Location: UK – Page 8 – Disability Day of Mourning

Ernestine Tindall

No Photo Name: Ernestine Tindall.
Died: August 13, 2016.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Perlethorpe, England, UK.
Disability: Vascular dementia.

Details:
Ernestine’s husband strangled her because he was afraid that they would be moved to separate nursing homes. He claimed she had asked him to kill her, but the judge stated that,”This is not a case of assisted suicide. This is killing as a perceived act of mercy.”

Case status:
Jack Tindall (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, given a 12-month suspended sentence.

Source:
World War II vet, 96, strangled his dementia-suffering wife to death and laid her on a bed of lilies
Husband spared jail for mercy killing of wife with dementia
96-year-old man gets suspended prison term for killing dementia-suffering wife

Margaret Mayer

Photo of Margaret Meyer, an elderly woman with curly gray hair and fair skin. She is wearing a sports jersey with the monograph "M" on it. Name: Margaret Mayer.
Died: July 28, 2016.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Heath, Cardiff, Wales, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
After refusing offers of help with caring for her, Margaret Meyer’s husband bludgeoned her to death with a bedside lamp.

She was a retired tax office worker who loved sports, including hockey, football, and cricket.

Case status:
Angus Mayer (Husband), charged with murder; died seven weeks after arrest from injuries from a suicide attempt.

Source:
Pensioner who killed wife and stepped in front of train ‘let down by the system’
Man, 86, killed dementia-sufferer wife, 85, and stepped in front train
Family criticises social services over deaths of elderly couple
Man killed dementia sufferer wife, inquest hears
Husband killed wife to ‘put her out of her misery’, inquest hears
Dementia carer ‘smothered wife and tried to kill himself’
Devoted husband killed wife with a brass lamp
Husband killed Alzheimer’s sufferer wife and then attempted suicide
Mercy killing couple with Alzheimer’s should never have been allowed to look after each other, says son as he hits out at social services
Carer who killed wife with dementia had ‘fog of fatigue’
‘Dad killed our mum – but we’ve forgiven him’
Daughter of man who killed wife says she was ‘never angry’ with him
Dad killed our mum – but we’ve forgiven him because he was at breaking point as her carer

Catherine Purcell

No Photo Name: Catherine Purcell.
Died: July 24, 2016.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Dehydration, sepsis.
Location: Kirkby, England, UK.
Disability: Korsakoff syndrome, emphysema.

Details:
Although they had four offers of help caring for her, Catherine’s husband and daughter refused them all. Instead, they left Catherine to starve on a filthy mattress. She died of dehydration, pneumonia, and infected bedsores.

Case Status:
Catherine Purcell Jr. (Daughter), found guilty of neglect, given a suspended 12-month sentence, 180 hours of community service, and a curfew for two months.
John Purcell (Husband), found guilty of neglect; given a suspended 18-month sentence, 270 hours of community service, and a curfew for three months.

Source:
Disabled mum ‘left to die in soiled bed while she was eaten by maggots’
Great-gran died in maggot-ridden “cesspit” due to “extreme neglect”
Dad and daughter guilty of neglecting Catherine Purcell who died while being eaten by maggots
Shocking details of ‘neglected’ gran; PROSECUTORS SAY NEGLECT DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTED TO 68-YEAR-OLD’S DEATH
Shocking messages sisters sent as mum lay dying in maggot-infested bed
Dad and daughter spared jail for neglecting mum who died in maggot-infested bed

Charlotte and Claire Hart

Photo of Charlotte and Claire Hart. Charlotte is a young woman with blonde hair in a ponytail, and Claire is a middle-aged woman with straight blonde hair in bangs. They are leaning against eaach other and smiling. Name: Charlotte Hart.
Age at death: 19.
Disability: Depression.

Name: Claire Hart.
Age at death: 50.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis, ovarian cancer survivor.

Died: July 19, 2016.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Spalding, England, UK.

Details:
Claire, her daughter Charlotte, and her two sons were trapped in an abusive household. The two young men tried to protect their mother and sister and finally managed to rent a small house for them.

But soon after they moved out, Claire and her daughter Charlotte were shot dead by her husband, who then killed himself.

Claire kept a vegetable garden in which she grew some of the family’s food. Both women were animal-lovers who especially loved dogs. Charlotte liked to ride horses and volunteered to help the elderly; her favorite video game was Call of Duty.

Case status:
Lance Hart (Claire’s husband, Charlotte’s father), deceased.

Source:
Murder was final act of abuse and control
‘He was a tyrant’: man opens up on father who killed mother and sister
Memorial to Claire & Charlotte Hart.
‘We didn’t recognise that he was dangerous’: our father killed our mother and sister

Rifat Mohammed

No Photo Name: Rifat Mohammed.
Died: July 6, 2016.
Age at death: 3 months.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Poplar, East London, England, UK.
Disability: Symbrachydactyly.

Details:
Rifat died from abuse inflicted by his parents because he had a “deformed hand”. He had shattered ribs and legs and a broken spine, and died from a head injury consistent with shaken baby syndrome.

Case status:
Mohammed Miah (Father), convicted of murder and causing suffering, sentenced to 18 years.
Rebeka Nazmin (Mother), convicted of allowing Rifat’s death and causing suffering, sentenced to 6 years.

