Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Age 60+
Name: Shoko Takahashi.
Died: March 4, 2020.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Fatal beating.
Location: Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.
Details:
Shoko’s son allegedly beat her to death because she wouldn’t take her medicine. He said he was “tired of being her caregiver”.
Case status:
Noboru Takahashi (Son), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Source:
52-year-old man charged with killing 82-year-old mother
Name: Michiko Hayashi.
Died: March 3, 2020.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Michiko’s son stabbed her to death before committing suicide.
Case status:
Shingo Hayashi (Son), deceased.
Source:
Woman, 41-year-old son dead in apparent murder-suicide
Name: Chhaba Kuri.
Died: February 18, 2020.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Disability: Partial paralysis.
Details:
Chhaba was allegedly stabbed to death by her husband. He told police that he had a dream that no one would take care of her after his death.
Case status:
Gopal Kuri (Husband), arrested.
Source:
Elderly man kills paralysed wife in Dhaka
Elderly woman killed by husband
Elderly woman hacked to death in Dhaka
Name: Cherith Van Der Ploeg.
Died: February 15, 2020.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Costessey, Norwich, England, UK.
Disability: Terminal lung cancer.
Details:
Cherith was dying of cancer when her ex-husband smothered her to death. His actions, Cherith’s daughter told the court, had robbed her of precious time with her mother; instead of grieving normally after her mother’s natural death on hospice care, she had to come to terms with her mother’s death while giving evidence to police about her murder.
Cherith was an introverted, family-oriented woman who always waved and greeted her neighbors when she saw them.
Case status:
Cornelius Van Der Ploeg (Ex-husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to six years to life.
Source:
It was not his decision to make – children devastated by murder of mum
Tributes paid to Cherith Van Der Ploeg who was found dead at Costessey home
Jailed: Telford father killed terminally ill ex-wife
Name: David Allsopp.
Died: February 15, 2020.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Derby, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
David was exploited by a woman who moved in with him as his caregiver. She beat him on a regular basis and told his friends and family that the bruises were from falls. The beatings eventually killed him.
David leaves behind a twin sister.
Case status:
Magdalena Kissova (Caregiver, roommate), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 24 years.
Source:
Face of killer carer who savagely beat Derby man to death
‘Carer’ exploited and murdered vulnerable Derby man
Evil woman battered dementia OAP she was paid to care for to death
Name: Masatoshi Chiba.
Died: February 2, 2020.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified chronic disease.
Details:
Masatoshi was allegedly strangled by his wife, who said she was “worn out from looking after him”.
Case status:
Mitsuko Chiba (Wife), arrested and confessed to murder.
Source:
69-year-old woman arrested over death of ailing husband
Name: James Tate.
Died: January 19, 2020.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: West Town, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; used a walker after recent arm and heart surgery.
Details:
James and his wife had told their son that he wasn’t allowed in the house if he was drunk. But his son came home drunk anyway, and when they confronted him about it, his son stabbed him to death and tried to kill his wife, who survived.
Case status:
Michael Tate (Son), convicted of murder and attempted murder; sentenced to 32-35 years.
Source:
Man murdered disabled dad, tried to stab mom in in West Town, prosecutors say
Name: Masako Ikawa.
Died: December 28, 2019.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Ms. Ikawa was strangled by her husband, who then killed himself.
Case status:
Tamotsu Ikawa (Husband), deceased.
Source:
Elderly couple found dead in apparent murder-suicide
Name: Angela Tarver.
Died: December 19, 2019.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Stabbed in the heart.
Location: Woking, Surrey, England, UK.
Disability: Stroke; limited speech and mobility.
Details:
Angela’s son killed her by stabbing her through the heart with an ornamental sword.
Her husband remembers how she always found ways to carry on with her interests and activities as her disability advanced. He calls her “the light of my life”.
Case status:
Philip Tarver, convicted of murder, sentenced to 19 years to life.
Source:
Husband’s heartbreaking tribute to wife ‘cruelly’ murdered by son
‘Scrounger’ son who decapitated disabled mom, 86, with sword and dumped her head in freezer jailed for life
Name: Sayoko Inada.
Died: December 16, 2019.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Fukoka, Japan.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease.
Details:
Sayoko lived with her mother in a senior housing facility. Her mother, worried about finances, stabbed her to death in a murder-suicide.
Case status:
Her mother, deceased.
Source:
88-year-old woman, 70 year-old daughter die in apparent murder-suicide
Alleged elderly murder-suicide shows flaws in Japan nursing care insurance system
Woman in 80s stabs daughter, 70, to death, then self in Fukuoka