Stepmother gets 15 to 30 years
after teen’s starvation death

The stepmother of the autistic teen who starved to death inside his Frankford home in December 2001 was sentenced on Friday to spend 15 to 30 years in state prison for allowing him to die.
Common Pleas Court Judge Rene Cardwell Hughes issued the prison term to Audrey McDaniels, 43, following the defendant’s conviction in last month’s jury trial. McDaniels was facing a possible 20-to-40-year sentence.
Brahim Dukes was 18 when city paramedics found his emaciated body in a cold, windowless room at the rear of the first floor of a house on the 1500 block of Ruan St. on Dec. 29, 2001. At 5 feet 9, he weighed 94 pounds and was lying on the floor in a fetal position with little clothing, according to court testimony.
He died of malnutrition and dehydration, according to a medical examiner.
McDaniels was the only adult living in the house at the time. She had 10 other children, age 13 and under, and was pregnant with another child.
Her common-law husband and Dukes’ father, Dewey Gillespie, had been ordered to prison weeks earlier for failing to pay thousands of dollars in traffic fines. Dukes had lived with his father and McDaniels for at least 12 years, according to a prosecutor in the case.
At the time of Dukes’ death, McDaniels worked full time at the Burlington Coat Factory store in the Franklin Mills mall and would leave the home daily, according to testimony. McDaniels, who testified in her own defense, claimed that some of her children went to school, while family friends watched the others.
Meanwhile, the defendant added, she left food in the refrigerator for the children to eat when she wasn’t there. Dukes had access to that food, she claimed.
Citing statements by the children, the prosecution claimed that McDaniels left some of the youths home alone, including Dukes, who may have had difficulty fending for himself because of his severe autism.
Relatives claim that Dukes was able to eat prepared food, such as lunch meat or breakfast cereal, without assistance. But Dukes’ specific living conditions in the weeks leading up to his death are not known.
McDaniels had multiple sources of income. In addition to her job, she took about $2,200 a month in government subsidies, as well as food stamps and a Social Security check specifically for Dukes’ benefit.
McDaniels originally was tried in 2004 on charges related to the death, but a hung jury and a violation of court procedure by a judge paved the way for a retrial. ••