Type: Homicide – Page 43 – Disability Day of Mourning

Heidi Winchester

Name: Heidi Anne “Annie” Winchester.
Died: January 30, 2019.
Age at death: 50.
Cause of death: Sharp-force trauma.
Location: Lake Oswego, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Terminal cancer.

Details:
Annie’s husband killed her with a box cutter.

During her fight with rectal cancer, Annie formed a group called Annie’s Cancer Club, where she and other people with cancer could support each other.

Case status:
Michael Winchester (Husband), found guilty of manslaughter except for insanity.

Source:
Lake Oswego husband who killed ill wife spared prison
Criminal trial postponed for Lake Oswego murder suspect
Police: Lake Oswego man admits to killing wife, who had terminal cancer
Lake Oswego Police Say How They Think Heidi Winchester Was Killed
Husband confesses to killing wife in Lake Oswego
Friends say woman killed in Lake Oswego was battling cancer; husband charged with murder

Tina Stimmell

Name: Tina Marie Stimmell.
Died: January 29, 2019.
Age at death: 56.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Mohave Valley, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Kidney failure.

Details:
Tina was the mother of three children. She was also caring for three grandchildren.

Tina’s husband shot her as she slept. He claimed it was a mercy killing.

Case status:
James Manker (Husband), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Source:
13-year prison sentence ordered in claimed mercy killing
Tina Marie Stimmell, age 56
Statement claims suicide attempt failed before murder

Elvis Dry

Name: Elvis Dry.
Died: January 20, 2019.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Burns, trauma.
Location: Tahlequah, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Diabetes; Amputee; wheelchair user.

Details:
Elvis was a sports fan who was a barefoot kicker for the Kansas High School football team in the 70s. He grew up to become a truck and bus driver who liked to travel. His neighbors remember him as a gentleman with a sense of humor, who “always had a comeback”.

Elvis’s burned body and wheelchair were found when neighbors asked police for a welfare check. He had been stabbed, then set on fire while he was still alive.

Case status:
Denise Lynn Grass (Paid live-in caregiver), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 23 years.

Source:
Several old cases slated for district court in 2023
Alleged murderers seeking relief after McGirt ruling
Accused killer of wheelchair-bound man to be in court
Hearing in Dry murder case postponed
Cherokee County deputies seek suspect in killing of amputee
No arrests made in murder of Tahlequah man, leaving neighbors on edge
Arrest made in murder of Cherokee County veteran, amputee
Disabled Oklahoma Veteran Allegedly Killed by Live-In Caretaker
Live-in caretaker accused of burning, killing veteran amputee in Cherokee County
Friends, Family Say Goodbye To Cherokee County Murder Victim
Family, friends say goodbye to Cherokee County man murdered, set on fire
Woman who burned man alive charged with murder
Woman accused of burning man alive charged with murder

Chet Scharnick

Photo of Chet Scharnick, an older man wearing a Cardinals baseball cap, sporting a wispy white goatee and mustache. Name: Chester Rubin “Chet” Scharnick.
Died: January 18, 2019.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Fresno, California, USA.
Disability: Blind in one eye.

Details:
In his youth, Chet was a baseball player; as an adult he became a professional painter who painted murals in downtown Fresno.

He was found dead, and his step-granddaughter was arrested for his murder. She had previously been renting an apartment from him, but was evicted when she set the building on fire.

Case status:
Katreeva Woolf (Step-granddaughter), charged with murder, burglary, attempted arson, and possession of a stolen car; pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 25 years to life plus one year.

Source:
Clovis, CA woman sentenced for murder of stepgrandfather
84-year-old man murdered at Fresno home was well-known painter with big heart

Sudesh Gupta

No Photo Name: Sudesh Gupta.
Died: January 9, 2019.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Disability: Paralysis.

Details:
Sudesh’s wife told police that masked assailants had killed her husband. However, police say that when they questioned her further, she told them she had been frustrated at the expense of medical treatment and the effort of caring for him and strangled him.

