Type: Homicide – Page 22 – Disability Day of Mourning

Connie Hunt

No Photo Name: Connie Hunt.
Died: February 15, 2021.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Chocowinity, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia, physical disability.

Details:
Connie’s ex-son-in-law, who lived with her and her daughter, killed her with a shotgun.

Case Status:
James Carver (Ex son-in-law), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 25-31 years in prison.

Sources:
Chocowinity man admits to murder
Chocowinity man pleads, sentenced in murder case
Beaufort County man charged with murder in death of ex-mother-in-law
Beaufort County man sentenced to 25-31 years in prison for murder of ex-mother-in-law

Travis Scott

Photo of a curly-haired, chubby baby with tan skin. He is wearing a trach tube. Name: Travis Scott.
Died: February 13, 2021.
Age at death: 13 months.
Cause of death: Hypoxia.
Location: Augusta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Details:
Born prematurely, Travis stayed in the hospital for eight months before being discharged with a tracheotomy, ventilator, and feeding tube. The ventilator alarm was designed so that it could not be accidentally disabled, and Travis did not have the ability to disconnect the ventilator on his own. Still, his parents repeatedly reported that the ventilator had been disconnected and the alarm failed to sound, always when they were alone with Travis. One day, Travis was at home with his father when they reported him unresponsive. This time, the baby’s brain had been so badly damaged that he was declared brain dead and removed from life support. Upon investigation, Travis’s parents were charged with turning off the ventilator and killing their son.

Some time later, after Travis’s parents had been charged and bailed out, they were arrested again after Samson, Travis’s 6-month-old little brother, died a “suspicious death” and doctors at the hospital called the authorities.

Case Status:
Tyrone C. Scott (Father), charged with murder and cruelty to children.
Salena Scott (Mother), charged with murder and cruelty to children.
Murder charges dropped due to inability to prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Both now charged with cruelty to children in the second degree.

Source:
Days before 2nd child dies, parents’ earlier murder charges dropped
Augusta parents charged in infant’s 2021 homicide arrested in other baby’s Tuesday death
Augusta father charged with murder in disabled baby’s death granted bond
Augusta parents arrested, charged with murder in 1-year-old child’s death
Augusta parents charged with murder of 1-year-old, mother and neighbors say there’s more to the story
1-year-old’s death sends shockwave through Augusta neighborhood
Augusta mother and father arrested for murder after repeatedly turning off infant’s ventilator, police say
Details emerge in death of Augusta 1-year-old as bond is set for father

Nanako Tokutani

No Photo Name: Nanako Tokutani.
Died: February 13, 2021.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Kawakami, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Police found Nanako’s body floating in a lake, and her father, soaked with water, in his car in the parking lot. He allegedly kidnapped her from her special needs school, took her to the lake, and drowned her. He told police that his daughter’s disability was “a burden to [his] wife” and that he wanted to “escape this life”.

Case Status:
Kazuhiko Tokutani (Father), suspected of murder.

Source:
Nara: Man killed disabled 10-year-old daughter ‘to escape this life’
Man arrested in Nara Prefecture allegedly killed disabled daughter “to escape this life”

Ekanthachari

No Photo Name: Ekanthachari.
Died: February 1, 2021.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Assault.
Location: Shanivarsanthe, Karnataka, India.
Disability: A “behavioral disorder”.

Details:
Ekanthachari’s father reported his death as an accident, saying he had fallen from a tree. But a post-mortem examination found that he had died from assault.

Case Status:
Mahendra Kumar (Father), arrested for murder.

Source:
Karnataka man kills son with behavioural disorder

“Sonam”

No Photo Name: “Sonam.”
Died: January 17, 2021.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Disability: Mentally disabled.

Details:
“Sonam” (not her real name), a 22-year-old young woman, was found dead in a field, and her family claimed she had been raped. However, a postmortem discovered that she had not been raped, and police began investigating the family. According to police, Sonam’s family admitted that they wanted to “get rid of her” because she was mentally disabled, and they had heard that the families of rape victims were receiving large sums in compensation. After they lured her out to a nearby field, police say, her mother held her, her brother strangled her, and her father served as lookout.

