Age Categories – Page 8 – Disability Day of Mourning

Vivian Kefauver

No Photo Name: Vivian Norwood Kefauver.
Died: November 17, 2023.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Broken neck.
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Details:
Vivian’s daughter is accused of strangling her with a gait belt (a mobility device used to help people stand or transfer from one place to another).

Case Status:
Suzette Annette Kefauver (Daughter), charged with murder.

Sources:
Woman charged with murder claims she was trying to lift 80-year-old mom from ground, records show
Woman charged with murder for allegedly using a gait belt to strangle her 80-year-old mother

Charrie Watkins

No Photo Name: Charrie Lea Watkins.
Died: November 8, 2023.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Charrie was strangled to death, allegedly by her longtime boyfriend.

Case Status:
Robert Edward Green II (Boyfriend), charged with second-degree murder and strangulation of a household member.

Sources:
Cheyenne man charged with killing girlfriend, who had Alzheimer’s
Cheyenne Man Accused of Strangling Woman to Death
Cheyenne Man Accused Of Killing Girlfriend Over $36,000

Logan Halstead

Name: Logan Halstead.
Died: October 29, 2023.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Medical neglect.
Location: Headland, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.

Details:
When Logan’s parents moved out, the new tenants who moved in were horrified to discover Logan’s body hidden in an old freezer in the backyard. Over a week earlier, Logan’s father had called police, allegedly confessing to putting the young man’s body there. The police simply looked in the freezer and did not find the body, but did arrest Logan’s father because he hadn’t shown up to court for a domestic violence charge. Only when the new tenants started emptying the freezer was Logan found. Initially arrested just for corpse abuse, Logan’s parents were eventually charged with manslaughter. Prosecutors say they “recklessly and consciously disregarded the treatment of Logan which resulted in his death.”

Case Status:
Michael Halstead (Father), charged with reckless manslaughter and corpse abuse; died before trial.
Karen Halstead (Mother), charged with reckless manslaughter and corpse abuse.

Sources:
Alabama Man, Awaiting Trial for Death of 19-Year-Old Special Needs Son, Found Dead at Home
Investigator believes couple concealed son’s death to continue receiving government benefits
New homeowners discover body of dead special needs teen in a freezer; parents now charged
Parents of disabled Alabama teen found in backyard freezer charged in his death
Couple charged after son’s decomposed body found in broken freezer

Ahmad and Ava Jackson

Name: Ahmad Jackson.
Name: Ava Jackson.

Died: October 20, 2023.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Sanford, Florida, USA.
Disability: Unspecified special needs.

Details:
When Ahmad and Ava’s mother jumped off a bridge and died, authorities checked on Ahmad and Ava and found the twins dead in their beds; they had been smothered.

Their loved ones remember Ava as “the talkative one”, and Ahmad as the “quiet observer”. The two were kindergarten students at a local school.

Case Status:
Catorreia Hutto (Mother), deceased. Deaths ruled homicide-suicide.

Photo of a young boy with black hair and dark-brown skin, wearing a black polo shirt and a backpack. Some spots of vitiligo are visible on his face, lightening skin under his mouth and one eye. — Ahmad Jackson

Photo of a small girl with her hair in braids and a bow atop her head, smiling for the camera and holding up a "V" sign. She is wearing a purple tank top and a lime-green bracelet. — Ava Jackson

Sources:
Special-needs twins, 5, found dead after Florida mom jumps to her death
5-year-old twins found dead in Sanford home after mother jumps to her death, deputies say
Florida mother and 5-year-old twins dead in apparent double murder-suicide, officials say
Twins Found Dead After Mother Died By Suicide Remembered as ‘the Sweetest Kids’
Officials release details on 5-year-old twins found dead after Sanford mom jumped from bridge

Brandon Storie

Name: Brandon Storie.
Died: October 18, 2023.
Age at death: 33.
Cause of death: Unspecified neglect.
Location: Cortland, New York, USA.
Disability: Muscular dystrophy, schizophrenia.

Details:
Brandon was found dead in his bedroom in a filthy house, and his death ruled a homicide following an autopsy. His father and brothers, who served as caregivers, were charged in the case. In court, Brandon’s caregivers said that he did not want them to keep him or his room clean, that his health had been declining over the course of the last two years, and that he had become unable to shower or keep himself clean and eventually unable to leave his bed. A social worker who offered to help was turned down, and the family refused to call emergency services until Brandon died.

Brandon loved working on computers and playing with RC cars.

Case Status:
David H. Storie (Father), charged with manslaughter and endangering the welfare of an incompetent/physically disabled person; pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Michael S. Storie (Brother), pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of an incompetent/physically disabled person, sentenced to 1 year probation.
and Nicholas A. Storie (Brother), pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of an incompetent/physically disabled person, sentenced to 1 year probation.

