Age Categories – Page 136 – Disability Day of Mourning

Albert Franklin

No Photo Name: Albert Franklin.
Died: Sometime after July 28, 2014.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Sepsis and malnutrition.
Location: Flint, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Albert had a feeding tube because of an obstruction in his throat, but his caregivers refused to use it, so Albert starved until he weighed only 52 pounds. He was hospitalized in July 2014, in septic shock from untreated bedsores, and died there.

Case status:
Alice Bitters (Girlfriend), ruled not competent to stand trial and institutionalized.
Melissa Bardoni (Girlfriend’s niece), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, sentenced to 15-30 years.

Source:
Bardoni v. Howard, Case No. 20-11861 | Casetext Search + Citator
Woman pleads guilty to murder in elder abuse case
2 Flint women charged with abusing emaciated man
Caregivers arrested after emaciated man found with infected bed sores in Flint
Girlfriend, niece charged with elder abuse after police find 52 pound man
Woman Pleads Guilty In Flint Elder Abuse Case, Second Woman May Have Been Involved
Woman pleads guilty to murder in elder abuse case

Katharine Mihok

Black and white newspaper photo of a smiling girl with a round face and short, light hair. She is wearing glasses. Name: Katharine Renai Mihok.
Died: July 23, 2014.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
Disability: A rare chromosomal disorder affecting movement and intellectual development.

Details:
Katharine’s mother shot her to death, then killed herself.

From Katharine’s obituary: “Katharine was an energetic and happy child. She loved throwing kisses in the air, posing for pictures, being outdoors discovering, dancing to music, being in the pool, going to school, Girl Scouts and earning badges, and visiting with people. Most of all, she loved her family and her big sister.”

Case status:
Karla M. Mihok (Mother), deceased.

Source:
UPDATE: Norfolk mother kills 8-year-old daughter before taking her own life; woman now identified
Obituary: Karla Mae and Katharine Renai Mihok
Region sees 2 murder-suicides by women – rare tragedy

Marcia Clark

Photo of Marcia Clark. She is a thin elderly woman with pale skin and gray hair, wearing glasses and a purple long-sleeved shirt. Name: Marcia Clark.
Died: July 20, 2014.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Starvation and infection.
Location: Taree, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Frail elder; caregiver claimed dementia and Parkinson’s.

Details:
Marcia died of infected bed sores and starvation after being neglected by her daughter.

The death was ruled as having been of “natural causes… the combined effects of severe malnutrition and infection… after a period of being neglected by her carer.”

Case status:
Nardia Clark (Daughter), no charges; went missing, found dead in 2016.

Source:
How the system failed this elderly mother and her daughter who couldn’t cope
Death of Marcia Clark: Coroner finds daughter struggled to care for elderly mother
Findings Marcia Clark.pdf

Cecily Kurtz

No Photo Name: Cecily Kurtz.
Died: July 2, 2014.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Pulmonary embolism.
Location: Didcot, England, UK.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, OCD.

Details:
Cecily was unable to care for her own needs because of her mental illness, but her daughter left her on the couch and did not care for her. Having been neglected for years, she died of a pulmonary embolism in a filthy room, weighing 85 pounds.

Case status:
Emma-Jane Kurtz (Daughter), convicted of willful neglect, sentenced to serve at least half of a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence; sentence overturned when judge determined that the court had not proved that Cecily lacked the ability to make her own decisions.

Source:
Daughter left mum to die in own faeces
Emma-Jane Kurtz jailed after mum is found dead due to neglect
Daughter jailed for leaving mother to die in her own feces
Neglected mum’s body ‘looked like photograph from WW2 concentration camp’
Doctor who cared for ‘neglected’ mother ‘blocked by family’
Daughter cleared of neglect after mum, 79, died in ‘pool of urine and diarrhoea’

Theodore Meyer

Photo of Theodore Meyer, an elderly white man in a suit and black tie, wearing glasses. Name: Theodore Meyer.
Died: June 28, 2014.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Blunt force chest trauma.
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Dementia, heart disease.

Details:
Theodore’s son beat him to death with his own cane.

Case status:
Donald Ray Meyer (Son), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 12 years.

