Age Categories – Page 78 – Disability Day of Mourning

Daniel Stuart

Name: Daniel Stuart.
Died: February 16, 2018.
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Keego Harbor, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
Daniel Stuart and his two children, 27-year-old Steven and 24-year-old Bethany, were shot by his wife in a murder-suicide.

Daniel worked with computers, processing data for a research center that focused on improving critical care. His son shared his father’s skill with computers, and his daughter was employed in art and graphic design. Years previously, the family had been expelled from their church after an argument over whether they should send their children to college.

Case status:
Lauren Stuart (Wife), deceased.

Source:
Mich. Model Fatally Shoots Her Husband and Adult Children Before Turning the Gun on Herself
Woman kills family after shunned by Jehovah’s Witnesses: friend
UMich employee was killed in Keego Harbor triple murder-suicide
Mich. Model Fatally Shoots Her Husband and Adult Children Before Turning the Gun on Herself
Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses break silence on shunning: ‘My mother treats me like I’m dead’
Did shunning from Jehovah’s Witnesses drive mom to murder-suicide?

Jada Wright

Name: Jada Wright.
Died: February 15, 2018.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
After Jada’s parents died, she stayed with an aunt until her aunt’s medical problems kept her from caring for Jada. After that, she moved in with her legal guardian, and her legal guardian’s son became her caregiver.

Jada was beaten to death by her caregiver. She died days after her 14th birthday.

Case status:
Christopher Ward (Caregiver; son of her legal guardian), pleaded guilty to child neglect resulting in death, sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Source:
‘She could light up a room:’ Girl, 14, found beaten to death on Milwaukee’s north side
‘Why?’ Aunt of girl with cerebral palsy, beaten to death days after her birthday, is heartbroken
Caretaker charged in death of disabled girl in Milwaukee | Reading Eagle – AP
Caretaker charged in blunt force trauma death of 14-year-old Milwaukee girl with cerebral palsy
Christopher Ward charged in death of 14-year-old girl; ‘admitted to becoming frustrated,’ striking her
Man charged in beating death of 14-year-old girl
Man charged in death of Milwaukee girl with cerebral palsy gets 9 years in prison

Akira Uwashitomi

No Photo Name: Akira Uwashitomi.
Died: February 14, 2018.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Kameoka City, Kyoto, Japan.
Disability: Chronic illness.

Details:
Mr. Uwashitomi was brought to the hospital, bleeding internally, and died from shock. Police began questioning his son who, they say, admitted to stomping on his father.

Case status:
Kei Uwashitomi (Son), charged with manslaughter.

Source:
Kyoto: Man, 31, accused of stomping nearly bedridden father to death
31-year-old man arrested for killing bedridden father

Lerae Bush

Name: Lerae Britain Moeller Bush.
Died: February 10, 2018.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Bloomington, California, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Lerae died in a fire while living with a man who had been caring for her and telling others that he was her son. He started out doing housework for her, then moved on to managing her finances. Allegedly, he eventually kept her locked in a one-room garage without utilities. He tried, but failed, to inherit her estate. Police say Lerae’s caregiver started the fire in which she died.

Lerae was “aristocratic and eccentric”, a retired educator who loved the arts.

Case status:
Noel Montes Cazares, a.k.a. Giovanni Bush, charged with arson, murder, neglect of a dependent and obstruction of justice. Charges dismissed because a key piece of evidence was ruled inadmissible, but may be re-filed.
Misty Allen, charged with assisting a criminal and obstruction of justice; charges dismissed.

Source:
More than 3 years later, charges against man in art patron’s death dismissed. Why?
Man accused of arson, murder out of jail on house arrest
Bloomington police arrest girlfriend of man accused of burning down woman’s home in plot to inherit estate
Bloomington man arrested in California charged with arson, murder
Man charged with murder, arson, neglect in Handy Road fire
Man arrested in California on murder charges in Handy Road fire
Suspect in Monroe County arson, murder claimed to be victim’s son
Police: Man charged with murder used fake name to pose as woman’s son, lit her home on fire

Zoe Whitford

Name: Zoe Whitford.
Died: February 10, 2018.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Dublin, Ireland.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
When Zoe attended a Montessori school, the principal noticed that her behavior was different and told her mother that she ought to have an assessment. At the assessment, she was given a diagnosis of borderline-to-mild autism, but her mother was convinced that she had severe autism with pathological demand avoidance. She thought Zoe would never get the right services and it would ruin her other child’s life.

Her mother suffocated her with a Minnie Mouse pillow; she died three days later in the hospital.

