Sister Charged With Failing to Provide the “Necessities of Life”
Sad and horrible to think about.
32-year-old Allison Cox is on trial today on charges of manslaughter and failing to provide the necessities of life for Tiffany Pinckney, her adopted sister, The Star reports. On April 2, 2005, Pinckney was found in a basement apartment in Missisauga, on a rug soiled with urine and feces. She was 23 years old and weighed 84 pounds.
Diagnosed with autism at the age of three, Pinckney “was non-verbal, was toilet trained, and functioned at a mental age of about 3.” Her adoptive mother, Margaret Cox, died of cancer in 2004 and named Allison Cox as Pinckney’s legal guardian in her will. Allison Cox has pleaded not guilty.
22 opinions for Sister Charged With Failing to Provide the “Necessities of Life”
amy
Oct 10, 2007 at 9:58 am
Aaah! This is a chronic fear in the wellspouse community — being held responsible for a spouse’s death because you left the house for an hour and the worst happened. I see that Allison was the legal guardian, which makes things different. I wonder what the story was in her accepting the guardianship.
This is also what happens when caregivers are overwhelmed and have nowhere to turn. I wonder how many people Allison approached in desperation, and who told her it was just her problem to deal with. So she did.
I wonder, too, why she either didn’t try to or wasn’t able to get her sister placed in an institution, if she couldn’t care for her and no one else would. And why the mother imagined Allison had the stuff for the job.
Lolasmom
Oct 10, 2007 at 10:39 am
Ugh - horrible stuff. But am I the only one thrown by the whole “adopted sister,” “adoptive mother” thing? Why put the “adopted” part in there at all? Is the reporter insinuating that somehow Allison is less culpable for committing those atrocities because Tiffany wasn’t her “real” sister? (Reminds me of the Royal Tenenbaums movie.)
athina
Oct 10, 2007 at 10:53 am
Just horrible! Poor girl. I can’t imagine what she felt like, especially being actually a baby (emotionally speaking). I wonder where she will end up and whether she’ll in a better condition, eventually.
C
Oct 10, 2007 at 12:02 pm
” This is also what happens when caregivers are overwhelmed and have nowhere to turn. I wonder how many people Allison approached in desperation, and who told her it was just her problem to deal with. So she did ”
No, this is NOT what happens! This is neglect resulting in death and sister Allison will be prosecuted for her crime. The poor woman was starved to death!
KimJ
Oct 10, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Someone doesn’t starve to death because their custodian left for “an hour”. Amy, you say some pretty rough stuff but I think these comments are thoughtless.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Oct 10, 2007 at 12:51 pm
This is the website Murder of Autistics from This Way of Life. It is a very hard read.
There are further links, thanks to Michelle Dawson, about Tiffany Pinckney here. Here is the police report from July 26, 2005.
Judi
Oct 10, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Oh my, how sad…I drive by the street where this happened every single work day and live just short of 6 miles from Tiffany’s home. I never even knew this happened. I will be following the trial from now on.
I totally agree Athina, I can’t imagine what this poor woman went through.
Regan
Oct 10, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Poor Tiffany. It breaks my heart to think of someone with the mental state of a young child dying under such conditions.
It takes a long time to starve to death, esp. from 150+ down to 84. This alone was chronic abuse. Then throw in the imprisonment charge of being in the basement. Based on the story, this was a progression of 3-9 years (depending on news story, which are somewhat inconsistent). Add lack of seeking medical care. Etc., etc.
This is sad, esp. because the indicators are that previously Tiffany’s adoptive mother had been a strong advocate and caregiver.
These were not overwhelmed “caregivers”, at least in the sense of making a real effort. There are hints, and I would lay a bet…that these folks were collecting Tiffany’s Medicaid and Adult DD checks, or some form of financial social service, while denying her basic necessities and care. The husband has already plead guilty. It’ll be interesting to see the basis of the non-guilty plea for Allison.
http://www.mississauganews.com/article/7441
amy
Oct 10, 2007 at 9:16 pm
KimJ, you’re mixing up the post and my comment. I didn’t say that spousal caregivers fear their ill spouses will die of starvation if left alone for an hour. But some are in very poor physical shape, and caregivers can go out “just for a minute” and come back to find the spouse fallen out of a wheelchair or off a bed and bleeding internally. Or find that a spouse has wandered off, or pulled out lines, or…when a person’s very ill, an hour can be a very long time, and a physically disabled but fiercely independent (or “I’ll-show-you” aggressive) person can get into bad trouble in a matter of seconds.
As far as “overwhelmed” goes: I don’t think people are in a position to judge, for other people and other people’s families, what “overwhelmed” means. This, again, is a chronic problem for spouses of ill adults. Things may look reasonably OK on the outside, but there may be a whole world of trouble that only the caregiver deals with. Or the caregiver may not be well himself.
On the whole, though, I don’t think that people who are handily capable of caring for a severely autistic adult do what Allison did. It seems obvious to me that something there was just too much for her. I do wonder whether she tried to get help. Again, and this is coming from the well-spouse perspective, this is a chronic problem — there is frequently noplace to get respite care or help in managing care, and when you’re dealing with an ill or disabled adult, the exhaustion can be quite serious.
amy
Oct 10, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Yeah, I read the story. That’s terrible stuff. These two don’t sound like a brain trust. No, I bet they didn’t ask for help, and nobody showed up to investigate. I wonder if they decided she was essentially an animal and looked for the easiest way to control her.