Sources:
County Court: Brothers receive probation in connection to death of family member
Father pleads guilty in case involving death of disabled son
Suspicious Death Ruled a Homicide in Cortland – Three Arrested and Charged
Obituary of Brandon Storie
Father, brothers accused of allowing disabled Cortland man to die through extreme neglect
Individual accused of manslaughter released
Central NY father charged with causing son’s death; 2 siblings also arrested

Ethan Ruiz

No Photo Name: Ethan Ortiz Ruiz.
Died: October 14, 2023.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Sanford, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Ethan went missing and was found later that day drowned in a pond; he was rushed to the hospital, but could not be resuscitated. At first this was thought to be an unforeseeable accident, since young children, especially those who are autistic, often love water and do not understand the danger of drowning. However, when police investigated, they found that Ethan’s parents had known that he was completely capable of leaving the house unsupervised. He had been lost three times before he died, and no precautions had been taken to prevent it from happening again. His parents were under the influence of marijuana when Ethan left the house for the final time.

Case Status:
Barbara Ruiz (Mother), charged with aggravated manslaughter.
Lester Ortiz (Father), charged with aggravated manslaughter.

Sources:
Autism Memorial: Ethan Ruiz
Toddler wanders from apartment and drowns in pond, Florida cops say. Parents charged
Police: Parents facing charges after 3-year-old found in Sanford pond dies
Florida Parents Arrested After 3-Year-Old Toddler with Autism Drowns in Pond
Autistic toddler drowns while weed-smoking parents were inside apartment

Amanpreet Alsubaihi

Name: Amanpreet “Abraham” Alsubaihi.
Died: October 13, 2023.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Reno, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Police were called to a hotel room, where they found Abraham unresponsive. Despite lifesaving efforts, he could not be revived; police suspect that his mother had strangled him.

Abraham liked visiting the park, where he could run around or play on the swings.

Case Status:
Ansonia Laws (Mother), charged with open murder.

Sources:
Mother in custody for allegedly killing her son, father gives his reaction
Juvenile dies of injuries at Reno motel; mother arrested
Child allegedly killed by mother in Reno was from Modesto area
Mother arrested after child found dead at Reno motel
Modesto father speaks after 9-year-old son dies in Reno hotel under mother’s care

Jean Salter

No Photo Name: Jean Ann Salter.
Died: October 8, 2023.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Mount Maunganui, North Island, New Zealand.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Jean’s dementia was progressing, and it had been suggested that Jean should be moved to a residential facility; her husband, upset that they might be separated, strangled her with a necktie. The killer claimed that there was a suicide pact, but there is no evidence of this save for his claim, and Jean, impaired by dementia, would not have been able to consent to an assisted suicide.

Case Status:
John Alfred Salter (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder.

Sources:
Wife’s last words as husband of 60 years strangled her with a tie
‘Smell of an oily rag’: Murder of wife with Alzheimer’s shows need for more dementia support

Thérèse Brassard-Lévesque

No Photo Name: Thérèse Brassard-Lévesque.
Died: September 30, 2023.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Thérèse and her partner were found unconscious in her room at her senior living home. Thérèse was declared dead at the scene, but her partner was taken to the hospital, where his condition improved. Police believe that Thérèse’s partner killed her and then tried to kill himself, but survived the attempt.

Case Status:
Gilles Brassard (Partner), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 10 1/2 years to life.

Sources:
Quebec man, 81, gets prison sentence after admitting to killing wife with Alzheimer’s disease
“I’m not an assassin” says Quebec man who killed his wife suffering from dementia
Police investigate homicide at Terrebonne, Que., seniors’ residence
Man, 81, charged in wife’s murder at Quebec seniors’ home
Woman, 79, killed at Quebec seniors residence; suspect, 81, under watch in hospital

Dana Morris

Name: Dana Morris.
Died: September 30, 2023.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Stabbed with screwdriver.
Location: Modesto, California, USA.
Disability: Double leg amputee.

Details:
Dana was stabbed to death with a screwdriver. Police detained her son, who was charged with the murder.

Dana was an artistic woman who created jewelry and beadwork. A creative and resourceful individual, she could often find ways to help others even when it seemed she didn’t have the means to do so.

Case Status:
Zachary Ray Morris (Son), charged with murder and abuse of a dependent adult.

Sources:
Dana Morris-Mears Obituary (1968 – 2023)
Man charged with stabbing his double-leg amputee mother to death with a screwdriver
Modesto man charged with inflicting torture while fatally stabbing his mother
Hearing for California man accused of killing mother delayed over competency questions