Age Categories – Page 23 – Disability Day of Mourning

Richard Rutherford

Name: Richard Judson Rutherford.
Died: April 15, 2022.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Mobility impaired, cognitive decline.

Details:
Richard died the victim of homicide; his husband was arrested and charged with his murder, which is being called a “mercy killing”.

Richard was a former principal dancer in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet who worked with the Canada Council for the Arts after he retired as a dancer. In his elder years, he tended his garden and watched the birds and chipmunks that came to his feeder.

Case Status:
Philippe Hébert (Husband), charged with second-degree murder.

Sources:
The ‘tragic and profoundly human’ story of Richard Rutherford and Philippe Hébert
Bail granted to Ottawa man charged with second-degree murder in the death of his spouse
Ottawa man charged with murder after elderly man found dead on Good Friday
Richard RUTHERFORD Obituary (1935 – 2022)

Mr. Chen

No Photo Name: Chen (Surname); given name unknown.
Died: April 15, 2022.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Ershui, Changhua County, Taiwan.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Mr. Chen was strangled, and his brother was arrested for the crime. Police say he had killed Mr. Chen and attempted to kill himself because he was tired of caring for his brother.

Case Status:
Mr. Chen (Brother), arrested.

Sources:
Changhua man found dead, brother injured – Taipei Times
彰化二水凶殺案老翁疑勒斃弟弟再割腕1死1傷
 彰化命案！哥哥勒斃中風弟　兄弟檔1死1命危｜蘋果新聞網｜蘋果日報

Nellie Sullivan

No Photo Name: Nellie Sullivan.
Died: April 14, 2022 (Body found).
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Unknown homicide.
Location: Candler, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia; frail elder.

Details:
Nellie’s granddaughter and her boyfriend took her out of the nursing home where she was living and brought her to live with them at their trailer. Shortly afterward, Nellie disappeared, though her caregivers continued cashing her social security checks and filling her prescriptions. Suspicious police arrested and charged the couple with fraud, animal cruelty, and concealing a death; but Nellie’s body was not found for two years, until a neighbor’s pet duck ran under the trailer and led police to the shallow grave where Nellie was buried.

A neighbor remembers Nellie as a kind woman who once made her daughter a Halloween costume out of a shower curtain.

Case Status:
Angela Wamsley (Granddaughter), charged with first-degree murder.
Mark Barnes (Granddaughter’s boyfriend), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Couple arrested for murdering grandmother after the elderly woman’s pet duck led police to her body | Daily Mail Online
Pet duck leads to discovery of woman’s body under home; suspects charged with murder
Sheriff’s Office Says N.C. Couple Charged with Killing Grandmother Sent Deputies on a ‘Wild Goose Chase’ That Was Solved by a Pet Duck
Couple charged in 2020 concealing death case lived at home where human remains found
‘I just hope this is her’: Woman hopeful human remains confirmed to be missing neighbor

Megumi Yamada

No Photo Name: Megumi Yamada.
Died: April 13, 2022.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Megumi’s mother turned up at the police station and allegedly confessed to killing her, saying that she was “tired of taking care of” Megumi. Police investigated and found Megumi dead in her home; she had been strangled and smothered with plastic wrap.

Case Status:
Fumiko Yamada (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Japan woman arrested for allegedly attempting to kill ‘bedridden’ daughter who later died
‘I’m tired of taking care of her’: Japanese woman, 68, surrenders after suffocating bedridden daughter

Heather Baynard

Name: Heather Leigh-Anne Baynard.
Died: April 11, 2022.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Gaffney, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Heather arrived at the hospital unresponsive and was soon declared dead. Police who examined her home discovered that she had been kept in filthy conditions; on autopsy, the coroner reported that she had been severely neglected for many months, causing her medical condition to worsen and eventually become fatal.

Heather loved music, especially Mikey Mason and Disney Jr. She liked pretty lights, bright colors, and traveling.

Case Status:
David Eugene Baynard (Father), convicted of murder, felony child abuse, and unlawful neglect of a child, sentenced to 20 years to life.
Bobbie Jo Baynard (Mother), convicted of murder, felony child abuse, and unlawful neglect of a child, sentenced to 20 years to life.
Edward Baynard (Brother), convicted of murder, felony child abuse, and unlawful neglect of a child, sentenced to 20-60 years.

