Age Categories – Page 123 – Disability Day of Mourning

James Wilkerson

Photo of a gravestone. It reads: EE3. James Ray Wilkerson. PRC US Navy. Vietnam. Oct 13 1948. Oct 18 2015. We love you Chief Dad. 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

Mary Fields

No Photo 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

Emily Kaminski

Photo of a teenage girl. She is wearing a jeweled necklace and small, thick glasses, and there is a tiara atop her frizzy blonde hair. Her skin is very fair. She has her mouth open as though she is about to say something. Name: Emily Jean Kaminski.
Died: October 14, 2015.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Prescription drug overdose.
Location: La Mesa, California, USA.
Disability: Multiple disabilities, including blindness.

Details:
Emily’s grandmother gave her a fatal overdose of prescription drugs, then killed herself.

Case status:
Marshelle Marie Newby (Grandmother), deceased.

Source:
Police: California Grandmother Gave Disabled Teen Fatal Overdose in Murder-Suicide

Geraldine Chandler

No Photo 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

Andrea Lago Ordóñez

Name: Andrea Lago Ordóñez.
Died: October 9, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Dehydration.
Location: Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Disability: A degenerative neurological condition.

Details:
Andrea’s parents advocated for her feeding tube to be removed. She died of starvation and dehydration after four days without nourishment.

Case status:
Antonio Lago and Estela Ordóñez (Parents); no crime.

Source:
Spanish girl at centre of futile care controversy dies
Terminally ill Galician girl Andrea dies after four days off life support
Parents of terminally ill Galician child fight to take her off life support
‘Andrea está mejor sin la sonda. Durmió de un tirón y muy tranquila’

Johanna Hove-Becker

Black and white photo of Johanna Becker. She has light skin and neat, blond shoulder-length hair and is wearing a suit jacket and pearl necklace. Name: Johanna Hove-Becker.
Died: October 8, 2015.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Fall injury.
Location: Mons, Belgium.
Disability: History of mental illness.

Details:
Johanna had had bulimia as a teenager, but recovered and went on to become a psychologist. When she was 32 years old, her husband drugged her, pushed her out of a window, and tried to pass it off as suicide due to mental illness.

Johanna was a triathlete. She was an especially good swimmer–her father said she was “like a seal” in the water. She had a master’s degree in psychology.

Case status:
Craig R. Becker (Husband), convicted of premeditated murder, assault and battery, and conduct unbecoming an officer; sentenced to life with the possibility of parole and dismissed from the military.

Source:
Did she jump or was she pushed? ‘Dateline’ NBC profiles death of former Jacksonville resident
Did she jump or was she pushed? ‘Dateline’ NBC profiles death of former Jacksonville resident
Navy officer sentenced to life for murdering his wife in Belgium
Navy Officer’s Years-Long Murder Case Gets Another Twist with Court Ruling
War Hero Claims Navy Abandoned Him, Others Cry Murder
Johanna Hove-Becker Obituary

Kenneth Mobley Jr.

Gravestone reading Mobley, Edna Mae, 1/24/1926-5/11/1990, beloved mother and grandmother; Kenneth P. Jr, 8/25/1985-10/5/2015, beloved son & grandson. Name: Kenneth Pernell Mobley Jr.
Died: October 5, 2015.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Greenville County, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; dwarfism, “physical abnormalities”.

Details:
Kenneth’s sister beat him and starved him. When she poured hot water over his head, burning him, he drowned.

Case status:
Kendra Mobley (Sister), pleaded guilty to neglect, sentenced to 28 years.
Jamario Alexis Green (Sister’s boyfriend), sentenced to 9 years for failing to report a crime.

Source:
Woman burned, beat her disabled brother, who died weighing 51 pounds
Kenneth Pernell Mobley, Jr (1985 – 2015) – Find A Grave Memorial
Obituary for Kenneth Pernell Mobley, Jr. – MIAMI, FL

John Craig

Photo of Jack Craig, a middle-aged man in a dress shirt, with the bark of a large tree in the background. Jack has brown hair and light skin, large ears and a large nose, and a mustache above a wide smile. Name: John “Jack” Craig.
Died: October 4, 2015.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Portsmouth, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified mobility impairment.

Details:
Jack Craig’s boyfriend tied his hands, strangled him, and put a plastic bag over his head, suffocating him. Wanted for an unrelated robbery, the killer confessed but told the police that Jack’s murder had been an “assisted suicide”.

Case status:
Wayne McClellan (Boyfriend/Housemate), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 40 years in prison with 23 years suspended.

Source:
Portsmouth man gets 17 years in prison for killing boyfriend
Neighbors: Accused killer had party in home while body was there

Gulpreet Kumari

No Photo Name: Gulpreet Kumari.
Died: October 2, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Panchkula, Haryana, India.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Wanting a new life with a new boyfriend, Gulpreet’s mother allegedly decided to kill the autistic twelve-year-old; while Gulpreet’s mother held her down, her mother’s boyfriend strangled her. They said Gulpreet’s death was natural and due to her disability.

On November 29, 2015, Gulpreet’s younger brother Gurjant was reported missing. When his body was found in a field, the victim of a homicide, police investigated Gulpreet’s death too and decided that she and her little brother had both been murdered.

Case status:
Mukesh Kumari (Mother), charged with murder.
Haryana Shekhar (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with murder.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Gulpreet Kumari
Woman kills kids to marry paramour
Police bring accused mother, her paramour from Jind
Woman arrested for murdering son, daughter

Jhoel Noria

Photo of a young boy with brown hair and tan skin, smiling; in the background are the walls of a school classroom. Name: Jhoel Noria; also called Jhoel Jesus Gaspar.
Died: September 30, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Motor vehicle accident.
Location: Trenton, Texas, USA.
Disability: “Special needs”.

Details:
Jhoel died while waiting for the school bus; he walked into the road and was fatally hit by an SUV.

Normally this would have been categorized as an accident, but police investigated and found that Jhoel, whose special needs required supervision, had been completely unsupervised at the time. Suspecting neglect, they removed Jhoel’s three siblings from the home. These three siblings, now able to speak out, told the police that Jhoel’s stepfather and stepbrother had been sexually assaulting all four children. Jhoel’s parents and stepbrother were arrested.

Jhoel liked to play ball and he liked animals, but he had a passion for dancing. He was always showing his family his new dance moves.

Case status:
Pedro Noria (Stepfather), pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, sentenced to 20 years.
Nelson Rodriguez (Stepbrother), charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Noemi Noria (Mother), convicted of continuous sexual assault of a child, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Trenton mom gets 30 years in prison in sex abuse case
Father in Trenton child sexual abuse case gets 20 years in prison
Trenton police investigation into 12-year-old’s death leads to sexual assault arrests
Boy killed in Trenton wreck identified
Jhoel Jesus Gaspar Obituary
Family of boy who died while waiting on a school bus arrested on child abuse charges