Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Age 60+
Name: Betty Lou Erickson.
Died: March 24, 2009.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Hudson, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.
Details:
Betty’s husband shot her in a murder-suicide.
Case status:
Claire Erickson (Husband), deceased.
Source:
Desperate act from a weary caregiver
More details released in Erickson deaths
Name: Eileen Martin.
Died: November 10, 2008.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Davyhulme, Greater Manchester, England, UK.
Disability: Vascular dementia.
Details:
Eileen’s husband killed her by hitting her in the head before committing suicide.
Case status:
Ken Martin (Husband), deceased.
Source:
Shock over tragedy of ‘devoted couple’
Families REJECT claims a mystery serial killer slaughtered their elderly relatives and insist it was murder-suicide
Elderly husband killed dementia-suffering wife and himself ‘so she didn’t become a burden on family’
Name: Margaret Mary “Peggy” Benjo.
Died: June 5, 2008.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Deltona, Florida, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness, dementia; disabled elder.
Details:
Peggy was shot to death by her husband.
Case status:
Robert Benjo (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to two years house arrest and 13 years probation.
Source:
Elderly Deltona man charged in wife’s murder, saying she no longer had will to live
Deltona man, 82, pleads guilty to killing wife
Mercy or Murder? Man Kills Dying Wife
Sheriff: Elderly husband charged in Deltona wife’s murder earlier today — accused says wife no longer had will to live with illness
Deltona man, 82, gets suspended sentence for killing his ailing wife
Name: Katherine Mudski.
Died: June 3, 2008.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, infection.
Location: Flint, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Breast cancer.
Details:
Katherine’s son neglected her, and she died from a combination of malnutrition, dehydration, and infected bedsores.
Two years before Katherine’s death, she called a mailman into her home and asked him to help. The mailman called the police, who came to the house, stayed for 13 minutes, and did nothing to help Katherine.
Case status:
Christopher A. Mudski (Son), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 316 days time served. Arrested later for similarly neglecting his cousin, who was hospitalized.
Source:
911 tapes show police were called by mailman months before Katherine Mukdsi’s death; son faces murder charges for alleged neglect
Man convicted in mother’s death accused in similar neglect case
Elder abuse cases bring big charges, offenders actually receive lesser sentences
Flint Township man will stand trial for murder in neglect case involving his elderly mother
Name: Peggy Albury Mehrman.
Died: May 28, 2008.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Overdose.
Location: Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA.
Disability: A “debilitating neuromuscular disease”.
Details:
Peggy was poisoned over several months with overdoses of her own medication by a neighbor who had moved in with her as her caregiver.
Case status:
Jana Porter Mallory (Caregiver/Neighbor), second-degree murder and elderly abuse, 30 years.
Source:
Jana Porter MALLORY
Name: Mara Tani.
Died: December 1, 2007.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Prato, Italy.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.
Details:
Mara’s husband shot her in the head.
Case status:
Vitangelo Bini (Husband), convicted of aggravated murder, sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison, but will not serve any jail time because of his age. Committed suicide 6 months later.
Source:
Woman with Alzheimer’s shot dead in hospital by husband, 77
Pensioner commits suicide
Name: Sarah Grupstein.
Died: September 19, 2007.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Stroke, mobility impaired (Wheelchair user), diabetes, heart disease.
Details:
Sarah was shot by her son in a murder-suicide.
Case status:
Percy Stein (Son), deceased.
Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Sarah Grupstein’s Obituary on National Post
Cancer-stricken man commits murder-suicide
`We weep for their pain,’ rabbi says at murder-suicide funeral
Murder or mercy?
Name: Elsie Patricia Crutchley.
Died: February 5, 2007.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Taumarunui, New Zealand.
Disability: Terminal stomach cancer.
Details:
Elsie was poisoned by her son, with an overdose of painkillers and anxiolytics. She was dead within hours.
Case status:
Ian Crutchley (Son); convicted of attempted murder, sentenced to 6 months probation and 150 hours of community service.
Source:
Man who tried to kill mother avoids jail term
Man guilty of mother’s attempted murder
Man on trial for terminally ill mother’s death
Name: Stephen Chin.
Died: September 4, 2006.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Daceyville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: SCI; quadriplegic.
Details:
Knowing he could not move himself from his bed, Stephen’s estranged wife soaked his bedroom in gasoline and set the house on fire. He died in the fire. She told police she killed him so that he could not receive any of their property in their divorce settlement.
Case Status:
Grace Soon (Wife), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 6 years 9 months to 9 years in prison.
Sources:
Wife charged with quadriplegic’s murder
R v Soon
Money ‘motive in quadriplegic’s killing’
Jail for killing “sex orgy” hubby
Name: Lorna McCadden.
Died: August 29, 2006.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Penticton, British Columbia, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.
Details:
Lorna’s husband went to the hospital where she was staying and shot her and then himself in a murder-suicide.
Case status:
John McCadden (Husband), deceased.
Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Murder/Suicide Update
Elderly Murder-Suicides Indicate Desperation, not Compassion
Elderly couple shot to death at B.C. hospital
Such an ugly unnecessary way to die: Two old, failing lovers might choose to end it all rather than to live apart
Slaying of wife seen as act of compassion