Type: Homicide – Page 60 – Disability Day of Mourning

Carolyn Taurino

No Photo Name: Carolyn Marie Taurino.
Died: February 10, 2016.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Kershaw, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Amputee, wheelchair user.

Details:
Carolyn’s son is accused of shooting her to death.

Case status:
Robert Allen Hypes (Son), charged with murder.

Source:
Carolyn Marie Taurino, age 57
Man charged in mom’s murder
Man charged with killing wheelchair-bound mother in Lancaster Co.
Man Charged with Murder of Mom Who Used Wheelchair
South Carolina man accused of shooting, killing his wheelchair-bound mother

Holli Jeffcoat

Name: Holli Jeffcoat.
Died: February 10, 2016.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Idalou, Texas, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Holli told someone at school that she had been sexually abused and was pregnant, and named her stepfather as the person responsible. Holli had reported sexual abuse once before at age 10, but since then her mother, who knew about the abuse, had instructed her not to tell anyone about it because her abuser was financially supporting the family.

A week after she reported the abuse, Holli was found stabbed to death in her home; someone had removed her uterus, then set a fire to try to cover up the crime.

Holli loved pep rallies. She played baseball and ran track in the Special Olympics and worked as an office aide at her school.

Case status:
James Bryant Holland (Stepfather), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Deborah Holland (mother), pleaded guilty to injury to a child, elder, or disabled person, sentenced to 15 years.

Source:
Mother sentenced to 15 years in connection to brutal murder of Holli Jeffcoat
Debi Holland, once charged for capital murder of her own daughter, pleads to lesser charge
Texas couple indicted in murder of woman’s pregnant teen daughter
Murdered Teen Was Found With Uterus Cut Out
Child Protective Services aiding in Lubbock sheriff’s homicide investigation
Search warrant: Homicide victim accused family member of sexual abuse a week before killing
Report: Murdered Idalou Teen Was Pregnant by Family Member, Mother Knew About Sexual Abuse
Nearly Two Months After Holli Jeffcoat’s Murder School Staff Share Memories, Hopes for Justice
Lubbock medical examiner releases cause of death in Jeffcoat case
Police arrest stepfather of slain 18-year-old special needs student
Family says Holli Jeffcoat ‘deserves justice’ after stepfather arrest
Holli Jeffcoat’s Grandmother Defends Mother, Says Murderer Must Pay Consequences
Texas man gets life sentence for murdering pregnant, mentally disabled stepdaughter
Mother still awaiting trial, 3 years after Holli Jeffcoat murder

Eunice Phiri

No Photo Name: Eunice Phiri.
Died: January 28, 2016.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Kasungu National Park, Malawi.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Eunice’s brother lured her and her 8-year-old son, who also has albinism, out of her home and into a nearby national park. There, they killed her by cutting off her arms. Her 8-year-old son escaped and found his way back home.

Case status:
Msasauko Phiri (Brother), and two others, under investigation.

Source:
Woman with albinism killed in Malawi: no isolated incident
Albino woman murdered in Kasungu: Malawi Police hunt for killers
Malawi: Ritual murders of people with albinism must end

Digby Dowdle

Name: Digby Dowdle.
Died: January 23, 2016.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Poisoning, asphyxiation.
Location: Wadalba, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: TBI due to car accident.

Details:
Digby’s mother sedated him and then suffocated him with a plastic bag.

Digby was often seen walking his greyhound Lucy.

Case Status:
Susan Marie Dowdle (Mother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years; released on time served.

Sources:
CENTRAL COAST MOTHER WHO KILLED SON RELEASED FROM PRISON | NBN News
In loving Memory Of my friend Digby Dowdle 1989 – 2016
’Kind’ mum charged with son’s murder
Digby Dowdle (26) Allegedly suffocated by his mother
R v Susan Dowdle

Samantha Kelly

Photo of Samantha Kelly. She has fair skin and bright red shoulder-length hair, and is wearing sunglasses. Name: Samantha Kelly.
Died: January 22, 2016.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Kangaroo Flat, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Samantha and her four children lived with three housemates. The housemates eventually banned her from the main house and made her live in a rear bungalow, while they kept her children in the main house. Seeing the danger, Samantha asked a social worker to help her move out, but she never managed to escape.

Her housemates first tried drugging her. When that didn’t work, they beat her to death with a hammer and buried her body; then they claimed she had run off with a man and tried to take custody of her children.

The children, aged six, five, four, and 11 months, are safe and living with Samantha’s brother.

Case status:
Peter James Arthur (Housemate), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 18-22 years.
Christine Lyons (Housemate), convicted of murder and attempted murder, sentenced to 23-30 years.
Ronald Lyons (Housemate), convicted of attempted murder and assisting an offender, sentenced to 9-12 1/2 years.

