Borderline Case – Page 4 – Disability Day of Mourning

Inaya Ahmed

Name: Inaya Ahmed.
Died: April 20, 2016.
Age at death: 14 months.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Prematurity, feeding difficulties.

Details:
Inaya’s mother was accused of smothering her with a pillow.

Case status:
Sadia Ahmed (Mother), charged with murder; jury returned “not proven” verdict (insufficient evidence to convict; different from a “not guilty” verdict); acquitted.

Source:
Inaya Ahmed murder trial: Mother cleared of smothering toddler with pillow
Sadia Ahmed ‘murdered baby by placing a cushion over head’ | Daily Mail Online
Mother, 26, who suffered with post-natal depression ‘murdered toddler’
Toddler murder trial told of screams

Photo of Emily Perrin, a small blonde girl sitting on a bed. She is wearing a light blue dress and holding a doll wearing a matching blue dress. Name: Emily Rose Perrin.
Died: April 10, 2016.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Dupo, St. Louis, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Cystic fibrosis.

Details:
Emily was a pre-kindergarten student a day short of her fifth birthday when her mother smothered her.

She loved pretending to be a princess.

Case status:
Mary Lockett (Mother), charged with first degree murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Source:
Mother charged with murdering her cystic fibrosis-suffering daughter, 4, a day before her birthday
Mother charged in Dupo child’s death
Dupo mom accused of killing 4-year-old daughter found not guilty by reason of insanity
Ten reports of abuse weren’t enough to save ‘Princess’ Emily

Tamra Turpin

Photo of Tamra Turpin. She is a young woman with long brown hair and fair skin. She is wearing dark mascara and deep red lipstick. Name: Tamra Turpin.
Died: March 2, 2016.
Age at death: 36.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Disability: Unspecified; she “could not work because of a disability from a car accident in her teens”.

Details:
Tamra, a Missouri native, enjoyed traveling with her boyfriend; she was visiting Mexico when she died. At first her boyfriend said she had died of a seizure, then he claimed she had committed suicide. But medical examiners concluded that she had been strangled.

Case status:
John Loveless (Boyfriend), acquitted of criminal homicide. Civil lawsuit brought and settlement reached.

Source:
Settlement Reached In Civil Lawsuit — Mother Files Petition in Daughter’s Death
U.S. man held in girlfriend’s asphyxiation death at Mexico resort
Boyfriend arrested after Missouri woman found dead in Mexico
Did John Loveless lawyer kill disabled girlfriend Tamra Turpin?
John Loveless & Tamra Turpin: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
John Loveless arrested after disabled girlfriend Tamra Turpin is strangled to death

Lorrie Rolen

Name: Lorrie Ann Rolen.
Died: June 7, 2015.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Fittstown, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: COPD; wheelchair user.

Details:
Lorrie’s death was declared a homicide, and her husband was charged with first-degree murder. The jury acquitted him because they decided that it could not be proved that her head injury had not come from a fall.

Case status:
Frinchey Dwain Rolen (Husband), charged with first-degree murder; acquitted; died May 9, 2021.

Source:
Husband on trial for Fittstown woman’s murder
Fittstown man arrested in connection with wife’s 2015 death
Oklahoma man arrested for wife’s murder two years after her death
Pontotoc County man arrested for wife’s murder
Authorities investigating woman’s death at home near Fittstown
Obituary for Frinchey Dewayne Rolen | Amy Stittsworth Funeral Service and Cremation Directors

Gary Blanton III

Photo of Gary Blanton III. He has fair skin and light brown hair. He is smiling for the camera. Name: Gary Blanton III.
Died: April 18, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Fractured skull.
Location: Chattaroy, Washington, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability, possible autism.

Details:
Gary died from a fractured skull while in the custody of his aunt, who had custody of him after his parents died. Authorities discovered that his caseworker had been falsifying health-and-wellness visit reports.

Gary was a rambunctious child who ran up and down the hallways and even climbed into the washing machine.

Case status:
Cynthia Rose Khaleel (Aunt); charged with second-degree murder, acquitted.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Gary Blanton III
Jury acquits Chattaroy woman of killing 5-year-old nephew
Chattaroy woman arrested for five-year-old nephew’s death
Obituary
‘Everyone failed him’: Boy’s aunt accused of murder, DSHS accused of ‘critical errors’

Krystyna Waszynski

No Photo Name: Krystyna Waszynski.
Died: December 2013; body found May 14, 2014.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled, “mostly bedridden”.

Details:
Krystyna Wasynski was strangled to death by her son. He did not report the death for several months, afraid of being charged with murder.