Case status:
Her mother, charged with murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity, committed to mental hospital.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Zoe Whitford
Irish mum charged with murder of her three-year-old daughter
Mother who smothered autistic daughter committed to Central Mental Hospital after bed made available
Woman who smothered her daughter was suffering from severe depression with psychotic features, court hears
Woman found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity
Mother smothered girl (3) after autism diagnosis, court told
Mother smothered toddler daughter with Minnie Mouse pillow as she called out for her father, court told
Mother accused of child’s murder was ‘overwhelmed’
Mother who admits suffocating her three-year-old daughter was ‘obsessed’ over autism, court hears
Mother not guilty of murder by reason of insanity
Mother who admits suffocating girl (3) ‘obsessed’ over autism, court told
Mother accused of child’s murder ‘obsessed’ over autism

Andrea Bartlett

Name: Andrea Bartlett.
Died: February 9, 2018.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Grand Island, Nebraska, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, developmental disability.

Details:
Andrea was living with her parents when her day-care provider reported that she was malnourished and dehydrated. It was the latest of multiple reports made about Andrea. Adult protective services finally checked on her and took her to a hospital, but she she died nine days later.

She liked music, crinkling paper, and watching the fish in a fish tank.

Case status:
Kathy Bartlett (Mother); no charges filed.

Source:
Nebraska public guardian office points to 58-pound woman’s death in report showing flaws in system
Death of 58-pound disabled woman draws concern from state’s Office of Public Guardian
Andrea Bartlett, 38

Akie Imai

No Photo Name: Akie Imai.
Died: February 7, 2018.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan.
Disability: Stroke, causing hemiparesis and speech impediment.

Details:
Police found Akie dead in her apartment. They also found a letter addressed to police from Akie’s husband, which said that he had killed his wife.

Case status:
Tokuji Imai (Husband), sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

Source:
85-year-old man who strangled sick wife to ‘put her out of her misery’ gets 2 1/2 years in prison
Tochigi: Man, 85, admits to strangling bedridden wife to death
85-year-old husband says he strangled sick wife to ‘put her out of her misery’

Levi Illingayuk

Photo of Levi Illingayuk, an Inuit man with his head propped on his hand, speaking to someone off-camera. Name: Levi Illingayuk.
Died: February 3, 2018.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada.
Disability: COPD.

Details:
Levi’s son smashed in his father’s ribs during a drunken fight. Levi was taken to the hospital but died soon afterward because he could not get enough oxygen.

Levi was Inuit and testified for the Qikiqtani Truth Commission about an incident that happened when he was a child. When he was about 12, some of his family died when their camp fell through the ice into the water. While he and others evacuated from the camp were gone, authorities shot their dogs and bulldozed the camp before the survivors had time to go back and collect their belongings.

Case status:
Christopher Jaypoody (Son), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 4 years in prison minus credit for time served; will serve 698 days in jail.

Source:
Nunavut man jailed for vodka-fuelled attack that hastened father’s death
Levi Illingayuk

Tial Melvin

No Photo Name: Tial La’Chella Melvin.
Died: February 3, 2018.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Starvation, hypothermia.
Location: Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, physically and mentally disabled.

Details:
Tial died from starvation and hypothermia, weighing fifty pounds despite being 5’1″ tall. Her sister had also been neglected.

Case status:
Bertha Brewington Melvin (Adoptive mother), charged with first-degree murder and two counts of domestic abuse, neglect, and exploitation of disabled or elderly adults; died before trial.

Source:
Fayetteville woman charged with murdering disabled daughter
Fayetteville mom charged with starving disabled daughter to death :
Fayetteville mom charged with murder, neglect of disabled daughter
Fayetteville woman starved her mentally disabled daughter to death, police say
N. Carolina mom charged in daughter’s malnourishment death
Mom charged with starving disabled daughter to death
Fayetteville mom charged with starving daughter to death
Disabled Fayetteville woman died weighing 50 lbs, autopsy says
Mom starves mentally disabled 55-pound adult daughter to death: Police
Fayetteville woman dies after being charged with killing disabled daughter

Barbara Wilmes

Name: Barbara J. Wilmes.
Died: February 3, 2018.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: South Bend, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

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

Barbara was a paralegal, a private pilot, a skilled gardener, and a mother and grandmother.

Case status:
Phillip Wilmes (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Find a Grave: Barbara J Korpal Wilmes
Husband-wife deaths on Myrtle Road ruled murder-suicide
Support available for those suffering with Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Neighbors say senior couple found dead suffered from dementia
Friends and family remember elderly couple found dead in St. Joseph County