Name: Tiffany Pinckney.
Died: April 2, 2005.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Details:
Tiffany was born with a heart defect, diagnosed with developmental delay at four, and diagnosed with autism at ten.
Tiffany was described by teachers as a girl who loved music and was “lots of fun”.
When Tiffany was 16 years old, her mother died and her sister took custody of her. Tiffany’s sister refused all offers of assistance. For the last five years of her life, Tiffany was not allowed to see a doctor. She was kept so isolated that neighbors had no idea she even existed. At age 23, Tiffany was found dead, locked in her sister’s filthy basement without a bed or toilet and weighing only 84 pounds. There was a lock on the refrigerator door upstairs.
Tiffany’s sister and her husband were tried for manslaughter and criminal negligence. They were sentenced to nine years in prison and two years of house arrest, respectively.
References:
Trial ordered in autistic woman’s death
The life and death of Tiffany Pinckney
Autistic woman was starved to death, crown asserts
Nine years for woman’s death
Autism Memorial 