Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Age 60+
Name: Lia Cotroneo.
Died: November 19, 2015.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Turin, Italy.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.
Details:
Lia was allegedly smothered by her husband.
Case status:
Angiolo Zanasi (Husband); committed suicide about 6 months later.
Source:
Pensioner commits suicide
Uccise moglie malata, suicida anziano
Name: Johnny Richards.
Died: November 8, 2015.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Amputee; wheelchair user.
Details:
Johnny’s daughter allegedly stabbed him to death.
Case status:
Shevelle Richards (Daughter), charged with aggravated murder.
Source:
Police: Homicide victim’s daughter charged with aggravated murder
Name: Harold Grise.
Died: November 6, 2015.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Trauma.
Location: Fish Lake, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Blind, mobility impaired.
Details:
Harold was badly beaten by his nephew, leaving him unresponsive with broken bones in his face and jaw. Instead of getting help for him, his sister left him on the floor for three days. He was only taken to the hospital once his son returned home and found him; but by then, it was too late to save his life.
Harold was a veteran of the US Air Force.
Case status:
Erik Minter (Nephew), pleaded guilty to battery and neglect of a dependent, sentenced to 22 years.
Georgia Arvidson (Sister), convicted of felony neglect of a dependent, sentenced to 2 years.
Source:
Man sentenced to 22 years beating uncle who later died
Elderly sister found guilty of neglect in Fish Lake brother’s death
Mother and son arrested for homicide
Harold I. Grise
Elderly sister found guilty of neglect in Fish Lake brother’s death
Name: Sally Nelson.
Died: November 1, 2015.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Connellsville, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled.
Details:
Sally died of head injuries from a beating after suffering malnutrition and several other broken bones. Her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend were charged with the crime.
Case status:
Peter Shoemaker Jr. (Daughter’s boyfriend), charged with criminal homicide, conspiracy, aggravated and simple assault and reckless endangerment. Currently incarcerated as of 11/1/2022, sentence unknown.
Lisa Nelson (Daughter), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 3-6 years.
Source:
Defense seeks dismissal, suppression in 2015 death trial
Woman pleads in mother’s death; ex-boyfriend awaits trial
‘You killed my grandma’: Statement evidence against couple charged in ‘severe elder abuse’ death
Couple charged in death of mother; elder abuse alleged
Name: Shigeko Igarashi.
Died: October 25, 2015.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Kawaguchi City, Japan.
Disability: Hemiplegia.
Details:
Shigeko was allegedly strangled by her daughter. Police say her daughter admitted to the crime, telling them she had done it because she was tired from looking after her mother.
Case status:
Yuki Igarashi (Daughter), charged with murder.
Source:
Saitama cops arrest woman for strangling her disabled mother
Name: Maureen Boyce.
Died: October 22, 2015.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, depression.
Details:
Maureen was a socialite and former model who struggled with depression.
She was stabbed to death by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who claimed it was suicide even though she had been stabbed so hard that the knife pinned her body to the bed where she was found.
Case status:
Thomas Chris Lang (Former partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to 20 years to life; conviction overturned on appeal; convicted of murder on retrial, sentenced to life.
Source:
Doctor jailed over socialite’s murder
Doctor jailed over the stabbing death of his Brisbane socialite lover has the conviction overturned
Brisbane socialite murder conviction quashed
Accused killer ‘depressed’ in weeks before Brisbane socialite’s death, court told
Tensions before socialite’s death, court hears
Son of man accused of murdering Maureen Boyce speaks out
Tensions before Qld socialite death: court
Accused killer close to tears in court
Former lover accused of jealousy killing – 9News
Sarina Russo expected to testify at trial
Socialite Maureen Boyce ‘wanted alleged killer to leave’
Strange coincidence in socialite murder trial
NZ doctor on trial for murder of Australian socialite
Businesswoman Sarina Russo tells court her friend was ‘very happy’ before her death
Socialite ‘happy’ before alleged murder – 9News
Qld jurors quiz socialite’s fatal wounds – 9News
Murder or suicide in society love triangle: Son speaks out to back murder-accused
Knife handle buried in body: murder trial
Lawyers for NZ doctor on murder charge discredit dead woman: ‘How can you rely on anything she says when she is capable of such blatant lies?’
Thomas Lang sentenced to life for murder of socialite Maureen Boyce
‘Maureen suffered all over again’
New Zealand-based doctor Thomas Lang’s chilling call to cops after murder: ‘There’s a knife in her abdomen – it looks self-inflicted’
Name: James Ray Wilkerson.
Died: October 18, 2015.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: The Dalles, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Dementia; paraplegic.
Details:
James’s wife went to the veterans’ home where he lived, and stabbed him to death.
James served more than 20 years in the US Navy and was a Vietnam veteran.
Case status:
Esther Wilkerson (Wife), charged with murder, domestic violence, and unlawful use of a weapon; pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 10 years.
Source:
Murder at veterans’ home
Find a Grave: James Ray Wilkerson
Fatal stabbing in TD leads to arrest
Woman who killed disabled husband at veterans’ home gets 10 years in prison
Name: Mary Fields.
Died: October 15, 2015.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Stroke.
Location: Youngstown, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Mental illness.
Details:
Mary was neglected by her sister; she died of a stroke, brought on by malnutrition and dehydration.
Case status:
Barb Copeland (Sister), pleaded guilty to failing to provide care for an impaired person. Plea agreement involved seeking mental health treatment.
Source:
Former YPD officer pleads guilty to charges related to sister’s death
Former YPD officer indicted for death of sister
Mary Fields – The Warren Record: Obituaries
Former YPD officer pleads guilty to neglecting disabled sister
Name: Geraldine Joyce Chandler.
Died: October 12, 2015.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Restraint-related.
Location: Cleves, Ohio, USA.
Disability: “Functionally impaired”.
Details:
Geraldine’s caregivers allegedly caused her death; police reports are unclear how, but apparently they restrained or locked her up and failed to provide for her needs.
Case status:
Kimberly Taggart (Caregiver), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 8 years.
John Reid (Caregiver), guilty of failure to provide for a functionally impaired person, sentenced to 6 years.
Source:
John Reid | Madison Correctional | Ohio Inmates & Offenders
Caregiver sentenced in 84-year-old’s death
2 indicted in abduction, death of woman, 84
Name: Thelma Ruth Hayner.
Died: September 23, 2015.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Heart attack, aggravated by infection from untended pressure sores.
Location: Asheboro, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia, frail elder.
Details:
Thelma’s son and daughter-in-law allegedly neglected her, leaving her alone at home, locked into her room and in her bed. When she was finally taken to the hospital, doctors discovered multiple severe pressure sores and malnutrition. She died of a heart attack shortly thereafter, her body weakened by infection and poor care.
Case status:
James Hayner (Son), convicted of elder neglect resulting in serious injury and involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 1 year 1 month to 2 years 1 month.
Kathleen Hayner (Daughter-in-law), convicted of elder neglect, sentenced to 10 months to 1 year 9 months.
Source:
State v. Hayner, 840 S.E.2d 539
Couple charged in alleged elder neglect death