Age Categories – Page 140 – Disability Day of Mourning

Barbara Poucher

No Photo Name: Barbara Poucher.
Died: May 23, 2014.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Ormond Beach, Florida, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Barbara was shot dead in her bed by her husband in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
John Poucher (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Caregivers who kill their spouses share traits, experts say
2 dead in apparent murder-suicide in Ormond Beach
Police: Ormond man, 89, shoots, kills wife with Alzheimer’s, then himself
Double-Killing in Ormond Beach: Not Murder-Suicide, But Mercy and Heroism

No Photo Name: Anja Dewees.
Died: May 20, 2014.
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Skull fracture.
Location: Enfield, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness; liver failure; alcoholism.

Details:
Anja was neglected and abused by her husband and caretaker. She died of a particularly vicious beating, weighing only 70 pounds.

Case status:
John Dewees Jr. (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Source:
Anja Dewees – Thursday, May 22nd, 2014
Enfield Murder Suspect Did Not Want to Change Wife’s Diaper: Police
Enfield man gets 15 years in beating death of chronically ill wife

Heaven Woods

Photo of Heaven Woods, a little girl with tan skin and curly brown hair, in a pink tutu, holding a doll. Name: Heaven Woods.
Died: May 20, 2014.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Internal bleeding, blunt trauma.
Location: Forsyth, Georgia, USA.
Disability: ADHD; mother claims autism.

Details:
When Heaven had hand-shaped bruises on her throat, her mother claimed she was autistic and tried to choke herself. Eventually, Heaven was beaten to death by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.

Case status:
Amanda Hendrickson (Mother), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life.
Roderick Buckner (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Heaven Woods
Man pleads guilty in Heaven Woods’ death, mother still facing death penalty
Mom guilty in ‘savage’ beating death of 5-year-old Heaven Woods
Rome girl, 5, died of blunt force trauma; pregnant mother arrested
Grandmother of slain girl wants death penalty for daughter
Mother and boyfriend ‘beat her five-year-old daughter named Heaven to death three weeks after child services dropped abuse investigation’
Father of 5-year-old Heaven still in shock over her death

Krystyna Waszynski

No Photo Name: Krystyna Waszynski.
Died: December 2013; body found May 14, 2014.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled, “mostly bedridden”.

Details:
Krystyna Wasynski was strangled to death by her son. He did not report the death for several months, afraid of being charged with murder.

Krystyna was the widow of Julian Waszynski, an Auschwitz survivor who died in 2005. She left behind three grandchildren.

Case status:
John Waszynski (Son), charged with murder; found not guilty by reason of insanity, committed to a mental institution.

Source:
Connecticut man not guilty of mother’s murder by reason of insanity
Court Document: Wethersfield Man Confessed To Killing 86-Year-Old Mom
John Waszynski charged with mother’s murder after her body is found in their home
Man charged with murdering mother, living with body
Waszynski, Julian

Magdalena Amunyoko

No Photo Name: Magdalena Nunyango Amunyoko.
Died: May 9, 2014.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Sharp force injury.
Location: Ongwediva, Namibia.
Disability: A “rare condition that restricted her body functions”; speech impediment, wheelchair user.

Details:
Magdalena’s mother allegedly hacked her to death with a panga (a type of machete), and then burned her body.

Case status:
Magdalena’s mother, arrested.

Source:
No right to end another’s life – youth
Teacher Accused Of Barbecuing Disabled Daughter: Report
No right to end another’s life – youth
Teacher kills, burns daughter on braai stand

Jessica Watkins

Name: Jessica Watkins.
Died: May 4, 2014.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Stabbed, strangled.
Location: Newport, Wales, UK.
Disability: Learning disability, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder.

Details:
Jessica was an extrovert who liked to party. She was a gaming fan who frequented Newport City Gaming, a club that creates videos and live shows based on video games.

Jessica was abused by her boyfriend, who finally killed her by stabbing and strangling her. He had nearly strangled her a month earlier, but the people who completed a Vulnerable Adult Review on her situation did nothing to help, and Jessica returned to her boyfriend.

Case status:
Kristopher Mitchell (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 16 years 8 months to life.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jessica Watkins
Woman murdered by her boyfriend had been strangled by him a month before – Wales Online
Kristopher Mitchell jailed for Jessica Watkins murder
Newport man, Kristopher Mitchell, admits murder of Jessica Watkins whose body was found in the bath of a house on Bryn Bevan, Brynglas
Jessica Watkins’ murder ‘could not have been prevented’ – report finds
‘This was a brutal attack on a defenceless 21-year-old’: Boyfriend jailed for fatally stabbing Jessica Watkins 27 times in his bathroom

Ramona Atkinson

Name: Ramona Atkinson.
Died: April 30, 2014 (Body found).
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Abandonment.
Location: Parker, Florida, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled; wheelchair user.

Details:
Ramona’s son stole her money and her wheelchair and left her to die.

Case status:
Herbert Todd Atkinson (Son), convicted of elder neglect, exploitation, and theft, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
Police: Man stole disabled mom’s money and left her to die
Inmate Population Information Detail

Kalib Smart

No Photo Name: Kalib Smart.
Died: April 28, 2014.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, bedsores, infection.
Location: Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Shaken baby syndrome.

Details:
Kalib’s parents neglected him; he died of pneumonia, untreated bedsores, and infection.

Case status:
Twana Smart (Adoptive mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 15 years, with all but 7 years suspended.
Timothy Smart (Adoptive father), convicted of permitting child neglect, given a 10 year deferred sentence.

Source:
Alva couple sentenced in child neglect cases
Review of the Death Kalib Smart
Report released detailing cause of death, injuries to Kalib Smart
Reports on death of handicapped boy, 17, prompts investigation into parents

Mary Myatt

No Photo Name: Mary Myatt.
Died: April 27, 2014.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Massive trauma.
Location: Oneida, New York, USA.
Disability: Cognitive impairment after brain aneurysm.

Details:
Mary’s husband drove her to the train tracks and waited until the train hit them, killing them both.

Mary had worked as a teacher’s aide, medical office receptionist, and manager of a college bookstore. She had two sons and four grandchildren.

Case status:
Earl Myatt Jr. (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Grandparents Killed By Train Ruled Murder-Suicide
NY husband steps in front of train with ill wife, leaves behind a mystery
The love that led a couple to stand in front of a train

Olivia, Ben, and Max Clarence

Photo of a small boy with fair hair and pale skin, giggling and waving.

Photo of a small boy with fair hair and pale skin, smiling broadly.

Name: Olivia Clarence.
Age at death: 4.

Name: Ben Clarence.
Age at death: 3.

Name: Max Clarence.
Age at death: 3.

Died: April 22, 2014.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: New Malden, London, UK.
Disability: Spinal muscular atrophy type 2.

Details:
When twins Ben and Max were babies, their mother had requested DNR orders on them and Olivia; later on there were allegations that she had been tampering with their medical equipment, neglecting, and emotionally abusing her children. These allegations were dropped.

Oliva, Ben, and Max were all smothered by their mother when Olivia was four and Ben and Max were three years old.

Case status:
Tania Clarence (mother) pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility, and was hospitalized.

Source:
Woman smothered disabled twin sons before killing their sister, court hears
Was mum who smothered disabled kids ignored by social services because she was middle class?