Category: Age: Elder

Age 60+

Mary Smith

Photo of Mary Smith, a heavyset woman with dark-brown skin and shoulder-length hair in ringlets. She is wearing lipstick and a white blouse, and squinting at the camera.Name: Mary Jane Smith.
Died: May 22, 2018.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Dementia, Parkinson’s disease.

Details:
Mary Jane’s daughter took her out of her nursing home and took her home. There, Mary was severely neglected. She didn’t get enough food to eat or adequate medical care, and she developed bedsores. Doctors repeatedly informed Mary’s daughter that she needed care. Finally, Mary was brought to the hospital, weighing only 72 pounds, and died days later.

Mary Jane owned a beauty shop, ran a day care, and worked as a nurse’s aide.

Case status:
Death declared homicide.
Gladys Smith (Daughter), status unknown.

Source:
Denver coroner rules 88-year-old woman’s death a homicide due to neglectful care
88-year-Old Woman’s Death In Denver Declared Homicide
Mary Jane Smith Obituary – Denver, CO

Wilson Ross

No PhotoName: Wilson Ross.
Died: May 21, 2018.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Summerville, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Frail elder.

Details:
Wilson’s son, who had moved in to help him and his wife, allegedly stabbed him to death.

Case status:
Charles Ross (Son), charged with murder.

Source:
Summerville father’s stabbing death by son stuns neighbors
911 call released in fatal Summerville stabbing; son accused of stabbing father
Man Gives Shocking Confession During 911 Call

Bernadette Green

No PhotoName: Bernadette Green.
Died: May 18, 2018.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, Lancashire, England, UK.
Disability: Mobility impaired due to fall; frail elder.

Details:
Bernadette’s son severely neglected her before killing her by smothering her.

Case status:
Stephen Green (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 14 years to life.

Source:
Preston murder trial Day 2: Mum showed signs of severe neglect
Murder accused son queried post-mortem
Ex-police officer murdered ‘burden’ mum
Preston pensioner Bernadette Green was found with neglected rotting skin injuries, murder jury told

Pearlie Williams

Black and white photo of a dark-skinned man in a suit; his hair is short and curly, and he has a mustache and beard.Name: Pearlie Lee Williams.
Died: May 17, 2018.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Details:
Pearlie’s daughter and granddaughter drained his bank account, but allegedly neglected him. By the time he was hospitalized, his health had been so badly compromised that he later died.

Case status:
Patricia Williams (Granddaughter), convicted of domestic abuse and involuntary manslaughter; 3-year suspended sentence.
Samantha Williams (Daughter), convicted of domestic abuse and involuntary manslaughter; 3-year suspended sentence.

Source:
Mom and daughter charged with death of elderly grandfather
Mr. Pearlie Lee Williams, Jr. – View Obituary & Service Information

66-year-old man

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: May 13, 2018.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Garden Grove, California, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness; wheelchair user.

Details:
This 66-year-old man was shot to death by his stepfather in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
His 85-year-old stepfather, deceased.

Source:
85-Year-Old Man Shoots, Kills Wheelchair-Bound Stepson
Police investigate murder-suicide of elderly man and stepson in Garden Grove

Josephine Leong

Photo of Josephine Leong, an older woman with chin-length brown hair and freckled tan skin.Name: Josephine Leong.
Died: April 27, 2018.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Foster Village, Hawaii, USA.
Disability: Injuries from car accident; wheelchair user.

Details:
Josephine was shot by her husband in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Winton Leong Sr. (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Foster Village couple in their 80s found dead in possible murder-suicide
Josephine Leong Obituary
Medical examiner identified couple from Foster Village murder-suicide

Betty Lyons

Photo of Betty Lyons, an elderly woman with short white hair and freckled skin, wearing a green coat and purple drop earrings.Name: Betty Lyons.
Died: April 21, 2018.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Rochester, England, UK.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Betty was strangled by her husband, who then hanged himself.

