Type: Homicide – Page 4 – Disability Day of Mourning

Otis Jones

Photo of an African American man with medium-brown skin, his hair in neat braids, wearing a brown polo shirt. Name: Otis Jones Jr.
Died: January 5, 2024.
Age at death: 44.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Spinal cord injury.

Details:
Otis was pulled out of his burning home by firefighters; but he died from his injuries eight days later. The fire was ruled arson, and Otis’s niece is suspected of setting the fire.

Case Status:
Keechaundra Deshay Cook (Niece), charged with murder.

Sources:
‘They wouldn’t help me’: Mother of paralyzed man who died from fire says she tried to get help for family member responsible
Birmingham woman charged after uncle dies in house fire
Woman charged after brother dies following Birmingham house fire
Man dies after house fire — now his niece is charged with murder, Alabama cops say

George and Gianna Kantanka

Name: George Kantanka.
Name: Gianna Kantanka.

Died: December 18, 2023.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Bronx, New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
With their father away working the night shift, George and Gianna were alone with their mother when she called for an ambulance, saying they were unresponsive. The twins were found dead in their beds. Initially, it seemed they had died of natural causes, but an autopsy concluded they had both been smothered.

Case Status:
Gloria Asamoah (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Mother Is Charged With Murder of Twins Found Dead in the Bronx
Bronx mom indicted for murder in deaths of 5-year-old twin children

Maureen Potter

No Photo Name: Maureen Potter.
Died: December 8, 2023.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Droitwich, Worcestershire, England, UK.
Disability: Cancer.

Details:
Maureen’s husband allegedly killed her and tried to kill their son, who also has a disability.

Case Status:
Ivan Potter (Husband), charged with murder and attempted murder.

Sources:
Pensioner, 81, being quizzed by police after woman, 80, found dead
Man, 81, arrested after woman, 80, ‘murdered’ with second man in hospital
Suspect aged 81 arrested on suspicion of murder after woman found dead
A town in shock – the latest on the Droitwich murder investigation
Man, 81, charged with attempted murder after police called to medical emergency
Maureen Potter (née Bourne)

Leon Perkins

No Photo Name: Leon Perkins.
Died: December 1, 2023.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness, wheelchair user.

Details:
Leon was found dead at his home, sitting in his wheelchair. His death was ruled a homicide, and a relative who lived with him to care for him was arrested as the primary suspect.

Case Status:
Charles Parker (Relative), arrested.

Sources:
Silver Spring man charged in death of disabled relative

Sreenivasan

No Photo Name: Sreenivasan.
Died: November 29, 2023.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Kollam, Kerala, India.
Disability: Heart disease, kidney disease.

Details:
Sreenivasan’s son allegedly doused him in gasoline and set him on fire. His wife, who is also disabled, was unable to help him; but a home nurse ran for help. Unfortunately, Sreenivasan was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. The motive reportedly involved Sreenivasan refusing to give his son money.

Case Status:
Anilkumar (Son), charged with murder and using gasoline to cause grievous harm.

Sources:
Man sets bedridden father ablaze in front of mother in Kerala’s Kollam

Mahadev

No Photo Name: Mahadev.
Died: November 25, 2023 (Body Found).
Age at death: Unknown.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Disability: Unspecified disability.

Also Killed: Gangarani Das, age 65, Mahadev’s grandmother.

Details:
Mahadev and his grandmother Gangarani Das lived in the same house; her granddaughter and her husband moved in to take care of them. Six months later, the two were nowhere to be found and the couple was questioned. Soon two skeletons, matching Mahadev and Gangarani, were found in the house’s septic tank. Police think that the couple who ostensibly moved in to care for Mahadev and his grandmother were actually planning to claim the house for themselves.

Case Status:
Priyanka Das and Shantanu (Relatives), charged with murder.

Sources:
Skeletons of sr citizen, disabled cousin found
Couple confesses to murders

Aremean Mayo and Michael Willett

No Photo Name: Aremean Mayo.
Age at death: 93.
Disability: Unspecified/Frail elder.

Name: Michael Willett.
Age at death: 69.
Disability: Wheelchair user, Stroke survivor

Died: November 25, 2023 (Bodies Found).
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Denmark, Maine, USA.

Details:
Michael, his partner, and his partner’s grandmother Aremean shared a household, where Michael’s partner cared for them both. Another of Aremean’s grandchildren grew worried when she couldn’t contact them and their caregiver told her she was “tired of taking care of them both”; so she asked for a welfare check. When police knocked on her door, their caregiver told police that Aremean was in the hospital and Michael was in the woods, hunting. But Michael couldn’t have pushed his wheelchair through the woods, and police quickly determined that Aremean was not in the hospital; so they forced their way into the house, where they found that both of them had been stabbed to death.

Case Status:
Tzara Jones (Michael’s partner, Aremean’s granddaughter), charged with murder.

Sources:
Maine woman accused of killing her partner, elderly grandmother to be arraigned
‘Tired of taking care of them’: Maine caretaker accused of killing her partner, grandmother appears in court
‘Took me by surprise:’ Neighbors shocked as Denmark woman charged with killing 2 people in her care

Victoria Pendergraph

No Photo Name: Victoria Pendergraph.
Died: November 24, 2023 (Body found; died November 19).
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Westminster, California, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, non-speaking.

Details:
Victoria’s father, who shared custody with her mother, went to pick her up to spend Thanksgiving together only to find the door locked. Concerned, he requested a welfare check; police found Victoria’s body in the bathtub, where Victoria’s mother had allegedly drowned her several days prior.

Case Status:
Khadiyjah Aliyyah Pendergraph (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Woman arrested at shopping center after officers find 9-year-old daughter dead in home
Body of 9-year-old girl in wheelchair ‘left to rot’ after drowning death, OC DA says; mother charged
Mother charged with murder for allegedly drowning disabled, non-verbal 9-year-old daughter
Woman charged with murder, accused of drowning 9-year-old disabled daughter
Westminster woman charged with killing 9-year-old daughter
California mother charged with murder, accused of drowning 9-year-old disabled daughter

Henri Diarnac

No Photo Name: Henri Diarnac.
Died: November 24, 2023.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Albaret-Sainte-Marie, Lozère, France.
Disability: Unspecified; brain-related (“psychologically fragile”).

Details:
Henri’s body was found with a piece of paper with his half-sister’s phone number on it. Since his half-sister couldn’t be found, they questioned his half-brother, who initially claimed he didn’t even know Henri. But investigators established that their car had been present in the small town where Henri lived on the day of his murder, and had been washed afterward. Henri’s half-brother was arrested; when his sister returned from abroad, she was also arrested.

Case Status:
His half-sister is charged with voluntary manslaughter.
His half-brother is charged with murder.

Sources:
Habitant de Béziers handicapé retrouvé mort en Lozère : une ex-avocate parisienne mise en examen pour le meurtre de son demi-frère
Une ex-avocate parisienne mise en examen pour un meurtre en Lozère – France Bleu
En souvenir de Monsieur Henri DIARNAC

Sebastian Christian

Name: Sebastian Christian.
Died: November 22, 2023.
Age at death: 65.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Alappuzha, Kerala, India.
Disability: Mobility impaired/Bedridden due to car accident injury.

Details:
Sebastian’s son was so angry at him for soiling the bed and refusing to eat that he allegedly beat him to death.

Case Status:
Sebin Christian (Son), charged with murder.

Sources:
Alappuzha man kills bedridden father for defecating on bed
Man arrested on charge of murdering father