Name: Cora Laszkiewicz.
Died: January 4, 2023.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Neglect (Malnutrition).
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Details:
After Cora’s mother called emergency services, saying she had found Cora dead in her bed, paramedics arrived to find Cora dead. 5’5″ tall (1.65 m), she weighed only 70 pounds (32 kg), and an autopsy determined she had died from malnutrition, with close to zero body fat; she was also very dehydrated. When questioned, her mother told police that Cora had not left her home or seen a doctor in four years and that Cora, who had a generally poor appetite, was on a gluten- and dairy-free diet. She allegedly acknowledged that she knew Cora had been getting thinner, but did not want to take her to the doctor because she wanted to “keep [Cora] calm”.
Editor’s note: A gluten-free, casein-free diet is a common alternative-medicine autism treatment. It is very helpful for people with food intolerances, but does nothing for autism, and raises the risk of malnutrition by making it harder to get essential nutrients. However, extreme starvation of the sort Cora died from is likely to be associated with more than just an unnecessary special diet, and the court which charged Cora’s mother with abuse seems to concur.
Sources:
Mother charged in malnutrition death of autistic daughter
Mother allegedly allowed her daughter with “severe autism” to starve herself to death
Pewaukee woman charged in death of malnourished autistic adult daughter
Autism Memorial 