Category: Age Categories

Laraine Rayner

Photo of Laraine Rayner. She is a middle-aged woman with short strawberry-blonde hair. She is wearing hoop earrings and a red sweater.Name: Laraine Rayner.
Died: Two weeks before April 24, 2016 (Body found).
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Sharp trauma.
Location: Wisbech, UK.
Disability: Mental and physical health problems; OCD; mobility impaired.

Details:
Laraine was stabbed to death by her boyfriend.

Case status:
Steven Stocks (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 20 years to life.

Source:
Laraine Rayner murder: Disabled woman’s partner jailed for life
Man left dying stabbed partner to rot in shrine, court hears
Wisbech carer ‘stabbed girlfriend to death, then wrote letter apologising for mess’, court hears
Man ‘fatally stabbed his disabled partner and left her body under makeshift shrine for two weeks’

Patricia Myers

Close-up photo of Patricia Myers, a middle-aged African-american woman.Name: Patricia Myers.
Died: April 23, 2016.
Age at death: 69.
Cause of death: Beaten, stabbed.
Location: Bronx, New York, USA.
Disability: Chronic lung disease.

Details:
Patricia was a retired nurse.

Her nephew had just been released from prison, so Patricia welcomed him into her home. Then she disappeared, leaving behind the oxygen tank and mask she needed to breathe, and police dogs found blood in her apartment. Her nephew confessed to beating and stabbing her to death and burying her body in a suitcase.

Case status:
Andros Topping (Nephew), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.

Source:
Ex-con gets 15 years to life for killing his aunt in her Bronx home and stuffing her body in a suitcase
Ex-con charged with murder reportedly confesses to beating aunt to death
Nephew of missing retired Bronx nurse charged with murder, manslaughter for her death

Cecilia Madray

Photo of an older woman in a turqoise top; she has olive skin and black hair with gray roots. She is wearing glasses.Name: Cecilia “Suzy” Madray.
Died: April 21, 2016.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Mahaicony, Guyana.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden following an accident.

Details:
Suzy’s son bludgeoned her to death with a piece of wood. 

Case status:
Terrence Madray (Son), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 21 years.

Source:
Man gets 21 years for killing bedridden mother
21 years in jail

Inaya Ahmed

Photo of Inaya Ahmed. She is a toddler girl with light skin and dark brown hair and eyes. She is wearing a red and black checked headscarf.Name: Inaya Ahmed.
Died: April 20, 2016.
Age at death: 14 months.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Prematurity, feeding difficulties.

Details:
Inaya’s mother was accused of smothering her with a pillow.

Case status:
Sadia Ahmed (Mother), charged with murder; jury returned “not proven” verdict (insufficient evidence to convict; different from a “not guilty” verdict); acquitted.

Source:
Inaya Ahmed murder trial: Mother cleared of smothering toddler with pillow
Sadia Ahmed ‘murdered baby by placing a cushion over head’ | Daily Mail Online
Mother, 26, who suffered with post-natal depression ‘murdered toddler’
Toddler murder trial told of screams

Barbara Kavanaugh

No PhotoName: Barbara Kavanaugh.
Died: April 19, 2016.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Port Charlotte, Florida, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Barbara’s husband went to the nursing home where she was staying, shot her to death, and committed suicide.

Case status:
Frank Kavanaugh (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Port Charlotte murder-suicide shakes nursing home, friends
Florida right-to-die advocate, wife dead in murder-suicide at nursing home

Jack May

No Photo
Name: Jack May.
Died: April 16, 2016.
Age at death: 89.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lecanto, Florida, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user.

Details:
Jack’s son shot him in the back as he sat in his wheelchair.

Case status:
James Troy May (Son), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years.

Source:
James May is accused of fatally shooting his 89-year-old father inside their Lecanto home
Florida Offender Search

Lynda Cestone

No PhotoName: Lynda Cestone.
Died: April 16, 2016.
Age at death: 56.
Cause of death: Burned.
Location: Lucerne Valley, California, USA.
Disability: Stroke; wheelchair user.

