Ernestine Tindall

No PhotoName: Ernestine Tindall.
Died: August 13, 2016.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Perlethorpe, England, UK.
Disability: Vascular dementia.

Details:
Ernestine’s husband strangled her because he was afraid that they would be moved to separate nursing homes. He claimed she had asked him to kill her, but the judge stated that,”This is not a case of assisted suicide. This is killing as a perceived act of mercy.”

Case status:
Jack Tindall (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, given a 12-month suspended sentence.

Source:
World War II vet, 96, strangled his dementia-suffering wife to death and laid her on a bed of lilies
Husband spared jail for mercy killing of wife with dementia
96-year-old man gets suspended prison term for killing dementia-suffering wife

Margaret Sanford

No Photo
Name: Margaret Jean Sanford.
Died: August 12, 2016.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Napoleon Township, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Terminal cancer.

Details:
Margaret’s husband shot her dead; several days later, during a police standoff triggered when Margaret was reported missing, he killed himself.

Case status:
Roger Sanford (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Neighbors react following apparent murder-suicide in Jackson County
Jackson sheriff idenitifes murder-suicide victim
Police investigating apparent murder-suicide after hours-long standoff with armed man
‘Unfortunately a woman had to lose her life,’ says sister of murder-suicide suspect
‘He wasn’t right,’ neighbor says of man suspected of killing himself, his wife
UPDATE: Two dead after murder-suicide in Jackson County

Stella Hamilton

No PhotoName: Stella Hamilton.
Died: July 31, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Undetermined.
Location: Malanda, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Dementia, terminally ill.

Details:
Stella’s family talked to staff at her nursing home, asking whether she could be euthanized, and were told that this was illegal. They also requested that 24 hours’ worth of morphine be left in her room, and were refused. One of her children said another had told them that if they covered her face, she would “go quicker”. Shortly after the family’s request for euthanasia, Stella was found dead with a blanket over her face. She could not have pulled the blanket up herself, but other residents theoretically had access to her room. Her family was seen celebrating that she had died, though this could have been relief that she was no longer in pain.

Case status:
Inquest determined that, despite the troubling factors in Stella’s death, her cause of death could not be determined because she was already terminally ill.

Source:
Inquest into the death of Stella Hamilton
Mystery surrounds aged care resident found dead with blanket over head
Daughter asked doctor to euthanase terminally ill mother, inquest hears

Margaret Mayer

Photo of Margaret Meyer, an elderly woman with curly gray hair and fair skin. She is wearing a sports jersey with the monograph "M" on it.Name: Margaret Mayer.
Died: July 28, 2016.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Heath, Cardiff, Wales, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
After refusing offers of help with caring for her, Margaret Meyer’s husband bludgeoned her to death with a bedside lamp.

She was a retired tax office worker who loved sports, including hockey, football, and cricket.

Case status:
Angus Mayer (Husband), charged with murder; died seven weeks after arrest from injuries from a suicide attempt.

Source:
Pensioner who killed wife and stepped in front of train ‘let down by the system’
Man, 86, killed dementia-sufferer wife, 85, and stepped in front train
Family criticises social services over deaths of elderly couple
Man killed dementia sufferer wife, inquest hears
Husband killed wife to ‘put her out of her misery’, inquest hears
Dementia carer ‘smothered wife and tried to kill himself’
Devoted husband killed wife with a brass lamp
Husband killed Alzheimer’s sufferer wife and then attempted suicide
Mercy killing couple with Alzheimer’s should never have been allowed to look after each other, says son as he hits out at social services
Carer who killed wife with dementia had ‘fog of fatigue’
‘Dad killed our mum – but we’ve forgiven him’
Daughter of man who killed wife says she was ‘never angry’ with him
Dad killed our mum – but we’ve forgiven him because he was at breaking point as her carer

Nancy Wright

Photo of an older African-American woman wearing glasses.Name: Nancy Wright.
Died: July 27, 2016.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Disability: Dementia, chronic pain.

Details:
Nancy’s husband shot her, and then himself, in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Jack Wright (Husband), deceased.

Source:
‘Lifelong Best Friends’: Senior Couple Dead in Murder-Suicide
Death of Venice Couple Considered Murder-Suicide
Elderly couple found dead in apparent murder-suicide in Venice
Second Suspected Murder-Suicide This Week Reported In Beaches Area
Elderly life not worth living: Murder-suicide, dementia in Venice

Catherine Purcell

No PhotoName: Catherine Purcell.
Died: July 24, 2016.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Dehydration, sepsis.
Location: Kirkby, England, UK.
Disability: Korsakoff syndrome, emphysema.