Case status:
Her mother, arrested, legal action initiated.
Her father, arrested, legal action initiated.
Her brother, arrested, legal action initiated.

Source:
Body of young woman found in mustard field, investigation underway
Barabanki: Family wanted to get rid of mentally disabled girl, so killed her and created the story of rape and murder

Akram Choudhary

No Photo Name: Akram Choudhary.
Died: January 14, 2021.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Sangli, Maharashtra, India.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Akram’s mother-in-law allegedly asked her son and his friend to kill Akram because she was angry that her daughter had married a disabled man. Akram was stabbed to death.

Case Status:
Shabana Shaikh (Mother-in-law), arrested in connection with murder.
Aman Shaikh (Brother-in-law), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Ejaz Shaikh (Brother-in-law’s friend), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
Mumbai: Woman arrested for provoking son to kill disabled son-in-law

Michael Montgomery

Name: Michael Montgomery.
Died: January 13, 2021.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Wichita, Kansas, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Police found Michael’s cousin lying on the road in the middle of traffic; he confessed to them that he had killed his cousin. When they searched his house, they found Michael’s wrapped body in a crawl space. His cousin had stabbed him to death.

Michael’s caregiver says he was kind, caring, and often talked about how much he loved his family. “I know how he is, she says, “and how he would tell me, you gotta stay strong. Keep that smile on your face.”

Case status:
Jason Payne (Cousin), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 19.5 years in prison.

Source:
Kansas man sentenced for killing his disabled cousin
Wichita man admits murdering wheelchair-bound cousin found stuffed in crawl space
Affidvait: Man confesses to killing cousin, placing body in bag, inside crawlspace
Wichita cops found slain man’s body zipped in bag in basement crawl space: affidavit
Caretaker speaks out after former patient is murdered
Police identify man killed in disturbance at E. Wichita home
Wichita stabbing victim identified, cousin arrested

Joanne Wheeler

Photo of an older lady. Name: Joanne Marcella Wheeler.
Died: January 11, 2021.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Shooting.
Location: Medford, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Unspecified chronic illness; frail elder.

Details:
Joanne was shot to death.

Police say her husband told them that he had shot her because he believed that due to her health problems, she would be “better off dead than alive”.

Joanne enjoyed acrylic, oil, and watercolor painting. Her granchildren called her “Booma”.

Case status:
James Edward Wheeler (Husband), charged with second-degree murder; died before trial.

Source:
Obituary for Joanne M. Wheeler
Elderly Medford man accused of killing his wife dies before trial
88-year-old Southern Oregon man accused of killing wife
88-year-old Medford man arraigned on murder charge

Tiffany Lazon

Name: Tiffany Marie Lazon.
Died: December 27, 2020 (Missing).
Age at death: 37.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Albany, New York, USA.
Disability: PTSD, borderline personality; disabled veteran.

Details:
Tiffany’s body was never found, but her blood was found on a circular saw that her ex-husband, who was living with her, admitted to borrowing. He had a history of abusing Tiffany and then trying to get her not to testify against him about the abuse. In court, the jury convicted him of murder, agreeing with the prosecution’s argument that Tiffany’s ex-husband had killed Tiffany and disposed of her body with the help of the circular saw on which her DNA was found.

Case Status:
Craig Lazon (Ex-husband), convicted of murder.

Sources:
Man Living Off His Murdered Wife’s Disabled Veteran Benefits Will Be Sentenced Tomorrow Even Though Her Body Has Never Been Found
Missing Oregon Mom’s Blood Turned Up On A Circular Saw Used By Her Estranged Husband, Leading To Murder Charge, Police Say
Trial underway for Albany man accused of murdering ex-wife

Gopi

No Photo Name: Gopi.
Died: December, 22, 2020.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India.
Disability: Mobility impaired after accident.

Details:
Gopi had become disabled after an accident, and his father was frustrated that he had to care for him. Gopi’s father came home drunk one day, killed his son with a machete, dumped the body in an unused septic tank, and fled.

Case Status:
Thangavel (Father), convicted of murder and concealing/destroying evidence; sentenced to life.

Sources:
Man gets life imprisonment for killing son in Tiruchi
55-year-old man gets life for killing disabled son
Murder of differently-abled son: Father gets life sentence; Trichy Court Judgment