Age: Elder – Page 38 – Disability Day of Mourning

Theresa Smothers

No Photo Name: Theresa Marie Irene Smothers.
Died: December 31, 2016.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Neglect, malnutrition, dehydration.
Location: Poplar Bluff, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
When a hospice worker visited Theresa for the first time, she saw obvious signs of neglect and called for an ambulance. Theresa was taken to the hospital with starvation, dehydration, and infected bedsores; two days later, she died. She weighed 71 pounds; she had been fed just one packet of applesauce per day.

Case status:
Judy Smothers (Daughter), charged with second-degree murder and elder abuse.

Source:
Elderly Woman Dies from Extreme Neglect, But It’s Her Daughter’s Excuse That Tops Everything…
Victim of suspected elderly abuse dies
87-year-old woman, suspected victim of abuse, dies
Missouri woman accused in death of mother, 87
87-year-old woman, suspected victim of abuse, dies after authorities remove her from daughter’s home
Woman charged with murder, elder abuse in mother’s death
Poplar Bluff woman pleads not guilty to murder after her mother died of malnourishment

Kathryn Breen

No Photo Name: Kathryn Breen.
Died: December 23, 2016.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; elder disabled.

Details:
Kathryn Breen suffered burn injuries in a fire set in her bedroom by her caretaker. She was taken to the hospital with third-degree burns over 25% of her body and died a month later.

Case status:
Celia Schwab (Live-in caretaker), charged with murder, arson, and assault, died of natural causes before conviction.
Maria Meisner (Neighbor), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
Caretaker accused of setting elderly woman on fire found unfit to stand trial for now
Beaverton woman gets life in prison for setting elderly neighbor on fire, killing her

Phyllis Mansfield

Name: Phyllis Baccus Mansfield.
Died: December 14, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Phyllis’s husband killed her by shooting her in the head and chest. He told police he had done it because he didn’t want to put her in a nursing home. A grand jury refused to indict him for first-degree murder, but some time later another agreed to indict for second-degree murder instead.

Case status:
Samuel Frank Mansfield (Husband); charged with second-degree murder; pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Died before sentencing on December 17, 2019.

Source:
Mansfield released after grand jury fails to indict on murder charge
Phyllis Mansfield
Grand jury decides not to indict NC man in wife’s shooting death
Mansfield indicted in wife’s death
Elderly man pleads guilty to shooting wife of 53 years
74-year-old NC man guilty of killing wife to prevent life as ‘caged animal’ in nursing home

Danny Fernandez

Name: Danny Fernandez.
Died: December 11, 2016.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Springfield, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Danny’s stepdaughter brought him to the emergency room, claiming he had fallen out of his wheelchair. However, when the injuries were examined, she was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. When Danny died in the ICU a few days later, she was charged with murder.

Case status:
Christina Mathews (Stepdaughter), charged with first-degree murder.

Source:
Obituary for Danny Fernandez at Ruby Funeral Services & Chapel, Inc.
Springfield woman facing multiple first-degree murder charges
Springfield Woman Accused of Beating Disabled Step-Father to Death
Woman Charged With Stepfather’s Murder
Money alleged motive for murder
Springfield woman charged with murder in stepfather’s death
Danny Fernandez’s Obituary

Albert Weaver Sr.

No Photo Name: Albert W. Weaver Sr.
Died: November 22, 2016.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Sepsis, malnutrition.
Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Albert was neglected by his family while they emptied his bank accounts and cashed his pension checks. He was taken to the hospital with a combination of malnutrition, septic shock, untended bedsores, and multiple infections, and survived for twelve days before dying from the effects of neglect.

Case status:
Albert W. Weaver Jr. (Son), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person, sentenced to 15-48 months.
Virginia Weaver (Daughter-in-law), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft, sentenced to 2-5 years.
Amanda Weaver (Granddaughter), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft.
Anthony James Dorney (Granddaughter’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft, sentenced to 2-5 years.

Source:
Family Members Plead Guilty in Elderly Man’s Neglect Death
DA: Family left Bucks County man to starve while they spent his money on cars, firearms
4 Charged In Deadly Bucks Co. Neglect Case Appear In Court
Four Held for Trial in Deadly Neglect of Elderly Man

John Owings

Photo of John Owings against a background of leaves. He is a fair-skinned older man with graying hair and mustache. He has sunglasses propped up on his head. Name: John “Johnny Asia” W. Owings.
Died: November 19, 2016.
Age at death: 65.
Cause of death: Murder.
Location: Phoenicia, New York, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness, including Lyme disease.