Source:
Oklahoma City man gets 12 years in prison for fatal beating of father, 91
Oklahoma City Man Charged With Murder In Father’s Death

Shirley Beck

Photo of Shirley Beck. She is a woman with long blonde hair and pale skin; she is wearing a colorful sweater. Name: Shirley Beck.
Died: June 26, 2014.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Clarksville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Unspecified mental disability (received disability payments); abuse survivor.

Details:
Shirley lived in a non-traditional relationship, as a “house slave” to her BDSM mistress and their housemates. Her mistress helped her manage her finances, which she could not do on her own, but Shirley was the one who did the chores.

Typically, such relationships involve a lot of trust on both sides; crucially, the “slave” role is voluntary, and any injury is superficial. However, Shirley’s mistress betrayed her trust. Instead of pretending to hold Shirley captive, she actually imprisoned Shirley; rather than staging a “safe, sane, consensual” BDSM scene, she and her housemates inflicted a severe, hours-long beating with a metal rod. Shirley died of her injuries.

Shirley loved feeding birds.

Case status:
Cynthia Dianne Skipper (Partner), negligent homicide and kidnapping, 25 years.
Derek M. Vicchitto (Housemate), facilitation of second-degree murder and kidnapping, 25 years.
Matthew Lee Reynolds (Housemate), first-degree murder and kidnapping, 59 years to life.
Alphonso Richardson (Housemate), first-degree murder and kidnapping, life plus 25 years.

Source:
Jury to get ‘house slave’ slaying case Thursday
Defense: Slain ‘house slave’ wanted beatings
Four on trial in ‘house slave’ slaying
From wife and mother to ‘slave’ to murder victim
The Last Four Hours of Shirley Beck’s Life – Kate Kinsey (NSFW)
3 sentenced in BDSM slaying

On-Yu Choy

No Photo Name: On-Yu Choy.
Died: June 25, 2014.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Hong Kong, China.
Disability: Autism, ADHD.

Details:
On-yu’s father killed him by stabbing him more than 100 times with a pair of kitchen knives, reasoning that “if he is gone, the whole family will have peace”.

Case status:
Sin-hung Choy (Father), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to four years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: On-Yu Choy
Man, 61, kills autistic teenage son because he felt burden was ‘tough for the whole family’
A martyr for his family? Hong Kong court jails father four years for killing autistic son

Kenyon Slacks

Name: Kenyon Jakobian Slacks.
Died: June 24, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Morphine overdose.
Location: Augusta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Multiple medical problems, including Ohtahara syndrome (rare epilepsy type).

Details:
Kenyon may have died from a morphine overdose administered by his foster mother. However, because his health had been so delicate beforehand, murder could not be proven and his foster mother walked free.

Case status:
Elizabeth Osei (Foster mother), charged with murder, acquitted.

Source:
Parent At Nation’s Leading For-Profit Foster Care Firm Facing Murder Charges
Care-giver indicted on murder charges in child’s overdose death
Murder trial begins in death of disabled foster child
Elizabeth Osei acquitted of murder in foster child case
PHOTOS: Toddler Kenyon Slacks and foster mom Elizabeth Osei
Foster Care news and Updates: Foster mom killed 3-year-old boy with morphine dose

Sayane Kishimoto

Name: Sayane Kishimoto.
Died: June 15, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan.
Disability: Congenital myopathy.

Details:
Sayane died from malnutrition. On autopsy, non-food items were found in her stomach, and she weighed half of what she should have.

Case status:
Yuki Kishimoto (Father), convicted of negligence, 18-month suspended sentence.
Her mother, arrested; charges unknown.

Source:
Parents arrested for starving 3-year-old daughter to death
High court overturns ruling on death of disabled child

David Alan

No Photo Name: David Alan.
Died: June 14, 2014.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Rutland, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, anxiety.

Details:
David’s brother went to David’s home, killed him with pliers and a knife, then dismembered his body. David had a restraining order against his brother.

Case status:
Michael S. Dowjat (Brother), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.

Source:
Rutland Murder Victim Described As A Recluse
Self-defense, says Holden man charged in brother’s death
Fate of Michael Dowjat, Holden man charged in brother’s slaying, headed to jury
Dowjat trial jurors get look at sawed bones
Michael Dowjat found guilty of stabbing estranged brother 70 times and then cutting off his head
Man Pleads Not Guilty to Murder of Brother
Holden man convicted of killing younger brother whose body was dismembered