Category: Location: UK

Leah Cohen

Photo of Leah Cohen, a middle-aged woman with fair skin and short, straight brown hair. She is wearing a turquoise blouse and small gold hoop earrings.Name: Leah Cohen.
Died: August 11, 2017.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: London, England, UK.
Disability: Unspecified physical and mental disability; walked with a cane.

Details:
Leah Cohen and her daughter Hannah were stabbed to death by her son. Apparently, he was upset that he had been left out of his father’s will.

Leah and her family own Beigel Bake, their family business, a London bakery famous for its salt-beef bagels. Hannah and her sister ran a cake shop, which closed when Hannah was killed; Leah’s other two sons now run the bagel shop.

Case status:
Joshua Cohen (Son), pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility; received an indefinite hospital order.

Source:
Joshua Cohen, who killed his mother and sister, admits manslaughter
Brick Lane bagel tycoon’s son ‘murdered mother and sister at home’
Man charged in North London bagel dynasty murders
Golders Green murder – son, 27, charged with murder after his bagel millionaire mum and sister are stabbed to death’ in their North London home
Heir to famous London bagel shop ‘arrested over knife murder of mother and sister’
Bagel murder suspect had been cut out of family fortune weeks before killings, documents show
Tributes paid to mother and daughter ‘stabbed by schizophrenic son’
Son arrested after allegedly stabbing mum, 66, and daughter, 33, to death in North London

Olivia Kray

Close-up photo of Olivia Kray, a young woman with olive skin and long, dark brown hair. She is smiling.Name: Olivia Kray.
Died: July 21, 2017.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Herne Bay, England, UK.
Disability: Anxiety disorder, mental illness.

Details:
Olivia’s father strangled her to death; then he went after Olivia’s mother, who escaped and ran to a neighbor’s to call the police. The killer claimed that he was so stressed by Olivia’s mental illness that he had “snapped” and “couldn’t let her suffer any more”.

Case status:
Richard Kray (Father; employed as caregiver to autistic children in a special school), pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder, sentenced to 10 years, to be partially served in a psychiatric unit.

Source:
Desperate father who strangled teenage daughter sectioned
Dad who strangled daughter to death before trying to kill ex-wife is jailed
Dad gets 10 years for strangling daughter

“Child D”

No PhotoName: “Child D”.
Died: July 2, 2017.
Age at death: Less than 1 year.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Spina bifida.

Details:
Child D, who cannot be named for confidentiality reasons, was born a twin; her twin was non-disabled. Because of her spina bifida, she needed to use a catheter to urinate, and her parents were taught to do this while she was in the hospital. Her family was known to social services.

Toward the end of her life, hospital staff noticed she was growing thin, and she was treated for a urinary tract infection. In the hospital, her father was observed not to be catheterizing the baby girl. At a medical appointment, professionals noted that she was “not her smiley self”.

When she was less than a year old, Child D was brought to the hospital unresponsive and declared dead. Authorities found her five siblings poorly cared for and her home badly kept. They concluded that Child D had been catheterized only intermittently, and that she had died due to the poor care given her by her parents.

Case Status:
Her parents were charged.

Sources:
Severly disabled baby girl found dead in Glasgow home was not properly cared for by parents, review found
Severely disabled ‘smiley’ Scots baby dies after being neglected by parents
Significant Case Review: Child D

Avis Addison

Photo of Addison Avis, an elder woman with short, curly white hair and fair skin. She is wearing a pale peach blouse and tinted glasses, and is smiling for the camera.Name: Avis “Mary” Addison.
Died: February 22, 2017.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: St. Merryn, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Avis, called Mary, was allegedly beaten and strangled by her husband, who, as her dementia worsened, refused help in caring for her and instead neglected and abused her.

Mary was a churchgoer who attended her village’s coffee mornings.

Case status:
Douglas Addison (Husband), charged with murder, ruled insane; hospitalized indefinitely.

Source:
Number of missed opportunities to help woman murdered by her husband
Apologies over ‘missed opportunities’ to help pensioner murdered by husband
Douglas Addison has been charged with the murder of his wife in quiet Cornish village of St Merryn
Man, 88, charged with murder of his 88-year-old wife
Pensioner murdered wife because of her Alzheimer’s, jury told
Sympathy for family of Alzheimer’s sufferer killed by husband with dementia
Retired policeman, 89, found guilty of murdering wife
Former police officer found guilty and sentenced for murder of wife in Cornwall
Retired policeman, 89, suffocated dementia-sufferer wife
Devoted husband battered and suffocated wife to death in truly tragic case

Tina Billingham

Close-up photo of Tina Billingham, a middle-aged woman with strawberry-blond hair and fair skin, smiling at the camera.Name: Tina Billingham.
Died: February 6, 2017.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Rowley Regis, England, UK.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
After a long abusive relationship, Tina’s partner stabbed her through the heart with a sword. During the trial he tried to claim she had done it to herself because of her depression.

