Alex Spourdalakis

Name: Alex Spourdalakis.
Died: June 9, 2013.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Homicide (Stabbing).
Location: River Grove, Illinois, USA.

Details:
Alex suffered abuse from the hospital where he stayed in restraints for 19 days, but it was his mother and caregiver who finally killed him. For a week, they planned the killing. When an overdose of painkillers did not kill the boy, they stabbed him to death instead. Both then attempted suicide, but survived.

Both women pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and were released on time served. Alex’s death, the media’s talk of “mercy killing”, and the slap-on-the-wrist sentences given to Alex’s caregivers sparked a wave of protests from the disability rights movement.

References:
Prosecutors: Mother and caregiver planned for week to kill autistic teen
Autistic boy, 14, found stabbed to death in River Grove apartment
Day 19: Chicago Hospital Locks Down Autistic Patient
How Murder Victims With Disabilities Get Blamed For Their Own Deaths
New Report Discovers That the Media Normalizes the Murders of People with Disabilities