Type: Fatal Abuse – Page 18 – Disability Day of Mourning

Hayden Dukes

Name: Hayden Dukes.
Died: January 8, 2015.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Underwood, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Autism, DiGeorge syndrome.

Details:
Hayden’s father was watching TV, and Hayden was getting in the way. Instead of paying attention to his son, Hayden’s father beat him to death.

Case status:
Christopher Bruck (Father); charged with aggravated battery and neglect of a dependent, sentenced to 40 years in prison and 2.5 years parole.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Hayden Dukes
Family: Child beaten by father dies
Southern Indiana man convicted in 4-year-old son’s death given 40 year prison sentence

No Photo Name: William Collins.
Died: December 27, 2014.
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Head trauma, broken neck.
Location: Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; Elderly; wheelchair user.

Details:
William was beaten to death by his caregiver, with whom he was living. He died of head injuries and a broken neck. Mr. Collins was the third elderly tenant to die while living with them; apparently, the couple used the vulnerability of the elderly disabled to steal their tenants’ assets under the guise of caring for them.

Case status:
Judith Marc (Caregiver), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 15-40 years.

Source:
Coolbaugh Twp. caregiver faces murder charge
Caretaker pleads guilty to murder in death of 92-year-old
Caregiver sentenced to 15 to 40 years in elderly man’s death

Rosemary Vincent

Photo of Rosemary Vincent. She is a middle-aged woman with a round face, pale skin, and short curly red hair. She is wearing big white feathered earrings. Name: Rosemary Vincent.
Died: December 24, 2014.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: McConnelsville, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.

Details:
Rosemary’s cousin, instead of caring for her or taking her to the doctor, stole her disability payments and neglected her. He would often tie her to a chair and put her in the closet. Weakened from lack of care, Rosemary was admitted to the hospital emaciated, with broken ribs and untended bedsores. She died of pneumonia.

Case status:
Jerry Campbell II (Cousin), pleaded guilty to theft from an elderly or disabled person, robbery, illegal use of food stamps, kidnapping, domestic violence, intimidation of a witness, and illegal manufacture of drugs; sentenced to 8 years.
Shannon Campbell (Cousin’s wife), pleaded guilty to neglect.
Linda Campbell (Jerry’s wife), charged with obstruction of justice/failure to report a crime, ruled incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
One pleads guilty in disabled person abuse case
Mother, son both remain in custody
Trial delayed in case involving Nelsonville woman’s death
Man accused of neglect in death of woman gets 8 years

“Sheila”

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: December 2014.
Age at death: Child.
Cause of death: Chest trauma.
Location: Nguthuru, Murang’a, Kenya.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
This young girl, given the pseudonym “Sheila”, was allegedly abused by her mother. Neighbors testifed that at one point Sheila’s mother had put her on the road, hoping a car would run her over; but the car stopped, and Sheila survived. She was eventually found dead at home, after having spent the whole day alone with her mother. Many of her bones were broken, and she had died from chest trauma.

Case status:
Her mother was charged with murder, but acquitted because the evidence was “circumstantial”. Kenya’s double jeopardy law prohibits a new trial.

Source:
Mother acquitted of murder of handicapped daughter

Brielle Gage

Photo of Brielle Gage, a toddler girl with very light, straight hair, wearing a pink t-shirt and holding a colorful toy. There is a small bruise on her chin. Name: Brielle Eternity Gage.
Died: November 25, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Blunt force injury.
Location: Nashua, New Hampshire, USA.
Disability: Torticollis (weak neck muscles); periventricular leukomalacia; perceived as intellectually disabled by her mother.

Details:
Brielle died of head trauma with more than 50 separate injuries on her body. She had been beaten to death by her mother who, on at least one occasion, complained to the police about her daughter’s “special needs”.

Only months before, Brielle’s mother and her boyfriend had been arrested for child abuse, but Brielle stayed in her mother’s custody anyway.

Case status:
Katlyn Marin (Mother), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 45 years to life.

Source:
NH Mother Sentenced To 45 Years For Killing 3-Year-Old Daughter
3-year-old Brielle Gage sustained 50 injuries prior to death
Marin told police she wanted to hold her baby after learning of daughter’s death
Legal team casts doubt on key witness in Brielle Gage murder case
Nashua mom claims falls killed tot
3-Year-Old Murdered After State Returns Her To Abusive Home
Murdered child, Brielle Gage, may have been victim of battered child syndrome
Brielle Gage Memorial Foundation
This Woman Is Charged With Second-Degree Murder For Beating Her Three-Year-Old Daughter To Death. She Was Arrested Just Six Months Earlier For Abusing Two Of Her Other Children.
Justice for Brielle Eternity

Maria Fuentes

No Photo
Name: Maria Fuentes.
Died: November 14, 2014.
Age at death: Adult.
Cause of death: Internal injuries.
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Disability: “Physically and mentally disabled”.