Source:
Mohammed Miah jailed for 18 years for baby son Rifat’s murder
Mohammed Miah jailed for 18 years for baby son Rifat’s murder
Mother accused of murder ‘told child to shake her baby’
Parents ‘told young child to shake baby on morning he was found dead’
Baby who suffered 46 fractures and a broken spine ‘mistreated over deformity’
Murder detectives launch probe after death of three-month-old baby
Baby ‘violently shaken to death by his parents’ had 47 broken bones
Abused three-month-old baby violently shaken to death
Father found guilty of murdering baby who suffered 38 rib fractures, eight fractures to his legs and a broken spine
Father who killed 13-week old baby blamed autistic child
Father who murdered 13-week-old baby jailed

Jordan Burling

Name: Jordan Burling.
Died: June 30, 2016.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Leeds, England, UK.
Disability: Developmental and behavioral problems, mobility impaired.

Details:
At sixteen years old, Jordan’s family took him out of school, claiming they were home-schooling, and neglected him.

Jordan was left on an air mattress by his family. There, he slowly died of malnutrition and infected bedsores. He died of pneumonia, weighing only 37 kg (82 pounds).

The body of Jordan’s baby brother was found in Jordan’s closet. It could not be determined whether he had been born alive.

Jordan liked WWE wrestling, video games, and football.

Case status:
Dawn Cranston (Mother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to four years.
Denise Cranston (Grandmother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to four years.
Abigail Burling (Sister), convicted of causing or allowing a vulnerable adult’s death, sentenced to 18 months.

Source:
‘No-one’ responsible for grandson’s death
Mum and gran accused of neglecting teen who ‘rotted to death’ in family home
Family on trial after dead teen and baby found in Leeds house
Teen ‘starved to death by mum, sister and gran was as thin as death camp victim’
Son ‘left to rot to death was as thin as a WW2 death camp victim’
Emaciated man’s family ‘reclusive’
Emaciated son was ‘pale and drawn’
The teenager left to waste away
Women jailed after teen ‘rotted to death’
Shocking pictures show teenager left to ‘rot to death’ by his mother and gran
Women jailed after teen ‘rotted to death’

Jean Irwin

Flowers left at Jean Irwin's house. They are purple and white flowers, lying on a curb next to a brick wall and wrought-iron gate. Name: Jean Elizabeth Irwin.
Died: June 20, 2016.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Jean’s husband killed her by bludgeoning her with a hammer, then strangling her, before taking his own life.

Case status:
John David Irwin (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Shanklin couple found strangled and hanged
Terminal cancer patient who killed dementia-suffering wife left note to say ‘sorry for nuisance’ then took own life
Shanklin deaths: Man strangled woman and killed himself
Police launch murder investigation into Shanklin death
Pensioner, 77, is found hanged alongside body of his wife, 83
Murder investigation after two elderly people found dead in home
Man with terminal cancer killed dementia patient wife, left note to say ‘sorry for the nuisance’ and took own life
Pensioner, 77, who killed his ill wife before taking his own life apologises
Pensioner’s heartbreaking suicide note after killing wife he couldn’t care for

Elsie Scully-Hicks

Name: Elsie Scully-Hicks.
Died: May 29, 2016.
Age at death: 18 months.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Llandaff, Wales, UK.
Disability: Developmental delay.

Details:
Adopted at ten months, Elsie was beaten and shaken to death by her adoptive father eight months later, only two weeks after the adoption was finalized.

Case status:
Matthew Scully-Hicks (Adoptive father), convicted of murder, sentenced to 18 years to life.

Source:
Elsie Scully-Hicks: Dad jailed for life for murder
Gay father killed his only 18-month-old daughter just two weeks after adopting her
Murder accused described girl as ‘Satan dressed in baby grow’, court told
Elsie Scully-Hicks: first picture emerges of toddler allegedly murdered by father
Father guilty of shaking to death baby he adopted two weeks earlier
Adoptive dad guilty of baby’s murder

Patricia Gordon

No Photo Name: Patricia Gordon.
Died: April 28, 2016.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Troon, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Health anxiety, depression, lung cancer.

Details:
Patricia hated doctors and didn’t want to go to see one, but was worried that she had lung cancer. One day when she was in pain, instead of taking her to a doctor, her husband smothered her to death with a pillow.

Although he admitted to killing her, the murder charge was dropped after a family member explained to the court how sick Patricia had been and how hard it had been for her husband to care for her.

Case status:
Ian Gordon (Husband), convicted of culpable homicide, sentenced to 3 years, 4 months; sentence overturned, released.

Source:
Pensioner cleared of murder after smothering his wife
Husband who smothered wife to death with pillow cleared of murder
Troon pillow killer Ian Gordon jailed for three years
Judges overturn sentence for man who killed his wife
Husband jailed for culpable homicide over ‘mercy killing’ of terminally wife admonished following appeal

Laraine Rayner

Name: Laraine Rayner.
Died: Two weeks before April 24, 2016 (Body found).
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Sharp trauma.
Location: Wisbech, UK.
Disability: Mental and physical health problems; OCD; mobility impaired.

Details:
Laraine was stabbed to death by her boyfriend.

Case status:
Steven Stocks (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 20 years to life.

Source:
Laraine Rayner murder: Disabled woman’s partner jailed for life
Man left dying stabbed partner to rot in shrine, court hears
Wisbech carer ‘stabbed girlfriend to death, then wrote letter apologising for mess’, court hears
Man ‘fatally stabbed his disabled partner and left her body under makeshift shrine for two weeks’