Age: Elder – Page 59 – Disability Day of Mourning

Florence Simpson

No Photo Name: Florence Marjorie Simpson.
Died: October 3, 2000.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Howick, New Zealand.
Disability: Terminal cancer.

Details:
Florence’s son drugged her and strangled her with the cord to her morphine pump.

Case status:
Christopher Simpson (Son), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years.

Source:
Doctor jailed for killing his terminally ill mother
Doctor charged with strangling mother
Strangled mum full of morphine
The New Zealand Herald
Mercy Killing

No Photo Name: Jenny Lerner.
Died: July 14, 2000.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease (Early).

Details:
Soon after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Jenny was asphyxiated by her husband. He called it a mercy killing.

Case status:
Herbert Lerner (Husband), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to five years in prison and spent only months there before he was transferred to a halfway house. Committed suicide.

Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Herbert Lerner accusé du meurtre de sa femme
Herbert Lerner s’est immolé par le feu sur la tombe de sa femme
Herbert Lerner aurait tué sa femme par compassion

Joyce George

Name: Joyce May George.
Died: April 24, 2000.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Pneumonia secondary to malnutrition and pressure sores.
Location: Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Osteoporosis, hyperthyroidism, atrial fibrillation, chronic constipation, depression and mild dementia.

Details:
Joyce was left in place on her bed, allowing large pressure sores to develop and become infected. By the time her son and main caregiver called medics, she was malnourished and dehydrated and her condition was too poor to survive; she died 4 days later in the hospital.

Case Status:
Phillip George (Son), found guilty of manslaughter by criminal negligence, sentenced to 2-3 years.

Sources:
R v George [2004] NSWCCA 247 (19 August 2004)

Joy Martin

Photo of Joy Martin, an elderly woman with light skin and straight gray hair. The photo shows only the left half of the face. Name: Joy Martin.
Died: May 28, 1999.
Age at death: 69.
Cause of death: Morphine poisoning.
Location: Wanganui, New Zealand.
Disability: Terminal cancer.

Details:
As she lay dying of cancer, Joy’s daughter injected her with a lethal dose of morphine.

After Joy was dead, her daughter wrote a book about killing her mother and was arrested.

Joy’s portrait on this memorial comes from the cover of her daughter’s book. It includes only half her face because on the book’s cover, her daughter used photo manipulation to combine half her face with half of Joy’s. In keeping with my policy of giving the killer as little publicity as possible, the daughter’s part of that image has been cropped out. –Editor

Case status:
Lesley Martin (Daughter), convicted of attempted murder; sentenced to 15 months, released after serving half her sentence.

Source:
Lesley Martin jailed for 15 months

Louise Papeman

Photo of Louise Papeman, an elderly woman in a pink sweater, with short gray hair, smiling at the camera and holding on to someone's hands off-frame. Name: Louise Papeman.
Died: February 21, 1999.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Pearl River, New York, USA.
Disability: Kidney disease, depression.

Details:
On her 88th birthday, Louise’s husband shot her with a rifle.

Case status:
Walter Papeman (Husband), sentenced to 1 year.

Source:
Mercy killings: After Westchester Medical Center deaths, a look at similar deaths
MAN, 86, KILLS SICK WIFE, 88: COPS
METRO NEWS BRIEFS: NEW YORK; Retired Plumber Held In Killing of His Wife
Police: Man Kills Ailing Wife On Her 88th Birthday
What is mercy killing? Does Richard DeLucia’s murder-suicide qualify?

Regina Savage

No Photo Name: Regina Savage.
Died: 1995.
Age at death: Elder.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Valley Cottage, New York, USA.
Disability: Arthritis, curved spine, cancer.

Details:
Regina was sitting in her wheelchair when her husband came up behind her and shot her in the back with a shotgun, killing her.

Case status:
Richard Savage (Husband), pleaded guilty, sentenced to 14 days in jail plus 28 days time served.

Source:
Mercy killings: After Westchester Medical Center deaths, a look at similar deaths
What is mercy killing? Does Richard DeLucia’s murder-suicide qualify?

Cecil Brush

No Photo Name: Cecil Brush.
Died: August 18, 1994.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease, blindness.

Details:
Cecil was stabbed to death by his wife, who called it a mercy killing and said Cecil wanted to die. There was no proof that Cecil was suicidal or that he wanted to die.

Case status:
Jean Brush (Wife), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, given a suspended sentence and 18 months of probation.

Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Woman Sentenced in Mercy Killing
Of Life and Death – Appendices D-L
Regina v. Brush: March 2, 1995

Layton Myers

No Photo Name: Layton Myers.
Died: May 15, 1993.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Disability: Terminal cancer.

Details:
Layton Myers was killed by his daughter and her husband, who put a pillow over his face and smothered him.

Case status:
Michael Power (Daughter’s common-law husband), pled guilty to manslaughter and were given suspended sentences, three years’ probation, and 150 hours of community service.
Cheryl Myers (Daughter), pled guilty to manslaughter and were given suspended sentences, three years’ probation, and 150 hours of community service.

Source:
No jail for N.S. “mercy-killers”
Of Life and Death – Appendices D-L
Robert Latimer: Justice gone awry

Dorothy and Janet Cunningham

No Photo Name: Janet Cunningham.
Disability: Head injury from car accident.
Age at death: 43.

Name: Dorothy Cunningham.
Disability: Osteoporosis.
Age at death: 62.

Died: September 8, 1992.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Farmingham, Utah, USA.

Details:
Dorothy and Janet were hacked to death with a hatchet.

Dorothy, a homemaker, taught piano lessons. Janet loved skiing and was a former member of the National Ski Patrol.

Case status:
Ronald Cunningham (Janet’s father and Dorothy’s husband). Incompetent to stand trial; charges dropped.

Source:
Davis to drop murder counts against man in mental facility
MURDER SUSPECT TO REMAIN IN HOSPITAL

Louisa Maier

No Photo Name: Louisa Maier.
Died: November 12, 1991.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Dunkirk, New York, USA.
Disability: Elder assisted-living home resident.

Details:
Louisa’s son went to her assisted living facility on the pretense that they were going out for a day’s visit. He put her in his car and strangled her to death; then he went home and hung himself.

Case status:
Joseph A. Maier (Son), deceased.

Source:
Triple deaths stun campus in Fredonia Professor kills mother, self; another dies of heart attack
Deaths being probed as murder-suicide; Fredonia professor, mother die