youths. Apparently the adults had a grudge with Vidhya's family. "Last year," explained her mom, "I had happened to notice one of the houses of my relatives abroad, who kept their house locked up, with its gates wide open. I informed my relative of this, she in turn informed the local police from abroad and they had happened to catch some people on their own. I had nothing to do with it and I don’t think it has any implication in my daughter's rape and murder." "What may I ask is wrong with my mother’s action?" added Vidhya's brother. "People keep blaming us for it as if Vidhya's fate would have been spared but for this incident. We don't think so. This island suffers under too much a climate of crime along with too much a climate of fear of exposing the criminals. That is why incidents like these happen again and again."

Logan Bruce Borchik
died on May 13th, 2014

1yo Logan from Colorado, USA, died of fatal brain injury that was caused by being shaken by his mom while his dad watched it. The woman explained that Logan was choking on a penny, but his injuries, which included broken ribs, were "not consistent with resuscitation or choking," according to the doctors."After the shaking incident," the District Attorney said, "neither [the mother] nor her boyfriend … despite both observing obvious signs of the child's medical distress, sought medical care for the infant for three days during the child's unresponsiveness, before summoning help." Both parents were found guilty of child abuse resulting in death. "There is nothing that will bring back Logan who was a beautiful young boy and while a modicum of justice is served through this conviction for a horrible crime, the primary lesson here is never, ever shake a child," said the District Attorney.

Carla Nicole Bone
died on May 13th, 2002

13-month-old Carla-Nicole from UK was killed by her mom's boyfriend because she wouldn't walk. For that, he smashed her head on the wall. "Your actions were a cruel and unnatural treatment of a young child," the judge told him during the trial. "When you became frustrated while she resisted your efforts to care for her, your temper got the better of you and you took it out on the child. You exploded into a level of violence and ferocity on the morning of the death which was altogether on a different scale. It seems you completely lost your temper and in that state of mind assaulted her so severely she died." Sentencing Carla-Nicole's mom, the judge said, "You woefully failed to protect your daughter when your partner assaulted her. You were under a legal obligation as Nicole's mother to do what was reasonable to protect her and, as the jury have found, you woefully failed in that obligation in a way that contributed to her death."

Carly and Sawyer Simpson
died on May 14th, 2013

7yo Carly and 5yo Sawyer from South Carolina, USA, lived with their dad and mentally ill mom. She suffered from hallucinations and delusions, where she felt the world was out to harm her and her family; medication used to help. On May 13th she called her mother five times and asked bizarre questions, e.g. if her mother really wanted her, or if her grandmother was better off in heaven. A family friend saw her that day because he came by to borrow her husband's truck. "At that time I couldn't tell that there was anything wrong with her as far that I would say would be something that would cause danger," he said. "I could tell she was highly agitated, you know typical of husband and wife arguing type of scenario." Later that night he received a puzzling text message from her, which read "Hell on Earth?" He replied "huh?" but did not get a response. When her husband and kids went to bed, the woman unlocked her husbands gun and shot both of the kids in the head, in their beds, because she "didn't want them to live in this awful world," as she later explained. She then shot her husband and tried to crash her car. The husband survived, though suffered a traumatic brain injury, which left him paralyzed and with a bullet stuck in the back of his eye, that the doctors couldn't remove.

Morsal Obeidi
died on May 15th, 2008

16yo Afghan born Morsal lived in Hamburg, Germany with her family of five siblings. She went to high school and dressed as German girls her age: uncovered hair, makeup, and jeans. Her family felt she "dressed like a slut" and frequently beat her up for it, on one occasion knocking out her tooth. Morsal was a regular visitor at Child and Youth Services welfare center, and was offered housing away from her family, but kept returning back home against the advice of social workers; they described her family relationships as "highly ambivalent".

In May of 2007, Morsal's family sent her to Afghanistan for 9 months to be "re-educated" about religion and culture, and only allowed her to return to Germany after she promised "to be obedient". And in May of 2008, 16yo Morsal was stabbed and beaten to death at a parking lot by her 23yo brother. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. When the verdict was read out in court, he yelled that had the trial taken place in Afghanistan, he would have already been released long ago. Click on Morsal's name to read a very interesting article about her life and death.

