Category: Age: Elder

Age 60+

Louise Lewallen

Photo of an elderly woman with white hair. She has light, wrinkled skin, and she is wearing glasses, a black top, and a necklace with a white stone.Name: Louise Wilda Greenway Lewallen.
Died: November 10, 2024.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lula, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user.

Details:
After police arrested Louise’s son on unrelated charges, they decided to check on Louise, since her son was her caregiver; but they found Louise’s body, sitting in her wheelchair, in the yard of her home. She had been fatally shot.

Case Status:
Wesley Lamar Lewallen (Son) is charged with malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault.

Sources:
Louise Wilda Greenway Lewallen’s Obituary
Elderly woman in wheelchair found dead outside home, son charged with murder
Suspect charged with murder after shooting death in Banks County

Phyllis Walburn

Photo of a woman with very curly auburn hair and pale skin. She is wearing a white top.Name: Phyllis Walburn.
Died: October 31, 2024.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Oxygen disconnected.
Location: Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Bedridden, chronic illness.

Details:
Phyllis’s son allegedly removed her oxygen tube and dumped large amounts of water on her. Police responded to the home and found Phyllis unconscious, with bruises on her neck. She was taken to the hospital, where she spent a week in a coma before dying. Police say that Phyllis’s son confessed to his actions, saying that she “needed to die”.

Phyllis was a country music fan who loved cooking for her family.

Case Status:
Chad Walburn (Son), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Son ‘murdered his bedridden mom by ripping out oxygen tube’
Son wanted bedridden mother to die so he yanked oxygen tube and doused her with water: Cops
Erie man faces 1st-degree murder after police say he admits to removing mom’s oxygen
Coroner rules Erie woman’s death a homicide after a week in a coma
Phyllis Elaine Walburn Obituary 2024
Erie woman dies week after son accused of removing her oxygen, dumping water on her

Malka Semenduyeva

Photo of an older woman with shoulder-length brown hair and light skin. She is wearing a dark-red dress.Name: Malka Semenduyeva.
Died: October 25, 2024.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Deaf.

Details:
Police responded to a 911 call to find Malka and her son with multiple stab wounds. Malka was dead; her son, who was badly wounded, was able to tell the police that his brother had stabbed them both.

“I think we just lost an angel,” said one of Malka’s neighbors, who remembers her as one of the kindest women she had ever met.

Malka’s wounded son is expected to recover.

Case Status:
Vadim Semenduyev (Son), charged with murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Sources:
Brooklyn man nabbed in stabbing death of 72-year-old deaf mom
Deaf woman fatally stabbed by relative in Brooklyn was ‘an angel,’ neighbor says

89-year-old woman

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: October 24, 2024.
Age at death: 89.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Pottstown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; nursing home resident.

Details:
This woman’s husband came to visit her at her nursing home, shot her dead, and shot himself.

Case Status:
Ruled murder-suicide. Her husband died that night at the hospital.

Sources:
Husband, wife die in murder-suicide in nursing home
DA: Shooter in murder-suicide at East Coventry senior living facility dies overnight
Shooting at Chester County nursing and care facility was ‘murder-attempted suicide,’ DA says [Updated]
Murder-attempted suicide at Chester County nursing home
89-year-old woman killed in murder and attempted suicide at Chester County nursing home, DA says

Lalita Dubey

No PhotoName: Lalita Dubey.
Died: October 19, 2024.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Malnutrition/dehydration.
Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Disability: Disabled elder; bedridden.

Details:
Lalita lived with her son, who cared for her; but when her son left for vacation, he allegedly left her behind. Her other son, who went to her house to check on her when he learned what had happened, found her dead of hunger and thirst. She had been unable to get out of her bed to get water, food, or medication.

Case Status:
Arun (Son) was charged with unintentional murder and violation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act.

Sources:
Bhopal Shocker: Son Goes Out of City, Leaving Bedridden Mother Locked Inside House, She Dies Due to Hunger and Thirst
Elderly woman dies in Bhopal after son locks her inside home, goes out of city
MP: Man Locks Elderly Mother Inside Room Of House In Nishatpura To Head Outstation, Woman Dies

Barbara Brandt

Photo of an older woman wearing a red shirt and glasses, which are slipping down her nose. She has light skin, and her short gray hair is wispy.Name: Barbara “Bobbie” Brandt.
Died: October 4, 2024.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Cromwell, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Bobbie’s husband went to her nursing home and fatally shot her before killing himself.

Bobbie left behind her two cats, which had been living with her husband and were taken into custody by animal control when he died.

