Borderline Case – Disability Day of Mourning

Connie Smith

No Photo Name: Connie Smith.
Died: August 13, 2023.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Frail elder.

Details:
Connie was fatally shot in her own home. Police say her son, who lived with her, confessed to killing her.

Case Status:
Shane Smith (Son), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Update: Oklahoma City man charged with first-degree murder in mother’s shooting death
Man arrested after shooting, killing elderly mother in NW OKC, police say
OKC man booked for murder of elder mother
Man Arrested, Accused Of Shooting Mother To Death In NW Oklahoma City

Josiah Green

No Photo Name: Josiah Green.
Died: December 4, 2022.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
When Josiah’s father called for an ambulance, medics found the teenager dead, with severe burns over 90% of his body. His father allegedly told authorities that Josiah had accidentally fallen into a bathtub full of scalding water two days before, and he had treated the boy with over-the-counter remedies instead of taking him to the hospital. Police say that the extent of the teen’s burns is not consistent with the brief exposure to hot tap water that his father reported.

Case Status:
Josiah’s death has been ruled a homicide. Police are still investigating the possibility that Josiah was accidentally burned, after which medical care was delayed for two days.

Sources:
Death of special needs Brooklyn teen found burned in apartment deemed a homicide, NYPD says
Special needs teen Josiah Green found burned to death in NYC home
Teenager with special needs found burned to death in bathtub
Brooklyn special needs teen’s death from scalding water burns a homicide, NYPD says

Dominic Paddock-Wood

Name: Dominic Landon Paddock-Wood.
Died: July 15, 2022.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Cocaine and Fentanyl poisoning.
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
Dominic was found unresponsive in his mother’s house, in a dangerously filthy environment. He was declared dead, and an autopsy revealed he had died from poisoning with cocaine and Fentanyl. His mother and her boyfriend were arrested and charged with child neglect.

Case Status:
Noel Wood (Mother), charged with neglect of a dependent causing death.
Jonathan Mulvihill (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with neglect of a dependent causing death.

Sources:
Police arrest couple in connection to death of 4-year-old
Police searching for couple wanted in child neglect death
Couple arrested in connection to death of four-year-old
Fort Wayne couple arrested on neglect charges after death of 4-year-old child
Dominic Paddock-Wood Obituary – Fort Wayne, IN

Ben Thompson

Name: Ben Edward Thompson.
Died: November 3, 2019.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: House fire.
Location: Watertown, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user.

Details:
Ben died in a house fire, unable to escape the house because of his mobility impairment. Authorities suspect his nephew of setting the fire.

Case status:
Christophe Sean Tillison (Nephew), charged with reckless homicide.

Source:
Tennessee man charged in 72-year-old uncle’s fire death
TBI: Nephew charged in fatal fire that killed wheelchair-bound uncle in Wilson County

Heidi Winchester

Name: Heidi Anne “Annie” Winchester.
Died: January 30, 2019.
Age at death: 50.
Cause of death: Sharp-force trauma.
Location: Lake Oswego, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Terminal cancer.

Details:
Annie’s husband killed her with a box cutter.

During her fight with rectal cancer, Annie formed a group called Annie’s Cancer Club, where she and other people with cancer could support each other.

Case status:
Michael Winchester (Husband), found guilty of manslaughter except for insanity.

Source:
Lake Oswego husband who killed ill wife spared prison
Criminal trial postponed for Lake Oswego murder suspect
Police: Lake Oswego man admits to killing wife, who had terminal cancer
Lake Oswego Police Say How They Think Heidi Winchester Was Killed
Husband confesses to killing wife in Lake Oswego
Friends say woman killed in Lake Oswego was battling cancer; husband charged with murder

Elvis Dry

Name: Elvis Dry.
Died: January 20, 2019.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Burns, trauma.
Location: Tahlequah, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Diabetes; Amputee; wheelchair user.

Details:
Elvis was a sports fan who was a barefoot kicker for the Kansas High School football team in the 70s. He grew up to become a truck and bus driver who liked to travel. His neighbors remember him as a gentleman with a sense of humor, who “always had a comeback”.

Elvis’s burned body and wheelchair were found when neighbors asked police for a welfare check. He had been stabbed, then set on fire while he was still alive.

Case status:
Denise Lynn Grass (Paid live-in caregiver), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 23 years.