Krystyna was the widow of Julian Waszynski, an Auschwitz survivor who died in 2005. She left behind three grandchildren.

Case status:
John Waszynski (Son), charged with murder; found not guilty by reason of insanity, committed to a mental institution.

Source:
Connecticut man not guilty of mother’s murder by reason of insanity
Court Document: Wethersfield Man Confessed To Killing 86-Year-Old Mom
John Waszynski charged with mother’s murder after her body is found in their home
Man charged with murdering mother, living with body
Waszynski, Julian

Arthur Pelham

Photo: An older man, balding, with brown hair, wearing a jacket and red shirt. Name: Arthur “Gary” Pelham.
Died: January 5, 2014.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Hypothermia.
Location: Jonesboro, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia.

Details:
Gary’s caregiver locked him outside the house during a January ice storm and would not let him back inside. In ten hours, he was dead.

Mr. Pelham was a military veteran.

Case status:
Dale El Smith (Paid caregiver), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.

Source:
Murder conviction stands for woman who left veteran outside to freeze
Ex-caregiver gets life for murder in freezing death of man
Murder conviction stands for woman who left veteran outside to freeze
Murder conviction upheld for woman who let veteran freeze to death

Steven Copo-Horton

Name: Steven Copo-Horton.
Died: October 28, 2013.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Emerton, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Angelman syndrome.

Details:
Steven drowned in the bathtub. Prosecutors say he could not have gotten into the bathtub on his own.

“All [Steven] wanted to do was kiss and cuddle everyone,” his mother remembers.

Case status:
Charbel Younes (Stepfather), charged with murder. After being released on bail, he broke his wife’s arm and shot at his other stepson. Court subsequently denied bail. Acquitted.

Source:
Stepdad acquitted of murder at retrial
Drowned teen couldn’t have got in bath
Charles Younes trial: Man denies murder of disabled stepson in bathtub
Tradie charged with drowning murder of his disabled teenager stepson
Stepfather charged over teen’s bathtub death
‘Concerning history of violence’: Couple split one week before teen found dead in bath
Man charged with murder over 2013 bathtub drowning of teen
Man who drowned disabled stepson ‘broke ex-wife’s arm and shot a gun’

Amelia Dew

No Photo Name: Amelia Dew.
Died: June 19, 2013.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Gosport, England, UK.
Disability: Myotonic dystrophy.

Details:
When Amelia was brought to the hospital with a massive head injury, her stepfather, who had been watching her, claimed she had hit her head on a chair she was strapped into during tube-fed meals. Amelia died four days later.

Initially, her stepfather was arrested, but not charged. Two years later, doctors who examined Amelia came forward, stating that her injuries were highly consistent with shaken baby syndrome.

Case status:
Robin Dowse (Stepfather), no charges.
Inquest underway.

Source:
The inquest into the death of two-year-old Amelia Dew has been halted due to police receiving new information
Inquest into Gosport toddler’s death due to restart after police probe ends
Police investigation into Gosport toddler’s death reopened

Heidi Good-Swiacki

Name: Heidi Good-Swiacki.
Died: March 25, 2013.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Asphyxiation.
Location: Solvang, California, USA.
Disability: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Details:
Heidi died when her ventilator failed. At the time, she was in the care of her mother and a hired caregiver. The caregiver left to go shopping, and in the meantime, the ventilator failed. Her mother and caregiver were charged with deliberately sedating her and disconnecting the ventilator, but the jury deadlocked on her mother’s trial, and the caregiver’s conviction was overturned.

Heidi wrote a blog using an eye-based input device. In the introduction to her blog, she said, “I will share my ALS story which will hopefully encourage others. It will show that quality of life comes in many forms… Since I have had ALS I have seen many miracles.”

She was a deeply spiritual woman with two children, and she started a company to set up accounting systems for new wineries. Although non-verbal and ventilator-dependent, Heidi saw her life as “filled with laughter, trust and love”.

Case status:
Marjorie Good (Mother); jury deadlocked on involuntary manslaughter charge; charges dropped.
Wanda Nelson (Caregiver), convicted of involuntary manslaughter; conviction overturned because conspiracy could not be proved.

Source:
Case dismissed for caretaker convicted of involuntary manslaughter of ALS patient Heidi Good
Solvang woman acquitted of murdering her daughter
Case dismissed for caretaker convicted of involuntary manslaughter of ALS patient Heidi Good
Tragic Tale of ALS Patient Heidi Good Swiacki’s Death Emerges in Criminal Grand Jury Transcripts
Good Times