Category: Type: Homicide

Death due to the actions of another human being.

Cynara Ali

Photo of Cynara Ali. She is a young woman with brown skin and short dark brown hair, leaning against a blue blanket.Name: Cynara Ali.
Died: February 21, 2011.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Hypoxia.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Cynara’s mother called emergency services, saying that masked intruders had smothered her daughter. Cynara was rushed to the hospital where she died two days later from a hypoxic brain injury.

Prosecutors alleged Cynara’s mother had actually smothered Cynara with a pillow and staged the home invasion to cover up the crime; but after thirteen years and two trials, a judge acquitted Cynara’s mother because, he stated, the crime could not be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt”. No trace of any intruders was ever found.

16-year-old Cynara was a recent immigrant from Trinidad to Canada. She had been in Canada only a month before her death.

Case status:
Cindy Ann Sherry Ali (Mother), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life; retrial ordered, charged with first-degree murder; acquitted.

Source:
Toronto mother acquitted in death of disabled daughter launches $10.5-million lawsuit against police, city
Toronto mom acquitted in daughter’s death sues police, city
‘Project Litoria’: How Toronto police charged a now-acquitted mother in the death of her disabled daughter
Mother acquitted in retrial of disabled daughter’s death
‘After so long it’s done’: Cindy Ali acquitted of daughter’s murder in retrial
Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in 2011 death of disabled daughter
Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in disabled daughter’s death
Toronto mother acquitted of first-degree murder charge in 2011 death of disabled daughter
MANDEL: Mom cleared of murder 13 years after disabled daughter’s death
Toronto mother Cindy Ali’s retrial: Who killed Cynara?
Toronto mom’s trial focuses on decade-old memories of death scene
Convicted of killing her child over 10 years ago, Ontario woman seeks to clear name in 2nd trial
After appealing conviction in death of disabled daughter, Ontario mother begins new murder trial in Toronto
Cynara Ali death: Week 1 of Cindy Ali trial in Toronto. What happened? | CP24.com
Convicted of killing her child over 10 years ago, Ontario woman seeks to clear name in 2nd trial
Cindy Ali trial: Day 2 updates | CP24.com
After appealing conviction in death of disabled daughter, Ontario mother begins new murder trial in Toronto
Cynara Ali death: Week 1 of Cindy Ali trial in Toronto. What happened? | CP24.com
Toronto mom guilty of killing severely disabled teen daughter
‘My baby’s not breathing’: 911 call of mother accused in disabled teen’s death
Crown in murder trial challenges mother’s story of child’s death: DiManno
Mom blamed home invaders after smothering disabled daughter: Crown
Trinidadian sentenced to life in prison in Canada for killing disabled daughter

Christine Anthony

No PhotoName: Christine Anthony.
Died: February 15, 2011.
Age at death: 50.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Narromine, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Spastic paraplegia.

Details:
On Valentine’s Day, Christine’s boyfriend poured alcohol over her and set it on fire. Christine managed to call for help and identified her boyfriend as the attacker before dying of a heart attack on the way to the burn unit.

Case Status:
David Allan Harding (Boyfriend), sentenced to 20 years 3 months to 27 years.

Sources:
CHRISTINE ANTHONY (#2-2011)
‘Defenceless woman’ murdered
Harding v R [2013] NSWSC 513 (16 May 2013)

Clara Laird

Photo of Clara Laird, an elderly red-haired woman with pale skin. Her hair is cut short and permed; she is wearing square-rimmed glasses and gold hoop earrings. The photo is slightly blurry and overexposed.Name: Clara Laird.
Died: November 21, 2010.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Seal Beach, California, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Clara’s husband went to her nursing home and shot her to death.

Case status:
Roy Charles Laird (Husband), charged with murder, died before trial.

Source:
A tragic end to 70 years of marriage
Crime Log: Nursing home homicide case dismissed
Husband charged in nursing home ‘mercy killing’

Baby Girl

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: November 18, 2010.
Age at death: 6 months.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: Sydney, Australia.
Disability: None; mother believed she had dwarfism.

Details:
This baby girl was born without any congenital conditions, but because she had skin tags on her ears, her mother believed her daughter had a disability. She had doctors test her over and over, each time with negative results, but became fixed on the idea that the baby had dwarfism. When a friend told her to stop worrying because it wasn’t cancer, she replied that it would be “better to deal with a terminal illness than to spend a lifetime with a dwarf”.

Her mother drowned the six-month-old girl in the bathtub.

