Type: Homicide – Page 25 – Disability Day of Mourning

Nancy Arnold

No Photo Name: Nancy Arnold.
Died: September 5, 2020.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Police say that Nancy’s brother fatally shot her, then tried to kill himself. Her brother recovered from his injuries and was arrested, but Nancy died at the scene.

Case status:
William Lokay (Brother), charged with first-degree murder; died in 2022.

Source:
PD: 73-year-old Valley man accused of shooting, killing sister
Obituary: William A. Lokey

Fat-lun Wong

No Photo Name: Fat-lun Wong.
Died: September 5, 2020.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Hong Kong, China.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Investigators believe that Fat-lun’s mother strangled him with a plastic tablecloth.

Fat-lun was a student at Tsui Tsin Tong School, a residential care home for children with intellectual disabilities. At age 21, he had just grown too old to stay there.

Case status:
Xueping Chen (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter; sentenced to 1 year, to be served in a psychiatric hospital to treat her depression.

Source:
Hong Kong mother sent to psychiatric ward for killing mentally disabled son
Hong Kong police arrest mother after son dies in suspected murder-suicide bid
Mom held at hospital over death of handicapped son
Mother charged over handicapped son’s death

Yoko Shinya

No Photo Name: Yoko Shinya.
Died: September 4, 2020.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Saitama, Japan.
Disability: A chronic diease.

Details:
Ms. Shinya’s son allegedly strangled her as she lay in her hospital bed. Hospital staff reported that they saw him trying to kill her and intervened, but she had been badly hurt and died hours later. Police say her son told them he “couldn’t bear watching” and wanted to “make her comfortable”.

Case status:
Akira Shinya (Son), arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Source:
Man arrested over murder of ailing mother in hospital
Saitama: Man, 50, strangles ill mother in hospital

Donna Harber

Name: Donna Joann Harber.
Died: September 1, 2020.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Bell, California, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Donna was found shot to death; her husband was charged with her murder.

Case status:
Danny Harber (Husband), charged with murder.

Source:
Ex-Bell City Council member arrested for wife’s killing
Former Bell city councilman arrested in shooting death of his 81-year-old wife
Former Bell City Councilman Danny Harber Arrested In Wife’s Murder

Abhijit Rajak

No Photo Name: Abhijit Rajak.
Died: September 1, 2020.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Abhijeet’s uncle and sister-in-law allegedly murdered him by beating him to death with a shovel. Police say they tried to make it look like someone had robbed the family and killed Abhijeet by throwing two of the family’s bicycles into a pond; but some days later, a neighbor hooked a bicycle on their fishhook and revealed the fraud.

Case status:
Chandan Rajak (Uncle), charged with murder, voluntarily causing hurt for robbery, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Priyanka Rajak (Sister-in-law), charged with murder, voluntarily causing hurt for robbery, and conspiracy to commit a crime.

Source:
Murder arrests from within family
Kin held for murder of 30-year-old in Kolkata’s Topsia

Leslie Hartman

Name: Leslie Lynn Hartman.
Died: August 26, 2020.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Denton, Texas, USA.
Disability: Paralysis, wheelchair user.

Details:
Leslie’s boyfriend, a sheriff’s deputy, shot her, then claimed she had shot herself. Instant messages show that they were arguing about him shooting a milk bottle in the backyard. Later messages include a picture of him holding a pistol and a message that refers to him shooting her. He also wiped his phone before police could take it into evidence.

Leslie made stained glass and jewelry and was excited about getting a new puppy. She was a nature-lover who cared about the environment, and in her last text she wrote about how gorgeous the rain was.

Case status:
Jay Allen Rotter (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Ex-Sheriff’s Deputy Convicted of Fatally Shooting Wheelchair-Bound Girlfriend, after He Claimed It Was Suicide
Former Deputy Claimed Death of Girlfriend Who Used Wheelchair Was Suicide. Now He’s Convicted of Murder
Tx. Cop Claimed His Girlfriend Killed Herself, But Police Say He Killed Her, Bragged About It Online
Tarrant County deputy hid texts prior to arrest in his girlfriend’s murder, police say
Texas sheriff’s deputy accused of murdering girlfriend
Deputy who said girlfriend shot herself charged with her murder
Texas deputy fatally shot girlfriend, then claimed it was suicide, cops say
Texas sheriff’s deputy accused of murdering wheelchair-bound girlfriend, claiming it was suicide

Dylan Freeman

Name: Dylan Freeman.
Died: August 16, 2020.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Acton, west London, England, UK.
Disability: Cohen syndrome, autism.

Details:
Dylan’s mother admitted to drugging him, then suffocating him.

