Memorial Wall : victims of child abuse

Darcey Freeman
died on January 29th, 2009

Darcey died in hospital on 29 January, hours after her father stopped the car carrying her and her siblings, picked the four-year-old up and threw her from the bridge. Darcey was on route to her first day at school. Minutes earlier, Freemen had told his former wife to “say goodbye to her children” and that she would never see them again. Several motorists witnessed the peak-hour incident He stopped once briefly when Darcey’s brother repeatedly asked his father to go back to get Darcey because she could not swim. Freeman was found guilty of his daughter’s murder by a jury in 2011 after they rejected his defence of mental impairment.

Kayleigh Slusher
died on January 30th, 2014

Kayleigh Slusher, was a happy pigtailed girl who liked to dress up like Barbie and Minnie Mouse but became a downcast figure who rarely ventured out. When she did, neighbors said, she looked like a zombie, with dark circles around her eyes. Sara Krueger was a doting mother to her 3-year-old daughter until her boyfriend moved in a year ago and the couple began using methamphetamine, police and neighbors said. Neightbours are struggling to understand what allegedly led her mother Sara Krueger, 23, and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Ryan Scott Warner, to abuse and kill Kayleigh.

Nur Aina Nabihah
died on January 31st, 2018

Aina Nabihah, was only nine years old when she was pronounced dead while receiving treatment at a Malasian Hospital (Hospital Tunku Jaafar, Seremban), on the 1st of February. Aina suffered from damaged kidneys, torn intestines, and broken ribs, due to trauma afflicted by a blunt weapon. Not long after her death, it was revealed that her stepmother, and her own father frequently beat her and inflict physical abuse on her as punishment.

Logan Marr
died on January 31st, 2001

5-year-old Logan Marr was found dead at her her foster mother's home. Police determined that Logan had died from asphyxiation after being bound with duct tape and strapped into a high chair in the basement. The foster mother was later tried and convicted of manslaughter.

O'ryan (Rhino) Murphy
died on February 3rd, 2016

When Elk County Coroner Michelle Muccio arrived on the scene scene, she pronounced O'ryan dead, estimating he had expired several hours before the call was made and emergency crews arrived. The apartment was described in court documents as “deplorable.” The two children living there, the late O’Ryan Murphy and his then three-year-old brother, had easy access to morphine, pain killers, over the counter medications, and alcoholic beverages. Several weapons, including a knife and blackjack, were also within reach. The residence was described as having animal feces on the floor, decomposing garbage throughout, being covered in filth, and with little to no internal heat, despite it being winter. The borough’s health inspector determined the apartment to be unfit for human occupancy and it was condemned after being processed by law enforcement. An autopsy performed by the Erie County Coroner’s Office concluded the boy’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, which police say was inflicted by the boy’s caretakers, his aunt Kristy Mae Murphy, 35, and uncle Scott Jeffrey Murphy, 25, both of Ridgway. Police investigation determined that the boy’s parents both of Meadville, had full knowledge their sons were living in squalor and with their aunt and uncle who were known drug offenders with violent tendencies.

Anam Rashid
died on February 4th, 2019

2yo Anam from Pakistan was the first child of her parents. After she was born, their marriage deteriorated due to arguments (Anam's mom explained that her husband wanted a son rather than a daughter), and then her dad threw her and her mom out. "My husband said that he can't keep us at his house," explained Anam's mom, "so I went to my parents' house. They said that they have gotten me married and I can't stay at their house." Mom had nowhere to go, so she drowned Anam in the ocean and tried to commit suicide too, but was rescued and is awaiting trial for murder.

Amy Dye
died on February 5th, 2011

Amy was a 9yo girl from Kentucky who stayed with a foster family and was beaten to death. At first her 17yo adoptive brother was charged with murder and plead guilty, but his conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court because investigating police officers coerced him to confess. It's unclear who killed Amy, but here were CPS reports alleging she was abused starting from 2007. On one occasion she was beat up by her oldest brother, but foster mom threatened to spank Amy if she told anyone. Ryan Craig, owner of local newspaper who was covering the case and filed the open records request for the abuse reports, said "Amy Dye should not have been in that home. You can place blame anywhere you want to, but the bottom line is that when we got those records, it showed that she should not have been in that home.".

Lydia Schatz
died on February 6th, 2010

In 2007 Lydia and her sister Zariah were adopted from Liberia by a Californian family that claimed to follow the teachings about child discipline of the "No Greater Joy Ministries", a Fundamentalist Christian organization. On February 5th, 2010, 7yo Lydia and 11yo Zaria were severely beaten (aka "disciplined") for nine hours with a plumbing line, because Zariah was "being a liar and a bad influence on the 7-year-old," and Lydia had mispronounced a word during a homeschooling lesson. Zariah survived, though suffered kidney failure and other injuries. Lydia died in the hospital the next day.

Presley Porting
died on February 7th, 2017

2yo Presley from Kansas, USA, loved to play with her baby dolls, carrying around her purse, going swimming and singing and dancing. "Those who were lucky enough to know her felt pure joy when she toddled in the room," her obituary states. "Her sweet smile, funny personality and big beautiful brown eyes would melt the hearts of those around her. Presley stole the hearts of everyone she came into contact with." "She had a personality that was funny, and she was a very sweet, very soft, loving child," according to her mom. Presley died of blunt force injuries to her head and abrasions on her torso, while staying with her dad and his fiancee. "It's heartbreaking what she went through. My daughter just wanted to see her dad and her two younger sisters, and I truly, wholeheartedly thought she was safe," her mom said. "I didn't put my hands on her, but my part in that was not being her mother. I should have stayed sober. I should have been there for her. She was angel. She brought so much light to my life, and unfortunately I didn't realize it until it was too late."

Addison and Leon Gehl
died on February 10th, 2015

Upon hearing an altercation between their parents 6-year-old Leon, and 3-year-Addison (Jeremy Gehl and Melissa Randolph’s son and daughter) came downstairs. Gehl shot both children before fatally shooting himself. A third child inside the residence was unharmed, and was reportedly found in the mother's arms outside of the home. Both children were airlifted to hospital. Three-year-old Addison was pronounced dead on arrival and 6-year-old Leon died soon after his admission.

Aurore Gagnon
died on February 12th, 1920

Aurore was a 10yo girl from Quebec, Canada, who was killed by her stepmom. Her birth mom died of tuberculosis, and her dad remarried. Shortly after, Aurore's younger brother was found dead and the neighbors were suspicious. In September of 1919, 10yo Aurore was hospitalized for more than a month because of a leg infection caused by physical abuse: her stepmom used to beat her with an axe handle. When Aurore was discharged, the beatings continued, and on February 12th the girl passed away from septicemia (infection from wounds entered her bloodstream and she died as a result). The story of l'enfant martyre (The Child Martyr) received great attention in the media and Aurore became an icon of Quebec sociological and popular culture.