Case status:
Subash Kumari (Wife), charged with murder.

Source:
Murder Mystery solved in Jammu : Wife killed Bed-ridden Husband
Elderly woman strangulates bedridden husband to death: Police
Gandhi Nagar police solved murder case; accused apprehended

Willie Moore

Name: Willie Frank Moore.
Died: January 8, 2019.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
A neighbor had not seen Willie for some time and called the police to check on him. The welfare check triggered a five-hour standoff, after which police found Willie dead.

Neighbors remember him as a kind man who used to help his neighbor move her trash cans.

Case status:
Chivalery Alexander Moore (Son), charged with murder.

Source:
Man shot by deputy during Durham standoff charged in father’s death
WARRANT: Kinston man texted about killing dad, sent photos
Obituary for Willie Frank Moore

John Likeness

Photo of John Likeness, a heavyset man with muttonchops, wearing glasses and a camo baseball cap. Name: John Matthew Likeness.
Died: December 30, 2018.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Sharp-force trauma.
Location: Menomonie, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired; disabled veteran.

Details:
John’s roommate killed him by shooting him with a crossbow and cutting him with a knife. His roommate claimed that he felt sorry for him and wanted to “put him out of his misery”.

John was an Army veteran who had served in the military for 10 years. He enjoyed traveling by train, accompanied by his dog Sienna.

Case status:
Richard Seehaver (Roommate), pleaded no contest to second-degree intentional homicide; sentenced to 25-40 years.

Source:
Charge: Western Wisconsin roommate kills disabled Army vet with arrow to the chest
Charges: Wisconsin man kills roommate with crossbow, butcher knife
1 dead, 1 arrested after man dies in Menomonie

Anthony Mitchell

No Photo Name: Anthony Mitchell.
Died: December 30, 2018.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Melbourne, Florida, USA.
Disability: Stroke; physical disability.

Details:
Anthony’s girlfriend beat him to death and dismembered his body. For some time she tried to hide his death while she spent his money; but when a welfare check uncovered Anthony’s body, she was arrested.

Case Status:
Penny Pospisil (Girlfriend) pled guilty to second-degree murder, abuse of a dead human body, and grand theft; sentenced to life plus 20 years.

Sources:
Woman sentenced to life for killing, dismembering man found at Wickham Park campground
Officials: Florida woman killed, dismembered boyfriend in RV
Sumter County Woman Given Maximum Sentence for Second-Degree Murder
Woman sentenced to life for killing, dismembering man found at Wickham Park campground

Baby Boy

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: December 21, 2018.
Age at death: 29 days.
Cause of death: Asphyxiation.
Location: Neelasandra, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Disability: Unknown congenital defect.

Details:
This little boy was born one of a pair of twins. He was weak at birth and had to spend ten days in the hospital after birth, and needed continued medical attention after he came home.

With the baby’s mother feeding his twin in another room and his father out buying medicine, the baby’s grandmother allegedly strangled and smothered the baby to death.

Case status:
Vijayalakshmi (Grandmother), arrested.

Source:
Days after month-old infant found dead in Bengaluru, grandmom arrested for murder
Grandmother held for infant’s murder

Frank Novak

No Photo Name: Frank Novak.
Died: December 20, 2018.
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Hempfield, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Early dementia.

Details:
After he argued with his son about a missing cell phone, Frank’s son beat him to death with the wooden armrest from a dining room chair; then he set the house on fire.

Frank was a World War II Navy veteran who worked at American Window Glass. He had three grandchildren.

Case status:
Douglas Novak (Son), pleaded guilty but mentally ill to third-degree murder, sentenced to 10-30 years in prison.

Source:
Man beat his dad, 92, to death because he thought he was a vampire
Hempfield man pleads guilty but mentally ill in elderly father’s beating death
Frank Novak – Thursday, December 20th, 2018