Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Age 60+
Name 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
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
Name: Margaret “Pat” Patricia Shelton.
Died: August 31, 2016.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
Disability: Early-stage Alzheimer’s.
Details:
Police say Pat’s son turned himself in just after smothering her with duct tape and his hand and breaking the neck of the family dog.
Pat was known by her neighbors for her friendly demeanor. She liked to do yard work and would mow their lawns for them.
Case status:
Kenneth Baker (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 12 to 25 years.
Source:
Man arrested for murdering elderly mother inside Fort Worth home
Fort Worth man who called police accused of killing his mother
Margaret Shelton Obituary
Elderly woman killed by son in her Fort Worth home
Fort Worth man said he suffocated mother with duct tape, then snapped barking dog’s neck, police say
Name: Maddalena Pavesi.
Died: August 22, 2016.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Carpi, Italy.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.
Details:
Maddalena’s husband killed her. He told police he had done it because he could no longer cope with her Alzheimer’s disease.
Case status:
Pierino Corradini (Husband), convicted of voluntary murder, sentenced to 14 years.
Source:
83-year-old Italian man shoots wife dead because she had Alzheimer’s disease
Carpi, omicidio della disperazione. L’assassino pentito resta in carcere
Carpi: «Sta male», e spara alla moglie ammalata
Name: Jean Constant.
Died: August 22, 2016.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: St. Neots, England, UK.
Disability: Unspecified; care home resident.
Details:
After her health began to decline and Jean had to be hospitalized, Jean and her husband moved into a care home. Four months later, Jean’s husband allegedly killed her by smothering her.
Case status:
Brendan Constant (Husband), charged with murder, died before trial.
Source:
Brothers question murder charge in ‘suicide pact’ case
Cambridgeshire ‘murder’: Retired man, 87, quizzed over murder of his 86-year-old wife at their sheltered housing
Cambridgeshire woman is found dead and man seriously injured at their home
Eynesbury Poppyfields care home death: Murder arrest after body find
Man aged 87 arrested on suspicion of murder after woman found dead at Poppyfields care home in St Neots
Man arrested on suspicion of murder after wife dies at care home
More tests needed to find cause of death of Jean Constant, 86
Pensioner found dead at St Neots care home is named by police
Woman found dead and man injured at St Neots home
Name: Gerald Sohn.
Died: August 14, 2016.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease.
Details:
Gerald was drowned in a river, and his son is suspected of pushing him off the dock to his death.
He was an attorney for 50 years. He had a great deal of intellectual curiosity and always had a book with him.
Case status:
Gerry Sohn (Son), died before he was charged; case closed when he died.
Source:
JSO: Man in wheelchair who fell into river was murdered by son
Fraternity brother remembers man who fell into St. Johns River in wheelchair
Police identify drowning victim, 84, who fell off dock Sunday into St. Johns River
Crews responding to possible drowning in Mandarin
Gerald Sohn Obituary – JACKSONVILLE, FL
Case closed: Son killed millionaire father in 2016, himself in February
Name: 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
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
Name: 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
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