Case Status:
Dennis Brandt (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Nursing Home Murder-Suicide: Cops ID Husband, Wife Dead in CT
Cromwell neighbors shocked, saddened by nursing home murder-suicide: ‘There’s an empty spot’
Nursing Home Murder-Suicide: Cops ID Husband, Wife Dead in Cromwell
Cromwell nursing home resident killed in apparent murder-suicide
Police ID husband, wife killed in apparent murder-suicide at Apple Rehab Cromwell
Cromwell Nursing Home Murder-Suicide IDs Released: Police
Murder-suicide at Cromwell nursing home raises ‘discussion’ on safety protocols, official says

Donna Kitzmiller

Photo of a middle aged woman with short brown hair, light skin, and red cheeks. She is wearing glasses and a light-yellow sweater, and smiling broadly at the camera.Name: Donna L. Kitzmiller.
Died: September 28, 2024.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Grand Haven Charter Township, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Donna’s husband fatally shot her before fatally shooting himself. He told a 911 operator that he was “giving [her] a merciful ending”.

Donna was a retired elementary school teacher. She loved nature and wildlife, enjoyed reading and watching movies, and cared for pet Golden Retrievers and cats.

Case Status:
William Kitzmiller (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Retired cop, 80, shot wife in ‘merciful’ end to her Alzheimer’s disease, 911 call shows
Retired Cop Fatally Shot Wife, Then Himself, Claiming ‘Merciful Ending’ Because of Her Alzheimer’s: 911 Call
William & Donna Kitzmiller Obituary | Sep 28, 2024 | Grand Haven, MI

Carmel McDougall

Photo of an older woman in a lacy white dress, wearing a corsage of red roses on her wriest. She is smiling. Her skin is brown, and her short black hair is curly. There are balloons in the background.Name: Carmel McDougall.
Died: September 18, 2024.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Brain trauma.
Location: Roosevelt, New York, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Carmel died from head injuries sustained after a fall. According to video recordings from their home security system, the fall happened because Carmel’s son put her in a headlock and swung her around, causing her to lose her balance; police say he was “frustrated with [her] declining health”. Videos from two weeks before show her daughter “constrict[ing] her mother’s ability to move and breathe”.

Carmel was born in Jamaica and had lived in Canada before moving to New York. Her passion for cooking invigorated her career as a hospital dietician. Along with her own four children, she fed and cared for many children in her community. She was a devoted Christian who spent much of her time after retirement doing volunteer work for the Most Holy Rosary Church.

Case Status:
Michael Rainford McDougall (Son), charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree endangerment of a vulnerable person, and criminally negligent homicide.
Nichole McDougall Mullings (Daughter), charged with first-degree endangerment of a vulnerable person.

Sources:
LI Son Charged After Abuse Of Mother Leads To Her Death: DA
Roosevelt siblings indicted in elder abuse case, mother dead.
Obituary of Carmel McDougall

Jimmy Cardwell

No PhotoName: Jimmy Lamar Cardwell.
Died: August 28, 2024.
Age at death: 71.
Cause of death: Sepsis, osteomyelitis.
Location: Rockledge, Florida, USA.
Disability: Hemiparesis after stroke.

Details:
Paramedics responded to Jimmy’s house to find him thin, filthy, and with multiple infected wounds. He was taken to the hospital, where doctors tried to save his life with emergency surgery, but died later that day. Police say his son admitted to bathing him only every few months and not seeking help for his father’s medical conditions, including the pressure sores that eventually became infected and killed him.

Case Status:
Alton Cardwell (Son), charged with aggravated manslaughter.

Sources:
Brevard County man charged with manslaughter of his father, deputies say
Rockledge Man Arrested for Aggravated Manslaughter of Disabled Father
Son accused in death of elderly father, found smelling of rotting flesh

Consuelo Gonzalez

No PhotoName: Consuelo Gonzalez.
Died: August 21, 2024.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Infected bedsores, untreated broken hip, dehydration/malnutrition.
Location: Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Details:
Consuelo was found at her home, having been badly neglected. She had severe, infected bedsores and a broken hip that had gone untreated for a long time. She was taken to the hospital, but died a day later.

Case Status:
Salvador Gonzalez Rivera (Son), charged with murder.

Sources:
Bond denied for Charleston man accused of murder after his mother was found bedridden, malnourished
Charleston man charged with murder after bedridden mother dies at hospital
Son’s charges upgraded to murder after bedridden woman dies at Charleston hospital