Type: Homicide – Page 34 – Disability Day of Mourning

Valerie Valdez

No Photo
Name: Valerie Valdez.
Died: June 3, 2019.
Age at death: 25.
Cause of death: Dehydration, cough medicine and acetaminophen overdose.
Location: Rockdale, Texas, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Valerie’s mother is charged with killing her with an overdose of medication. Police believe she had been deliberately keeping her daughter sedated.

Case status:
Frances Valdez (Mother), charged with murder.

Source:
Rockdale mother charged in disabled daughter’s death
Rockdale woman arrested in connection to her daughters death
Valerie Valdez June 23 1993 June 3 2019, death notice, USA

Eiichiro Kumazawa

Name: Eiichiro Kumazawa.
Died: June 1, 2019.
Age at death: 44.
Cause of death: Stab wounds.
Location: Tokyo, Japan.
Disability: Developmental disability, hikikomori.

Details:
Eiichiro’s father stabbed him to death. He claimed self-defense, but Eiichiro had 36 stab wounds, while his father was barely scratched.

Case status:
Hideaki Kumazawa (Father), convicted of murder, sentenced to 6 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Eiichiro Kumazawa
6-yr prison term upheld for ex-top bureaucrat over murder of son
Ex-elite bureaucrat accused of murdering son pleads not guilty
Ex-top bureaucrat appeals sentence for killing son
Ex-Bureaucrat Given 6-Year Prison Term over Murder of Son
Ex-top bureaucrat sentenced to six years in jail for murdering son
Japanese man is jailed for killing violent, reclusive son with kitchen knife
8 Years Sought for Ex-Bureaucrat over Murder of His Son
Tokyo prosecutors demand eight-year prison term for ex-farm bureaucrat Hideaki Kumazawa
8-year jail term sought for ex-top bureaucrat for murdering son
元次官長男殺害「引きこもりは恥」と考える親の問題点

Zayden JayNesahkluah

Name: Zayden JayNesahkluah.
Died: May 31, 2019.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Methadone poisoning.
Location: Wichita, Kansas, USA.
Disability: Possible developmental disability.

Details:
Zayden was described as “a difficult child,” with a possible developmental disability. In the months before his death, his mother looked for someone else to take care of him. His father and grandmother were both willing to, but his mother never dropped him off. His mother gave him enough methadone to kill an adult, and Zayden died. She tried to argue that it had been accidental, but authorities found methadone in his juice cups, and the jury concluded that his death had been murder.

Zayden’s grandmother remembers him as “unique” and “fun”.

Case Status:
Kimberly Compass (Mother), convicted of first-degree murder.

Source:
2-Year-Old Overdoses After Consuming Enough Methadone To Kill Adult As Mother Charged With Murder
Jury convicts Wichita mom of murder in son’s methadone ingestion death
Kansas mother convicted of murder after toddler’s methadone overdose
Mother convicted after toddler consumes enough methadone to kill adult
Wichita woman convicted in 2-year-old son’s methadone death

Sachio Uzue

No Photo Name: Sachio Uzue.
Died: May 30, 2019.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Dementia, physical disability that made it difficult to walk.

Details:
Sachio’s husband was arrested on suspicion of killing her by stabbing her in the neck and bludgeoning her with a frying pan. Police say he told them he was distressed because she had dementia and wanted to die with her.

Case status:
Toshio Uzue (Husband), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
69-year-old man arrested for killing 86-year-old wife who had dementia

Frances Kelly

Name: Frances Kelly.
Died: May 29, 2019.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Bartlett, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Frances’s son stabbed her in the back, killing her. At trial, though both sides agreed that Frances’s son had a mental illness, the prosecution argued that his motive had been frustration with his mother’s worsening dementia and that he knew that what he was doing was wrong.

Frances loved playing cribbage. She lived to see the birth of her first great-grandchild.

Case Status:
Edward Mitzelfeld (Son); charged with murder, declared guilty but mentally ill, sentenced to 27 years.

Sources:
Insane or just irked? Bartlett man on trial, accused of killing mother
Bartlett man found guilty but mentally ill in murder of his mother
Bartlett Man Found Guilty But Mentally Ill in the Stabbing Death of his 93-Year-Old Mother

Esther Wavinya

No Photo Name: Esther Wavinya (aka Esther Wavinya Mwathi, aka Esther Kavinya).
Died: May 15, 2019.
Age at death: 37.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Kalama, Machakos County, Kenya.
Disability: Unspecified; used crutches.

Details:
Esther, who lived in her own apartment in a compound with her relatives, was allegedly raped and murdered by four of her relatives. She may have been murdered because of a dispute between her and her in-laws over some property.