Details:
Although they had four offers of help caring for her, Catherine’s husband and daughter refused them all. Instead, they left Catherine to starve on a filthy mattress. She died of dehydration, pneumonia, and infected bedsores.

Case Status:
Catherine Purcell Jr. (Daughter), found guilty of neglect, given a suspended 12-month sentence, 180 hours of community service, and a curfew for two months.
John Purcell (Husband), found guilty of neglect; given a suspended 18-month sentence, 270 hours of community service, and a curfew for three months.

Source:
Disabled mum ‘left to die in soiled bed while she was eaten by maggots’
Great-gran died in maggot-ridden “cesspit” due to “extreme neglect”
Dad and daughter guilty of neglecting Catherine Purcell who died while being eaten by maggots
Shocking details of ‘neglected’ gran; PROSECUTORS SAY NEGLECT DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTED TO 68-YEAR-OLD’S DEATH
Shocking messages sisters sent as mum lay dying in maggot-infested bed
Dad and daughter spared jail for neglecting mum who died in maggot-infested bed

Nadia Schaible

Somewhat indistinct photograph of Nadia Schaible, an elderly woman with short curly hair and fair skin.Name: Nadia Evanowicz Schaible.
Died: July 12, 2016.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Parkville, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired; used a walker.

Details:
Nadia’s cousin allegedly bludgeoned her to death, then broke a glass door panel to stage a fake burglary; police doubt his story because the cobwebs outside the door through which the burglars were supposed to have entered were intact. Nadia’s cousin reportedly hoped to collect an inheritance from Nadia when she died.

Nadia was an independent woman who was known and loved by her neighbors.

Case status:
John Malko (Cousin), charged with first-degree murder.

Source:
Man charged with murder of 91-year-old cousin
Man, 72, charged in Parkville woman’s death
Cousin Charged With Parkville Woman’s Murder
Police say cousin killed elderly Parkville woman in staged burglary
Utah man charged with murder of elderly Baltimore woman

William Lamar

Photo of an older man with light skin, blue eyes, and a white beard and mustache. He is wearing glasses, and smiling.Name: William Amos Lamar.
Died: July 5, 2016.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Dale, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
William was shot and killed by his wife, who then killed herself.

Case status:
Martha E. Lamar (Wife), deceased.

Source:
Husband, wife dead in apparent murder-suicide
William Amos Lamar, 74, Dale

Yuki Kawashima

No Photo
Name: Yuki Kawashima.
Died: June 25, 2016.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Asphyxiation.
Location: Saitama, Japan.
Disability: “Leg problems”; “Bedridden”.

Details:
Yuki was found dead, suffocated, in her home. Police who interviewed her husband said he told them that he had grown tired from caring for her, and had smothered her.

Case status:
Taro Kawashima (Husband), arrested.

Source:
87-year-old man arrested for killing bedridden wife
Saitama cops: Elderly man suffocated bedridden wife

Kathryn Ashe

Photo of Kathryn Ashe. She is a middle-aged African-American woman with dark brown skin and frizzy, graying black hair. She is wearing a bright orange T-shirt and looks like she was photographed while she was talking.Name: Kathryn Ashe.
Died: June 24, 2016.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Tampa Bay, Florida, USA.
Disability: Physical disability.

Details:
Kathryn, frail and not able to take care of herself, was abandoned by her roommates, who had been acting as caregivers to some extent. They moved out of the house they all lived in, leaving her behind. The house had no air conditioning and was uninhabitably filthy. Though the former roommates stopped in to “check on” her, they never called for medical help even though Kathryn’s condition was visibly getting worse. They never helped her or even gave her food or water. Eight to ten days after she was abandoned, Kathryn was dead.

Case status:
Jennifer Susan Poulos and Debra Germain Poulos were both charged with neglect of an elderly or disabled adult. The charges were dropped because the two women were determined not to have been legally responsible for Kathryn’s care.

Source:
Pinellas woman starves to death among roaches, rotting garbage
Gulfport Woman’s Death Under Investigation
2 arrested for elderly neglect resulting in death
Gulfport police: 66-year-old woman left to die in squalor and heat
Death of 66-year-old Gulfport woman highlights risks of senior citizens who choose to live alone