Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Sandra Blair.
Age at death: 36.
Disability: Injury from a car accident.
Name: Justin Blair.
Age at death: 8.
Disability: Cerebral palsy; blindness.
Died: March 11, 1996.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned with hammer.
Location: Concord, New Hampshire, USA.
Details:
Sandra and Justin, mother and son, were killed by Sandra’s husband, Justin’s father, who bludgeoned them with a hammer.
Case status:
Robert Blair (Father); convicted of murder; sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
Name: Scott Dell.
Died: December 28, 1995.
Age at death: 44.
Cause of death: Antifreeze poisoning.
Location: Killaloe, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cancer of the mouth/throat; in remission.
Details:
When Scott Dell was found dead, poisoned with antifreeze, his wife tried to call it a suicide. Scott was depressed, she claimed, because he was afraid of his cancer coming back. But her story fell apart. Witnesses testified that Scott had wanted to live and had hope for his future. The family cat had died from antifreeze poisoning. And Scott’s wife was the only person who could have given him the antifreeze-tainted wine that killed him.
Case status:
Cherrylle Dell (Wife; estranged), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.
Source:
How sex, lies and antifreeze convicted the `Angel’ of death, Cherrylle Dell
Name: Danielle Tucker, born Danielle R. Dornan.
Died: December 10, 1995.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Coldwater, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, spina bifida.
Details:
Danielle died of head injuries after she was pushed down a flight of stairs by her adoptive mother, who claimed she had fallen. Danielle died on December 10, eight days short of her fourth birthday.
To avoid facing scrutiny for her death, the family moved, taking Danielle’s two siblings with them, but two years later Danielle’s sister was found locked in the basement, starving and neglected, and rescued. Danielle’s case was re-opened and her mother was charged.
Case status:
Becky Tucker (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to child abuse, sentenced to 8-15 years.
Christopher Tucker (Adoptive father), not charged but served 6 years, 2 months for abusing Danielle’s sister.
Source:
Tucker sentenced for Michagan death
Danielle and Brittany Tucker (Dornan)
Name: Fiona Mitchell.
Died: July 12, 1995.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Brain injury from meningitis, causing blindness and deafness.
Details:
While her siblings lived in the rest of the house, little Fiona was shut up in a room and forgotten, denied care, medical attention, and even food and water. She died of starvation.
“…Fiona was among those whose cases were diffused by factual findings by the coroner. Though Fiona died of malnutrition, the Medical examiner attributed her death to her having had meningitis and said it was “amazing she lived as long as she did.” —Misplaced Mercy
Case status:
Mary Mitchell (Mother), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide; two-year suspended sentence.
Source:
Misplaced Mercy
Girl’s Mother Indicted on Murder Charge
Name: Lucas Ciambrone; birth name, Pedro Garcia.
Died: May 13, 1995.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Florida, USA.
Disability: Reactive Attachment Disorder.
Details:
Lucas was kept naked in a bathroom, abused by his parents, and died of a head injury. He had multiple broken ribs that had gone untreated for months, and was malnourished. At trial, defense experts argued that because he had an attachment disorder, Lucas’s behavior traumatized his parents so much that it excused what they had done to him.
Lucas liked Star Wars.
Case Status:
Joseph Ciambrone (Adoptive father), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life.
Heather Ciambrone (Adoptive mother), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 55 years; appealed sentence, sentenced to life.
Sources:
‘Almost like he’s possessed;’ Couple convicted of murdering adopted son tried RAD defense
AT Victim — Lucas Ciambrone
Lucas Ciambrone
Name: Regina Savage.
Died: 1995.
Age at death: Elder.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Valley Cottage, New York, USA.
Disability: Arthritis, curved spine, cancer.
Details:
Regina was sitting in her wheelchair when her husband came up behind her and shot her in the back with a shotgun, killing her.
Case status:
Richard Savage (Husband), pleaded guilty, sentenced to 14 days in jail plus 28 days time served.
Source:
Mercy killings: After Westchester Medical Center deaths, a look at similar deaths
What is mercy killing? Does Richard DeLucia’s murder-suicide qualify?
Name: Ryan Wilkieson.
Died: December 5, 1994.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, deafblind.
Details:
Ryan’s mother took him to the garage and poisoned him and herself with exhaust fumes. He died only 19 days after the verdict in the Tracy Latimer murder trial.
Case status:
Cathy Wilkieson (Mother), deceased.
Source:
People with Disabilities Outraged by Murders
Remembering…
Open Season
The Latimer Case: The Reflections of People with Disabilities
History of euthanasia in Canada
Brandon Sun Newspaper Archives, Dec 7, 1994, p. 3
Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer
Name: Cecil Brush.
Died: August 18, 1994.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease, blindness.
Details:
Cecil was stabbed to death by his wife, who called it a mercy killing and said Cecil wanted to die. There was no proof that Cecil was suicidal or that he wanted to die.
Case status:
Jean Brush (Wife), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, given a suspended sentence and 18 months of probation.
Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Woman Sentenced in Mercy Killing
Of Life and Death – Appendices D-L
Regina v. Brush: March 2, 1995
Name: Sophie Préfaut.
Died: August 7, 1994.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Montpellier, France.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Sophie’s mother drugged her, then smothered her to death. She said that she had done it because Sophie did not want to go back to the hospital, where she had been subjected to neuroleptics and electroshock.
Sophie was an intelligent young woman with a good sense of humor, who could solve cube roots in her head.
Case Status:
Jeanne-Marie Préfaut (Mother), convicted of premeditated voluntary homicide, sentenced to 5 years; sentence suspended.
Name: Basma Rafay
Died: July 13, 1994.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Basma was bludgeoned to death by her brother and his friend. They also killed her parents, Tariq and Sultana Rafay.
Case status:
Atif Rafay (Brother), convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.
Sebastian Burns (Brother’s friend), convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Basma Rafay
The Rafay Family Murders