Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Death due to the actions of another human being.
Name: Naomi Hill.
Died: November 26, 2007.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales, UK.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Naomi’s mother drowned her in the bathtub because she was ashamed of Naomi’s cerebral palsy.
Case status:
Joanne Hill (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.
Source:
Mother jailed for life for killing cerebral palsy daughter
Name: Criste Reimer .
Died: August 14, 2007.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Fall injury.
Location: Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Hydrocephalus, neurofibromatosis.
Details:
Criste’s husband threw her from a fourth-floor balcony to her death.
Case status:
Stanley Reimer (Husband), pled guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.
Source:
Sisters of woman thrown from balcony wanted to keep her away from husband
Name: Baden Bond.
Died: May 1-16, 2007 (Approximate; body not found).
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Abandonment.
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Baden’s father took him to a boat ramp and abandoned him there. His body was never found; it is likely he died of drowning or exposure. Authorities determined that his motive had been that he was “tired of looking after” the boy. Baden’s mother helped cover up the crime.
Case Status:
Shane Arthur Simpson (Father), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 9.6 to 12 years in prison.
Diane Colleen Simpson (Mother), pleaded guilty to accessory to manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years and released after almost 2 years.
Sources:
R v Simpson
Death by Neglect
‘Sorry’: Father says he patted toddler on the head then abandoned him without looking back
Drug-addicted father jailed for abandoning toddler at boat ramp to die
The Uncounted
Name: Samantha Collins.
Died: March 22, 2007.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Epilepsy.
Details:
Samantha’s boyfriend hit her in the head and killed her; then he dismembered and hid her body.
She was the mother of a toddler son.
Case status:
Ian Charles Borbely (Boyfriend), convicted of second-degree murder and indignity to a body; sentenced to 17 years to life.
Source:
MANDEL: Muskoka murderer who cut up spouse’s body loses appeal
Borbely found guilty in Samantha Collins murder
Argument before eviction led to murder: Crown
Name: Elsie Patricia Crutchley.
Died: February 5, 2007.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Taumarunui, New Zealand.
Disability: Terminal stomach cancer.
Details:
Elsie was poisoned by her son, with an overdose of painkillers and anxiolytics. She was dead within hours.
Case status:
Ian Crutchley (Son); convicted of attempted murder, sentenced to 6 months probation and 150 hours of community service.
Source:
Man who tried to kill mother avoids jail term
Man guilty of mother’s attempted murder
Man on trial for terminally ill mother’s death
Name: Richard Fowler.
Died: December 13, 2006.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Back injury.
Details:
Richard, disabled by a back injury and having received a worker’s comp payout, was divorced but still lived with his wife. His wife, who wanted the money, plotted with her partner to beat Richard to death.
Case Status:
Angela Dawn Fowler (Ex-wife), pled guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy, sentenced to 13 years in prison and 5 years probation.
Robert Lee Heydman (Wife’s partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Sources:
Who is Angela Dawn Fowler and what did she do?
Deadly Duo: Angela Dawn Fowler got Robert Heydman to kill her husband, Richard Fowler
Name: Ulysses Stable.
Died: November 22, 2006.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Ulysses’s father cut his throat and left him in the bathtub to bleed out.
Case status:
Jose Stable (Father), convicted, sentenced to three-and-a-half years.
Source:
Solomon, A. (2014). Far from the tree: Parents, children and the search for identity. Scribner Classics.
Autism Memorial: Ulysses Stable
Autistic Boy Is Slashed to Death and His Father Is Charged
Name: Sherry Lavery.
Died: September 27, 2006.
Age at death: 50.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Depression, alcoholism.
Details:
Sherry’s husband smothered her with a pillow after she told him she believed she would not recover from her alcoholism.
Sherry, a mother and grandmother, had been a political activist and a campaign manager for an MP, and regularly contributed to her local newspaper’s letters page. She loved the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.
Case Status:
Noel Lavery (Husband), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years house arrest, 3 years probation, and community service.
Sources:
Edmonton senior who smothered wife avoids jail | CBC News
Dead woman had alcohol, anti-depressants, in blood | CBC News
Killer of alcoholic wife guilty of manslaughter
Sherry Lavery Obituary (2006) – Edmonton Journal
Trial delayed by technical glitch to resume Friday | CTV News
Mental-health system needs fix
Name: Kathy Wangler.
Died: September 4, 2006.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Lima, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Epilepsy.
Details:
Kathy’s husband gassed her with carbon monoxide, then called emergency services and claimed she was having a seizure. Kathy was declared dead, and an autopsy determined she had already been dead for half an hour when her husband called 911, calling his story into question. Kathy’s friends also testified that her husband had been psychologically abusing her.
Every summer, Kathy volunteered at the county fair to raise money for the local school district.
Case Status:
Mark Wangler (Husband), convicted of aggravated murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.
Sources:
An Ohio Mom Is Found Dead From Carbon Monoxide. Was It A Tragic Accident Or Murder?
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered – Where is Ohio anesthesiologist Dr Mark Wangler now?
State v. Wangler, 2012 Ohio 4878
Kathy Wangler Murder: Where is Dr. Mark Wangler Now? –
Did Ohio anesthesiologist gas his wife to death?
Name: Stephen Chin.
Died: September 4, 2006.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Daceyville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: SCI; quadriplegic.
Details:
Knowing he could not move himself from his bed, Stephen’s estranged wife soaked his bedroom in gasoline and set the house on fire. He died in the fire. She told police she killed him so that he could not receive any of their property in their divorce settlement.
Case Status:
Grace Soon (Wife), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 6 years 9 months to 9 years in prison.
Sources:
Wife charged with quadriplegic’s murder
R v Soon
Money ‘motive in quadriplegic’s killing’
Jail for killing “sex orgy” hubby