Type: Homicide – Page 45 – Disability Day of Mourning

Yoshi Kinouchi

No Photo Name: Yoshi Kinouchi.
Died: February 26, 2018.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Ishioka, Ibaraki, Japan.
Disability: Dementia, mobility impaired.

Details:
Ms. Kinouchi was allegedly strangled by her son, who functioned as her caregiver.

Case status:
Takeshi Kinouchi (Son), charged with murder.
Takeshi’s brother Toshikazu, who had an unspecified illness, died of starvation in the same house while Takeshi was his caregiver; but Takeshi was not charged in his death because he had not known about it.

Source:
Man who killed mother with dementia driven into corner by poverty, her care

Liese Sparks

No Photo Name: Liese Colleen Sparks.
Died: February 23, 2018.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness; mobility impaired, unable to walk.

Details:
Liese’s son had a history of threatening and mistreating her, but she depended on him to care for her because of her limited mobility.

While she was in the hospital, Liese’s son allegedly entered her room and stabbed her to death.

Case status:
Alexander Sparks (Son), charged with premeditated murder, found incompetent to stand trial, committed.

Source:
Son who stabbed mother at hospital found incompetent for trial
He apparently did it right after a nurse had checked on her
Son charged with stabbing mom to death in her hospital room told cops she ‘was a bad influence’
Son Charged with Stabbing Mother to Death in Tallahassee Hospital
Support My Moving Fund organized by Liese Sparks
Man who killed mom in hospital battled mental illness

Lerae Bush

Name: Lerae Britain Moeller Bush.
Died: February 10, 2018.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Bloomington, California, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Lerae died in a fire while living with a man who had been caring for her and telling others that he was her son. He started out doing housework for her, then moved on to managing her finances. Allegedly, he eventually kept her locked in a one-room garage without utilities. He tried, but failed, to inherit her estate. Police say Lerae’s caregiver started the fire in which she died.

Lerae was “aristocratic and eccentric”, a retired educator who loved the arts.

Case status:
Noel Montes Cazares, a.k.a. Giovanni Bush, charged with arson, murder, neglect of a dependent and obstruction of justice. Charges dismissed because a key piece of evidence was ruled inadmissible, but may be re-filed.
Misty Allen, charged with assisting a criminal and obstruction of justice; charges dismissed.

Source:
More than 3 years later, charges against man in art patron’s death dismissed. Why?
Man accused of arson, murder out of jail on house arrest
Bloomington police arrest girlfriend of man accused of burning down woman’s home in plot to inherit estate
Bloomington man arrested in California charged with arson, murder
Man charged with murder, arson, neglect in Handy Road fire
Man arrested in California on murder charges in Handy Road fire
Suspect in Monroe County arson, murder claimed to be victim’s son
Police: Man charged with murder used fake name to pose as woman’s son, lit her home on fire

Zoe Whitford

Name: Zoe Whitford.
Died: February 10, 2018.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Dublin, Ireland.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
When Zoe attended a Montessori school, the principal noticed that her behavior was different and told her mother that she ought to have an assessment. At the assessment, she was given a diagnosis of borderline-to-mild autism, but her mother was convinced that she had severe autism with pathological demand avoidance. She thought Zoe would never get the right services and it would ruin her other child’s life.

Her mother suffocated her with a Minnie Mouse pillow; she died three days later in the hospital.

Case status:
Her mother, charged with murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity, committed to mental hospital.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Zoe Whitford
Irish mum charged with murder of her three-year-old daughter
Mother who smothered autistic daughter committed to Central Mental Hospital after bed made available
Woman who smothered her daughter was suffering from severe depression with psychotic features, court hears
Woman found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity
Mother smothered girl (3) after autism diagnosis, court told
Mother smothered toddler daughter with Minnie Mouse pillow as she called out for her father, court told
Mother accused of child’s murder was ‘overwhelmed’
Mother who admits suffocating her three-year-old daughter was ‘obsessed’ over autism, court hears
Mother not guilty of murder by reason of insanity
Mother who admits suffocating girl (3) ‘obsessed’ over autism, court told
Mother accused of child’s murder ‘obsessed’ over autism

Akie Imai

No Photo Name: Akie Imai.
Died: February 7, 2018.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan.
Disability: Stroke, causing hemiparesis and speech impediment.

