Age: Adult – Page 17 – Disability Day of Mourning

Shefali Samanta

No Photo Name: Shefali Samanta.
Died: May 11, 2018.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Disability: Mental illness/developmental disability.

Details:
Shefali returned home to find that her mother was furious that she had left the house at night. Her mother allegedly doused her in gasoline, set her on fire, and let her burn to death.

Case status:
Anjali Samanta (Mother), charged with murder.

Source:
Day Before Mother’s Day, Woman Sets Her Special Needs Daughter Ablaze
West Bengal: Woman unable to bear mentally-challenged’ daughter’s ‘weird’ activities burns her to death

Frans Pitjeng

No Photo Name: Frans Thille Pitjeng.
Died: April 28, 2018.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Atteridgeville, South Africa.
Disability: Mental disability, epilepsy.

Details:
Frans was killed and dismembered by his father.

Case status:
Lazarus Pitjeng (Father), charged with murder, died in jail before start of trial.

Source:
Dad accused of killing mentally disabled son for muti dies in jail
‘Decent’ man accused of chopping up son
71 year old Atteridgeville man accused of his son’s murder appeared in court

Dinesh Sharma

No Photo Name: Dinesh Sharma.
Died: March 21, 2018.
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Sitarganj, Uttarakhand, India.
Disability: Paralysis due to stroke following an accident.

Details:
Dinesh and his brother had gotten into an argument when his brother allegedly pulled a gun and shot him dead.

Case status:
Kalyan Dutt Sharma (Brother), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
Ex-serviceman kills disabled brother following argument, arrested

Liese Sparks

No Photo Name: Liese Colleen Sparks.
Died: February 23, 2018.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness; mobility impaired, unable to walk.

Details:
Liese’s son had a history of threatening and mistreating her, but she depended on him to care for her because of her limited mobility.

While she was in the hospital, Liese’s son allegedly entered her room and stabbed her to death.

Case status:
Alexander Sparks (Son), charged with premeditated murder, found incompetent to stand trial, committed.

Source:
Son who stabbed mother at hospital found incompetent for trial
He apparently did it right after a nurse had checked on her
Son charged with stabbing mom to death in her hospital room told cops she ‘was a bad influence’
Son Charged with Stabbing Mother to Death in Tallahassee Hospital
Support My Moving Fund organized by Liese Sparks
Man who killed mom in hospital battled mental illness

Daniel Stuart

Name: Daniel Stuart.
Died: February 16, 2018.
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Keego Harbor, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
Daniel Stuart and his two children, 27-year-old Steven and 24-year-old Bethany, were shot by his wife in a murder-suicide.

Daniel worked with computers, processing data for a research center that focused on improving critical care. His son shared his father’s skill with computers, and his daughter was employed in art and graphic design. Years previously, the family had been expelled from their church after an argument over whether they should send their children to college.

Case status:
Lauren Stuart (Wife), deceased.

Source:
Mich. Model Fatally Shoots Her Husband and Adult Children Before Turning the Gun on Herself
Woman kills family after shunned by Jehovah’s Witnesses: friend
UMich employee was killed in Keego Harbor triple murder-suicide
Mich. Model Fatally Shoots Her Husband and Adult Children Before Turning the Gun on Herself
Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses break silence on shunning: ‘My mother treats me like I’m dead’
Did shunning from Jehovah’s Witnesses drive mom to murder-suicide?

Andrea Bartlett

Name: Andrea Bartlett.
Died: February 9, 2018.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Grand Island, Nebraska, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, developmental disability.

Details:
Andrea was living with her parents when her day-care provider reported that she was malnourished and dehydrated. It was the latest of multiple reports made about Andrea. Adult protective services finally checked on her and took her to a hospital, but she she died nine days later.

She liked music, crinkling paper, and watching the fish in a fish tank.

Case status:
Kathy Bartlett (Mother); no charges filed.

Source:
Nebraska public guardian office points to 58-pound woman’s death in report showing flaws in system
Death of 58-pound disabled woman draws concern from state’s Office of Public Guardian
Andrea Bartlett, 38

Patricia Todd

Name: Patricia Gayle Todd.
Died: January 27, 2018.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Honea Path, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Patricia was stabbed to death, and police arrested her boyfriend, whom they found at her house covered in blood.

Case status:
Kenneth Shane Yarborough (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Gayle Todd
Upstate man stabbed girlfriend to death in wheelchair, authorities say
Honea Path man faces murder charge
Deputies arrest man they say stabbed a wheelchair-bound woman to death
Inmate Record

Kathleen West

Name: Kathleen Dawn “Kat” West.
Died: January 13, 2018.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Calera, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.

Details:
Kat’s husband hit her on the head with a bottle, killing her.

She owned an online web site where she worked as an adult model; her mother says she “wanted everyone to think she was beautiful”.

Kat was the mother of one daughter, who is now living with her grandparents.

Case status:
William Jeffrey West (Husband), convicted of reckless manslaughter, sentenced to 16 years.

Source:
Kat West’s husband, Jeff West, sentenced to 16 years in wife’s death
Alabama husband pleads not guilty in death of exhibitionist wife
Bond cut denied for man accused of killing exhibitionist wife: report
Kat West’s mother says Jeff West not guilty of murder; bond reduction denied
Few answers in Calera mother’s mysterious murder
Kat West’s Mom Defends Husband Accused Of Exhibitionist’s Murder, Says It Was An Accident
Ex-cop pleads not guilty in death of exhibitionist wife
Ala. Husband Is Accused of Killing Wife Found Partially Naked Outside Home — But Victim’s Mom Defends Him
Kat West trial: Jeff West found guilty of reckless manslaughter

Kakoli Das

No Photo Name: Kakoli Das.
Died: January 9, 2018.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Abuse.
Location: Behala, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Disability: Deaf; schizophrenia, physical disability.

Details:
When Kakoli’s niece died of dengue, Kakoli’s sister and her husband blamed her for the death. Neighbors reported that she and her mother, also disabled, were often beaten and starved, until one day Kakoli was found dead.

Case status:
Keya Mullick (Sister) and her husband, detained by neighbors, under investigation.

Source:
Deaf-mute woman killed in ‘assault’ by kin at Behala
Woman death sparks unrest

Paola Manchisi

Name: Paola Manchisi.
Died: January 6, 2018.
Age at death: 31.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Polignano a Mare, Italy.
Disability: Unspecified; possibly mental illness.

Details:
Paola died of starvation at the age of 31, weighing only 30 kilograms. She was found in a filthy, cluttered house, where she had been kept isolated by her parents since she was a teenager.

Case status:
Her parents, both charged with neglect.

Source:
Parents of dead disabled woman probe
Bari, a disabled 31-year-old dies of starvation: parents accused
Bari, 31enne disabile muore di stenti. Dito puntato sui genitori
Polignano, disabile muore di stentiGenitori indagati per abbandono
Trentunenne muore di stenti nel Barese. I genitori indagati per abbandono
La terribile morte di Paola a 31 anni a Polignano e la ricerca di una motivazione che non c’è
Bari. Disabile morta di stenti, il parroco: bussavo, non hanno mai risposto
La brutta storia di Paola Manchisi
PAOLA MANCHISI/ Disabile morta di stenti a Polignano: fratello Lorenzo, “usciva normalmente” (Pomeriggio 5)
Chi l’ha Visto – Misteri – Perché nessuno è riuscito a salvare Paola, segregata e morta di stenti in casa?