Author: Mx. Daxer

Baili Cowell

No PhotoName: Baili Cowell.
Died: April 24, 2022.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Unspecified caretaker neglect.
Location: Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Disability: “Functionally impaired”.

Details:
Baili was found dead in her home. Police, who arrested her mother, say she had been left immobile, allowing pressure sores to develop, that she was dehydrated, and that she had not been taken to medical appointments.

Case Status:
Shelly Gantka (Mother), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 6 months in jail and 5 years probation.

Sources:
Woman who neglected bedridden daughter gets jail time, 5 years’ probation for death
Toledo woman sentenced to probation in connection to her daughter’s death
Mother charged in April death of daughter in Toledo
Mother arrested, charged with involuntary manslaughter in death of her teenage child
Woman pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter of daughter

Girija

No PhotoName: Girija.
Died: April 21, 2022.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Melamcode, Kerala, India.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Girija was found dead by her son; she had been strangled. Police arrested her husband, whom they suspect of killing her before injuring himself non-fatally.

Case Status:
Sadasivan Nair (Husband), hospitalized; will be arrested when his injuries are treated.

Sources:
Woman’s death turns out to be murder

Cameron Forrest

Photo of a young man with pale skin and dark-brown hair, a wispy mustache on his upper lip, smiling. He is wearing a flannel shirt over a black T-shirt.Name: Cameron Paul Forrest.
Died: April 16, 2022.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Gladstone, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Autism, OCD.

Details:
Cameron’s mother and brother allegedly conspired to kill him–first by medication overdose, then by stabbing him with a knife. Cameron died from his injuries. After being treated for self-inflicted injuries and discharged from the hospital, Cameron’s mother and brother were arrested. Police say Cameron’s brother said Cameron would be better off dead because the family’s financial hardships were insurmountable.

Case Status:
Lee-Ann Rae Forrest (Mother), charged with murder.
Alex William Forrest (Brother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Disturbing details emerge of ‘horrific’ Gladstone death after murder charges laid against mother and son
Mother and brother charged over man’s stabbing murder

Richard Rutherford

Black and white photo of a man in late middle age, gray-haired with a receding hairline. He is wearing a suit. He has light skin, and is smiling. Name: Richard Judson Rutherford.
Died: April 15, 2022.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Mobility impaired, cognitive decline.

Details:
Richard died the victim of homicide; his husband was arrested and charged with his murder, which is being called a “mercy killing”.

Richard was a former principal dancer in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet who worked with the Canada Council for the Arts after he retired as a dancer. In his elder years, he tended his garden and watched the birds and chipmunks that came to his feeder.

Case Status:
Philippe Hébert (Husband), charged with second-degree murder.

Sources:
The ‘tragic and profoundly human’ story of Richard Rutherford and Philippe Hébert
Bail granted to Ottawa man charged with second-degree murder in the death of his spouse
Ottawa man charged with murder after elderly man found dead on Good Friday
Richard RUTHERFORD Obituary (1935 – 2022)

Mr. Chen

No PhotoName: Chen (Surname); given name unknown.
Died: April 15, 2022.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Ershui, Changhua County, Taiwan.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Mr. Chen was strangled, and his brother was arrested for the crime. Police say he had killed Mr. Chen and attempted to kill himself because he was tired of caring for his brother.

Case Status:
Mr. Chen (Brother), arrested.

Sources:
Changhua man found dead, brother injured – Taipei Times
彰化二水凶殺案 老翁疑勒斃弟弟再割腕1死1傷
彰化命案！哥哥勒斃中風弟　兄弟檔1死1命危 ｜ 蘋果新聞網 ｜ 蘋果日報

Nellie Sullivan

No PhotoName: Nellie Sullivan.
Died: April 14, 2022 (Body found).
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Unknown homicide.
Location: Candler, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia; frail elder.

Details:
Nellie’s granddaughter and her boyfriend took her out of the nursing home where she was living and brought her to live with them at their trailer. Shortly afterward, Nellie disappeared, though her caregivers continued cashing her social security checks and filling her prescriptions. Suspicious police arrested and charged the couple with fraud, animal cruelty, and concealing a death; but Nellie’s body was not found for two years, until a neighbor’s pet duck ran under the trailer and led police to the shallow grave where Nellie was buried.

A neighbor remembers Nellie as a kind woman who once made her daughter a Halloween costume out of a shower curtain.