Kim, the parallel I meant to point out before is that well spouses frequently fear that if the ill/disabled spouse dies while in their care, they’ll be held responsible. Because in daily fact they are responsible; they’re the only ones capable of taking care of the daily needs. They’re just not legal guardians.
anotherautismmom
Oct 10, 2007 at 10:28 pm
You guys are ready to jail her but have you ever tried to get forced services for an individual that doesn’t want them??? The police, adult protective services, MH/MR all told us that services were voluntary for an individual 18 yrs. or older. So when our son moved out of our home, stopped taking meds, stopped going to dr., stopped his OVR work training, stopped bathing, ECT.!! everything we worked to do for him, so he would function more independently..all went out the window, when some unemployed low life told him he could live with them as long as he signed them up as his SSI rep, payee, and they would buy him a cell phone…well, he obsessive over cell phone, talks on dead ones when no one is even there, and we could not legally stop him from leaving. All the goody two shoes people should know that - autism does not take away an individual’s rights to make their own decisions and although I don’t know the particulars of this case, I know, for us, our hands are tied.
KimJ
Oct 10, 2007 at 10:30 pm
I guess I don’t see how your comment fits as a reply to this story. The story is about a long term abuse case. Your reply is about worrying over liability for an accident or similar incident. No, I can’t be in someone else’s head when they are in charge of a disabled adult (who is their kin). I do know what it’s like to care for someone, without outside support, for years at a time while sleep deprived and depressed myself. I do know there are a lot more options besides abuse and murder.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Oct 10, 2007 at 10:40 pm
I’ve lived with two disabled adults—physical and mental disability and lots of denial about the reality of the situation in both adults and in their family (not my husband—-but it was him and Charlie and me living with my in-laws for a year, while other relatives live elsewhere). It was very, very difficult and in no way comparable to taking care of Charlie—-but Jim and I are completely pro-active (or try to be) about Charlie and try to get him what he needs before there is a crisis.
A lot of the strain for Jim and me lay precisely in the fact that we felt that we could not do as much as we felt was needed for my in-laws. My mother-in-law in particular needs a lot of psychiatric care, after a life of psychiatric issues and hospitalization on and off. It was truly painful to see her decline and our efforts to advocate for her needs and get her care were met with denial and I really could no longer bear to live in the same house, and not be able to help…… So for myself, no, I cannot understand how someone could let another human being end up in urine and feces and severely underweight. I need to know more facts about the case but there is a lot that can be done and we have to try.
amy
Oct 11, 2007 at 12:03 am
I’m sorry to hear about your in-laws. That sounds like an extraordinarily difficult situation. Psych issues can be so tough — you keep being brought up short by the recognition that reason really doesn’t apply sometimes.
There was a case a few years back where a woman died in her husband’s care, in very similar circumstances. She had severe psychiatric problems and for some reason he had been unable to get help for her. After years of attempting to take care of her, and becoming somewhat unstable himself, he gave up and locked her in, and then that was how they lived. She was found in indescribable conditions. The cases are not enormously different, at least in appearance.
Yes, there are other options. But you have to know about them, have them accessible, and be persuaded that abuse is not acceptable. Think about how hard it’s been to find qualified help when you’ve needed it. Even resourceful people with money and loving families have trouble finding respite care they trust. If you’re not so good at finding help, if the person in your care is not your child, if you have your own problems….you know, the strain of caregiving is why they instruct new mothers in calling for help when they’re overwhelmed and the baby won’t stop crying. And why, in more civilized places, nurses will call on new parents and check that everything is all right with the baby and the parents. It cuts down on child abuse and domestic violence. I don’t know how much help it’d be to have a similar hotline for people caring for adults. My guess is the coordination would have to be unusually good.
amy
Oct 11, 2007 at 12:13 am
anotherautismmom is exactly right, btw. The situation may be different for a legal guardian, but in general, you’re completely powerless once the child turns 18. Providers may even refuse to talk to you on confidentiality grounds. As some of you know, it leads to situations that are not funny at all.
amy
Oct 11, 2007 at 12:18 am
Whoops, wrong button. Anyway — I know that there are parents’ and doctors’ movements out there trying to build some flexibility back into the care of adults. It’s not easy and the freedom/care tensions are meaningful, but these groups sound pretty serious.
Another Voice
Oct 11, 2007 at 7:42 am
A young girl starved to death, she died alone, unclean and uncared for, I am “overwhelmed” by that. If that makes me “judgmental” I will wear the label proudly.
If after a judge and jury review all of the facts, they vindicate the guardian and determine that she behaved according to the rules of society. Then I will question if that society should be preserved.
If they find fault with the guardian, I hope she is punished to the full extent of the law; without reducing the sentence because the deceased was autistic.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Oct 11, 2007 at 5:30 pm
There are details about the trial in today’s Missisauga News, which notes:
Jennifer
Feb 4, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Population control is today’s societal ally. I am probably going to kill myself because I see a lot of maniacs get away with crimes yet when something like this occurs it is ‘humane’ - True we are ‘far’ from perfect - but who created this ‘mask’ ? that we humans wear so vividly and perfectly.
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 20, 2008 at 6:54 pm
From CBC news:
Bonnie Sayers
Jun 19, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Looks like the sentence was nine years.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/446217
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jun 19, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Michella Dawson has a post with more about Tiffany.
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