Sources:
Family Jailed for Killing Girl, 14, With Cerebral Palsy Taken to Hospital With Rotting Legs
South Carolina family neglected disabled daughter — whose rotted legs looked like ‘raw meat’ — so severely she died
Parents, Son Sentenced For Murder After Police Find Rotting Special Needs Daughter In South Carolina House Of Horrors
Disabled teen wasted away in roach-filled crib as parents and brother jailed
‘Worst case of neglect we’ve seen’: Family sentenced for murder of teen with disabilities
Couple, Son Sentenced to Decades in Prison in Death of 14-Year-Old Special Needs Girl
S.C. parents, son convicted of killing daughter who ‘showed extreme signs of disintegration’
Upstate couple and son found guilty in murder of daughter, officials say
Gaffney Family Found Guilty in 2022 Murder of Special Needs Daughter
Unspeakable cruelty of parents who left their disabled daughter to die
Parents, son charged in Upstate girl’s death after she suffered in ‘deplorable conditions,’ warrants say
Family of 14-year-old speaks out after her death, murder charges filed against parents
Girl’s death called ‘horrible,’ ‘worst case’ neglect Upstate officials have ever seen; parents charged
Heather Leigh-Anne Baynard Obituary (2022)

Zada Johnson

Photo of a girl with her head wrapped in striped bedclothes. She has pale skin and curly dark-blonde hair, and is sticking her tongue out slightly. Name: Zada Faith Johnson.
Died: April 10, 2022.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Suffocation; blocked tracheotomy tube.
Location: Lykens, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Details:
Zada needed a tracheotomy tube to breathe and had an oxygen monitor set up, with an alarm that sounded if she didn’t get enough air. According to police, her baby monitor cameras recorded that Zada’s alarm had been ignored for hours the night she died, despite being clearly audible to everyone in the house. Police also say that Zada’s parents regularly left her alone at home with her teenage brother and spent money meant for her medical care on themselves.

Case Status:
Kimberly A. Johnson (Mother), charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.
Jacob K. Snyder (Mother’s partner), charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.

Sources:
Police: Couple’s negligence caused 10-year-old girl’s death in 2022
Couple charged for death of disabled 10-year-old girl in Lykens, police say
Zada Faith Johnson Obituary (2022) – Klingerstown, PA – Minnich Family Funeral Homes, Inc. – Williamstown

Helen Lawrie

No Photo Name: Helen Lawrie.
Died: April 4, 2022.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Cromer, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia, mobility impaired, speech impaired, low vision.

Details:
Helen’s husband killed her before taking his own life.

Helen was a member of the Royal Cromer Golf Club. She owned hair salons and taught hairdressing.

Case Status:
Alexander Lawrie (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Inquest verdict found couple died in ‘unlawful killing and suicide’ – Cromer
Inquests open into deaths at home of Cromer couple
Husband kills wife before taking his own life in tragic dementia pact

Thomas Conley

No Photo Name: Thomas Conley.
Died: March 20, 2022.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Head injury, blood loss.
Location: Sherman, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Anemia, alcoholic liver disease.

Details:
Thomas’s husband hit him in the head. Already weakened by poor health, Thomas died from blood loss from several scalp wounds.

Case Status:
James Maharg (Husband), convicted of murder and evidence tampering, sentenced to 35 years in prison and 10 years special parole.

Sources:
Sherman man convicted in husband’s death sentenced to 35 years
Sherman man James Maharg found guilty in murder of his husband
Sherman man’s ‘compromised’ health contributed to his death, says expert for defense in murder trial
New details emerge in Sherman murder
Alcohol may have fueled Sherman murder

Kathryn Newhouse

Name: Kathryn “Katie” Newhouse.
Died: March 19, 2022.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Shooting.
Location: Canton, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Autism, mental illness.

Details:
Katie’s father shot her, and then killed himself. When she was sixteen, her father had been arrested and charged for holding her down on her bed by her throat.

Kathryn’s friends remember her as a kind young woman who was always smiling, even when life became difficult.

Case Status:
Howard Newhouse (Father), deceased.

Sources:
Autism Memorial: Kathryn Newhouse
Candlelight Vigil April 4 for Kathryn Newhouse, Trans Teen Murdered by Her Father in Georgia
Autistic Asian-American Teen Trans Woman Kathryn Newhouse Murdered by Her Father in Georgia
Son reacts after Cherokee County dad kills his daughter before shooting himself

Tre-Shaun Brown

Name: Tre-Shaun Brown.
Died: March 18, 2022.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Beckley, West Virginia, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Tre-Shaun’s mother’s boyfriend attacked Tre-Shaun with a hammer and stabbed his mother. Tre-Shaun’s mother ran to a neighbor, who was able to save Tre-shaun’s little sister but couldn’t save Tre-Shaun.

Neighbors remember Tre-Shaun as a nice kid who used to ride his bike around the apartment building.

Case Status:
Rashad “Rico” Thompson (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of first-degree murder, malicious wounding, child abuse resulting in death, and two counts of domestic battery; sentenced to 35 years to life.

Sources:
Beckley man sentenced to lengthy prison term after killing 7-year-old boy
Rashad Thompson found guilty of first degree murder after beating child to death
Mother testifies in Rashad Thompson murder trial
Jury visits scene of Beckley murder
Jury shown crime scene photos depicting child’s death
Neighbors mourn boy, show support for mom
TRE’SHAUN “BUBBY” BROWN
Autism Memorial: Tre-Shaun Brown