Age: Adult – Page 46 – Disability Day of Mourning

Dorothy Davis

Photo of a middle aged woman with curly chin-length auburn hair and pale skin, smiling for the camera. Name: Dorothy Davis.
Died: March 13, 1991.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fort Lewis, Washington, USA.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
Dorothy’s husband shot her and tried to pass it off as a suicide due to her depression. The investigation into her death was reopened when detectives realized he had left his jacket, which he had been seen in at the club where he claimed to have been when Dorothy died, at the murder scene. Several years earlier, he had also tried to burn down the house with Dorothy in it.

Dorothy was the mother of two daughters, who now live with her sister. She was pregnant with her third child when she was killed.

Case Status:
Christian Davis (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.

Sources:
A Pregnant Army Wife Dies in Apparent Suicide But Details Haunt Investigators: “Makes No Sense”
Fort Lewis Man Guilty Of Murder

Alice Hummel

Name: Alice Hummel.
Died: Missing October 6, 1990; body not found.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Bellingham, Washington, USA.
Disability: Lupus.

Details:
Alice was killed by her husband. Her body was never found, so we don’t know how she died, but her husband told a cellmate that he had fed her poison in a glass of apple juice to “help [her] get to a better place”.

Alice was a retired teacher.

Case status:
Bruce Allen Hummel (Husband), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 45 years; conviction overturned because the jurors had been questioned improperly. Re-tried; convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 26 years; conviction overturned because premeditation could not be proved. Convicted of wire fraud for stealing Alice’s disability checks; spent a total of 10 years in prison before release.

Source:
Bruce Hummel
Murder conviction overturned for Bruce Hummel, again, in death of his wife in Bellingham
The Charley Project: Alice Kristina Wehr Hummel
45 years for man who won’t say what happened to wife’s body

Malanie and Medhini Paul

No Photo Name: Dr. Malanie Desilva Paul.
Age at death: 48.
Disability: Arthritis, depression.

Name: Medhini Paul.
Age at death: 17.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Name: Anthony Rajiva Paul.
Age at death: 12.
Disability: None.

Died: June 16, 1990.
Cause of death: Poisoned.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Details:
Dr. Malanie Paul, her 17-year-old daughter Medhini, and her son Anthony Rajiva were killed by her husband, also a doctor, who sedated his family and then attached them and himself to IVs full of poison. Apparently, he had decided that there was “no alternative to death” for his disabled wife and daughter, and had killed twelve-year-old Anthony too because he feared that the boy would enter the foster care system and become “a freak”.

Case status:
Anthony R. Paul (Husband/Father), deceased.

Source:
No Hope, Doctor Ends Family’s Lives

Chucky Sweeten

Name: Charles Forester Jr.; also known as Chucky Sweeten.
Died: January 24, 1990.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Citing years of abuse, Chucky’s mother shot her husband Tom, then shot Chucky because she “loved him and knew no one else would take care of him”.

Case status:
Dorothea Sweeten (Mother), charged with murder, died before trial.

Source:
Charles H. Forester Jr. (1950-1990) – Find A Grave
NATION : Woman Held in Family Slayings
Woman kills husband, retarded son
Woman kills husband and son

Patricia McNeely

Name: Patricia McNeely.
Died: April 14, 1989.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Clearwater, Florida, USA.
Disability: Visually impaired.

Details:
Patricia’s father killed her and her mother Flora before committing suicide.

Case status:
Warren McNeely (Father), deceased.

Source:
Man kills ex-wife, child, himself
Slayings continue to haunt family

Gail Terrell

A gravestone made for a married couple, decorated with an urn for flowers. It reads: Terrell. Bernie Lee, Gail Melody. The death date for Bernie Lee is blank; the death date for Gail Melody is filled in. The dates are too small to make out. Name: Gail Terrell.
Died: November 13, 1988.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Smyrna, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy, cerebral palsy.

Details:
Gail’s mother shot her.

Case status:
Barbara Monroe (Mother); offered to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was ordered to serve 5 years of a 20-year sentence.

Source:
Mother wants year of home confinement in slaying plea

Olla Mae Waller

Name: Olla Mae Waller.
Died: August 23, 1987.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Olla was strangled by her husband, who also killed her daughter Lucinda Joan Zupan, age 30, and her grandson Brandon Zupan, age 7, before killing himself. Apparently, he also intended to kill Lucinda’s estranged husband, having tried to lure him to their house; but the man went to work instead and survived. Police believe the killer was stressed by Lucinda’s marital problems, and by being the primary caregiver for Olla Mae, who used a wheelchair.

Case Status:
Henry “Hank” Waller (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Olla Mae Lemons Waller
Four Dead in Murder-Suicide In Colorado Springs
Killer Triggers by Joe Kenda: New Excerpt
Killings of three or more people pepper Colorado Springs history

Esta Millwee

Name: Esta Iona Weathers Millwee.
Died: September 8, 1986.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Riverside County, California, USA.
Disability: Stroke, hemiplegia.

Details:
Esta’s son came home drunk and argued with her husband. After her husband left, her son shot Esta.

Case Status:
Donald Millwee (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to death, died in prison.

Source:
Donald Millwee, Condemned California Inmate Who Killed Disabled Mother, Dies Of Natural Causes
California inmate dies while on death row for killing mother
Esta Iona Weathers Millwee (1933-1986) – Find A Grave

Linda Helton

A gravestone. It reads: Linda Sue Helton, July 29, 1940 to January 6, 1986. At rest. Name: Linda Sue Helton.
Died: January 6, 1986.
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Precott, Arkansas, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Linda was allegedly shot by her mother, who called it a “mercy killing”.

Case status:
Esther Helton (Mother); charged with murder.

Source:
Woman Charged In Death Of Mentally Retarded Daughter

Anita Spearman

Photo of Anita Spearman's gravestone, which reads, "Anita J. Spearman, December 8, 1936 to November 15, 1985." There are flowers in an attached vase. Name: Anita Spearman.
Died: November 16, 1985.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Blunt force injury.
Location: Palm Beach, Florida, USA.
Disability: Breast cancer.

Details:
Anita’s husband was tired of being married to a woman who had cancer. He was worried she wouldn’t look good in a bathing suit, so he hired a hit man to kill her. The man bludgeoned her to death as she lay recovering from a recent mastectomy.

Case status:
Robert Spearman (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to life plus 20 years.
Sean Doutre (Hit man), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life plus 30 years.
Richard Savage (Hit man’s boss), convicted of second-degree murder and conspiracy, sentenced to 40 years.

Source:
Want Ads in Soldier of Fortune Magazine Led a Blundering Gang of Alleged Killers to Their Victims
Savage Found Guilty 3rd Man Convicted In Spearman Death
Spearman Found Guilty
Spearman Suspect Convicted
Murder Charges Detailed Witness: Spearman Said Death A Mercy Act
Motions Heard In Murder-for-hire Trial
‘Gun for Hire’ Had Many Clients : Bumbling Gang of Killers Left Trail of Death, Terror