Name: Aaliyah Nicole Artis.
Died: June 8, 2021.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Lung injury.
Location: Xenia, Ohio, USA.
Details:
Aaliyah’s obituary says that she “enjoyed watching cartoons, coloring, riding her bike, playing outside, and dancing with her sisters.”
Aaliyah’s school had contacted the police and social services, worried for her welfare because she was missing from school. Welfare checks were done; Aaliyah’s parents said she was in remote learning. Teachers tried to visit and found the doors locked and the curtains drawn.
Three days after her twelfth birthday, Aaliyah was found dead in her home. The home, filthy and cluttered with piles of trash, was in such bad condition that it was quickly condemned. Aaliyah’s body was dirty, bruised, and covered in bedbug bites. Her lungs were filled with fluid, a condition called pulmonary edema which is generally caused by heart failure or pneumonia; her cause of death was listed as lung injury, with contributing factors of malnutrition and poor living conditions.
Two weeks after her death, Aaliyah’s neighbors gathered in front of the local courthouse to call for child-welfare reforms.
Aaliyah’s mother was was sentenced to 2 1/2 years for child endangerment.
References:
Ohio mom charged after 12-year-old girl dies from living in ‘deplorable’ conditions
Police: No evidence 12-year-old Greene County girl’s death purposeful; mother indicted for child endangering
Xenia police investigating 12-year-old girl’s death
Aaliyah Nicole Artis Obituary – Visitation & Funeral Information
12-year-old girl found dead at Xenia home in ‘filthy condition’
Police investigating death of 12-year-old girl
Aaliyah Artis: Reforms called for in wake of Xenia child’s death
Autism Memorial 