Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Death due to the actions of another human being.
Name: Sharmila Devi.
Died: August 4, 2018.
Age at death: 36.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Loharu, Haryana, India.
Disability: Mobility impaired/bedbound, mentally impaired.
Details:
Sharmila’s brother slit her throat with a screwdriver. To police, he claimed that he had “liberated” her because “nobody took care of her”.
Case status:
Pawan Kumar (Brother), arrested.
Source:
Man slits bedridden sister’s throat with screwdriver in Haryana town
Name: Helen Smith.
Died: July 29, 2018.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Chandler, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
When Helen wet herself, her grandchild allegedly became angry and cut her throat. Police report that they said that they “wanted to put her out of her misery”.
Case status:
Brandon Smith (Grandchild), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years.
Source:
Man Accused Of Murdering Grandmother Suffering From Dementia, Said He Did Not Want Her To Live In Pain
Suspect didn’t want grandma to ‘live like this anymore’ — and grabbed a knife, police say
Grandchild ‘slit dementia-stricken woman’s throat after she wet herself’
Man accused of slashing throat of grandmother who had dementia
Man Arrested for Killing Grandmother With Dementia: ‘He Did Not Want His Grandmother to Live Like This Anymore’
Grandchild Allegedly Slit Grandmother’s Throat After the 81-Year-Old, Who Had Dementia, Wet Herself
Man stabs his 81-year-old grandma to death because he was tired of caring for her
Name: Samantha Fraser.
Died: July 23, 2018.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Phillip Island, Australia.
Disability: Depression.
Details:
Samantha was found hanging in her garage with bruises on her body. Her estranged husband, on trial for murder, admitted to beating Samantha, but claimed he left her alive, and that she must have died from suicide due to her depression. The murder happened just weeks before he was due to go to trial for repeatedly raping her.
Case Status:
Adrian Basham (Estranged husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.
Sources:
‘Justice for Sam’: Life sentence for Phillip Island ex-wife killer Adrian Basham
Grandparents left to raise murdered daughter’s children ask for help
Adrian Basham found guilty of murdering wife Samantha Fraser
Estranged husband allegedly murdered wife and made it look like a suicide, court hears
Accused Man Admits To Bashing Samantha Fraser
Name: Wendy Jane Henson.
Died: July 19, 2018.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.
Details:
Wendy’s son killed her by hitting her in the head with a baseball bat; then he called emergency services and spent fifteen minutes complaining about her and refusing to help her.
Wendy was a published author who wrote plays and novellas. She taught college screenwriting classes and wrote a textbook on the subject. In her later years, she wrote a movie review column under the title “Now Playing”.
Case Status:
Garth Patrick Beans (Son), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.
Sources:
Man convicted of murder after he ‘clobbered his mama’
Washington County man sentenced to life in prison for killing mother in 2018
Oregon Man Who ‘Clobbered His Mama’ with Baseball Bat and Complained About Her for 15 Minutes in 911 Call Is Sentenced to Prison
Name: Dawn Liebig.
Died: July 19, 2018.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Stabbed, bludgeoned.
Location: Pahrump, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Multiple disabilities, including cancer.
Details:
As she slept in her bed, Dawn was stabbed and bludgeoned to death by her sons. Not knowing it was her sons who were attacking her, Dawn called out to them for help as she died.
They buried her body, but were arrested for murder when someone called the police and asked for a welfare check. Her sons initially claimed she had asked them to help her commit suicide, but they kept changing their story and were charged with murder.
Dawn had twenty cats which she cared for. They were healthy and well-fed in a photo taken while she was alive, but were left alone with her killers before her body was found. When the police came for the welfare check, they found that all the cats had survived, though some of them were malnourished.
Case status:
Michael Wilson (Son), sentenced to 10 years to life for murder and 8-20 years for use of a deadly weapon.
Dakota Saldivar (Son), convicted of second-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon, sentenced to 18 years to life.
Source:
Man sentenced for killing his mother
Scary Details About Why Two Teens Murdered Their Disabled Mother With A Hammer
Sheriff: Teens admit to killing mom because ‘they couldn’t take her complaining’
Police: Mom Cries Out to Sons for Help Not Knowing They Were the Ones Smashing Her Skull
Nevada Teens Fatally Bludgeoned Mom To Stop Her ‘Complaining,’ Police Say
Tired of her ‘parenting style,’ teens kill mom in brutal 30-minute attack, Nevada cops say
Pahrump teens arrested on suspicion of fatally beating mother
Dawn Liebig Nevada mom murdered by Michael Wilson and Dakota Saldivar cause she complained too much.
