Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Age 19-29
Name: Susan Shea.
Died: October 26, 1991.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lincoln Park, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Susan and her mother, Eileen Shea, were allegedly shot by Susan’s father.
Case status:
Michael Edward Shea (Father); charged with first-degree murder.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Susan Shea
Man Held in Killings in His Home
Name: Julie Kirisits.
Died: October 21, 1990.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Homicidal violence.
Location: Tonawanda, New York, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Julie was beaten, strangled, and stabbed to death by her mother.
Case status:
Patricia Kirisits (Mother); pleaded not responsible due to insanity. Four years later she was “legally discharged from supervision”.
Source:
Court Discharges Mother in Child’s Killing
MOTHER FACING MURDER CHARGE WAIVES HEARING
Name: Lorraine Miranda.
Died: December 5, 1988.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Homicidal violence.
Location: Graniteville, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Lorraine was strangled and stabbed to death by her fiance. He tried to make it look like a burglary, but was caught and arrested.
She worked as a therapist who worked with children who, like her, had cerebral palsy.
Case status:
Chris Patterson (Fiance); convicted of murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.
Source:
S.I. man who killed, mutilated disabled fiancee in 1988 denied parole again
Staten Island man, who brutally murdered fiancee 25 years ago, denied parole for sixth time
Name: Cory Watts.
Died: July 10, 1985.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Head injury from motorcycle accident.
Details:
After Cory’s mother lost a $10-million lawsuit against the company that made the helmet Cory had been wearing during his motorcycle accident, she went home, shot Cory to death, and killed herself.
Case status:
Cordelia Watts (Mother), deceased.
Source:
Lawsuit Lost, Mother Kills Son
Name: Brittini Ward.
Died: May 5, 2010.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Paranoid schizophrenia.
Details:
Brittini’s cousin showed up unannounced at their home, convinced her parents that Brittini was “possessed”, and moved in, saying he would take care of the problem. Only weeks later, Brittini’s family returned home to find her unresponsive. Her cousin had raped her and strangled her.
For a few hours, Brittini’s cousin insisted that she was bloody and unresponsive because she was possessed and needed the demons removed. So the family, under orders from Brittini’s cousin, washed her body and prayed. Nothing happened.
Eventually, Brittini’s mother called her church elders, explaining that her daughter was possessed and they needed help. When one of them came to visit the home, he saw the situation and made Brittini’s mother call 911. Emergency responders arrived to find Brittini had been dead for several hours.
Case Status:
Derek Ward (Cousin) was found unfit to stand trial and hospitalized to restore competency. Competency restored over ten years later, he was convicted of rape and murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Dawn Wheeler (Mother) pleaded guilty to concealing a death.
Sources:
After he killed his cousin, he moved into her bedroom, Charlotte murder witnesses testify
Mother of slain Charlotte woman takes the stand, directly faces accused killer at trial
Charlotte man found guilty of raping, killing his own cousin in 2010