Case Status:
Angela Wamsley (Granddaughter), charged with first-degree murder.
Mark Barnes (Granddaughter’s boyfriend), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Couple arrested for murdering grandmother after the elderly woman’s pet duck led police to her body  | Daily Mail Online
Pet duck leads to discovery of woman’s body under home; suspects charged with murder
Sheriff’s Office Says N.C. Couple Charged with Killing Grandmother Sent Deputies on a ‘Wild Goose Chase’ That Was Solved by a Pet Duck
Couple charged in 2020 concealing death case lived at home where human remains found
‘I just hope this is her’: Woman hopeful human remains confirmed to be missing neighbor

Megumi Yamada

No PhotoName: Megumi Yamada.
Died: April 13, 2022.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Megumi’s mother turned up at the police station and allegedly confessed to killing her, saying that she was “tired of taking care of” Megumi. Police investigated and found Megumi dead in her home; she had been strangled and smothered with plastic wrap.

Case Status:
Fumiko Yamada (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Japan woman arrested for allegedly attempting to kill ‘bedridden’ daughter who later died
‘I’m tired of taking care of her’: Japanese woman, 68, surrenders after suffocating bedridden daughter

Heather Baynard

Photo of a teenage girl with pale skin, wearing a red shirt; a trach is visible at her neck. She is leaning back and looking away. Name: Heather Leigh-Anne Baynard.
Died: April 11, 2022.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Gaffney, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Heather arrived at the hospital unresponsive and was soon declared dead. Police who examined her home discovered that she had been kept in filthy conditions; on autopsy, the coroner reported that she had been severely neglected for many months, causing her medical condition to worsen and eventually become fatal.

Heather loved music, especially Mikey Mason and Disney Jr. She liked pretty lights, bright colors, and traveling.

Case Status:
David Eugene Baynard (Father), convicted of murder, felony child abuse, and unlawful neglect of a child, sentenced to 20 years to life.
Bobbie Jo Baynard (Mother), convicted of murder, felony child abuse, and unlawful neglect of a child, sentenced to 20 years to life.
Edward Baynard (Brother), convicted of murder, felony child abuse, and unlawful neglect of a child, sentenced to 20-60 years.

Sources:
Family Jailed for Killing Girl, 14, With Cerebral Palsy Taken to Hospital With Rotting Legs
South Carolina family neglected disabled daughter — whose rotted legs looked like ‘raw meat’ — so severely she died
Parents, Son Sentenced For Murder After Police Find Rotting Special Needs Daughter In South Carolina House Of Horrors
Disabled teen wasted away in roach-filled crib as parents and brother jailed
‘Worst case of neglect we’ve seen’: Family sentenced for murder of teen with disabilities
Couple, Son Sentenced to Decades in Prison in Death of 14-Year-Old Special Needs Girl
S.C. parents, son convicted of killing daughter who ‘showed extreme signs of disintegration’
Upstate couple and son found guilty in murder of daughter, officials say
Gaffney Family Found Guilty in 2022 Murder of Special Needs Daughter
Unspeakable cruelty of parents who left their disabled daughter to die
Parents, son charged in Upstate girl’s death after she suffered in ‘deplorable conditions,’ warrants say
Family of 14-year-old speaks out after her death, murder charges filed against parents
Girl’s death called ‘horrible,’ ‘worst case’ neglect Upstate officials have ever seen; parents charged
Heather Leigh-Anne Baynard Obituary (2022)

Zada Johnson

Photo of a girl with her head wrapped in striped bedclothes. She has pale skin and curly dark-blonde hair, and is sticking her tongue out slightly.Name: Zada Faith Johnson.
Died: April 10, 2022.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Suffocation; blocked tracheotomy tube.
Location: Lykens, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Details:
Zada needed a tracheotomy tube to breathe and had an oxygen monitor set up, with an alarm that sounded if she didn’t get enough air. According to police, her baby monitor cameras recorded that Zada’s alarm had been ignored for hours the night she died, despite being clearly audible to everyone in the house. Police also say that Zada’s parents regularly left her alone at home with her teenage brother and spent money meant for her medical care on themselves.

Case Status:
Kimberly A. Johnson (Mother), charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.
Jacob K. Snyder (Mother’s partner), charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.

Sources:
Police: Couple’s negligence caused 10-year-old girl’s death in 2022
Couple charged for death of disabled 10-year-old girl in Lykens, police say
Zada Faith Johnson Obituary (2022) – Klingerstown, PA – Minnich Family Funeral Homes, Inc. – Williamstown

Helen Lawrie

No PhotoName: Helen Lawrie.
Died: April 4, 2022.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Cromer, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia, mobility impaired, speech impaired, low vision.

Details:
Helen’s husband killed her before taking his own life.

Helen was a member of the Royal Cromer Golf Club. She owned hair salons and taught hairdressing.

Case Status:
Alexander Lawrie (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Inquest verdict found couple died in ‘unlawful killing and suicide’ – Cromer
Inquests open into deaths at home of Cromer couple
Husband kills wife before taking his own life in tragic dementia pact