Category: Age Categories

Bethannie Johnson

Photo of Bethannie Johnson, a toddler girl in a short black-and-white dress and pink sandals. She has fair skin and short, wispy brown hair; she is sitting sideways on a curved surface and looking at the camera.Name: Bethannie Raychelle Johnson.
Died: March 17, 2016.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Grand Junction, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Reactive attachment disorder.

Details:
Bethannie was living with her aunt and her aunt’s girlfriend.

For two weeks, Bethannie’s aunt had kept her strapped to a high chair in the closet, claiming that she had to do this to keep Bethannie from hurting herself.

Bethannie was found unresponsive and dying of a massive head injury; she had been beaten to death by her aunt’s girlfriend. Her body showed signs of chronic child abuse.

Case status:
Shanna Gossett (Aunt), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 48 years in prison and 5 years parole.
Rebekah Joy Wallin (Aunt’s girlfriend), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 48 years in prison and 5 years parole.

Source:
Mesa County women sentenced in beating death of 3-year-old girl
Rebekah Joy Wallin on Why She Admitted Role in Child’s Death: “Because I’m Guilty”
Cops: Suspect kept child in closet
Woman Kept Niece Strapped To A High Chair And Locked In A Closet For Weeks
Woman, 29, ‘kept her niece in closet for two weeks before killing her’
Shanna Gossett: Aunt Kills 3-Year-Old Niece After Pushing Girl’s Head Into A Wall

Kobe Shaw

Photo of Kobe Shaw, a fair-skinned baby wearing a white onesie; he has brown eyes and wispy light-brown hair.Name: Kobe Conley Shaw.
Died: March 11, 2016.
Age at death: 9 months.
Cause of death: Methamphetamine poisoning.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Pontocerebellar hypoplasia.

Details:
When Kobe’s parents found him dead in his crib, they thought he had died because of his disability, which doctors had told them would limit his lifespan to about five years. But when toxicology testing was done, Kobe was found to have been poisoned with methamphetamine. His grandmother, who had been babysitting him that day, initially went on the run, but was eventually arrested and convicted of fatally poisoning Kobe with methamphetamine.

Case status:
Tonya Monroe (Grandmother), convicted of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, cruelty to children and distribution of methamphetamine, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Fulton grandmother who ‘poisoned’ toddler with meth sentenced to life in prison
Georgia grandmother ‘murders her nine-month-old grandson with a meth overdose’
In Memory of Kobe Conley Shaw
Police searching for woman accused of murdering infant grandson
Tonya Monroe, 45, of Sandy Springs, accused of killing nine-month-old grandson with Methamphetamine, finally arrested
Woman arrested in her nine-month-old grandson’s overdose death

Tony Myhand

Photo of a white marble gravestone reading, "Tony Myhand, SP4 US Army, Feb 7 1957 to Mar 11 2016."Name: Tony Myhand.
Died: March 11, 2016.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Montgomery, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Tony and his son were arguing because his son would not give Tony the keys to the van. Angered, his son shot him twice, in the neck and chest, killing him. Tony was unarmed.

Case status:
Christopher Myhand (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 11-22 years.

Source:
Montgomery man convicted of fatally shooting his father in 2016
Montgomery man accused of murdering father during family altercation
Montgomery Man Convicted of Fatally Shooting His Father in Argument Over Keys

Mary Palley

Photo of Mary Palley. She is an older woman with graying blonde hair and fair skin. She is wearing glasses and a pearl necklace.Name: Mary Flynn Palley.
Died: March 11, 2016.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Logan, Utah, USA.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease.

Details:
Mary Palley was a retired lawyer. She was an advocate for abuse victims, served as a historian for Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse, and did pro bono work for abuse victims, helping them get protective orders.

When she became disabled because of Parkinson’s disease, her husband killed her and then committed suicide.

Case status:
Dell Andrew Johnson (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Logan woman killed in apparent murder-suicide remembered as advocate for victims of abuse
Mary Palley Obituary
Couple identified after letter to newspaper leads Logan police to apparent murder-suicide
‘Something about Mary:’ Logan woman remembered for her passion, selflessness
Police continuing to look for answers in apparent murder-suicide
Logan woman killed in apparent murder-suicide remembered as advocate for victims of abuse

Cynthia Busch

Gravestone of Cynthia Busch and her mother.Name: Cynthia Busch.
Died: March 10, 2016.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fairfield Township, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability.

