Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Death due to the actions of another human being.
Name: Mitsuo Oshima.
Died: March 7, 2020.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Saitama, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; required caregiver.
Details:
Mitsuo’s wife was arrested on suspicion of killing him. Reportedly, she was tired of being his caregiver.
Case status:
Hitomi Oshima (Wife), arrested.
Source:
71-year-old woman arrested over murder of ailing husband
Name: Marvat Gerges.
Died: February 22, 2020.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Merrick, New York, USA.
Disability: Rheumatoid arthritis.
Details:
Marvat and her husband got into an argument over sink repairs, which her husband escalated by strangling her to death.
Case status:
John Gerges (Husband), pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter; sentenced to 21 years and five years post-release supervision.
Source:
Merrick man sentenced to 21 years for wife’s strangulation
Police: Man arrested for allegedly strangling his wife to death in their Merrick home
Merrick man charged in wife’s killing pleads not guilty
Name: Chhaba Kuri.
Died: February 18, 2020.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Disability: Partial paralysis.
Details:
Chhaba was allegedly stabbed to death by her husband. He told police that he had a dream that no one would take care of her after his death.
Case status:
Gopal Kuri (Husband), arrested.
Source:
Elderly man kills paralysed wife in Dhaka
Elderly woman killed by husband
Elderly woman hacked to death in Dhaka
Name: Cherith Van Der Ploeg.
Died: February 15, 2020.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Costessey, Norwich, England, UK.
Disability: Terminal lung cancer.
Details:
Cherith was dying of cancer when her ex-husband smothered her to death. His actions, Cherith’s daughter told the court, had robbed her of precious time with her mother; instead of grieving normally after her mother’s natural death on hospice care, she had to come to terms with her mother’s death while giving evidence to police about her murder.
Cherith was an introverted, family-oriented woman who always waved and greeted her neighbors when she saw them.
Case status:
Cornelius Van Der Ploeg (Ex-husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to six years to life.
Source:
It was not his decision to make – children devastated by murder of mum
Tributes paid to Cherith Van Der Ploeg who was found dead at Costessey home
Jailed: Telford father killed terminally ill ex-wife
Name: Tracy Hamby.
Died: February 13, 2020.
Age at death: 37.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Tavares, Florida, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; receiving disability payments.
Details:
Tracy’s boyfriend, a military police officer, fatally shot her. He claimed that he had shot her because she startled him, but the prosecution pointed out that he and Tracy had been arguing that day because Tracy’s boyfriend had been taking her disability payments. The gun, which her boyfriend said had gone off accidentally, had a trigger that was very hard to pull. The jury agreed and convicted Tracy’s boyfriend.
Case Status:
Renee Aviles (Boyfriend), convicted of domestic manslaughter with a firearm, sentenced to 20 years.
Sources:
Lake County man found guilty of killing girlfriend in 2020
Name: Ma’Leyah Ayesha Hardin.
Died: February 10, 2020.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Marietta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; used breathing tube.
Details:
Ma’Leyah’s mother strangled her.
Case status:
Shekinah Akbar (Mother), pleaded guilty but mentally ill to felony murder and cruelty to children in first degree; sentenced to life.
Source:
Mother sentenced to life after killing daughter during exorcism attempt, prosecutors say
Mother charged with strangling disabled daughter, 5, to death
Ma’Leyah Ayesha Hardin
Churchgoing ‘pretty good’ mom accused of strangling 5-year-old daughter
Mother charged with strangling disabled daughter, 5, to death
Name: Makeisha Maynard.
Died: February 9, 2020.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Trauma.
Location: Caroni, Trinidad and Tobago.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Makeisha’s father beat her to death with a cutlass because she wet the bed. He hung himself the next day.
Makeisha knew her numbers, colors, and shapes, but had trouble writing.
Case status:
Michael Maynard (Father), deceased.
Source:
Girl, 8, beaten to death after wetting bed, father takes own life
Girl, 8, beaten to death with cutlass
Trinidad: Father beats 8yro daughter to death with cutlass
Autism Memorial: Makeisha Maynard
Name: Masatoshi Chiba.
Died: February 2, 2020.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified chronic disease.
Details:
Masatoshi was allegedly strangled by his wife, who said she was “worn out from looking after him”.
Case status:
Mitsuko Chiba (Wife), arrested and confessed to murder.
Source:
69-year-old woman arrested over death of ailing husband
Name: James Tate.
Died: January 19, 2020.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: West Town, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; used a walker after recent arm and heart surgery.
Details:
James and his wife had told their son that he wasn’t allowed in the house if he was drunk. But his son came home drunk anyway, and when they confronted him about it, his son stabbed him to death and tried to kill his wife, who survived.
Case status:
Michael Tate (Son), convicted of murder and attempted murder; sentenced to 32-35 years.
Source:
Man murdered disabled dad, tried to stab mom in in West Town, prosecutors say
Name: Dustin Baggett.
Died: January 18, 2020.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Smoke inhalation and burns.
Location: Florissant, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Dustin was pulled out of his burning house by firefighters, but died a day later in the hospital. The fire was investigated and shown to be arson, and police suspected a man who lived in his house.
Dustin’s neighbors had long been worried about how he and the other children in his house were being treated. They called authorities repeatedly. Dustin, though nonverbal, was a friendly boy and constantly smiling. A neighbor remembers, “We all kind of took him in, knowing he needed our love.”
Case status:
Bobby Copass (Household member), charged with second-degree murder and first-degree arson.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Dustin Baggett
Man suspected of setting fatal fire in Florissant now charged with murder
15-year-old Missouri boy who lived with autism died after arson fire; upgraded charges expected
Police: Boy, 15, with autism killed in arson fire