Category: Age: Elder

Age 60+

Janice and Robyn Frescura

Photo of Janice and Robyn Frescura. Janice is an older woman with fair skin and gray hair; Robyn is a middle-aged woman with brown hair and fair skin. Both women are wearing glasses, shirts and jackets.Name: Janice Frescura.
Age at death: 68.
Disability: Lung cancer.

Name: Robyn Frescura.
Age at death: 50.
Disability: Unspecified.

Died: November 3, 2016.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Booral, Queensland, Australia.

Details:
Janice and her daughter Robyn were shot to death in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
John Frescura (Husband/father), deceased.

Source:
Three dead in apparent murder-suicide
Father calls police during murder-suicide
Three dead in suspected murder-suicide on Queensland’s Fraser Coast

Patricia Swink

Photo of Patricia Swink, a heavyset middle-aged woman with glasses, smiling. She has short wavy blond hair and fair skin, and her make-up is neatly done.Name: Patricia Diane Swink.
Died: November 2, 2016.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Hickory, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified disability; vision impairment.

Details:
Patricia was killed by her niece and her niece’s son, who then proceeded to steal her car.

Case status:
Micky Lee Swink (Niece’s son), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Tina Louise Swink (Niece), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and car theft, sentenced to 18 to 22 years in prison.
Richard Lee Deal, charged with accessory after the fact.

Source:
Hildebran woman to spend at least 18 years in prison for Halloween murder of her aunt
Judge hands Hickory man life-in-prison sentence for Halloween murder | Latest Headlines
Three charged in murder of 66-year-old disabled woman
Hickory woman found dead in home, Police treat case as murder
Mother, son arrested in death of handicap woman
Relatives among three charged in killing of Hickory woman
Mother, son charged with first-degree murder appear in court for death penalty hearings

Harold Nolan

No PhotoName: Harold Nolan.
Died: October 24, 2016.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Elderly disabled.

Details:
Convinced she was going to be jailed for fraud, Harold’s ex-wife stabbed him to death to prevent him from being sent to a nursing home.

Case status:
Renee Louise Nolan (Ex-wife), charged with murder, found not guilty by reason of mental impairment because she was suffering depression and “a pathological level of exhaustion”. Sent to secure hospital for 25 years.

Source:
Woman charged with ex-husband’s murder in Mitcham
Killer granny fuelled by depression
Money worries drove deluded grandmother to kill sick ex-husband while he slept
Ex-wife charged over fatal stabbing
Woman, 69, charged with stabbing her husband to death
Woman housed in secure hospital for murder

Masako Hirahara

No PhotoName: Masako Hirahara.
Died: October 8, 2016.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Blunt head trauma.
Location: Tachikawa City, Japan.
Disability: A “foot ailment”.

Details:
Ms. Hirahara was bludgeoned to death by her husband, who then committed suicide.

Case status:
Fujiya Hirahara (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Tokyo cops: Murder-suicide suspected at Tachikawa residence
Couple in their 80s found dead in apparent murder-suicide

Lanitola Epenisa

Photo of a man in a bright red suit jacket and black shirt and tie. He has brown skin and short black hair; his nose is broad, and his face is round.Name: Lanitola Epenisa, also called Viliami Li.
Died: October 2, 2016.
Age at death: Elder.
Cause of death: Sepsis from untended pressure sores.
Location: Kolomotu’a, Tongatapu, Tonga.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Disabled after a stroke, Lanitola was neglected by his wife, with whom he lived. A witness reported seeing him grow gradually more unkempt and dirty. A cousin told the court that he found Lanitola alone in the house with nothing to eat, and brought him food. Lanitola died from blood poisoning due to untended pressure sores, and was found dead, “fused to his chair,” by medics.

Case Status:
Malia Unalotokipea Li (Wife), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 5 years 7 months.