Details:
Johnny’s wife poisoned him with prescription medication in a glass of wine.

He was a talented guitar player.

Case status:
Solane H. Verraine (Wife), pled guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to time served and released.

Source:
After more than a year in jail for assisting in her husband’s suicide, Solane Verraine reflects
Friends of Phoenicia couple shocked by murder charge
Phoenicia woman charged with murder after death in Route 214 apartment
Facebook: Johnny Asia
Johnny Asia Guitarist from the Future

Robert Libby

White marble gravestone reading, "Robert F Libby, AM2, US Navy, World War II, Jan 10, 1922 November 19 2016." Name: Robert Libby.
Died: November 19, 2016.
Age at death: 94.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: South Windsor, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Dementia, frail elder.

Details:
Robert’s son was supposed to care for him; instead he neglected his father, depriving him of food, water, and medical care, while he spent Robert’s disability payments on himself. Robert died of starvation in a filthy house.

Robert was a military veteran.

Case status:
James Libby (Son), pleaded no contest to first-degree manslaughter, sentenced to seven years in prison and ten years of parole.

Source:
Connecticut man gets 7 years in neglect death of father
Connecticut man sentenced for neglecting 94-year-old father
Police: South Windsor Man Neglected Dad, 94, Then Left Body For Days
South Windsor Man Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter For Neglecting Father
His son was his caretaker. Police found insects eating the 94-year-old’s body.

Henrietta Belcher

Name: Henrietta “Retta” Green Belcher.
Died: November 5, 2016; bodies found November 15, 2016.
Age at death: 69.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Inman, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Stroke; communication impaired; chronic illness.

Details:
Retta was a homemaker whose husband William “Eddie” Belcher, an associate pastor, had retired to care for her after she had a stroke. The couple had five children and fourteen grandchildren.

Eddie and Retta were shot to death by their son, their bodies left in the house for ten days until a relative called police to ask for a welfare check.

Their killer claims that he shot his parents because his father asked him to do it. Whether or not Eddie Belcher asked to be killed, Retta Belcher, unable to communicate because of her stroke, could not have made such a request for herself.

Case status:
Stephen Linwood Belcher (son), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Source:
Boiling Springs man pleads guilty in ‘merciful’ killing of parents
Attorney: Stephen Belcher’s parents asked son to kill them
Community ‘shocked’ at son confessing to parents’ murders
Community ‘shocked’ at son confessing to killing parents
Deputies arrest son in parents’ killing after wife calls 911
Deputies: Son confessed to murdering parents in SC
Eddie and Rhetta Belcher’s Obituary
Lawyers: Spartanburg Parents Pleaded with Son to Kill Them
Laywer: Upstate murder suspect was asked to kill parents in poor health
Man confesses to killing parents, directs deputies to bodies, authorities say
SC Deputies: Son confessed to murdering parents
SC man charged with killing his parents
Sheriff’s Office: Man, 38, confesses to killing parents
Son confessed to murdering parents in Inman say Spartanburg Co. deputies
South Carolina deputies investigating after son admits to killing parents
South Carolina father begged son to shoot him, attorney says
South Carolina man who shot dead his parents claims his father begged him to shoot them

Sue Liner

Name: Sue Kelley Liner.
Died: November 13, 2016.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Cleveland, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness.

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

She had a son and two grandchildren.

Case status:
Max Liner (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Cleveland police: Fatal shooting of elderly couple appears to be murder-suicide
CPD suspects murder-suicide in couple’s death
Incident 11-13-2016 Tennessee Cleveland 1-1
Liner, Max (Cleveland)
In Memory of Sue Kelley Liner
Sue Liner Obituary

Robert Wellburn

No Photo Name: Robert Wellburn.
Died: November 8, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: North Shields, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Robert lived in his home, and his son was supposed to visit and help him. But his son stopped visiting often enough, and eventually simply left him locked into his own unheated home without enough medication or food. When he was found, Robert was starving. He died of pneumonia a few weeks later.

Case status:
Robert Wellburn Jr. (Son), pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter, sentenced to four years in prison.

Source:
Son jailed for manslaughter of his dementia-suffering dad by abandoning him
Dementia sufferer died ‘like prisoner in his own home’ after heartless son locked him in without a key