Ruby Isabella Knox
died on May 16th, 2016

Ruby Isabella Knox, born on January 8, 1996, was severely intellectually disabled and diagnosed with severe autism spectrum disorder. She also suffered from a litany of health problems, including chronic constipation and haemorrhoids, incontinence, spina bifida, gastroesophageal reflux and hip pain. She couldn't talk, nor did she have any ability to empathise. The pair couldn't enjoy play dates or socialise with other families. Instead, they were all alone in their house. But none of that ever seemed to bother her mum. Their family GP said that in more than 150 consultations, he never saw Donella adversely react to Ruby's violent and sudden outbursts. Instead, all he saw was a mother who loved her daughter dearly; one who was fighting tooth and nail to get the best health care for her that she could. Donella Knox felt endlessly helpless, and hopeless, about Ruby's deteriorating health and suffering. She felt forgotten about and ignored by the health and care systems. She doted on her daughter. She gave her only child unadulterated love and care. In return, she was bitten, headbutted, scratched, tackled, and ignored by a big, strong girl. On May 16th, 2016 Donella drugged and suffocated Ruby.

Mahmoud Hrouk
died on May 16th, 2015

16yo Mahmoud from Australia aspired to own his own construction company and play professionally for the Bulldogs. He spent the day of May 16th working with his uncle, and had asked permission from his father to ride his bicycle to get dinner. At 6:22PM he was at a local fast food restaurant with someone he considered a friend. At 9:42PM Mahmoud spoke on the phone with his mom. "Where are you? Come home!" she said. "It's OK Mum, I'm with my friend... I've got my bike... I will come home," Mahmoud replied. His "friend" was a 24yo drug dealer with a violent criminal history who was released on bail on the condition that he reported to the local police station every day of the week and could not leave home unless in the company of his father. This man lured Mahmoud into a vacant property used by local youth as a hangout, raped him, and bashed him to death with a toaster.

Graziella Dailler
died on May 16th, 2014

48yo Mrs Dailler, originally from France, lived in Australia and worked as a beauty therapist. "She was like a sister to me. She was a very stoic person, she had a lot of dignity and pride. She took great pride in her own appearance and she loved making other women feel good about who they were," her boss said. Mrs Dailler had three adult children and an abusive boyfriend, and both she and her children have been in contact with the police about the situation.

On May 16th, 2014, Mrs Dailler's daughters came to check on her because she missed her daughter's birthday and didn't show up to work. They discovered the bodies of their mother and her boyfriend, who killed her and then himself.

"Anyone who is experiencing domestic violence, please seek what help is out there and get yourself out of the situation before your family is grieving like ours is." ~ Mrs Dailler's children

Khyra Ishaq
died on May 17th, 2008

Khyra was a 7yo girl from Birmingham, UK, who was beaten and starved to death by her mom and stepfather. Two other children in the household were also abused in the same way, but survived. The family has been causing concern for years prior to Khyra's death. Children were emaciated and, until they were taken out of school, were constantly begging for food, searching for it, or stealing it from other children. Neighbors believe they saw Khyra eating out of a bird feeder. One of the children recalls, "Khyra stole bread from the kitchen or something from the cooker. Junaid (the stepfather) told her 'you've won a prize, you've got a nice treat'. He gave her a jar of chocolate and told her to eat it all. It made her feel really ill and it made her vomit."

There was plenty of food in the house. The court ruling said the following about the mother: "Food was an issue for her and she seemed unable to understand that whilst it may well have been appropriate for her to lose weight, it was certainly not appropriate for these growing children to do the same." The stepfather was punished by being deprived of meals as a child, and said his father beat his 3yo sister to death for failing to flush the toilet. The court ruling also mentioned his "strong belief" in evil spirits. Detective inspector who investigated Khyra's death, said the following:

"The defendants created a situation in which the children, who were being educated at home, had been kept away from their extended family, friends and the outside world. They were also prevented from doing the things that an ordinary child does. Khyra's untimely death was ultimately caused by an overwhelming infection brought on by severe malnutrition – a cause of death you don't expect to see in the western world, let alone Birmingham, in the 21st century."