Source:
Wife jailed for more than five years after leaving man to die in his own waste
Malia Li found guilty of leaving disabled husband to die in his own waste
Man’s pressure sores developed ‘very recently’ before he died, surgeon says
Auckland man found dead in chair not given regular medication, Crown alleges
Man’s wife denied him shower hours before he died in his own waste, court hears
Disabled man who died in his own waste had been unbathed and hungry, visitors say
Manslaughter trial: Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board member said alleged victim smelt like urine

Beverly Nickerson

Photo of Beverly Nickerson, an elderly woman with shaggy gray hair and pale skin, wearing a nightshirt and sitting on the edge of a bed, eating from a plate on a bedside table. The photo has caught her in the middle of licking her lips.Name: Beverly Ann Nickerson.
Died: September 24, 2016.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Drug overdose, blunt trauma.
Location: Spring Hill, Florida, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Beverly’s son abused and eventually killed her by beating her and overdosing her on her medication.

She had four grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Case status:
Albert Henry Nickerson (Son), found guilty of aggravated Manslaughter of an elderly person and neglect of an elderly person, sentenced to 25 years.

Source:
SON OF SAM: Spring Hill Man Sentenced to 25-Years in Prison for Killing His Elderly Mother; Beat, Drugged, Stole from While In Cognitive Decline
Beverly Ann NICKERSON Obituary (2016) Tampa Bay Times
Spring Hill Man Sentenced to 25-Years in Prison for Killing his Mother
Man Faces First Degree Murder Charge in Death of his Own Mother
Deputies: Spring Hill Man Murdered Mother
Son charged with murdering elderly 74-year-old mother in Hernando County

Earl Coleman

No PhotoName: Earl Coleman.
Died: September 12, 2016.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Jackson, Mississipi, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness, paralysis, wheelchair user.

Details:
Earl was brought to the hospital, having had boiling water poured over him. After nine days in the hospital, he died from his severe burns. His daughter was charged with murder.

Case status:
Diane Coleman (Daughter), charged with murder.

Source:
Woman charged with killing father with boiling water
Woman Charged With Murder After Pouring Boiling Water Over Her Paralyzed Elderly Father
Jackson woman charged in murder of disabled father
Daughter charged with murder after allegedly burning father with boiling water
Woman Charged With Father’s Murder
Woman charged with killing elderly father with boiling water

Henry Wilson

Black and white newspaper photo of Henry Wilson, a middle-aged man with dark hair, light skin, and glasses.Name: Henry Wilson.
Died: September 3, 2016.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Ayr, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Chronic heart disease.

Details:
When Henry expressed a desire to die, his wife left out a dose of her medication for him and left the house. When she returned he was not dead, so she took a pillow and smothered him.

Case status:
Susanne Wilson (Wife), pleaded guilty to culpable homicide; no sentence, walked free from court.

Source:
74-year-old woman charged with murdering her husband, 71, at their home in Ayr
Wife killed sick husband with cushion after sex allegations
Wife walks free after killing husband
Ex-councillor who killed husband to death avoids jail
Wife who killed suicidal husband walks free

68-year-old woman

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: September 2, 2016.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Shooting.
Location: Spanaway, Washington, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
This 68-year-old woman was shot to death by her husband, who then killed himself.

Case status:
Her husband, deceased.

Source:
Elderly couple found dead in suspected murder-suicide in Pierce County
Police: Elderly man kills wife suffering from dementia, turns gun on himself
Couple die in murder-suicide

John Zdon

Black and white photo of a young man in a tuxedo, photographed in profile; he has dark hair and a neatly trimmed mustache.Name: John Emile Zdon.
Died: August 31, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Frail elder, needed 24-hour care.

Details:
John’s daughter knew his health was getting worse, but she would not take him to the doctor because she was afraid he would be put in a nursing home. He was found malnourished and unresponsive and brought to the hospital, where he died.

He was an Air Force veteran and a fan of the Atlanta Braves.

Case Status:
Tammy Zdon (Daughter), pleaded guilty to manslaughter and permitting abuse on an elderly or disabled person, sentenced to 6 months in jail.

Source:
John Zdon Obituary (1944 – 2016) The Berkshire Eagle
Massachusetts caregiver admits to causing father’s death
North Adams woman faces caretaker abuse, involuntary manslaughter charges in father’s death