Category: Age Categories

Barbara Beam

No PhotoName: Barbara Anne Beam.
Died: January 2, 2015.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Pulmonary embolism.
Location: Greeneville, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Mobility impairment.

Details:
Barbara’s caregivers allegedly left her sitting in her chair for six months, without moving her or cleaning her. Finally Barbara died from a blood clot, caused by sitting still for so long, that lodged in her lungs. She also had a severe untreated kidney infection.

Case status:
Carole Howell (Sister), charged with abuse and neglect resulting in the death of a vulnerable adult.
David Howell (Nephew), charged with abuse and neglect resulting in the death of a vulnerable adult.

Source:
Greenville mother, son indicted 2 years after elderly woman found dead
Woman charged in death of her sister who sat in chair for 6 months, warrants say

Alexandra, Maxim, and Mikhail Kordyukova

Photo of Misha Kordyukova, a baby with fair skin and short blond hair, photographed against a background of water.
Misha Kordyukova
Gravestone of Sasha and Maxim Kordyukova. Their names are written in Cyrillic characters, and above each name is a dim black-and-white image of a young child. The bottom of the photograph is torn off so that the dates of birth and death cannot be seen.
Gravestone of Sasha and Maxim Kordyukova

Name: Alexandra “Sasha” Kordyukova.
Name: Maxim Kordyukova.
Name: Mikhail “Misha” Kordyukova.

Died: Unknown; mother arrested in 2015.
Age at death: All were under 3.
Cause of death: Warfarin poisoning.
Location: Ekaterinburg, Russia.
Disability: Atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome.

Details:
Sasha, Maxim, and Misha died before their brother Ilya was taken to the hospital, gravely sick from warfarin poisoning. Ilya survived, but the attempted murder tipped off police that his siblings’ deaths might not have been accidental. After exhumation and autopsy, it was determined that Maxim and Misha had both died from warfarin poisoning. Their sister Sasha’s autopsy was inconclusive, but like them, she died young and suddenly.

Their mother, when arrested, claimed she had tried to cure her children, but that it was too difficult; so she wanted to kill them and start a new family with healthy children.

Ilya, who recovered from the poisoning, is now living with his father.

Case status:
Elena Kordyukova (Mother), convicted, sentenced to 18 years.

Source:
Mum accused of killing her two sick kids with rat poison
Russian murdered sons with genetic condition with Warfarin
Evil mum jailed for killing two of her disabled sons with ‘rat poison’

Katherine Lavoie

Photo: A middle-aged woman with shaggy brown hair, pale, flushed skin, heavy mascara, and beaded earrings. She is smiling for the camera.Name: Katherine Lavoie.
Died: December 30, 2014.
Age at death: 49.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: New Hampshire, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.

Details:
Katherine had attempted suicide, but survived and was hospitalized in critical condition. Her husband then walked into the hospital, shot her in the head, and killed himself.

Case status:
Mark Lavoie (Husband), deceased.

Source:
New Hampshire ‘double suicide’ wife’s death ruled homicide

Hope Ruller

Grainy newspaper photo of a woman in an old-fashioned dress and hat; she looks to be in her twenties and is smiling.Name: Hope Beverly Ruller, née Carr.
Died: Body found December 29, 2014; died October 2013.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Unknown suspicious death.
Location: Gloversville, New York, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; elderly disabled.

Details:
Hope lived in a duplex, downstairs from her daughter, who was supposed to be caring for her. However, instead her daughter isolated her and kept her from seeing family members or getting medical care.

When Hope died, her daughter did not report the death and continued cashing her mother’s disability checks for more than a year, assuring her family that she was “fine” and even cashing a check sent as a Christmas present. Eventually, Hope’s son grew suspicious and asked police for a welfare check; they found her body.

Hope’s cause of death can never be determined because her body was left in a bed for 14 months after she died. Police could only say that her death was considered suspicious.

Case status:
Mary Kerstig (Daughter), pleaded guilty to larceny, improper disposal of a body, and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or disabled person; sentenced to 6 months in jail, 5 years probation, and community service.

Source:
Upstate New York Woman Admits to Keeping Mother’s Corpse for More Than a Year To Collect Government Checks
Hope Beverly Carr Ruller

Kendrea Johnson

Photo of Kendrea Johnson. She is an African-American girl wearing a yellow dress, her hair in hair clips. She has her hands on her hips and is leaning forward, lips puckered, as though she is trying to kiss the camera.Name: Kendrea Johnson.
Died: December 27, 2014.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Hanging.
Location: Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: PTSD.

Details:
Foster child Kendrea was showing signs of severe mental illness; she had been experiencing suicidal ideation every day for months. But her foster home did nothing to help her; instead, she was threatened with beatings and locked in her room. Four times, her foster home was reported for neglect, but not investigated.

Kendrea was found hanging from her bunk bed with a jump rope tied around her neck; the death was ruled a “ligature hanging” and showed all the signs of suicide, including a suicide note reading “I’m sorry”. If that is the case, then Kendrea’s death was the result of neglect, with her mental illness left untreated to the point that the little girl died by suicide. However, Kendrea’s grandmother believes her death was a murder rather than a suicide, since the knot in the jump rope might have been too complex for a six-year-old to tie.