Case status:
Her mother, sentenced to up to 20 years in a mental health institution; found fit to stand trial in August 2016, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Source:
Australian mother sentenced to 20 years jail for drowning 6-month-old child
Mother who killed baby believing she was a dwarf should not be jailed, court told
Mother who drowned her baby after worrying she had dwarfism sentenced to 20 years
NSW mother to face baby’s murder trial
Sydney mother who drowned her baby in the bath found guilty of murder
Sydney woman who drowned her daughter convicted of murder
Mother accused of drowning her baby in a bath
Mother found guilty of murdering baby she believed had a genetic defect
Mother fit to stand trial over baby death
Mother drowned her girl because she thought she had dwarfism

Ila Gandhi

No PhotoName: Ila Harjivandas Gandhi.
Died: November 15, 2010.
Age at death: 62.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Disability: Schizophrenia.

Details:
Ila’s servant attacked her and her mother. Her mother survived the attack, but Ila died from stab wounds. The servant claimed that he had been paid by their daughter-in-law to commit the crime, but she was acquitted.

Case status:
Ramchandra Ganpat Gomane (Servant), charged with murder.
Rupal Gandhi (Daughter-in-law; caregiver), charged with murder, acquitted.

Source:
Rupal Gandhi: HC hauls up police for wrong arrest in murder
Sister-in-law gave supari to murder 62-yr-old in Mumbai
Senior citizen found murdered in Gamdevi

Cynthia Cline

Cynthia Cline's gravestone, an oval stone carved with an image of Jesus and the words "In God's Care".Name: Cynthia Lynn Cline.
Died: November 14, 2010.
Age at death: 51.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: East Liverpool, Ohio, USA.
Disability: “Mentally disabled”.

Details:
Cynthia’s boyfriend allegedly stabbed her to death.

Case status:
Clyde Harris (Boyfriend), charged with felonious assault.

Source:
Details emerge in death investigation
Record of the Dead for November 2010
Cynthia Lynn Cline

Allan Heath

No PhotoName: Allan Heath.
Died: November 3, 2010.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Langford, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Mobility impaired.

Details:
Allan had a tenant who lived in a shed in his backyard, and who functioned as a caregiver for him. However, his tenant sold drugs; and though Allan used drugs himself, he was growing tired of having his caregiver do drug deals on the property. Three days after Allan gave the man an ultimatum and told him to move out, the man returned to the house and stabbed him in the stomach, perforating a large vein and killing him.

Case Status:
Christopher John Elliott (Friend, live-in caregiver), convicted of murder, sentenced to 14 years to life.

Sources:
Drug-user jailed for life for stabbing friend
Fatal stab victim was ‘white as a ghost’
Murder accused: ‘I stabbed the dog’
Accused murderer spoke of stabbing man
Tenant living in shed jailed for owner’s murder
Life sentence for stabbing murder

Zahra Baker

Photo of Zahra Baker, a girl with straight brown hair and freckles, smiling at something to the left of the viewer.Name: Zahra Baker.
Died: September 24, 2010.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Homicide, undetermined.
Location: Hickory, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Leg amputee, hearing impairment, cancer survivor.

Details:
Zahra was born in Wagga-Wagga, Australia, and at five years old she survived bone cancer, though her leg had to be amputated. When she was eight, her father married an American woman and moved to North Carolina.

In the nine months before Zahra was reported missing, multiple reports of abuse came in to child protective services. Her mother took her out of school to “home-school” her.

More than a month after she went missing, Zahra’s body was found. It could not be determined how she died, but her stepmother admitted to killing her.

Case status:
Elisa Baker (Stepmother); pled guilty to murder; sentenced to 18 years. Sentence extended for 10 years on drug charges.

Source:
Murder of Zahra Baker

Emily Molin

No PhotoName: Emily Belle Molin.
Died: August 31, 2010.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Darby, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Emily’s son took her out of the nursing home where she had been staying. Then he deliberately ran her over with his car.

Case status:
Steven Frederick Molin (Son), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years.

Source:
Son Gets 25 Years For Running Over Mother
Son Ran Over His Mother On Purpose
Worcester Judge Denies Killer’s Bid For New Trial
Police: Delco man drove mom to MD, killed her |
Cops: Man who ran over mom angered over property transfer

Jeffrey Bishop

No PhotoName: Jeffrey Bishop.
Died: Late August 2010.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Unknown; was receiving disability checks.

Details:
Jeffrey’s body was found in the basement of the house where he had been staying with his caregivers, who received his disability checks in exchange for caring for him. Police say that one of his caregivers strangled Jeffrey, and when he was dead, they hid his body and continued spending his money.

Case status:
Dennis Mitchell Hall (Caregiver), convicted of murder, tampering with evidence, forgery, and fraud; sentenced to 35-50 years.
Heather Lynn Baringer (Caregiver), charged with murder and tampering with evidence.

Source:
Offender Information – Kentucky Department of Corrections – Offender Online Lookup System
Two charged with murder after body found wrapped in bags in basement