Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Death due to the actions of another human being.
Name: Mason Scott.
Died: August 16, 2008.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Burned.
Location: Russellville, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Mason’s mother locked him in their house and set it on fire. Mason burned alive.
Case status:
Christie Scott (Mother), first-degree murder, death sentence.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Mason Scott
Murderpedia Article (Includes newspaper articles and court case.)
Christie Bray Scott’s Road to Death Row
A Mother’s Murder?
Name: Margaret Mary “Peggy” Benjo.
Died: June 5, 2008.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Deltona, Florida, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness, dementia; disabled elder.
Details:
Peggy was shot to death by her husband.
Case status:
Robert Benjo (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to two years house arrest and 13 years probation.
Source:
Elderly Deltona man charged in wife’s murder, saying she no longer had will to live
Deltona man, 82, pleads guilty to killing wife
Mercy or Murder? Man Kills Dying Wife
Sheriff: Elderly husband charged in Deltona wife’s murder earlier today — accused says wife no longer had will to live with illness
Deltona man, 82, gets suspended sentence for killing his ailing wife
Name: Peggy Albury Mehrman.
Died: May 28, 2008.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Overdose.
Location: Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA.
Disability: A “debilitating neuromuscular disease”.
Details:
Peggy was poisoned over several months with overdoses of her own medication by a neighbor who had moved in with her as her caregiver.
Case status:
Jana Porter Mallory (Caregiver/Neighbor), second-degree murder and elderly abuse, 30 years.
Source:
Jana Porter MALLORY
Name: Xiao Fei.
Died: January 2008.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Beijing, China.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Xiao Fei’s mother drugged her with sleeping pills, then smothered her.
Case status:
Li Daohong (Mother), 3-year sentence suspended. No jail time.
Name: Mara Tani.
Died: December 1, 2007.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Prato, Italy.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.
Details:
Mara’s husband shot her in the head.
Case status:
Vitangelo Bini (Husband), convicted of aggravated murder, sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison, but will not serve any jail time because of his age. Committed suicide 6 months later.
Source:
Woman with Alzheimer’s shot dead in hospital by husband, 77
Pensioner commits suicide
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