Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Shuji Sanada.
Died: October 7, 2018.
Age at death: 49.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified physical disability; bedbound.
Details:
Mr. Sanada’s mother allegedly strangled him as he slept.
Case status:
Kayoko Sanada (Mother), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Source:
73-year-old woman arrested for killing disabled 49-year-old son
Name: Shobha Kulkarni.
Died: October 6, 2018.
Age at death: 75.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Thane, Maharashtra, India.
Disability: Blind.
Details:
Shobha’s niece demanded that she make breakfast. When Shobha wouldn’t do it, her niece allegedly stabbed her 15 times, killing her.
Case status:
Swapna Kulkarni (Niece), charged with murder.
Source:
Mumbai: Shocking! Thane woman allegedly stabs blind aunt ’15 times’ to death over refusing to cook breakfast; case registered
Woman arrested for killing her blind aunt in their flat
Thane Woman Stabs Blind Aunt 15 Times for Refusing to Make Breakfast
Woman held for killing her elderly aunt
Name: Sadhana Muneeswaran.
Died: October 6, 2018.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Disability: Mentally ill; bedbound.
Details:
Sadhana’s parents took her to a temple, where they allegedly forced her to drink poison. Bystanders saw her resisting and then falling unconscious and called the police, and Sadhana was taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, it was too late; the girl died two days later.
Case status:
S Muneeswaran (Father), arrested and sentenced to 15 days in jail for the poisoning, then charged with murder when Sadhana died.
Revanthi (Mother), charged with murder.
Sources:
Find a Grave: Sadhana Muneeswaran
Mentally-ill girl dead, parents booked for murder
Name: Mustafa “Musti” Mehmetaliogullari.
Died: September 30, 2018.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Medication overdose.
Location: Sedlescombe, East Sussex, England, UK.
Disability: “Severe physical and mental disabilities”.
Details:
Mustafa died three days after being brought to the hospital; autopsy showed that he had died from an overdose of non-prescription medication, and his mother was convicted of poisoning him.
Case Status:
Pembe Mehmetaliogullari (Mother), convicted of administering a noxious substance; sentenced to 2 years, suspended for 18 months.
Sources:
Devoted mother from Hove spared prison after poisoning late son
Sussex mum cleared of attempting to murder disabled son
Mother accused of giving her son pills is cleared of attempted murder
Husband said ‘baby or me’ after tot rescued from dustbin found to be disabled, court hears
Hove mum accused of murdering disabled son pleads not guilty
Mum charged with murder of severely disabled 10-year-old son
Mother charged with murdering 10-year-old disabled son
East Sussex mum charged with murder of severely disabled son
East Sussex: Mother charged with murdering severely disabled 10-year-old son
Mum charged with murdering disabled son, 10, after he dies in hospital
Name: Zamira Domínguez.
Died: September 29, 2018.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Internal bleeding.
Location: Monte Grande, Argentina.
Disability: Deaf.
Details:
After being beaten by her mother’s boyfriend, Zamira was brought to the hospital, severely injured and bleeding internally, and died shortly afterward. During trial, her mother and stepfather claimed that it was her fault she had been beaten, because she couldn’t tell them she felt pain.
Case Status:
Brenda Fernández (Mother), convicted of neglect of a relative resulting in death, sentenced to 18 years.
Brandon González (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to life in prison.
Sources:
Así fue el calvario de Zami, la niña sordomuda golpeada por sus padres hasta morir
Zamira was 5 years old, she was deaf and dumb and they lived beating her: her mother and stepfather beat her to death
Update on the case of Zamira Dominguez, a deaf and mute girl who was beaten to death by her mother and stepfather
Name: Jonathan “JJ” Schmoyer.
Died: September 29, 2018.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Explosion.
Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Suspected autism.
Details:
JJ’s father rigged his car to explode. He put JJ in the car seat, lured 66-year-old family friend David Hallman into the car, and set off the explosives. All three were killed.
In suicide letters left behind, the killer mentioned that he “had something against autism, which he suspected JJ had.”
From JJ’s obituary:
“JJ was a loving, intelligent and inquisitive child who loved to explore, laugh, take walks, roller skate and play patty-cake. JJ also loved to eat Subway meatball sandwiches and he adored Thomas the Tank [Engine] and his Spider-Man and SpongeBob t-shirts.”
