Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Age 19-29
Name: Jared Greenwood.
Died: September 30, 2007 (Body found).
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Bloomfield, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Autism, intellectual disability.
Details:
Jared’s mother neglected him; he died of blood poisoning from infected bedsores.
Case status:
Sandra Greenwood (Mother), convicted of neglect, sentenced to two and a half years in jail.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Jared Greenwood
Updated at 7:40am — Mother Gets 2 1/2 Years for Leaving Son To Die
Name: Kate Bugmy.
Died: June 28, 2007.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Sepsis, malnutition.
Location: Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, intellectual disability.
Details:
Kate’s father had been her primary caregiver. When he died suddenly, her mother and sister took over. They stopped bringing Kate to her day program, and her relatives noticed that she seemed sad. She died of malnutrition and systemic blood poisoning from infected bedsores.
Case status:
Daphne Hall (mother) and Jenna Bugmy (sister) were not charged.
Source:
FINDING AFTER AN INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF KATE THERESE BUGMY
NSW bed sore death could have been prevented: Coroner
System failed disabled woman who died at 26
Inquiry into services provided or funded by the department of Ageing, disability and home care
Name: Samantha Collins.
Died: March 22, 2007.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Epilepsy.
Details:
Samantha’s boyfriend hit her in the head and killed her; then he dismembered and hid her body.
She was the mother of a toddler son.
Case status:
Ian Charles Borbely (Boyfriend), convicted of second-degree murder and indignity to a body; sentenced to 17 years to life.
Source:
MANDEL: Muskoka murderer who cut up spouse’s body loses appeal
Borbely found guilty in Samantha Collins murder
Argument before eviction led to murder: Crown
Name: Casey Axsom.
Died: May 26, 2006.
Age at death: 25.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy, cerebral palsy, possible multiple sclerosis.
Details:
Casey’s mother starved her to death. Casey died at age 25, weighing 50 pounds, covered in severe and untreated bedsores.
Case status:
Dorothy Axsom (Mother), pleaded guilty to neglect, sentenced to two years, three months in prison.
Source:
Bloomington woman charged with murder in disabled child’s 2006 death
Police: Mother Starved Disabled Daughter To Death
Bloomington Woman Pleads Guilty Of Starving Her Daughter To Death
Name: Christopher Aire DeGroot.
Died: May 19, 2006.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Albany, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Christopher’s parents locked him in his room and bolted it with a deadbolt. Then they set a fire in their home and left Christopher to burn to death.
Case status:
Nicolaas DeGroot (Father), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide, sentenced to 6 months in jail.
Agnes DeGroot (Mother), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide, sentenced to 6 months in jail.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Christopher DeGroot
Autistic Teen Struggled To Get Out Of Blazing Apartment
Couple Charged with Setting Fire to Kill Autistic Teen Son
Couple sentenced in fire death of autistic son
Name: Mary Mount.
Died: October 19, 2005 (Body found; died around January 4, 2004).
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Cape Coral, Florida, USA.
Disability: Russell Silver Syndrome.
Details:
Mary left home to stay in a hotel room with her boyfriend. Sometime during that time, she disappeared. Her boyfriend was questioned; initially, he said that she had taken her car and left, then that she had died of natural causes and he had buried her body. Years later, new evidence led to murder charges, and he admitted to smothering Mary to death.
Case Status:
Terry Daniel McDonald (Boyfriend), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 25 years.
Sources:
Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for 2004 killing of Lee County woman
Terry McDonald charged with murder of Mary Mount, State Attorney’s Office says
Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for 2004 killing of Lee County woman
El Paso Police Department Voluntary Statement
Family says suspect has gotten away with murder for 14 years
Name: Sarah Naylor.
Died: September 29, 2005.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Springdale, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Sarah’s mother shot her dead and then committed suicide.
Case status:
Jane Naylor (Mother), deceased.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Sarah Naylor
Mother kills autistic daughter, then herself
Name: Tiffany Pinckney.
Died: April 2, 2005.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism, developmental delay.
Details:
Tiffany was locked in a basement by her sister and her sister’s husband, where she starved to death.
Teachers remember Tiffany as a girl who loved music and “was lots of fun”.
Case status:
Allison Cox (sister), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 9 years.
Orlando Klass (sister’s husband), pled guilty to criminal negligence, sentenced to 2 years house arrest.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Tiffany Pinckney
Trial ordered in autistic woman’s death
The life and death of Tiffany Pinckney
Autistic woman was starved to death, crown asserts
Nine years for woman’s death
Name: Scott Olsen.
Died: December 7, 2003.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Blind and quadriplegic after brain injury.
Details:
Scott’s sister deliberately starved him to death.
Case status:
Kimberly Loebig (Sister); pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter; sentenced to 60 days, freed on time served.
Source:
Sis Charged In Brother Starve Case
GUILTY – PA – Scott Olsen, 29, quadriplegic, starved to death, Glenshaw, 7 Dec 2003
Name: Angelica Auriemma.
Died: December 5, 2003.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Soon after Angelica was diagnosed with autism, her mother tried to electrocute her; when that didn’t work, she drowned her in the bathtub.
Case status:
Ioanna Auriemma (Mother); convicted of manslaughter; sentenced to up to 5 years and served three years in prison.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Angelica Auriemma
Autistic Brooklyn Woman Is Drowned at Home
McGuire, A. (2016). War on autism: On the Cultural Logic of normative violence. University of Michigan Press.