Source:
Several old cases slated for district court in 2023
Alleged murderers seeking relief after McGirt ruling
Accused killer of wheelchair-bound man to be in court
Hearing in Dry murder case postponed
Cherokee County deputies seek suspect in killing of amputee
No arrests made in murder of Tahlequah man, leaving neighbors on edge
Arrest made in murder of Cherokee County veteran, amputee
Disabled Oklahoma Veteran Allegedly Killed by Live-In Caretaker
Live-in caretaker accused of burning, killing veteran amputee in Cherokee County
Friends, Family Say Goodbye To Cherokee County Murder Victim
Family, friends say goodbye to Cherokee County man murdered, set on fire
Woman who burned man alive charged with murder
Woman accused of burning man alive charged with murder

Gabrielle Michaelis

Name: Gabrielle Michaelis-Cifoni.
Died: October 31, 2018.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Stomach cancer.
Location: Sarasota, Florida, USA.
Disability: Stomach cancer.

Details:
When she became disabled, Gabrielle’s daughter allegedly kept Gabrielle sedated with high doses of sedatives and painkillers, which were found in dangerous levels in a blood sample drawn from her body after death.

Gabrielle was an altruistic woman, mother of two children and grandmother to seven. She was a well-loved professor of mathematics, repeatedly named Professor of the Year. She was a devout Catholic with a good sense of humor.

Case status:
Josephine Scheid (Daughter), charged with murder; pleaded guilty to stealing a valuable family Bible and sentenced to a year’s probation. Murder charges dropped; sufficient evidence could not be gathered because the body was immediately cremated without autopsy.

Source:
Woman gets probation after charges she killed her Cape mom are dropped
Murder charges dropped against Florida woman accused of killing her mother in 2018 in Dennis Township
Investigation Reveals Daughter Murdered Her Own Disabled Mother For $9000 Using Painkillers And Sedatives For Financial Gain
A year later, investigators charge daughter with using drug cocktail to kill her mother
A Sarasota Woman Arrested For Killing Her Disabled Mother By Using Combination Of Painkillers And Sedatives
Florida woman accused of using sedatives to kill disabled mother
Gabrielle Michaelis-Cifoni Obituary

Florence Girard

Name: Florence Girard. Photo of an older woman with short gray hair, wearing a blue sweater and smiling for the camera.
Died: October 13, 2018.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
In the care of a woman who neglected her, Florence grew steadily thinner until she finally starved to death, weighing only 56 pounds.

Florence was silly, boy-crazy, and liked having her picture taken. She competed in the 1993 Special Olympics. She was one of 14 siblings.

Case status:
Astrid Charlotte Dahl (Paid caregiver with Kinsight), convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life, sentenced to 100 hours of community service and 12 months of probation.

Source:
Caregiver convicted in starving death of woman with Down syndrome avoids jail
Trial underway for B.C. caregiver charged with criminal negligence in woman’s death
Charge stayed against Coquitlam non-profit in starving death of disabled woman
UPDATE: Coquitlam non-profit, caregiver charged in starvation death of disabled woman
Charges laid after woman with disability found dead in B.C. caregiver’s home
Criminal neglect alleged after B.C. woman with developmental disability dies in care
Three charges, including criminal negligence causing death, laid in 2018 alleged starvation of Florence Girard
‘Unforgiveable’: Caregiver charged with criminal negligence, accused of starving woman to death
B.C. caregiver charged with criminal negligence has history of financial troubles

Carolyn Campbell

Name: Carolyn “JC” Campbell.
Died: July 11, 2018.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Hypoxic brain injury.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: COPD.

Details:
Emergency services received a call from Carolyn’s house, but the caller hung up, so police was dispatched to check on her. The police say that when they arrived, they found Carolyn unresponsive and saw her husband quickly switching her oxygen machine on; when they asked why it had been turned off, her husband told them that he had turned it off. Her brain irreversibly damaged from oxygen deprivation, Carolyn died in the hospital.

Case Status:
Josiph Cardle (Common-law husband), charged with murder; acquitted because it could not be proven that turning Carolyn’s oxygen off was the cause of her death.

Source:
Toronto man not guilty of murder in sudden death of chronically ill partner
Carolyn “JC” CAMPBELL: obituary and death notice on InMemoriam
Murder trial begins for Toronto man accused of killing his wife by turning off oxygen machine

Abraham Cardenas

Photo of Abraham Cardenas, a little boy with olive skin and dark hair, smiling for the camera. He is wearing a red striped shirt and red pants, and is sitting on a scooter board. Name: Abraham E. “Abe” Cardenas.
Died: April 5, 2018.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Sweden, New York, USA.
Disability: Learning disability.

Details:
Abraham was stabbed and decapitated by his mother.

He was a first-grader whose teachers remember his enthusiasm for school. He especially loved drawing.

Case status:
Hanane Mouhib (Mother), charged with murder, found not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect; in state custody.

Source:
Friends and loved ones of murdered Sweden boy speaking up
Hanane Mouhib indicted in brutal killing of 7-year-old son in Brockport
Sweden mom charged in brutal slaying of her 7-year-old son
N.Y. mom arrested for decapitating 7-year-old son with knife
Abraham E. “Abe” Cardenas (2011-2018)