Details:
Police found Akie dead in her apartment. They also found a letter addressed to police from Akie’s husband, which said that he had killed his wife.

Case status:
Tokuji Imai (Husband), sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

Source:
85-year-old man who strangled sick wife to ‘put her out of her misery’ gets 2 1/2 years in prison
Tochigi: Man, 85, admits to strangling bedridden wife to death
85-year-old husband says he strangled sick wife to ‘put her out of her misery’

Patricia Todd

Name: Patricia Gayle Todd.
Died: January 27, 2018.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Honea Path, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Patricia was stabbed to death, and police arrested her boyfriend, whom they found at her house covered in blood.

Case status:
Kenneth Shane Yarborough (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Gayle Todd
Upstate man stabbed girlfriend to death in wheelchair, authorities say
Honea Path man faces murder charge
Deputies arrest man they say stabbed a wheelchair-bound woman to death
Inmate Record

Nancy Barclay

No Photo Name: Nancy Barclay.
Died: January 24, 2018.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Nancy and her husband had been married for 63 years. One night, she forgot to take her sleeping tablets; so instead of going to sleep, she went to sit at the kitchen table instead. Finding her there when he woke in the early morning, Nancy’s husband allegedly strangled her until she died.

Case status:
Harold Barclay (Husband), charged with murder, released on bail; died before he could be tried.

Source:
Man killed wife to put her ‘out of her misery’
Elderly husband accused of murdering wife of 60 years in their suburban home
Man, 85, charged with murdering his dementia-suffering wife, 83
Elderly Perth man charged with murder of 83-year-old sick wife
Harold Barclay: Man accused of killing wife who had Alzheimer’s granted bail
Accused ‘mercy killing’ husband dies in hospital

Jeanette Brown

Name: Jeanette Brown.
Died: January 22, 2018.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Halifax, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.

Details:
Jeanette was shot by her husband. He claimed that he had “felt sorry for her” because of her bipolar disorder and that it had been a “mercy killing”.

Jeanette and her sisters used to sing at nursing homes. She had bought seeds for a garden she was planning to plant that year.

Case status:
John Frederick Brown (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.

Source:
Brown gets life for wife’s murder | South Boston Virginia News | TheNewsRecord.com
Murder charge certified; suspect says ‘I’m glad she’s out of her misery’ during recorded interview aired at hearing
Court hears evidence in alleged mercy killing
Jeanette King Brown
Brown faces first degree murder charge in wife’s death

Lorene Hopkins-Pequignot

Name: Lorene “Bug” Hopkins-Pequignot.
Died: January 12, 2018.
Age at death: 69.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Fieldale, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.

Details:
Lorene was strangled. Her husband told police it had been a home invasion, but they arrested him, and he was charged with her murder.

She was a retired secretary with a talent for decorating and housekeeping. She read her Bible often.

Case status:
Thomas Richard Pequignot, charged with first-degree murder. In July 2022, Thomas was declared incompetent to stand trial due to progressive dementia and hospitalized indefinitely.

Source:
Victim’s family surprised when husband indicted on charges of murder in 2018 death of woman in Fieldale
New evidence delays start of Henry County murder trial
Victim’s family surprised when husband indicted on charges of murder in 2018 death of woman in Fieldale
How did my sister die? Woman wants answers about year-old case from Henry County Sheriff’s Office

Cristina Prodan

Photo of Cristina Prodan, a young woman with long straight brown hair, heavy-lidded brown eyes, and pale skin, smiling enigmatically. Name: Cristina Prodan.
Died: January 6, 2018.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Edina, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
Cristina’s epilepsy made her vulnerable to long-term domestic abuse by her boyfriend. He beat her to the point that she had a miscarriage, and even hit her service dog. Cristina got a restraining order, but he came back to her apartment and choked her to death.

Case status:
Joseph Porter (Boyfriend), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
Man gets 20-year sentence after admitting to killing Edina girlfriend, burning body in New Orleans
Charges: Ex-boyfriend killed Edina woman in Minnesota, burned body in New Orleans