Details:
Maria was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries, including broken bones and bruises in multiple stages of healing. Her sole caregiver was arrested on suspicion of having beaten her to death.

Case status:
Patrici Devonne Reader (Caregiver), convicted of murder, sentenced to 45 years.

Source:
Autopsy reveals disabled patient suffered ‘painful’ death at hands of caregiver
Patrici Devonne Reader | Christina Melton Crain Unit Prison | Texas Inmates & Offenders

Noama Ware

Blurry photo of a white-haired old lady with pale, wrinkled skin, her mouth open as though she is about to speak. Name: Noama Ware.
Died: October 2014.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Undetermined, in the setting of abuse and neglect.
Location: Shelley, Idaho, USA.
Disability: Frail elder, likely dementia/hoarding.

Details:
Noama’s husband and son both abused her. After an argument about her keeping her many cats in her bedroom, her son kicked her, injuring her severely; and then as she lay in bed, her grandson kicked her. They found her dead shortly thereafter.

Afraid that they would get in trouble because Noama was malnourished and abused, they buried her body in their duck pen, and her death went unnoticed for five years until her daughter died in a car accident and the police tried to find her to break the news.

Case status:
Harley Howell (Grandson), pleaded guilty to failure to report a death, sentenced to 3-10 years in prison.
Douglas Howell (Son), pleaded guilty to abuse and neglect of an elder, sentenced to 4 days in jail, $387.50 in fees, and 50 hours community service.

Source:
Local man sentenced to four days in jail for abuse and neglect of 78 year-old woman
Man admits to killing his grandmother and burying her in the backyard nearly 5 years ago
Shelley man sentenced after hiding grandmother’s death
Teen ‘killed bedridden grandma after row about her keeping 30 cats in her room’
Man admits to killing his grandmother and burying her in the backyard nearly 5 years ago

Raashanai Coley

Photo of a girl with light-brown skin, brown curly hair, and a wide smile; she is wearing a black hat with a floppy brim. Name: Raashanai Coley.
Died: September 6, 2014.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Internal injuries.
Location: Waukegan, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Speech delay, possibly autism.

Details:
Raashanai was beaten and starved by her mother; she died of injuries from a beating, left untreated for three days.

Case status:
Nicholette Lawrence (Mother), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 43 years in prison.

Source:
Judge to Waukegan woman who killed daughter: ‘How can humans do this?’
Prosecutors ask for life sentence in Waukegan girl’s beating death
System failed to avert battered child’s slaying
Find A Grave: Raashanai J. Coley (2003 – 2014)
Homeschooling’s Invisible Children: Raashanai Coley
Raashanai Coley in Oregon speech therapy
Autism Memorial: Raashanai Coley
How Murder Victims With Disabilities Get Blamed For Their Own Deaths

4-year-old boy

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: August 25, 2014 (Body found).
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Hypothermia.
Location: Arkhangelsk, Russia.
Disability: Paraplegia.

Details:
This four-year-old boy died when his drunken parents allegedly stuffed him into the freezer and left him there.

Case status:
Karp and Uliana Ulyanov (Parents), charged with murder.

Source:
Murder Charges for Couple who ‘Forgot they Put Disabled 4-Year-old Son in Fridge’

Shirley Beck

Photo of Shirley Beck. She is a woman with long blonde hair and pale skin; she is wearing a colorful sweater. Name: Shirley Beck.
Died: June 26, 2014.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Clarksville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Unspecified mental disability (received disability payments); abuse survivor.

Details:
Shirley lived in a non-traditional relationship, as a “house slave” to her BDSM mistress and their housemates. Her mistress helped her manage her finances, which she could not do on her own, but Shirley was the one who did the chores.

Typically, such relationships involve a lot of trust on both sides; crucially, the “slave” role is voluntary, and any injury is superficial. However, Shirley’s mistress betrayed her trust. Instead of pretending to hold Shirley captive, she actually imprisoned Shirley; rather than staging a “safe, sane, consensual” BDSM scene, she and her housemates inflicted a severe, hours-long beating with a metal rod. Shirley died of her injuries.

Shirley loved feeding birds.

Case status:
Cynthia Dianne Skipper (Partner), negligent homicide and kidnapping, 25 years.
Derek M. Vicchitto (Housemate), facilitation of second-degree murder and kidnapping, 25 years.
Matthew Lee Reynolds (Housemate), first-degree murder and kidnapping, 59 years to life.
Alphonso Richardson (Housemate), first-degree murder and kidnapping, life plus 25 years.

Source:
Jury to get ‘house slave’ slaying case Thursday
Defense: Slain ‘house slave’ wanted beatings
Four on trial in ‘house slave’ slaying
From wife and mother to ‘slave’ to murder victim
The Last Four Hours of Shirley Beck’s Life – Kate Kinsey (NSFW)
3 sentenced in BDSM slaying