Dylan’s father says, “Dylan was a beautiful, bright, inquisitive and artistic child who loved to travel, visit art galleries and swim.” He often took his son on vacation overseas.

Case status:
Olga Freeman (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility; detained indefinitely at a psychiatric hospital.

Source:
UK woman who killed disabled son detained in hospital indefinitely
Mum who suffocated disabled son during lockdown given hospital order
Wife of celeb photographer who suffocated disabled son, 10, given hospital order
Mother is given indefinite hospital order after she suffocated son
Mum who suffocated disabled son, 10, in lockdown given indefinite hospital order
Lockdown Contributed to Death of Disabled Boy: UK Judge
Mother admits killing disabled son, 10, while struggling to care for him in lockdown
Celebrity photographer’s autistic son was ‘suffocated with a sponge’
Celebrity photographer’s autistic son, 10, suffocated with sponge as mother ‘struggled’ to take care of him
Celeb photographer’s ex gave autistic son, 10, sleeping drug before ‘putting sponge in his mouth and tying it’
Woman in her 40s is arrested for murder after boy, 10, was found dead at house in west London
Celebrity photographer’s ex-wife charged with murder of 10yo son in London
Mother charged with murdering her autistic son, 10, is pictured arriving at court
Celeb snapper ‘can’t comprehend’ loss of son, 10, as mum charged with murder
Mum charged with murdering son, 10, she shared with celebrity photographer

Thaddeus Sran

Name: Thaddeus Sran.
Died: July 23, 2020.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Fresno, California, USA.
Disability: Due to prematurity (Nonspeaking; feeding tube).

Details:
Police grew suspicious when Thaddeus’s parents reported him missing, but almost immediately stopped cooperating with the missing-child investigation. A few days later, Thaddeus’s burned body was found and they were arrested. Further investigation revealed that Thaddeus’s mother had also killed his sister, Davina, five years earlier.

Case status:
Briseida Sran (Mother), pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of child abuse, and one count of mutilation; sentenced to 29 years.
Sukhjinder Sran (Father), pleaded guilty to murder; sentenced to 11 years.

Source:
California Mom Admits to Brutally Killing Her Two Young Children Five Years Apart
Prosecutors could pull from the past in Thaddeus Sran murder case
Parents of Special Needs Toddler Who Vanished in California Arrested for Murder
Charred Remains of Missing California Toddler Found, Parents Arrested for Murder
What Happened To Thaddeus Sran?

Sarah Curran

Name: Sarah Curran.
Died: July 23, 2020.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Choked, drowned, stabbed, and bludgeoned.
Location: Winchester, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Asperger syndrome.

Details:
Sarah’s ex-boyfriend killed her by choking, drowning, stabbing, and bludgeoning. They had recently broken up.

At ten years old, Sarah gave out Pop-Tarts to people waiting at a local bus stop. As a teen, she was a Special Olympics swimmer, bowler, and roller-skater and rode on a float in the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. She volunteered at a local food and clothing pantry. She loved animals, so she volunteered at the animal shelter. As an adult, she used to spend her Social Security check on buying people steak dinners at a restaurant.

When she moved out, her family worried that she would be taken advantage of because of her kind and trusting nature. Sarah was living in a homeless encampment when she died. She had strong political opinions, backing the Affordable Care Act on social media.

Case status:
Larry Lee Mullenax III (Ex-boyfriend), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 40 years.
Clara Ann Perdue, convicted of concealment of a body, sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.

Source:
Woman gets 5 years for body concealment
Man gets 40 years for killing ex-girlfriend
Sentencing delayed for convicted killer
Autism Memorial: Sarah Curran
Man facing up to 50 years for homeless woman’s murder
BREAKING NEWS: Man enters plea deal in homeless encampment murder
Judge orders second evaluation of body concealment suspect’s mental status
Man indicted for first-degree murder in woman’s death
Woman slain in Frederick Couty; ex-boyfriend charged
Missing Winchester woman found dead, suspect charged in her murder
Homicide victim identified as missing Winchester woman
Homicide victim fondly remembered
Homicide suspect planned killing for weeks, court documents indicate

Ryu Sakayama

No Photo
Name: Ryu Sakayama.
Died: July 17, 2020.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Kyoto, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified mental disability.

Details:
Ryu’s mother strangled him as he slept. She told police she was tired of caring for him.

Case status:
Ayano Sakayama (Mother), convicted and sentenced to 2 years, suspended for 3 years.

Source:
Woman gets suspended sentence for killing mentally disabled son
Mom arrested for allegedly choking disabled son to death in west Japan
Woman arrested over death of mentally disabled son