Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Death due to the actions of another human being.
Name: Debbie Burns.
Died: August 15, 2004.
Age at death: 40.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Pinellas County, Florida, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability after brain damage from scarlet fever.
Details:
Debbie’s sister shot her to death.
Case status:
Barbara Ann Burns (Sister), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 15 years in prison; released after serving 12 years.
Source:
Barbara Ann BURNS
Woman reveals how she shot sister and lived with body for six weeks
Name: Ian Carmichael.
Died: July 31, 2004.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Poisoned, strangled.
Location: London, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Epilepsy, dyslexia, developmental delay.
Details:
Convinced that he was ridding his family of an “intolerable burden”, Ian’s father took him to a hotel room, where he poisoned and then strangled him to death.
Ian competed in BMX bike racing. He left behind his older sister Gillian.
The crime was initially presented by the media as a “mercy killing”. Later on, Ian’s father blamed the antidepressants he was taking.
Case status:
David Carmichael (Father), charged with first-degree murder, ruled not guilty by reason of mental disorder; hospitalized for four years; absolute discharge in December 2009.
Source:
Accused David Carmichael remains silent while media puts defense forward
Carmichael murder case put off
Man not criminally responsible in son’s death
‘Loving’ father opens up over murder of son during psychotic episode
Can pills for depression turn you into a killer?
Canadian man who killed son while taking anti-depressants lobbies for freedom of U.S. dad who killed twins
Name: Scarlett Chen, also called Jia Jia.
Died: July 12, 2004.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
After Scarlett’s mother was told by a doctor that Scarlett’s autism could not be surgically cured, she drowned Scarlett in the bathtub.
Case status:
Xuan “Linda” Peng (Mother); pled guilty to manslaughter; served five years in prison.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Scarlett Chen
Killer of autistic daughter released
History of euthanasia in Canada
Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer
Name: Dalton Gilmer.
Died: July 5, 2004 (Body found).
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Fletcher, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s.
Details:
Dalton lived in a psychiatric hospital. His son arranged for him to be moved to a facility closer to home, picked him up, and instead of taking him to the new facility, strangled him and dumped his body at the side of the road.
Case Status:
Vince Gilmer (Son); sentenced to life; spent 17 years in prison. Compassionate release after developing Huntington’s disease.
Sources:
Doctor, convicted of murder, released from Va. prison two years after pardon
MSGT Dalton Donald “Don” Gilmer Jr. (1940-2004)
Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde
The Unusual, Unsettling Crimes of the Other Dr. Gilmer
Hospital transfer being considered for physician serving life sentence for killing, mutilating his father
Name: Mary Esther Sawyer.
Died: June 21, 2004.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Latrobe, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Mary’s daughter checked her out of her nursing home, took her home, drugged her, and suffocated her with a pillow.
Case status:
Rita Ann Sawyer (Daughter), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison.
Source:
U.S. court rejects plea for new trial by midstate doctor convicted of killing mom
Name: Sophie Jaworski.
Died: May 8, 2004.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease, colon cancer.
Details:
Sophie was recovering in the hospital after surgery when her husband stabbed her to death.
Sophie enjoyed bowling, baking, shopping, and spending time with her family, who called her “Baba”.
Case Status:
Tony Jaworski (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to three years probation.
Sources:
Senior sentenced for wife’s death, lawyer calls it ‘mercy killing’
JAWORSKI SOPHIE – Obituaries – Winnipeg Free Press Passages
Name: “Baby C” (Female).
Died: May 2004.
Age at death: 5 months.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Nelson, New Zealand.
Disability: Lissencephaly.
Details:
When he learned that her diagnosis would cause lifelong severe disability, Baby C’s father smothered her.
Case status:
Her father; charged with manslaughter but acquitted, even though he confessed during the trial.
Name: Ida Heginbotham.
Died: April 1, 2004.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Preesall, Lancashire, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia, arthritis, hip replacements.
Details:
Ida’s husband cut her throat because he didn’t want her to be transferred to a dementia ward.
She was “a keen horsewoman” and the mother of six children.
Case status:
Bernard Heginbotham (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility; given a 12-month community rehabilitation order and released.
Source:
Wheelchair-bound pensioner, 96, becomes one of UK’s oldest murder suspects
100-year-old cut his ailing wife’s throat in ‘act Husband, 100, spared jail for ‘act of love’ killing
Freedom for 100-year-old who killed his wife
BRITAIN’S OLDEST KILLER DIES AGE 102
Name: Gracie Louise Sharpe.
Died: March 27, 2004.
Age at death: 20 months.
Cause of death: Shot with speargun.
Location: Mornington, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Congenital hip dysplasia.
Details:
Gracie’s mother was pregnant with her younger sibling; but her father resented having to care for her and her special needs, and did not want another child. He used a spearfishing gun to kill Gracie’s mother, Anna Marie Kemp, whose baby, a son named Francis, died with her. He hid the body and pretended she had left him. Days later, he killed Gracie with the same speargun.
Case Status:
John Myles Sharpe (Father), convicted of two counts of murder, sentenced to 66 years to life.
Sources:
Sharpe family murders
Gracie Louise Sharpe (2002-2004) – Find A Grave.
Name: Angelica Auriemma.
Died: December 5, 2003.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Soon after Angelica was diagnosed with autism, her mother tried to electrocute her; when that didn’t work, she drowned her in the bathtub.
Case status:
Ioanna Auriemma (Mother); convicted of manslaughter; sentenced to up to 5 years and served three years in prison.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Angelica Auriemma
Autistic Brooklyn Woman Is Drowned at Home
McGuire, A. (2016). War on autism: On the Cultural Logic of normative violence. University of Michigan Press.