Case status:
Tannise Nawaqavou (foster mother), foster care license revoked.
$1.5 million settlement paid to Kendrea’s grandmother by Hennepin County.

Source:
SiebenCarey and NewmarkStorms File Civil Lawsuit Following Death of Six-Year-Old in Foster Care
String of failures came before suicidal 6-year-old’s death
Did 6-year-old Brooklyn Park girl kill herself? Police wonder
Hennepin County officials say little about death of girl in Brooklyn Park foster-care home
Girl, 6, died by hanging in foster care. County settles with family for $1.5 million.
$1.5 million settlement in Minnesota six-year-old’s foster care death
Minnesota girl, 6, died by hanging in foster care. Hennepin County settles with family for $1.5 million.

William Collins

No PhotoName: William Collins.
Died: December 27, 2014.
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Head trauma, broken neck.
Location: Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; Elderly; wheelchair user.

Details:
William was beaten to death by his caregiver, with whom he was living. He died of head injuries and a broken neck. Mr. Collins was the third elderly tenant to die while living with them; apparently, the couple used the vulnerability of the elderly disabled to steal their tenants’ assets under the guise of caring for them.

Case status:
Judith Marc (Caregiver), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 15-40 years.

Source:
Coolbaugh Twp. caregiver faces murder charge
Caretaker pleads guilty to murder in death of 92-year-old
Caregiver sentenced to 15 to 40 years in elderly man’s death

Rosemary Vincent

Photo of Rosemary Vincent. She is a middle-aged woman with a round face, pale skin, and short curly red hair. She is wearing big white feathered earrings.Name: Rosemary Vincent.
Died: December 24, 2014.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: McConnelsville, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.

Details:
Rosemary’s cousin, instead of caring for her or taking her to the doctor, stole her disability payments and neglected her. He would often tie her to a chair and put her in the closet. Weakened from lack of care, Rosemary was admitted to the hospital emaciated, with broken ribs and untended bedsores. She died of pneumonia.

Case status:
Jerry Campbell II (Cousin), pleaded guilty to theft from an elderly or disabled person, robbery, illegal use of food stamps, kidnapping, domestic violence, intimidation of a witness, and illegal manufacture of drugs; sentenced to 8 years.
Shannon Campbell (Cousin’s wife), pleaded guilty to neglect.
Linda Campbell (Jerry’s wife), charged with obstruction of justice/failure to report a crime, ruled incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
One pleads guilty in disabled person abuse case
Mother, son both remain in custody
Trial delayed in case involving Nelsonville woman’s death
Man accused of neglect in death of woman gets 8 years

Alex Robinson

Photo of a thin boy sitting on a park bench, his shoes off and his feet drawn up onto the bench. He is wearing a baseball cap and drinking from a bottle of juice.Name: Alex Robinson.
Died: December 23, 2014.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Lincoln, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Alex hated water, hated getting his face wet, and would only bathe while standing. His grandfather put him in the bathtub and held him underwater until he drowned.

Alex was fond of trains and wind turbines. He was particularly fascinated when his school visited a power plant, and asked such insightful questions that he amazed his teachers.

Case status:
Stewart Greene (Grandfather), convicted of murder, sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Source:
Mum shares poignant memories of murdered son Alex Robinson six years on
Autism Memorial: Alex Robinson
Alex Robinson murder trial: Grandfather drowned autistic grandson, 9, court told
“Vengeful” man drowns autistic grandson
Death of young boy murdered by grandfather ‘could not have been predicted or prevented’
Family hits out after review into murder of schoolboy by his granddad

Charly L.

No PhotoName: Charly L.
Died: December 20, 2014.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Charly’s brother fed him fruit juice laced with drugs to sedate him, then set the apartment on fire. Charly died from a combination of poisoning and burns. The fire endangered all the other residents of the apartment complex, which had to be evacuated; but there were no other fatalities. Police say that Charly’s brother had been jealous of him for some time, and wanted inheritance money to start a business with his accomplice.

Case status:
Eric L. (Brother), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.
Alessandro S., convicted of being an accessory to murder; sentenced to 2 years and fined.

Source:
Lebenslang für Brudermord
Two years ago today: Case of fratricide coming before a Luxembourg court
Esch-sur-Alzette: Police treat flat fire as arson
Vorfall vor genau zwei Jahren: Brudermord kommt vor Gericht
Brand in Esch/Alzette: Feuerwehr findet Leiche in ausgebrannter Wohnung

Yana Voronova

Photo of Yana Voronova, a teenage girl with pale skin and brown hair, holding a large white stuffed animal. Her eyes have a censor blur over them.Name: Yana Voronova.
Died: Approx. December 19, 2014.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Decapitation.
Location: Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Yana’s mother decapitated her.

Case status:
Nadejda Voronova (Mother), held in a psychiatric ward.

Source:
Mother decapitates her disabled seven-year-old daughter