Age: Adult – Page 39 – Disability Day of Mourning

Shaun Moloney

Name: Shaun Moloney.
Died: March 8, 2009.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma, burns, alcohol poisoning.
Location: Glenroy, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
Shaun lived with two roommates. They beat him unconscious, dumped his body in a vacant lot, and set it on fire. Because Shaun had been drinking heavily the day he died, the court could not determine whether the cause of his death had been the beating, the fire, or alcohol poisoning; so his roommates could only be convicted of assault.

Case Status:
Darryl McHarg (Roommate), pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury, sentenced to 3 years 6 months to 6 years 6 months in prison.
Wayne Arthur (Roommate), pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury, sentenced to 3 years 6 months to 6 years 6 months in prison.

Sources:
R v McHarg & Arthur
Two charged with murder of Shaun Patrick Moloney
Pair jailed for assaulting a man who died, but escape charges over his death
MOLONEY, Shaun Patrick | Death Notices | Melbourne

Roberta Laws

Photo of Roberta Laws, an adult woman with light skin and dark-brown hair, wearing a peach top; she has brown eyes, and strabismus in one eye. Name: Roberta Laws.
Died: February 2009.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Middleburg, Florida, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Roberta’s boyfriend strangled her and buried her body in the backyard.

Case status:
Kenneth McBride (Boyfriend), sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Killer of disabled Clay County woman sentenced to life

Jamie Hawley

Name: Jamie Hawley.
Died: May 26, 2008.
Age at death: 41.
Cause of death: Starvation, pneumonia, infection.
Location: Brockville, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy and intellectual disability.

Details:
Jamie was neglected by his brother. Because he used a wheelchair, Jamie’s brother was able to confine him to the second floor of their home, which had no wheelchair ramps.

While his brother collected his disability checks, Jamie died of starvation, pneumonia, and infected bedsores.

Case status:
Jerry Hawley (Brother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 20 years; reduced to 14 years 11 months on 1.5x credit for time served.

Source:
Man who starved brother receives extra credit for time served
Inquest to begin Dec. 7 into disabled man’s starvation death
Ontario man gets 20 years for starving disabled brother to death

Sharon Birchwood

Photo of Sharon Birchwood, a woman with fair skin and straight, shoulder-length gray hair; she is wearing a black dress and smiling for the camera. Name: Sharon Birchwood.
Died: December 7, 2007.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Ashtead, England, UK.
Disability: Myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Details:
Sharon was tied up and strangled by a hit man hired by her husband. He had planned to claim her life insurance, sell her house, and flee the country.

Case status:
Graham Birchwood (husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 29 years, died in prison.
Paul Cryne (Hitman), convicted of murder, sentenced to 28-and-a-half years, died in prison.

Source:
Man who ordered hitman to kill disabled ex-wife dies in prison
Documentary unravels Sharon Birchwood murder plot
Hunt on for killer of woman
Murder accused ‘calm and relaxed’ at death scene
Sharon Birchwood’s chilling message from the grave predicting her own murder
Sharon Birchwood’s brutal murder led police to Thailand in shocking kill plot

Criste Reimer

Photo of Criste Reimer, a middle-aged woman wearing glasses. She has pale skin and curly brown hair, cut short. She is smiling with her lips pressed together. Name: Criste Reimer .
Died: August 14, 2007.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Fall injury.
Location: Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Hydrocephalus, neurofibromatosis.

Details:
Criste’s husband threw her from a fourth-floor balcony to her death.

Case status:
Stanley Reimer (Husband), pled guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
Sisters of woman thrown from balcony wanted to keep her away from husband

Janine Brockie

No Photo Name: Janine Penelope Brockie.
Died: May 10, 2007.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Ringwood, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Stroke, TBI.

Details:
Janine was likely being physically abused by her partner in the year before her death. After one beating, in which Janine was punched and kicked, and then left in her bed for most of the next day without medical care, Janine died from a severe head injury.

Case Status:
Brian Robert Andrew (Partner), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 7-10 years in prison.

Sources:
R v Andrew [2008] VSC 138 (1 May 2008)
Man faces court over partner’s death
Bash killer gets 10 years

Janene Devine

Photo of Janene Devine, a middle-aged white woman with short brown hair. Name: Janene Devine.
Died: April 16, 2007.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Infection, starvation.
Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Janene’s husband, a registered nurse, did not want anyone else to help his wife. He refused placement at a care home for her, and even rejected an offer of free installation of a wheelchair ramp so that she could get out of the house, preferring to carry her instead. Then he neglected her so badly that she died from infected bedsores and starvation.

Case status:
Andrew Devine (Husband), pled guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 6 months to 1 year.

Source:
Inquest into the death of Janene Devine
Dead Mother ‘Looked Like A Skeleton’
Andrew Devine jailed over death of wife Janene, who suffered multiple sclerosis and weighed 30kg at her death
“Filthy and infested with vermin”
Man refused help for wife with MS

Richard Fowler

Name: Richard Fowler.
Died: December 13, 2006.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Back injury.

Details:
Richard, disabled by a back injury and having received a worker’s comp payout, was divorced but still lived with his wife. His wife, who wanted the money, plotted with her partner to beat Richard to death.

Case Status:
Angela Dawn Fowler (Ex-wife), pled guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy, sentenced to 13 years in prison and 5 years probation.
Robert Lee Heydman (Wife’s partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Sources:
Who is Angela Dawn Fowler and what did she do?
Deadly Duo: Angela Dawn Fowler got Robert Heydman to kill her husband, Richard Fowler

Sherry Lavery

Name: Sherry Lavery.
Died: September 27, 2006.
Age at death: 50.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Depression, alcoholism.

Details:
Sherry’s husband smothered her with a pillow after she told him she believed she would not recover from her alcoholism.

Sherry, a mother and grandmother, had been a political activist and a campaign manager for an MP, and regularly contributed to her local newspaper’s letters page. She loved the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.

Case Status:
Noel Lavery (Husband), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years house arrest, 3 years probation, and community service.

Sources:
Edmonton senior who smothered wife avoids jail | CBC News
Dead woman had alcohol, anti-depressants, in blood | CBC News
Killer of alcoholic wife guilty of manslaughter
Sherry Lavery Obituary (2006) – Edmonton Journal
Trial delayed by technical glitch to resume Friday | CTV News
Mental-health system needs fix

Kathy Wangler

Photo of a smiling woman with light skin and frizzy brown hair, smiling for the camera. Name: Kathy Wangler.
Died: September 4, 2006.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Lima, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
Kathy’s husband gassed her with carbon monoxide, then called emergency services and claimed she was having a seizure. Kathy was declared dead, and an autopsy determined she had already been dead for half an hour when her husband called 911, calling his story into question. Kathy’s friends also testified that her husband had been psychologically abusing her.

Every summer, Kathy volunteered at the county fair to raise money for the local school district.

Case Status:
Mark Wangler (Husband), convicted of aggravated murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Sources:
An Ohio Mom Is Found Dead From Carbon Monoxide. Was It A Tragic Accident Or Murder?
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered – Where is Ohio anesthesiologist Dr Mark Wangler now?
State v. Wangler, 2012 Ohio 4878
Kathy Wangler Murder: Where is Dr. Mark Wangler Now? –
Did Ohio anesthesiologist gas his wife to death?