Age: Adult – Page 44 – Disability Day of Mourning

Andy and Michael Scott

Photo of Andy and Michael Scott, two men with black hair and light-brown skin. There are balloons in the background. Name: Andy Byron Scott.
Age at death: 41.

Name: Michael Randy Scott.
Age at death: 42.

Died: June 8, 2002.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Spalding County, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Huntington’s disease.

Details:
Andy and Michael’s mother went to their nursing home and shot them.

Case status:
Carol Carr (Mother), pleaded guilty to assisted suicide, sentenced to 5 years in prison.

(There is no evidence that the two men ever asked their mother to help them commit suicide; she seems to have been the one who decided they should not live any longer. –Ed.)

Source:
Carol Carr

Photo Unavailable Name Unknown.
Died: March 12, 2002.
Age at death: 50s.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disability, fronto-temporal dementia.

Details:
This man, whose name was not released, had a life-long intellectual disability, but began needing full-time care in his fifties, so he moved in with his father, his niece, and her baby son. His dementia had become quite severe, resulting in behavioral disinhibition, when he became confused and masturbated in the presence of his niece’s baby. She reacted by beating and kicking him to death.

He was a Vietnam veteran who worked stocking shelves before the dementia forced him to retire.

Case Status:
KMB (Niece), sentenced to 3-7 years.

Sources:
R v KMB [2005] NSWCCA 185 (6 May 2005)

Michael Snyder

Name: Michael James “Mike” Snyder.
Died: January 11, 2002.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Mike was shot by his wife during an argument; he was unarmed. His body, buried under a concrete slab in his backyard, was not found for eight years.

Case Status:
Ellen Snyder (Wife), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a firearm, tax fraud, and tampering with evidence, sentenced to 11 years and released on parole after 8 years. Could not be charged with second-degree murder since the statute of limitations had run out.

Sources:
Mike Snyder Murder: Where is Ellen Snyder Now?

Reese Baulne

Black and white photo of a man with fair skin, dark hair, and a thick mustache. Name: Reese Darren Baulne.
Died: December 30, 2001.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Reese’s parents filled their motor home with carbon monoxide, killing themselves and Reese in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Maurice Baulne (Father) and Belva Baulne (Mother), deceased.

Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer
Couple’s suicide note reveals struggle to care for son
BC COUPLE MURDER DISABLED SON AND COMMIT SUICIDE
Reese Darren Baulne (1967-2001) – Find A Grave

Meridee Reynolds

Name: Meridee “Kay” Reynolds.
Died: September 9, 2000.
Age at death: 40.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Vancouver, Washington, USA.
Disability: Mobility impairment; sleep disorder.

Details:
Meridee’s friend and caregiver shot her, and claimed she had done it “to end the pain”.

Case status:
Melanie McDonald (Caregiver), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 8-30 years.

Source:
Caregiver Accused of Murder

Cora Okonski

Name: Cora Okonski.
Died: April 16, 2000 (Last seen); body never found.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Tama, Iowa, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, ADHD.

Details:
After telling her friend that she was afraid that her fiance was going to kill her, Cora Okonski disappeared, leaving behind her two-year-old son. Seventeen years later, with Cora still missing, her fiance was charged with her murder. Her son was adopted by family.

Cora’s murder trial is proceeding even though her body was never found, but there is good evidence that she is dead. After she disappeared, her family didn’t hear from her, and her disability payments went uncollected. The case broke when Cora’s fiance, in prison for unrelated charges, bragged to another prisoner that he had “choke-slammed” Cora and buried her body.

Case status:
Tait Purk (Fiance), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 35-50 years in prison.

Source:
Murder trial for Iowa woman whose body was never found begins Monday
Prosecution witnesses testify in Purk murder trial
Cora Okonski feared for her life, friend testifies at Tait Purk murder trial
Cara Okonski feared for her life, friend testifies in murder trial
UPDATE: Purk case goes to the jury
Iowa mom’s 2000 disappearance now investigated as murder
Tait Purk found guilty of fiancee’s murder
Tait Purk guilty of killing fiancée in rare murder trial with no body

Cynthia Hrisco

Photo of Cynthia Hrisco, a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length brown hair and bangs, holding a flowered parasol and wearing a flowered dress. Name: Cynthia Hrisco.
Died: February 28, 2000.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: South Barrington, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Rheumatoid arthritis, wheelchair user.

Details:
Cynthia’s husband drowned her in their bathtub because she wanted to sue his cousin for shoddy workmanship and cost overruns during the building of their home.

Cynthia had a degree in nutrition and worked from her home as a nutrition counselor. She had an adopted son.

Case status:
Frank Buschauer (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 25 years.

Source:
Cynthia Hrisco Murder: Where Is Frank Buschauer Now?
Happy marriage turned hostile, prosecutors say, as trial begins for man charged with murder in wife’s death in 2000
South Barrington couple’s squabbles dominate first day of husband’s murder trial
In 2000, South Barrington man told cops his wife drowned in the bathtub. Today, he goes on trial for murder.
Man Charged With Drowning Wife 13 Years Ago In South Barrington

Annette Bouwer

Photo of Annette Bouwer, a middle-aged woman with light, tanned skin and short, silver-gray hair. Name: Annette Bouwer.
Died: January 5, 2000.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Sedative and insulin poisoning.
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand.
Disability: Chronic kidney disease.

Details:
Annette was poisoned with sedatives and insulin by her husband, who had just taken out a life insurance policy on her.

Case status:
Colin Bouwer (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 15 years to life, paroled after sixteen years.

Source:
Colin Bouwer
Colin Bouwer remains defiant over wife’s murder
Poison murderer Colin Bouwer: ‘I’m a changed man’
Psychiatrist who poisoned wife to be with lover died after being deported

James Cummings Jr.

No Photo Name: James Joseph Cummings Jr.
Died: November 16, 1999.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Red Bank, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Autism; Stroke.

Details:
James was stabbed to death by his father, who went to the care facility where he was staying and killed him with a kitchen knife to the heart.

Case status:
James Cummings Sr. (Father). Sentenced to five years in prison.

Source:
Autism Memorial: James Joseph Cummings Jr.
Father Admits Killing Autistic Son

Jillian Thomas

Photo of Jillian Thomas. She is a woman with ruddy skin and short brown curly hair, wearing a white blouse and earrings. Name: Jillian Thomas.
Died: October 4, 1999.
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Unspecified; possibly fire.
Location: Canterbury, New Zealand.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Having found a new girlfriend, Jillian’s husband killed or incapacitated her before putting her body into the family car and setting it on fire.

Jillian had a Master’s degree in English and a teaching certificate; she worked for years teaching English and French.

Case status:
Kevin Harmer (Husband), convicted of murder, out on parole after 14 years in prison.

Source:
A killer in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens
Canterbury man jailed for burning his wife to death out on parole
Injustice Trust – Jillian Faye Thomas
The farmer, the dead wife, the escort and the murder trial
Wife killer Kevin Harmer released from prison

Category: Age: Adult