Details:
Cynthia was shot by her mother in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Barbara Busch (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Fairfield Twp. Police identify mother, daughter found dead in murder-suicide
Mother fatally shoots disabled daughter, self in Fairfield Twp.
Police: Mother Killed Daughter, then Killed Herself
Police: Overwhelmed mother killed developmentally disabled daughter
Cynthia Busch Obituary
autism wars: On The Murder of Cynthia Busch
No Mystery Here: Call a Murderer a Murderer
Cynthia Busch: The Disability Holocaust Continues

Roberta Rybinski

Photo of Roberta Rybinski, a woman with fair skin and blonde hair. She is grinning with her eyes squeezed shut, as though she is laughing at a joke.Name: Roberta A. Rybinski.
Died: March 8, 2016.
Age at death: 51.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Tonawanda, New York, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.

Details:
Roberta, who was living on disability payments due to her bipolar disorder, was abused by her boyfriend. At one point she was able to leave him and get a protection order, but eventually she moved back into his apartment–an apartment to which he held the only key.

Roberta was stabbed to death by her boyfriend.

Case status:
John M. Avent (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
Judge tells convicted murderer his 25 years-to-life prison sentence is well-deserved
Jury convicts boyfriend in Tonawanda woman’s murder
Man arrested in connection to Tonawanda murder
Police investigate Town of Tonawanda woman’s death

Ronald McCabe

Photo of Ronald McCabe. He is a middle-aged man wearing glasses and a suit with a rose pinned to the lapel. He has fair skin, dark brown hair and a mustache.Name: Ronald McCabe.
Died: March 7, 2016.
Age at death: 56.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Paralysis resulting from severe head injury.

Details:
Ronald was shot by his son, who came to his care home and killed him there.

Before his disability he had worked as a manager at Home Hardware.

Case status:
Adam McCabe (Son), charged with second-degree murder; pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to two years in an alcohol rehab center.

Source:
Ronald McCabe Obituary
Man found dead in long-term care home; 32-year-old charged with murder
Man killed at Kitchener long-term care home
Man, 32, charged with 2nd-degree murder in death at Kitchener care home
Murder charges pending over death at Kitchener care home
Man who killed dad in Kitchener nursing home says he wanted to ‘end his suffering’
Son sentenced to treatment centre after killing his father

Mirella Guth

No PhotoName: Mirella Guth.
Died: March 7, 2016.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Verona, Italy.
Disability: Mobility impaired after stroke.

Details:
Mirella was stabbed to death. Her 37-year-old autistic son Davide was attacked in the same incident; Davide survived, though with serious injuries. Police found a letter allegedly written by Mirella’s husband, which said that he had killed them because caring for his wife and son had become “too much” for him.

Case status:
Giancarlo Righetti (Husband), charged with murder and attempted murder; convicted and sentenced to 13 years 4 months.

Source:
Uccise la moglie e tentò di uccidere il figlio. Condannato a 13 anni e 4 mesi
Woman dead after stabbing by husband
Uccide la moglie inferma, accoltella il figlio autistico e tenta il suicidio
Verona, uccide moglie malata, ferisce il figlio autistico poi tenta il suicidio
Verona, uccise la moglie a coltellate «Ho agito in preda a un raptus»

Michael Furst

Photo of Michael Furst. He is a young man being held up by someone behind him; he is up to his waist in water and leaning over to look into the water. He has red hair and fair skin; his arms are curled over his chest because of spasticity. He wears a blue T-shirt.Name: Michael Furst.
Died: March 6, 2016 (Body found; died February 2016).
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Peshtigo, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Michael died of starvation because his mother, though she was paid a government stipend to care for him, did not feed him. When he was found dead, his body weighed only 36 pounds.

Case status:
Renee Furst (Mother), died of a drug overdose several days after Michael died.

Source:
Peshtigo man with cerebral palsy starved to death by mother — also dead
Peshtigo starvation death investigation complete

11-year-old girl

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: March 3, 2016.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Daegu, South Korea.
Disability: Intellectual disability, physical disability.

Details:
This 11-year-old girl’s mother is charged with having strangled her to death.

Case status:
Her mother, charged with murder.

Source:
Mother on trial for killing disabled daughter
“양육 힘들어”…11세 장애 딸 목졸라 살해한 30대母(종합)
“양육하기 어렵다”…지적장애 딸 목졸라 살해한 어머니 : SBS 뉴스
“양육하기 어렵다”…지적장애 딸 목졸라 살해한 어머니 | 연합뉴스