Case status:
Jacob Schmoyer (Father), deceased.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Jonathan Schmoyer
View Jonathan Schmoyer’s Obituary on mcall.com and share memories
Cops: ‘Miserable’ dad rigged car to explode, killing 2-year-old son, friend and himself
Allentown car explosion: Jacob Schmoyer committed murder-suicide using homemade explosives, ATF says
Allentown Car Bomb: Mystery Surrounds Grisly Deaths of 2 Men and Child in Explosion
Allentown car explosion: Toddler’s mom searching for answers, too
Name: Ecie Gabrielsen.
Died: September 29, 2018.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Citrus Springs, Florida, USA.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Ecie loved kids and her family. She had five grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, and she would often go out to dinner with them and tell them stories of when she was a girl in Kentucky coal country.
Ecie’s grandson, who had moved in to help her out, gradually separated her from her family; then he neglected her until she died. He buried her in a shallow grave, told family he had put her in a nursing home, and tried to flee to Mexico. He and his girlfriend were arrested at the border.
Case status:
Arthur Miller (Grandson/Adoptive son), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, neglecting an elderly person, and abusing a corpse, sentenced to 13-15 years.
Vivian Gutierrez (Grandson’s girlfriend), convicted of elder neglect, sentenced to 3-5 years.
Sources:
Man pleads guilty, agrees to serve 15 years for neglecting, burying grandmother
Family remembers Ecie Gabrielsen as loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother
Florida man allegedly neglected grandmother to point of death, buried her, tried to flee country
Family of Citrus Springs woman neglected until death speak out
Man allegedly neglected grandmother to point of death, buried her, tried to flee country
Deputies: Man neglected grandmother until she died, tried to flee U.S.
Name: Logan Starling.
Died: September 28, 2018.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Heat stroke.
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Logan’s father remembers him as “my little Logo on the go go”, a hyperactive child who would hop around like a kangaroo. He liked watching the SunRail trains and pretending they were Thomas the Tank Engine. He went to school in a pre-K class.
Logan’s father’s fiance left him locked inside her van on a hot day in Florida, parked outside the school. He died of heat stroke and wasn’t found until 2:30 in the afternoon.
Logan’s great-aunt says that Logan was not the sort of quiet child who could be forgotten in a van by accident; if he wasn’t there, you would notice it.
Case status:
Mariah Butler (Father’s girlfriend), pleaded guilty to child neglect, sentenced to 5 years probation.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Logan Starling
Woman pleads guilty to child neglect in Logan Starling death – Orlando Sentinel
Happening today: Woman accused of leaving 4-year-old boy in hot car to die to be sentenced
Woman accused in death of 4-year-old boy released on bond
After boy’s hot-car death, 4-year-old Logan Starling’s family seeks answersl
Name: Stacy Hunsucker.
Died: September 23, 2018.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Tetrahydrozoline poisoning.
Location: Mount Holly, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Chronic heart condition; pacemaker.
Details:
Stacy had a heart condition that had required a pacemaker. She died and her husband tried to claim the insurance money, but Stacy’s mother was suspicious and requested an investigation into possible insurance fraud. Stacy had been cremated, but because she was an organ donor, a vial of her blood had been taken and stored. When analyzed, the blood was shown to contain a chemical found in eye crops, which can cause heart failure, and with which her paramedic husband had allegedly poisoned her.
Case status:
Joshua Hunsucker (Husband), charged with first-degree murder.
Source:
Who is Joshua Hunsucker? Man accused of poisoning wife with eye drops arrested for starting fire on helicopter | MEAWW
‘Cheating’ Paramedic ‘murdered wife with eye drops to claim huge life insurance payout’
View Stacy Hunsucker’s Obituary on gastongazette.com and share memories
Name: Evelyn Bailey.
Died: September 22, 2018.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Erwin, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.
Details:
Evelyn’s son-in-law shot her dead from behind; then he killed himself.
Before retiring, Evelyn worked as a shirt inspector in a garment factory. She liked flowers and sewing by hand. She had two children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Case status:
Grady Hughes (Son-in-law), deceased.
Sources:
Unicoi County murder-suicide involved family members
Unicoi man kills mother-in-law, self
Evelyn Bailey