Borderline Case – Page 5 – Disability Day of Mourning

Vickie Balogh

Name: Vickie Balogh.
Died: October 23, 2016.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Trenton, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Spinocerebellar ataxia.

Details:
Vickie died of pneumonia while in the care of her sons. She was malnourished, filthy, emaciated and with severe bedsores.

Vickie was a widow whose husband had died of lung cancer three years before. She had worked for a telephone company before her disability progressed and forced her to retire.

Case status:
Gabriel V. Balogh (Son) and Grant C. Balogh (Son); both charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, and abuse of a vulnerable adult; acquitted due to insufficient evidence that her death was from neglect rather than from pneumonia secondary to her disability. Charges reinstated in 2020.

Source:
Brothers face charges again in mother’s death
Brothers cleared after winning court decision in mom’s death
Brothers charged with murder after their mother died weighing just 79lbs
Trenton men who cared for mother with rare disease – now charged with her murder
Brothers charged with murder after mom starves to death
Brothers accused of letting mother starve to death, ignoring dead body for hours
Michigan Brothers Allegedly Abandoned Bedridden Mother Who Died of Malnutrition

Stella Hamilton

No Photo Name: Stella Hamilton.
Died: July 31, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Undetermined.
Location: Malanda, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Dementia, terminally ill.

Details:
Stella’s family talked to staff at her nursing home, asking whether she could be euthanized, and were told that this was illegal. They also requested that 24 hours’ worth of morphine be left in her room, and were refused. One of her children said another had told them that if they covered her face, she would “go quicker”. Shortly after the family’s request for euthanasia, Stella was found dead with a blanket over her face. She could not have pulled the blanket up herself, but other residents theoretically had access to her room. Her family was seen celebrating that she had died, though this could have been relief that she was no longer in pain.

Case status:
Inquest determined that, despite the troubling factors in Stella’s death, her cause of death could not be determined because she was already terminally ill.

Source:
Inquest into the death of Stella Hamilton
Mystery surrounds aged care resident found dead with blanket over head
Daughter asked doctor to euthanase terminally ill mother, inquest hears

Lydia Whitford

Photo of Lydia Whitford. She is a young woman with fair skin and dark brown hair; she is wearing a turquoise jacket and pink baseball cap. Her mouth is open and her face relaxed in a neutral expression. Name: Lydia Whitford.
Died: July 14, 2016.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Possible homicide; possible natural death after abuse.
Location: Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada.
Disability: Autism, epilepsy.

Details:
Lydia’s death was originally ruled natural, but her mother and sister saw bruises on her body and pushed for an investigation. More than a year later later, Lydia’s foster mother was charged with manslaughter. Exactly how Lydia died has not been released.

Her sister told reporters that “I want people to remember her as the kind and loving person she was.”

Case status:
Lisa Marie Campbell (Foster mother), charged with manslaughter, charges stayed.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Lydia Whitford
Vigil marks birthday of woman with autism who died in CFS care
Family wants answers in homicide of teen living in licensed foster home
Family of woman with autism found dead in foster home seeks answers
Family plans birthday vigil for Manitoba teen with autism killed in foster care
Family seeks answers after teen’s death in foster care deemed a homicide
Homicide victim’s family asks how woman with autism died in CFS care
Killing of teen with autism in foster care to be investigated by Manitoba’s children’s advocate
Foster mother charged in death of autistic woman, 18
Woman charged with manslaughter in death of disabled woman
Winnipeg woman charged in death of teen with autism
Foster mom charged in 2016 homicide of teen with autism, family says
Winnipeg woman arrested following homicide in July 2016: RCMP
Family of teen with autism looking for closure after Crown stays manslaughter charge against foster mother

Leslie Denn

Name: Leslie John Denn.
Died: May 9, 2016.
Age at death: Adult.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Borrowdale, Zimbabwe.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
Leslie was shot in the back of the head. His fiance claimed he had been suicidal, and he had indeed been under treatment for depression, but police ruled it a murder. Leslie’s fiance was charged with murder, having been with him when he died, having burned the mattress on which he was lying, and having reported his death as a suicide; however, she was acquitted at trial due to an inability of the prosecution to bring sufficient evidence to convict her.

Leslie was a businessman who had been the board chairman of CMED and managing director of Nemchen.

Case status:
Pilary Ashton (Fiance), acquitted of murder. The judge’s statement in the case berated the police, prosecution, and forensics department for failure to follow protocol, including failure to analyze crucial gunshot residue samples, which may have led to a “serious miscarriage of justice”.

Source:
CMED Boss Found Dead, Girlfriend Accused Of Murdering Him Set Free As Judge Yet Again Blasts The Police And NPA For A Shoddy Job
‘CMED boss murdered’
Zimbabwe: Fiancee in the Line of Fire… Inquest Into Cmed Boss’ Death Opens
Zimbabwe: CMED Chairman Commits Suicide
Zimbabwe: CMED Boss Was ‘Suffering From Depression’
Leslie John Denn CMED boss shot dead not suicide
Shock twist to death of CMED Official who allegedly committed suicide
CMED boss commits suicide

Melissa Couture

Photo of Melissa Couture, a young woman with fair skin and brown hair. She is wearing glasses and a striped sweater. She is smiling broadly and looking down at some candles. Name: Melissa Couture.
Died: April 26, 2016.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Choking, starvation, pressure sores.
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
For four years before her death, Melissa’s mother did not provide medical care for her, even though she was having trouble swallowing and rapidly losing weight. Melissa died from choking, starvation, dehydration, and severe pressure sores, weighing only fifty pounds.

Case status:
Patricia Couture (Mother), charged with criminal negligence resulting in death, ruled not criminally responsible.

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

Emily Perrin

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. Denied release after 8 years in a forensic mental hospital, to be re-considered yearly.

Source:
Judge rules on release of Dupo woman who killed 4-year-old daughter
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

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’