Case status:
Eunice Wambua, Danson Wambua, David Wambua and Sam Mwangangi (Family members), charged with murder.

Source:
Police probe bizarre rape, murder of disabled woman in Machakos – Daily Nation
Two suspects in murder of disabled woman arrested
Disabled woman found murdered, crutches shoved in her genitals
Disabled woman raped, killed in Kalama
Two arrested over murder of disabled woman found with crutches in genitals
Court detains murder suspects
4 relatives facing rape,murder of disabled woman to remain in custody

Lauren Griffiths

Name: Lauren Griffiths.
Died: April 29, 2019.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK.
Disability: Dissociative disorder.

Details:
Lauren was strangled to death by her fiance. He had attempted to strangle her once before, but she escaped and went to find help. When she returned to her fiance, he eventually killed her.

Friends remember her as sweet, friendly, and strongly altruistic.

Case Status:
Madog Rowlands (Fiance), convicted of murder, sentenced to 18 years to life.

Source:
Man jailed for life after murdering fiancee and wrapping body in clingfilm
Fun-loving murder victim had been strangled before by her killer fiance
Judge’s words for Wrexham man who strangled fiancee to death

Heidi R.

Name: Heidi R.
Died: April 28, 2019.
Age at death: 49.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Turnhout, Belgium.
Disability: Mild intellectual disability.

Details:
Heidi lived with her sister and her sister’s girlfriend. One night, Heidi’s sister took her for a walk along the river, where she allegedly strangled her and dumped her body in the water.

Heidi was an outgoing chatterbox. She worked in a sheltered workshop, and was looking forward to moving back to Arendonk and having a home of her own. At work, she was known as cheerful and helpful, liked by both management and co-workers.

Case Status:
Inge R. (sister), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Daisy VM (sister’s girlfriend), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
Niet één maar twee verdachten voor moord op gehandicapte vrouw: “Slachtoffer stond relatie in de weg”
“Heidi zat nog vol toekomstplannen”: moordslachtoffer stond op punt om weer naar eigen stekje te verhuizen
Inge R. (50) aangehouden voor moord op gehandicapte zus: gewurgd voor ze ‘verdronk’
Nieuwe verdachte voor moord op gehandicapte vrouw uit Turnhout

Duke Flores

Photo of a small boy with tan skin and curly brown hair, grinning at the camera with his eyes nearly shut. Name: Duke Josehyah Flores.
Died: April 25, 2019 (Reported missing; died around April 14th, 2019).
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Homicide; body not found.
Location: Apple Valley, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
When Duke’s mother reported him missing, the six-year-old had already been missing for two weeks. Soon thereafter, she was arrested for child cruelty; a few days later, she and Duke’s aunt were charged with murder. Police report that in her confession, Duke’s mother said that they strangled him with an electrical cord and buried his body in their backyard; but after the family dogs kept trying to dig up his body, the two women dug him up and put him in a dumpster. His body has still not been found.

Case status:
Jackee Raquel Contreras (Mother), charged with murder.
Jennifer Rachel Contreras (Aunt), charged with murder.

Source:
Community Mourns 6-Year-Old Boy Police Believe Was Murdered
The Charley Project: Duke Josehyah Flores
Apple Valley: Mother, aunt arrested for murder of missing 6-year-old boy, authorities say
Apple Valley Mother, Twin Sister Booked on Suspicion of Murder as Search for Missing Boy Continues
Murder charges filed against mother of missing 6-year-old Duke Flores of Apple Valley
Detectives arrest Jakee Raquel Contreras (mother) and Jennifer Rachel Contreras (aunt) for the…
Apple Valley: Mother, aunt arrested for murder of missing 6-year-old boy Duke Flores
Homicide Detectives Search Victorville Landfill for Body of Missing Boy; Mom, Aunt Charged With Murder
Duke Flores case: Mother, aunt charged in Apple Valley boy’s murder as detectives search landfill
Mother, aunt plead not guilty in murder of missing 6-year-old Apple Valley boy Duke Flores
6-year-old Duke Flores was tied, smothered, buried, dug up, then dumped by mother and aunt
Autism Memorial: Duke Flores

Martina Ávila

No Photo
Name: Martina Ávila.
Died: April 13, 2019.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Martina was stabbed to death by her father.

“If she were here, she would hug you. She would hug everyone,” Martina’s aunt told the court.

Case Status:
Manuel Ávila (Father), pled guilty to murder; faces a mandatory life sentence.

Source:
“I wanted the two of us to leave, but I had no luck”: the aberrant confession of the man who killed his 6-year-old daughter with a disability
Culpable: Manuel Ávila condenado por el asesinato de su hija de seis años
Declaró la vecina de Martina: «la nena era hermosa, un ángel», recordó