Age Categories – Page 90 – Disability Day of Mourning

Edgar Carbajal

No Photo Name: Edgar Carbajal.
Died: June 20, 2017.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, sepsis due to untended pressure sores.
Location: Austin, Texas, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Edgar’s mother neglected him. He died of infected bedsores, sepsis, and pneumonia, weighing 50 pounds.

A visitor to his online obituary left the note, “You[r] laughter created the rainbow in our classroom.”

Case status:
Erica Yanet Flores (Mother), charged with charged with injury to a disabled individual by omission.

Source:
Austin mother charged in death of son with cerebral palsy due to ‘severe neglect’
Austin mom charged with neglect causing disabled son’s death
Mother charged in death of son with cerebral palsy due to ‘severe neglect’
Mother charged with neglect after disabled son dies from pneumonia at home
North Austin Woman Charged After Son With Cerebral Palsy Dies Of Apparent Neglect
JUST IN: Austin mother neglected son with cerebral palsy, leading to his death, police say
Police: Mother neglected son with cerebral palsy, leading to his death

Grant Heckman

Photo of Grant Heckman, a young man wearing a white sweater and smiling at the camera. He has fair skin and brown eyes and hair. Name: Grant Heckman.
Died: June 19, 2017.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Westphalia, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Grant was shot by his father in a murder-suicide.

Grant was named prom king at his special education graduation ceremony. He liked going on walks with his grandfather, and his favorite song was Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Case status:
George Heckman (Father), deceased.

Source:
‘Saw his son suffer too much, too long,’ friend says of principal in murder-suicide
Principal suspected of killing son, himself in murder-suicide
Police: Pewamo-Westphalia principal killed son, self
Death of elementary principal, son shock small Michigan town
“Losing touch with Reality”: The science behind murder-suicides
Principal suspected in murder-suicide acted ‘out of love,’ friend says
Principal kills himself and disabled son
Murder-suicide of principal, son “leaves a big hole in everyone’s heart”
Why? George Heckman Pewamo-Westphalia principal shoots disabled son dead then self – Scallywag and Vagabond
Police: Michigan elementary school principal killed severely handicapped son, self
Now what? A familiar fear when disabled children turn 26.

Johnnie and Shirley Ervin

No Photo Name: Johnnie Ervin.
Age at death: 67.
Disability: Mobility impairment (Used walker).

Name: Shirley Ervin.
Age at death: 69.
Disability: Dementia.

Died: June 18, 2017.
Cause of death: Stab wounds.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Details:
Shirley and Johnnie’s son is charged with stabbing them to death.

Case status:
Dexter Barnes (Son), charged with first-degree murder.

Source:
Son charged in stabbing deaths of elderly parents held without bail
Son Stabbed Parents in ‘Unimaginable’ Double Murder: Court
Austin man charged with stabbing his elderly parents to death

Colton Johnson

Name: Colton Johnson.
Died: June 17, 2017.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Cardiac arrest due to untreated infection.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Short bowel syndrome.

Details:
Colton’s mother took him to the emergency room because his feeding tube had come out; when doctors there examined him, they realized that the feeding tube was leaking, and Colton had a blood infection and was in critical condition. They immediately decided to admit him into the ICU.

But Colton’s mother, instead of allowing the doctors to treat her son, despite being warned that he could die, took him home from the hospital against medical advice. Early the next morning, Colton’s heart stopped and he could not be revived.

Case status:
Robyn Johnson (Mother), pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death, sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Source:
Mother Who Refused Medical Care for Son Sentenced in His Death
Woman charged with neglect in child’s death here

Henry Johnson Jr.

No Photo Name: Henry Lee Johnson Jr.
Died: June 13, 2017.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Pneumonia secondary to major brain damage.
Location: Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Henry lived with his girlfriend. His girlfriend’s brother hit her, and Henry tried to intervene. Her brother turned on him, beat him severely, and then wouldn’t let Henry’s girlfriend call paramedics for several hours. After being taken to the hospital, Henry lived for 11 days before dying of his injuries.

Case status:
Allen Clagget (Girlfriend’s brother), convicted of second-degree murder and domestic battery; sentenced to 15 to 60 years in prison.

Source:
Appeals court upholds Claggett conviction
Claggett guilty in 2017 murder, domestic battery
Bond set for man accused in beating death
Obituary for Henry Lee Johnson at Henson-Holcomb Mortuary

Lam Mei-kam

No Photo Name: Lam Mei-kam.
Died: June 6, 2017.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Hong Kong.
Disability: Stroke, wheelchair user, chronic illness.

Details:
Lam was strangled to death by her husband, who said that he had been worried no one would look after her if he died.

Case status:
Wong Kwok-man (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years, released on time served, reduced for good behavior.