Source:
Loner jailed over murder plot to steal kids
Bendigo man jailed for murdering woman with hammer over custody plot
‘Manipulated’ murder accused deeply regrets hammer killing of housemate
Vic accused killer wanted kids, court told
Vic murder accused said victim walked off
Christine was infertile and “desperately” wanted kids. So she masterminded a sick plan.
How a mother got trapped in squalid web of a woman who wanted to be ‘Ma’
Crown asks for life sentence as family grieves Samantha Kelly
‘I will never forgive you’: Murder victim’s family address killer who tried to take kids
Former Ballarat woman still denies she killed mum to gain custody of her kids
Woman jailed for 30 years for murdering mother to take her kids
Infertile woman planned murder of disabled neighbour to take custody of her four kids

Irene Carter

Black-and-white photo of Irene Carter, a woman with fair skin and dark curly hair, wearing pearl earrings. Name: Irene Carter.
Died: January 13, 2016.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Schizophrenia.

Details:
Irene loved gardening and kept an immaculate yard.

When Irene had a psychotic episode, her daughter took over power of attorney and gradually took away her freedom, selling her cars and taking her bank cards. When her daughter remortgaged her house and Irene protested, her daughter stabbed her, slammed her head against the floor, and threw her down the stairs, killing her.

Case status:
Lisa Freihaut (Adoptive daughter), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 11 years to life.

Source:
Gambling addict who stabbed elderly mother to death in dispute over money pleads guilty to murder
Calgary woman who begged for information on her mom’s killing pleads guilty to her murder
Lisa Freihaut Charged With Stabbing Death Of Her Mother Irene Carter
CARTER Irene › Gone But Not Forgotten

Dwight Ridley

Name: Dwight Carrington Ridley Sr.
Died: January 11, 2016.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Carson, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Dwight was stabbed to death by his nephew over a property dispute about the family farm.

He was an Army veteran who had three children and twelve grandchildren.

Case status:
Daryl Ridley (Nephew), charged with second-degree murder, found incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
Mental Health and Murder: Why man with ’emotional demons’ walked free
Obituary for Dwight Carrington Ridley, Sr. – PETERSBURG, VA
Why man accused of killing uncle over family farm won’t stand trial
Stabbing victim arrives at hospital, later deemed homicide suspect in Dinwiddie County
Arrest made in fatal Dinwiddie homicide, stabbing

Nada Bodholdt

Name: Nada Colleen Bodholdt.
Died: December 31, 2015.
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Bend, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Congestive heart failure.

Details:
Nada’s granddaughter went to her nursing home, put a pillow over her face, and smothered her. Nada’s family thought she had died a natural death–until her killer confessed the murder to a counselor and was arrested.

Nada Bodholdt was a professional violinist who played her first solo concerto at age 15; during World War 2, she played in nightclubs to make ends meet. After the war, she married a sailor, played her violin in church, and lived to see her great-grandchildren.

Case status:
Angela Christine Judd (Granddaughter), pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, sentenced to 75 months in prison; conviction overturned; pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 5 years, released on time served.

Source:
Bend woman to be released from prison after 2nd guilty plea in grandmother’s smothering
Bend woman who smothered her grandmother to death has conviction overturned
Bend woman pleads guilty to manslaughter in grandma’s death
Nada Colleen Bodholdt Obituary
Bend woman accused of smothering grandmother, 92
Bend woman accused of murdering grandmother
Woman confessed to smothering grandmother, police say
Bend Woman Confessed to Smothering Grandmother, Police Say
Woman charged with killing grandmother at retirement community
Former Klamath Falls nurse charged with murder
Reported confession to counselor is admissible, judge rules in death of suspect’s grandmother
Bend woman pleads guilty to manslaughter in grandma’s death
Former Sky Lakes nurse could get 75 months for manslaughter

Rita King

Name: Rita King.
Died: December 28, 2015.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Walton-on-the-Naze, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Rita’s husband went to the retirement home where she was staying and shot her dead.

Case status:
Ron King (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility; sentenced to 6 years in a psychiatric hospital.

Source:
PENSIONER Ron King, 86, appears at Magistrates’ Court after he’s charged with murder of tragic dementia sufferer Rita
Low-key funeral for pensioner shot dead in care home
Ronald King admits manslaughter by diminished responsibility after shooting his wife at De La Mer House care home in Walton last year

Donald Nieman

No Photo Name: Donald Robert Edward Otto Nieman.
Died: December 27, 2015.
Age at death: 89.
Cause of death: Manual strangulation.
Location: Macomb Township, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Donald’s son beat and strangled him to death.

Case status:
Gregory Lynn Nieman (Son), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
VIDEO: Son sentenced to life in murder of father in Macomb Township, claims innocence
Macomb Township murder defendant wants father’s body exhumed
Son in custody in elderly Macomb Township man’s death (UPDATED)
Macomb Township Man Accused Of Strangling Elderly Dad
UPDATE: Macomb Township slaying suspect was victim’s caregiver, police say
Murder case heading to circuit court
Donald Robert Edward Otto Nieman
Macomb Township man guilty of murder for strangling his father
Combative murder defendant denies he killed elderly father