Michael Wilson & Dakota Saldivar: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
Name: Carolyn “JC” Campbell.
Died: July 11, 2018.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Hypoxic brain injury.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: COPD.
Details:
Emergency services received a call from Carolyn’s house, but the caller hung up, so police was dispatched to check on her. The police say that when they arrived, they found Carolyn unresponsive and saw her husband quickly switching her oxygen machine on; when they asked why it had been turned off, her husband told them that he had turned it off. Her brain irreversibly damaged from oxygen deprivation, Carolyn died in the hospital.
Case Status:
Josiph Cardle (Common-law husband), charged with murder; acquitted because it could not be proven that turning Carolyn’s oxygen off was the cause of her death.
Source:
Toronto man not guilty of murder in sudden death of chronically ill partner
Carolyn “JC” CAMPBELL: obituary and death notice on InMemoriam
Murder trial begins for Toronto man accused of killing his wife by turning off oxygen machine
Name: Patricia Franks.
Died: July 8, 2018.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Gatley, Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Patricia’s husband beat her to death with a metal bar so that he wouldn’t have to put her in a care home. He had previously turned down offers of support from social services.
Case status:
Lawrence Franks (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, given a two-year suspended sentence.
Source:
84-year-old man pleads guilty to manslaughter of his 86-year-old wife
Stockport man, 84, killed wife with dementia as ‘act of mercy’
Elderly man beat dementia-stricken wife to death in ‘mercy killing’
Devoted husband, 84, who battered wife, 86, to death with an iron bar rather than see her go into care home weeps as judge frees him
Devoted husband’s determination to keep his promise to his wife ended in tragedy
‘I’VE KILLED MY WIFE’ Pensioner’s tragic 999 call after killing dementia-stricken wife
Name: Janice “Jan” Garrett.
Died: July 7, 2018.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Raymond Terrace, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Emphysema.
Details:
Jan died in a house fire started by a firebomb. Police arrested her caregiver and roommate, who was reportedly seen leaving the scene of the fire by neighbors attempting to break in to rescue Jan. Their efforts were in vain; Jan’s body was found after the house fire was extinguished.
Case Status:
Ronald John Reeves (Housemate, carer), charged with murder; died in police custody.
Sources:
Janice Garrett’s death in fire declared domestic murder by NSW coroner
Accused murderer dies before court
Man arrested after woman killed in home explosion
Name: Peggy Pettis.
Died: June 25, 2018.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Painkiller overdose.
Location: Cheney, Washington, USA.
Disability: Unspecified medical issues; back pain; killer claims early dementia.
Details:
Peggy’s husband is charged with poisoning her with drugged ice cream that contained an overdose of painkillers. He had taken out a life insurance policy on her only days previously. Her husband claimed she had early dementia, but the insurance physical found no signs of it.
Peggy was a retired school bus driver who loved gardening.
Case status:
David L. Pettis (Husband), convicted of first-degree murder; sentenced to 25 years.
Source:
‘Only sorry he didn’t get away with it’: Victim’s family speaks at Cheney man’s murder hearing
Trial begins for Cheney-area man accused of murdering his wife with medication-laced ice cream
Cheney man accused of poisoning wife took out $150K policy three days before death
Washington man accused of killing wife with laced ice cream
That’s cold: man accused of murdering his wife with poisoned ice cream pleads not guilty to second round of charges
Cheney man appears in court for alleged killing of wife with laced ice cream
Cheney man who allegedly killed wife with ice cream moves to Oklahoma, pleads not guilty to new murder charge
Murder charge dropped against Cheney man accused of killing wife with deadly ice cream
Peggy PETTIS’s Obituary
Name: Xuan Xuan
Died: June 25, 2018.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Jiangning, Nanjing, China.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Xuan’s grandfather was annoyed that he had spent so much trying to treat her cerebral palsy. He and her father allegedly put bricks in her backpack, put the backpack on her, and threw her in the river to drown.
Case status:
Her father, surnamed Yang; arrested, confessed to murder.
Yang Mousong (Grandfather); arrested, confessed to murder.
Source:
Father, grandpa admit killing 9-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, China police say
Girl with Learning Difficulties Murdered by Father & Grandfather
Children with cerebral palsy are drowned by their fathers and grandchildren drowning in the media: poverty is not a reason.
Father and grandfather confess to drowning nine-year-old girl with cerebral palsy
Girls with cerebral palsy are being drowned by their dearest relatives.