Source:
‘A tragic case’: Judge frees elderly man who killed disabled wife due to fear no one would care for her if he died
Hong Kong man who ‘strangled disabled wife feared no one would take care of her if he fell sick’
Man ‘strangled his disabled wife to end her suffering’

Shakira Hicks

Photo of Shakira Hicks. She has dark-brown skin and bushy dark-brown hair. She is smiling at the camera, showing large front teeth. Name: Shakira Hicks.
Died: June 3, 2017.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
As she sat in her wheelchair, Shakira’s brother doused her with rubbing alcohol and set her on fire. She died of her injuries.

Case status:
Nasif Salaam Hibbler (Brother), convicted of first-degree intentional homicide; sentenced to 43 years to life.

Source:
State of Wisconsin v. Nasif Salaam Hibbler
Inmate charged with spitting on guard
Milwaukee man accused of setting sister with cerebral palsy on fire
Man charged for death of disabled sister after he confesses to setting her on fire
Man accused of setting wheelchair-bound sister on fire
“I set my sister on fire:” Man accused of killing woman with cerebral palsy spoke of “voices”
Man Allegedly Set Sister In Wheelchair On Fire
‘I just set my sister on fire:’ Jury convicts man in death of Shakira Hicks, who had cerebral palsy

Brianna Gussert

Name: Brianna Gussert.
Died: May 29, 2017.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Appleton, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.

Details:
Brianna was neglected by her mother, who declined help whenever she was offered it. She was kept in a filthy room, and her mother didn’t let her go to school, feed her, or change her diaper. She died from sepsis due to neglect, and her death wasn’t reported for five days. She weighed only 33 pounds, down from her normal weight of 50 pounds.

She was a sports fan who played baseball in a special-needs league. She enjoyed watching the Packers and the Badgers play football, and the Brewers play baseball.

Case status:
Nicole Gussert (Mother), convicted of child neglect resulting in death, sentenced to 17 years.

Source:
Wisconsin mom sentenced in disabled daughter’s neglect death
Mom left disabled daughter, 13, in a feces-filled diaper before sepsis death
Obituary for BRIANNA L. GUSSERT – Menasha, WI
Mother arrested in death of special needs daughter
An Appleton woman arrested for the death of her 13-year-old special needs daughter
Appleton Police arrest mom for death of special needs daughter
Appleton woman arrested in death of teenage daughter
Woman Faces Neglect Causing Death Charge
Wisconsin mother charged in horrific “slow death” of disabled daughter
Brianna Gussert: Heartbreak at every turn in Appleton girl’s death
No help came: Heartbreak at every turn in death of 13-year-old Brianna Gussert
Wisconsin mother charged in death of disabled daughter
Shocking case of alleged neglect: US mother charged over death of disabled daughter who ‘suffered immensely’
WATCH: Disabled girl in soiled diaper died ‘slow death’ due to neglect
Disabled teenage daughter found in soiled nappy dies in house smelling of ‘rotten food, human waste and death’
A Wisconsin Woman Allegedly Allowed Her Disabled Daughter To Die Slowly In Horrific Conditions
Girl in Appleton neglect case absent from school 162 days in final year before she died
Investigators: Appleton home smelled of “death”
Appleton mother charged in death of disabled daughter
Girl died of sepsis after mother left her sitting in excrement-filled diaper
Disabled teen neglected by mother and left to die
Teen Girl with Disabilities Suffered a ‘Slow Death’ from Her Mother’s Neglect, Authorities Allege
‘Smell In The Air Of Rotten Food, Human Waste And Death’ — Wisconsin Mom Accused Of Starving And Neglecting Daughter
Court records show 13-year-old Brianna Gussert’s decline over nearly 6 months
Wisconsin teen with disabilities suffered ‘slow death’ due to mother’s neglect, authorities say
As Jessica’s dad, I’m shocked by horrific death of girl with disabilities, but not surprised

Lorraine Smith

Photo of Lorraine Smith. She is a woman with light skin and straight brown hair cut to chin-length with bangs. She is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a blue silk turtleneck blouse and some blue beads. Name: Lorraine Gladys Smith, née Shiel.
Died: May 17, 2017.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Jefferson Township, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: “Serious medical issues”.

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

She was a mother of one who enjoyed sewing and collecting Kewpie dolls.

Case status:
Edward Smith (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Washington County couple dies in murder-suicide
Two identified in apparent murder-suicide in Eldersville
Man, woman found dead in apparent murder-suicide
Police Investigating Apparent Murder-Suicide In Washington Co.
Lorraine Smith Obituary

Lovedeep Singh

No Photo Name: Lovedeep Singh.
Died: May 17, 2017.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Fateh-Ullah-Shahwala, Dharamkot, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Disability: Mobility impaired; bedbound.

Details:
Lovedeep and his three-year-old sister Jasmine were killed by their father, who hacked them to death with an axe. Police said that he was frustrated because two of his sons were physically disabled. He initially tried to blame the crime on their mother and her brother, but then when the truth came out he ran from police.

Case status:
Sher Singh (Father), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
Moga children double murder: Twist in the tale, police book father
Spate of crimes in Moga, 5 murders, three rapes in 10 days
Moga siblings’ murder: Day after, father booked for murder
Moga | Mother Kills Her Daughter And Stepson With An Axe