She was a friendly woman, the mother of two, who liked to have friends and neighbors over for coffee.

Case status:
Ronald Cooke (Partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to 24 years to life.

Source:
‘Murdered’ Sandwell mother could have killed herself, court told
Funeral Fund For Tina Billingham
‘Our sadness is overwhelming’: Family’s tribute to murdered Tina Billingham
Murder accused: She killed herself after I called her bluff
Murderer Ronald Cooke’s violent and bullying past revealed
Man jailed for life after stabbing partner to death in row

Victoria Cherry

Photo of Vicky Cherry, a middle-aged woman with pale skin and straight brown chin-length hair.Name: Victoria Cherry.
Died: January 15, 2017 (Body Found); missing October 2015.
Age at death: 44.
Cause of death: Likely strangulation.
Location: Bolton, Manchester, England, UK.
Disability: Epilepsy, depression, drug abuse.

Details:
Vicky’s boyfriend claimed she had moved away and stole her benefits for some time. Her body was found fifteen months later, stuffed into a cupboard. It was impossible to tell exactly how she had died, but damage to her neck implied Vicky had probably been strangled.

Case status:
Andrew Reade (Boyfriend), pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and preventing a lawful burial, sentenced to 4 years, 4 months.

Source:
Man jailed for hiding girlfriend’s body in cupboard for more than a year
Victoria Cherry: Man arrested on suspicion of murder after police find body
Tributes to mum found dead at flat
Tributes paid to Preston woman Victoria Cherry
Police searching for missing woman Victoria Cherry for over a year find body in Bolton house
Man hid body of dead girlfriend in airing cupboard for 15 months
Man, 43, hid his dead girlfriend’s body in his airing cupboard for 15 months
Vicky Cherry death: Boyfriend jailed over airing cupboard body

Natasha Wild

Photo: A young woman in a bright yellow T-shirt, her brown hair in a ponytail. She has pale skin; her head is tilted. In the foreground is a small brown and white terrier dog.Name: Natasha Wild
Died: November 28, 2016.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Syke, Rochdale, Manchester, England, UK.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Natasha’s boyfriend was possessive and abusive. He hit her and accused her of faking her cerebral palsy. Convinced that she was sleeping with someone else, he stabbed her in the neck, killing her.

She was a third-year student at Liverpool Hope University, working her way through university as a cafeteria worker at the local high school.

Case status:
Lloyd Brackenbury (Boyfriend), convicted of manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility and detained in a psychiatric hospital.

Source:
Mum’s agony over student stabbed to death by paranoid boyfriend
Student stabbed to death by paranoid boyfriend who thought she was having affair

Robert Wellburn

No PhotoName: Robert Wellburn.
Died: November 8, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: North Shields, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Robert lived in his home, and his son was supposed to visit and help him. But his son stopped visiting often enough, and eventually simply left him locked into his own unheated home without enough medication or food. When he was found, Robert was starving. He died of pneumonia a few weeks later.

Case status:
Robert Wellburn Jr. (Son), pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter, sentenced to four years in prison.

Source:
Son jailed for manslaughter of his dementia-suffering dad by abandoning him
Dementia sufferer died ‘like prisoner in his own home’ after heartless son locked him in without a key

Henry Wilson

Black and white newspaper photo of Henry Wilson, a middle-aged man with dark hair, light skin, and glasses.Name: Henry Wilson.
Died: September 3, 2016.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Ayr, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Chronic heart disease.

Details:
When Henry expressed a desire to die, his wife left out a dose of her medication for him and left the house. When she returned he was not dead, so she took a pillow and smothered him.

Case status:
Susanne Wilson (Wife), pleaded guilty to culpable homicide; no sentence, walked free from court.

Source:
74-year-old woman charged with murdering her husband, 71, at their home in Ayr
Wife killed sick husband with cushion after sex allegations
Wife walks free after killing husband
Ex-councillor who killed husband to death avoids jail
Wife who killed suicidal husband walks free

Jean Constant

No PhotoName: Jean Constant.
Died: August 22, 2016.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: St. Neots, England, UK.
Disability: Unspecified; care home resident.

Details:
After her health began to decline and Jean had to be hospitalized, Jean and her husband moved into a care home. Four months later, Jean’s husband allegedly killed her by smothering her.

Case status:
Brendan Constant (Husband), charged with murder, died before trial.

Source:
Brothers question murder charge in ‘suicide pact’ case
Cambridgeshire ‘murder’: Retired man, 87, quizzed over murder of his 86-year-old wife at their sheltered housing
Cambridgeshire woman is found dead and man seriously injured at their home
Eynesbury Poppyfields care home death: Murder arrest after body find
Man aged 87 arrested on suspicion of murder after woman found dead at Poppyfields care home in St Neots
Man arrested on suspicion of murder after wife dies at care home
More tests needed to find cause of death of Jean Constant, 86
Pensioner found dead at St Neots care home is named by police
Woman found dead and man injured at St Neots home