Category: Age: Adult

Age 30-59

Richard Fowler

Photo of a fair-skinned man with dark hair, mustache, and chin beard, wearing a collared shirt and glasses, smiling for the camera.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

Photo of a middle-aged woman with curled dark-brown hair, pale skin,and brown eyes; she is wearing a white shirt, gold earrings and necklace, and make-up.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?

Gregory Stewart

No PhotoName: Gregory Ross Stewart.
Died: August 9, 2006.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Summerholm, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Leg amputee.

Details:
Gregory lived with his former partner, with whom he had broken up; but they were still living together until a property dispute could be resolved. Neighbors say his partner had a history of being violent towards him, with his decreased mobility making him an easier target. Gregory’s body was found in his living room; his prosthetic leg had been removed and he had been strangled.

Case Status:
Diana Fae Hughes (Partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.

Sources:
R v Hughes [2012] QCA 208 (14 August 2012)
Macabre slideshow of murder
Killer grandma has appeal rejected

Micki Kanesaki

Middle-aged Asian woman, her short black hair permed, wearing a green shirt.Name: Micki Kanesaki.
Died: May 28, 2006.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Asphyxia or drowning.
Location: Island Escape (Cruise ship), Mediterranean Sea.
Disability: Depression, severe arthritis.

Details:
Right after amending their will, Micki’s husband took her on a cruise. As they stood on the balcony of their cabin, he strangled her and threw her body into the water.

Micki was a retired paralegal who lived in Ladera Ranch, California.

Case status:
Lonnie Loren Kocontes (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
O.C. Lawyer Gets Life Sentence For Killing Ex-Wife On Cruise
‘Almost Got Away With the Perfect Crime’: Attorney Gets Life in Prison for Ex-Wife’s Cruise Ship Murder
Lonnie Kocontes Accused Cruise Ship Murder Ex-wife Micki Kanesaki Registered Florida Voter

Linda Blaauw

No PhotoName: Linda Edith Blaauw.
Died: May 23, 2006.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Bayswater, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Paranoid schizophrenia; cancer survivor.

Details:
The day before her death, Linda’s psychologist told her that he could not guarantee a cure, and that it was possible for her mental illness to relapse. The next morning, as Linda lay sleeping, her husband stabbed her in the neck with a kitchen knife, killing her.

Case Status:
Donovan Alexander Blaauw (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 7-11 years.

Sources:
R v Blaauw [2008] VSC 129 (24 April 2008)

Robert McClancy

Photo of a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and mustache, wearing a suit.Name: Robert McClancy.
Died: May 15, 2006.
Age at death: 56.
Cause of death: Antidepressant overdose.
Location: Monroe, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: PTSD.

Details:
Robert’s wife and her lover poisoned him with the medication he’d been prescribed for PTSD and staged it as a suicide. Then they married and collected his veteran’s pension.
Photo of a gravestone. It reads: Robert J McClancy. Corporal, US Marine Corps. Vietnam. Oct. 20, 1949. May 15, 2006. "Irish" is Guarding Heaven."
Robert was a Vietnam war veteran who still met regularly with his military friends.

Case status:
Martha Kaczmarczyk (Wife), convicted of murder, sentenced to 50 years.
Chuck Kaczmarczyk, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, sentenced to 25 years.

Source:
Robert McClancy: Veteran Was Murdered By His Wife in ‘Most Evil Crime’
Fake 9/11 First Responder Killed Her Husband for His Real VA Check
‘It Just Didn’t Add Up’: Woman’s Dark Side Comes To Light After Her Veteran Husband Is Found Dead
Charles Kaczmarczyk, 59, pleads guilty to 2006 murder

Evelyn Joel

Photo of Evelyn Joel. She is a middle-aged woman with pale skin and graying dark-brown hair and glasses, holding a baby.Name: Evelyn Joel.
Died: January 7, 2006.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Enniscorthy, Ireland.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Evelyn’s health rapidly declined while she was in the care of her family. By the time she was hospitalized with multiple infected bedsores, she was too weak to recover when she caught pneumonia.

Case status:
Eleanor Joel (Daughter) and Jonathan Costen (Daughter’s husband), convicted of manslaughter; given two-year suspended sentence; sentence overturned because the health care workers involved in Evelyn’s care had not been summoned to testify at trial.

Source:
Court quashes couple’s convictions for killing Evelyn Joel
Couple will not face retrial over death of MS sufferer
Court quashes couple’s convictions for killing Evelyn Joel
Couple who left MS sufferer, Evelyn Joel, to die in her own filth receive suspended sentence
Ma neglect killer walk free from court
Appeal by couple convicted of letting MS sufferer die with ‘maggots in her infected bedsores’

Jason Ritzert

Photo of Jason Ritzert, an man wearing a headband and casual clothes and sitting on a dirt bike. He has a tattoo on his right arm.Name: Jason Ritzert.
Died: November 10, 2005.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Jason’s roommates, who often abused him under the pretext of “punishing” him, set him on fire and then left his severe burns untreated for days before strangling him.

Case status:
Timothy Caldwell, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison.
Melissa Adams, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 30-60 years.
Russell Lee Hilliard, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 20-40 years.

Source:
Butler pair held in ‘bizarre’ killing of roommate

Donna Spadea

No PhotoName: Donna Spadea.
Died: June 26, 2005.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Along with several other intellectually disabled adults, Donna was imprisoned, starved, drugged, and beaten by Linda Weston, who acted as her Social Security payee so that she could steal Donna’s money. Donna died after two months of captivity while she was imprisoned in a tiny laundry room, and toxicology testing revealed that she had been poisoned with the drugs Linda had regularly mixed into her food.

Case status:
Linda Weston (Caretaker), multiple charges, life sentence + 80 years.
Gregory Thomas, charged with hate crimes.
Jean McIntosh, pleaded guilty, sentenced to 40 years.
Eddie Wright, pleaded guilty, sentenced to 27 years.
Nicklaus Woodard, pleaded guilty to several charges, including conspiracy, kidnapping and using a firearm in an act of violence, sentenced to 27 years.

Source:
‘Tacony dungeon’ woman who imprisoned disabled adults gets life sentence + 80 years
Daughter of Tacony dungeon ‘mastermind’ gets 40 years – Metro Philadelphia
Tacony ‘dungeon’ case ends with admission of hate crimes against disabled
Seven years after rescue, ‘Tacony dungeon’ victims confront tormentor sentenced to 40 years
‘Pastor Wright,’ codefendant in Tacony dungeon case, gets 27 years in prison
“Basement of horrors” indictment brings light to 2008 Norfolk death
‘Tacony dungeon’ woman who imprisoned disabled adults gets life sentence + 80 years