Case status:
George Lyons (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Wife’s Alzheimer’s ‘drove pensioner to murder-suicide’
Elderly woman with dementia found dead alongside husband
Pensioners found strangled and hanged

Sharron Wood

Gravestone of Sharron Wood, reading, Sharron Wood, May 10, 1949 to April 20, 2018. Aunt Sha.Name: Sharron Ann Wood.
Died: April 20, 2018.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Niceville, Florida, USA.
Disability: Poor health.

Details:
Sharron had a son named James David, who had cerebral palsy and needed round-the-clock care. When Sharron’s own health began to worsen, her husband decided that caring for David was too much of a burden and that Sharron had “become hard to handle”. As they slept in their beds, he allegedly bludgeoned her and David with a metal mallet.

Sharron and David survived the initial attack, and were both taken to a hospital and then a rehabilitation facility. Sharron had to have facial reconstruction. However, nearly three months after the attack, Sharron died of her injuries. David survived, though with bleeding on the brain.

Sharron was a retired child care director who had worked at a local elementary school for fifteen years as well as helping her son David.

Case status:
Judson Anthony Wood (Husband), charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder; declared incompetent to stand trial and hospitalized in a forensic mental hospital to restore competency.

Source:
State charges Niceville man with murder in wife’s metal mallet death
Man who allegedly beat wife, son with metal mallet declared incompetent; wife dies
Elderly Man Attacks Wife and Disabled Son with Metal Mallet
Elderly Niceville resident charged with attempted murder after attacking two family members with metal mallet
Sharron Ann Wood’s Obituary on Northwest Florida Daily News

Kathleen White-Grangruth

No PhotoName: Kathleen A. White-Grangruth.
Died: April 17, 2018.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Burns; smoke inhalation.
Location: Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Dementia, schizophrenia, mobility impaired (wheelchair user after hip injury).

Details:
Kathleen’s husband had been charged with assaulting her three times over twelve years. Tired of caring for her and having had a fight with her, he killed her by dousing her in gasoline and setting her on fire.

She was a retired Army nurse who spent her career at at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii.

Case status:
Delano Grangruth (Husband), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, arson of an occupied dwelling and arson of real personal property; sentenced to 60 to 130 years in prison.

Source:
To ensure his wife would die, a Norfolk man disconnected the phone and smoke detector. Then he set her on fire.
Man admitted pouring gasoline on his disabled wife and burning her alive, Norfolk police say
Delano Grangruth Virginia husband sets Kathleen White-Grangruth on fire after huge fight
Man tells police he set his disabled wife ablaze in Virginia
Elderly woman found dead inside her Norfolk home, husband charged with murder
Husband charged with murder after wife found dead in Norfolk house fire
Husband charged with murder, arson after wife dies in Norfolk house fire
Norfolk man charged with killing his wife after her body was found in house fire
Kathleen White-Grangruth’s Obituary on The Virginian Pilot
‘I’m not a monster’: Man charged in wife’s death speaks from jail
Police: Man admitted pouring gasoline on disabled wife, burning her alive
Man Admits To Pouring Gasoline On Disabled Wife And Burning Her Alive, Police Say
Man set disabled wife on fire in drunken rage: Cop | Canoe
Man pleads guilty to first-degree murder, arson in wife’s April 2018 death
Man sentenced to 60 years for murdering wife, setting her on fire

Judith Howe

No PhotoName: Judith Howe.
Died: April 16, 2018.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Sepsis, malnutrition.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease, aphasia.

Details:
When told by friends that she should take Judith to the doctor, Judith’s daughter and caregiver refused to do so despite her mother’s worsening condition and, instead of caring for her mother, spent her mother’s money on herself. Eventually someone called for a welfare check, and Judith was brought to the hospital with severe bedsores, weighing 80 pounds. Too far gone to survive, she died in hospice from a combination of infection and malnutrition.

Case status:
Sandy Howe (Daughter), convicted of abuse of an elderly person with severe bodily harm; sentenced to 6-15 years.

Source:
Police: Las Vegas woman’s neglect led to elderly mother’s 2018 death
Las Vegas woman charged with murder in ailing mother’s death
Report: Las Vegas woman facing murder charge neglected mother to the point of death
Woman faces murder, abuse and neglect charges in mother’s death