Details:
Lynda was mobility-impaired because of a stroke. Her husband is suspected of killing her by detaching a gas line in their cluttered home and setting it on fire. Lynda and her twelve cats burned to death.

Case status:
Donald Wayne Jenman (Husband), charged with murder.

Source:
Man suspected of causing fire that killed wife arrested
Donald Wayne Jenman, California man, charged with murdering bed-ridden wife Lynda Cestone who died in house fire
Fire investigators suspect man murdered his wife
Husband charged with murder after bedridden wife dies in house fire
Lucerne Valley man arrested in connection to wife’s death
6 Years After A Catastrophic Stroke Leaves Wife Bedridden, Her Home Mysteriously Burns Down. When Her Husband Makes It Out Alive, Police Get Suspicious

Enelesi Nkhata

No PhotoName: Enelesi Nkhata.
Died: April 14, 2016.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Kumtumba village, Malawi.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Enelesi’s uncle knew that some people would pay a lot of money for the body parts of albinos, and so he made an arrangement with a gang of albino hunters.

Enelesi’s uncle told her that he had found her a job and would find her some sunscreen, both of which can be difficult to get for an albino in Malawi.

Then he lured her to a remote location, where he and his accomplices ambushed and dismembered her. She died of massive blood loss.

Case status:
Gerald Phiri (Uncle), convicted of murder and abduction, sentenced to 17 years.
Other suspects: Medison Madzialenga, Damison Manyoni, Isaac Sambule, Yosofi Samuel, Jazimon Baluwa, Foster Weruzani, Steven Chingombe, and Ronald.

Source:
Albino murders spread to Lilongwe; bones prized for wealth charms
Prejudice against people with albinism in Malawi
Albino murders turn to Dowa

Maria Branco

Photo of Maria Branco. She is an elderly woman with short white hair, and fair skin. She is wearing glasses and a white blouse, squinting slightly into the sun.Name: Maria Branco.
Died: April 13, 2016.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Sepsis, malnutrition.
Location: Fall River, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled; mobility impaired.

Details:
Maria and her three children lived together. She and her two daughters Lucy and Filomena, both intellectually disabled, depended on her third child, a son, to care for them. However, he habitually beat and neglected Maria and her daughters.

When Maria was taken to the hospital with injuries from a severe beating, police arrested her son and went to her house to check on her daughters. They were locked into the house and tried desperately to get out to the police officers; when police got the door open, they found both women neglected and battered but alive.

After four days in the hospital, Maria died from sepsis due to her infected bedsores, complicated by starvation and injuries from beatings. Her daughters survived, but are reported to be “in poor condition” as of July 2016.

Case status:
Antonio M. Branco (Son), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 8-10 years in prison.

Source:
Man convicted in neglect death of his mother sues Fall River Police
DA: Man Murders Mother, Abuses Disabled Sisters
Fall River man accused of murdering mother, abusing disabled sisters pleads not guilty, held without bail
Fall River man charged with murdering his mother, assaulting his disabled sisters
Fall River man indicted in elder abuse case
Fall River man to face ‘disturbing’ charges in murder of his mother
Fall River man sentenced for letting his mother die painful death

Whitney Chilumpha

No PhotoName: Whitney Chilumpha.
Died: April 4, 2016; body found April 13, 2016.
Age at death: 23 months.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Chiziya village, Malawi.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Whitney was kidnapped from her bed; some days later, her body was found. She had been dismembered, her body parts sold for ritual magic.

Case status:
White Chilumpha (Father), convicted of murder, sentenced to death.
James Kanjira, convicted of murder, sentenced to death.
Laston Phiri, convicted of being an accomplice, sentenced to 10 years.

Source:
Two Malawians sentenced to death for abducting and killing baby with albinism
Prejudice against people with albinism in Malawi
Murder of baby with albinism highlights failure to protect vulnerable group
A thief broke into the house and went away with 11 month albino
Police launch campaign against Malawi ‘albino hunters’