Anthony Tirrell Murray
died on May 18th, 2014

30yo Anthony from Georgia, USA, was stabbed to death by his girlfriend during an argument. She said the knife "just seemed to puncture his chest." A medical examiner, however, testified the blade cracked a rib and punctured Murray's lung, aorta and pulmonary artery. The woman was acquitted of murder, but found guilty of aggravated assault and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Sergeant Joe Harris with Columbus Police testified at the trial, stating that domestic violence has a tendency to be highly under-reported, especially by male victims. The woman who killed Anthony had prior reports of domestic violence on other boyfriends, including one in which she was alleged to have beaten a man with a crowbar. Anthony had two children. She had four.

Enna Isabel Barreto
died on May 19th, 2008

Mr and Mrs Barreto from Mississippi, USA, started adopting children from Guatemala in 2005. By 2008 they had a total of eight, most under the age of three, including 2yo Enna Isabel. The young children were kept in a separate mobile home, and locked at night. The children were fed cereal and bologna sandwiches, rarely bathed, forced to drink hot sauce as punishment and spent hours tied up with duct tape after they "were cutting up." One of the children was frequently locked overnight in a cage inside a closet. Another child was waterboarded on multiple occasions. The dwelling was littered with garbage, food, soiled diapers, dog feces, dirty laundry and spent needles Mrs Barreto used to administer diabetes medication; there was also a puppy mill in the backyard. Marainna, teen daughter of Mrs Barreto, had to drop out of high school in order to care for the children. According to her, adoption inspectors "just stayed in the living room or the dining room, dining room or the den, so nobody has ever, none of them has ever really been to the back trailer."

Enna died of physical abuse and neglect. 17yo Marainna served 5 years in prison. Mr and Mrs Barreto were on the U.S. Marshals Service's 15 Most Wanted Fugitives list for failure to appear on original charges of child neglect, child abuse, tampering with a witness, and manslaughter in the death of Enna and the abuse of six other children. They were on the run for six years, but eventually were caught. Mrs Barreto pleaded guilty and died in prison.

Obaida Sedqi
died on May 20th, 2016

8yo Obaida lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with his mom, dad, and two younger sisters. The family was originally from Jordan. Obaida attended the second grade, and was a smart kid, according to friends and relatives; he would always give directions to taxi drivers while returning home with his mother from mall visits. The family lived on the fourth floor, above Obaida's dad car repair shop. In the beginning of May, a new customer, also Jordanian, came to the shop to have his car repaired. "We don't know him," said Obaida's mom. "I did not feel comfortable about this man from the beginning." The man was friendly with Obaida, who spent a lot of time in his dad's shop, allowed the boy to watch cartoons in his car sometimes, and offered to buy him a scooter. In the afternoon of May 31st Obaida left the house to join his father in the workshop. He went down the stairs, but never arrived to the workshop. The parents only realized he was missing at 9:30PM, when the father closed the workshop and returned home. Obaida was kidnapped by that customer, who sexually assaulted him and then strangled him with a red ghutrah (traditional Arab headdress) when the boy tried to resist. Obaida's body was found two days later, 14 miles away. The man tried to use the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder and alcoholism for insanity plea, but was sentenced to death and executed.

Heaven Woods
died on May 20th, 2014

Heaven was a 5yo girl from Georgia, who lived with her abusive mom. Her dad petitioned for primary custody of Heaven back in 2012, when she was 3yo, telling the court that visitation with her mom should be limited because of violence towards the child. Mom responded that he was the violent one. He continued his battle for custody, petitioning the court again in 2013 and in January of 2014. On May 20th, 2014, Heaven was beat to death by her mom and mom's boyfriend, for soiling her pants, which she couldn't help due to her injuries. Cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the abdomen and extreme blood loss that had accumulated in the child's stomach.Autopsy revealed Heaven suffered long-term physical abuse before she died.

"I cannot express what you took from me. I will never understand why you did this to my Heaven, an innocent child who could not defend herself. She was playful, she was loving, she was understanding," said Heaven's dad in court.