Age: Elder – Page 43 – Disability Day of Mourning

Nancy Wright

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

No Photo Name: 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

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

Margaret Sinclair

Photo of Peggy Sinclair. She is an elderly woman with light skin and gray hair; she is wearing glasses, which are slipping down her nose, and a polka-dotted beige headscarf. Name: Margaret “Peggy” Sinclair.
Died: June 18, 2016; body found June 21, 2016.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Lake Frederick, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Peggy was beaten to death with a hammer and dismembered by her caregiver.

Case status:
Frances Charlene Moss Hopkins (Unlicensed caregiver, unrelated), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
Police say 85 year old Peg Sinclair’s caregiver has been arrested for murder
Berryville woman charged with first-degree murder
BREAKING: Elderly woman found dead,caregiver arrested for murder
Search ongoing for missing elderly woman
Sentencing for caregiver who killed, dismembered 85-year-old delayed to Tuesday
Moss-Hopkins to serve 20 years in prison for murder of elderly woman

Jean Irwin

Flowers left at Jean Irwin's house. They are purple and white flowers, lying on a curb next to a brick wall and wrought-iron gate. Name: Jean Elizabeth Irwin.
Died: June 20, 2016.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Jean’s husband killed her by bludgeoning her with a hammer, then strangling her, before taking his own life.

Case status:
John David Irwin (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Shanklin couple found strangled and hanged
Terminal cancer patient who killed dementia-suffering wife left note to say ‘sorry for nuisance’ then took own life
Shanklin deaths: Man strangled woman and killed himself
Police launch murder investigation into Shanklin death
Pensioner, 77, is found hanged alongside body of his wife, 83
Murder investigation after two elderly people found dead in home
Man with terminal cancer killed dementia patient wife, left note to say ‘sorry for the nuisance’ and took own life
Pensioner, 77, who killed his ill wife before taking his own life apologises
Pensioner’s heartbreaking suicide note after killing wife he couldn’t care for

Rietje Willms

Photo of Rietje Willms, an elder woman. She has short white hair and fair skin, and is wearing a black turtleneck and white jacket. Her expression is solemn, and she is squinting slightly into the sun. Name: Rietje Willms.
Died: June 12, 2016.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Morphine overdose.
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Rietje was the widow of a successful plumber and real estate dealer. She had inherited his money, and one of her four sons wanted it. When he saw that Rietje was getting dementia, he manipulated her into making him her sole heir. Then he locked her away in his house and neglected her; another of her sons said that sometimes, when he walked by the house, he could hear her in the house, crying to be let out. Rietje was eventually found dead with dangerous levels of morphine in her body and a morphine tablet under her tongue. When police questioned her son, he confessed to having poisoned her.

Case status:
Hans W. (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 15 years 9 months in prison.

Source:
Zoon definitief de cel in voor moord op Rietje Willms
Son held in senile mother’s death; Fight over inheritance alleged
Demente Rietje Willms (80) overleden door verwaarlozing eigen zoon
Man verdacht van bizarre moord op zijn eigen moeder om de erfenis
Vermoorde moeder over verdachte zoon: ‘We kunnen goed opschieten hoor’
‘Bejaarde vrouw vermoord om de erfenis’ – AT5: de nieuwszender van Amsterdam en omgeving
Bizarre moord om erfenis
Moord om de erfenis
‘Zoon vast wegens betrokkenheid bij dood moeder’

Charlene Norris

Photo of Charlene Norris. She is a middle-aged woman with short permed blond hair and fair skin, wearing a black and white track suit. Name: Charlene Norris.
Died: June 9, 2016.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia, rectal cancer, chronic pain due to hip replacement.

Details:
Charlene was shot by her husband.

She was a retired special education teacher.

Case status:
Jim Norris (Husband), charged with murder; diagnosed with dementia while awaiting trial, declared incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
84-year-old North Carolina man cleared in wife’s death
Two suicide notes, one body. Now an elderly Charlotte man is charged with murder.
They had a suicide pact, he said. But he wasn’t ready to die. He murdered her, prosecutors say