Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Death due to the actions of another human being.
Name: Johnny Churchi.
Died: October 10, 2001.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Johnny’s mother strangled him.
Case status:
Jadwiga Miskiewicz (Mother); charged with first-degree murder; sentenced to time in a psychiatric hospital.
Source:
Autism memorial: Johnny Churchi
School Struggles To Come To Grips With Johnny’s Death
Name: Pamela King.
Died: October 10, 2001.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Campbell, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Disability: Arthritis, mobility impaired.
Details:
Pamela was found dead in her home, and her husband was arrested on suspicion of having beaten her to death with an iron bar. Family told police about a long history of controlling and abusive behavior by her husband. When interviewed, her husband said he had “had an argument” with her because she wanted to leave him.
When she died, Pamela had a suitcase packed and hidden in her closet, implying she was planning to escape her abusive husband.
Case Status:
Maurice Dixon King (Husband), charged with murder. Attempted suicide; declared unfit for trial and given a hearing before a judge, who declared him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and issued a mental health order of 12 years 10 months. Died by suicide while in detention.
Sources:
R v King
Court told murderer had spoken of suicide
Daughters remember Pamela King murdered by her husband in Campbell in 2001
Name: Matthew Sutton.
Died: April 22, 2001.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Sedative overdose, smothered.
Location: Leonay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Trisomy 13
Details:
Matthew was given a fatal dose of sedative before he was smothered by his parents, who claimed it was “euthanasia”.
Case status:
Margaret Sutton and Raymond Sutton (Parents). Convicted of manslaughter; served no jail time.
Source:
Double death of parents who killed their son Matthew Sutton
Regina v Raymond Douglas Sutton; Regina v Margaret Ellen Sutton [2007] NSWSC 295 (4 April 2007)
Name: Chelsea Craig.
Died: March 19, 2001.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Prescription drug overdose.
Location: Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Rett syndrome.
Details:
Chelsea was poisoned by her mother with a mix of prescription drugs. At trial, The judge ruled that she was not at fault for Chelsea’s death because of her own history of abuse and because of the “stress caused by Chelsea’s disability”.
Chelsea had a pet bulldog named Penny. She was a freshman in high school.
Case status:
Rachel Capra Craig (Mother). Found not guilty because of a mental disorder; hospitalized; died July 2002.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Chelsea Craig
Mother found not responsible in death of disabled daughter
Murderpedia: Rachel Capra Craig
Inclusion Daily Express: Mother Charged With Poisoning Teenage Daughter
Name: Gabriel Britt.
Died: March 3, 2001.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: St. George, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Gabriel was suffocated by his father, who put his body in a pond and tried to pretend that Gabriel had accidentally drowned.
Case status:
Terrence Britt (Father); convicted of unlawful conduct toward a child, sentenced to 10 years with all but 4 years suspended.
Renee Britt (Mother); mistrial, no conviction.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Gabriel Britt
Terrence Britt pleads guilty to reduced charge, sentenced to 10 years in prison, mistrial declared in mother’s case
Gabriel Britt’s death now ruled a homicide
Mother, Father charged in death of boy
Judge rules SC no longer has to monitor how Renee Britt cares for her children
Name: Eva Visco.
Died: December 26, 2000.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Deltona, Florida, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness; frail elder.
Details:
Eva was shot in the head by her husband.
Case status:
Leo Visco (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 5 years suspended and 10 years probation.
Source:
DELTONA MAN, 81, AVOIDS PRISON IN ILL WIFE’S KILLING
Florida man pleads guilty in suicide-pact slaying
Visco Describes Killing Wife
Man Enters Plea in Killing of Wife
Eva Visco (1926 – 2000)
Name: Florence Marjorie Simpson.
Died: October 3, 2000.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Howick, New Zealand.
Disability: Terminal cancer.
Details:
Florence’s son drugged her and strangled her with the cord to her morphine pump.
Case status:
Christopher Simpson (Son), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years.
Source:
Doctor jailed for killing his terminally ill mother
Doctor charged with strangling mother
Strangled mum full of morphine
The New Zealand Herald
Mercy Killing
Name: Meridee “Kay” Reynolds.
Died: September 9, 2000.
Age at death: 40.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Vancouver, Washington, USA.
Disability: Mobility impairment; sleep disorder.
Details:
Meridee’s friend and caregiver shot her, and claimed she had done it “to end the pain”.
Case status:
Melanie McDonald (Caregiver), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 8-30 years.
Source:
Caregiver Accused of Murder
Name: Jenny Lerner.
Died: July 14, 2000.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease (Early).
Details:
Soon after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Jenny was asphyxiated by her husband. He called it a mercy killing.
Case status:
Herbert Lerner (Husband), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to five years in prison and spent only months there before he was transferred to a halfway house. Committed suicide.
Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Herbert Lerner accusé du meurtre de sa femme
Herbert Lerner s’est immolé par le feu sur la tombe de sa femme
Herbert Lerner aurait tué sa femme par compassion
Name: Cora Okonski.
Died: April 16, 2000 (Last seen); body never found.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Tama, Iowa, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, ADHD.
Details:
After telling her friend that she was afraid that her fiance was going to kill her, Cora Okonski disappeared, leaving behind her two-year-old son. Seventeen years later, with Cora still missing, her fiance was charged with her murder. Her son was adopted by family.
Cora’s murder trial is proceeding even though her body was never found, but there is good evidence that she is dead. After she disappeared, her family didn’t hear from her, and her disability payments went uncollected. The case broke when Cora’s fiance, in prison for unrelated charges, bragged to another prisoner that he had “choke-slammed” Cora and buried her body.
Case status:
Tait Purk (Fiance), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 35-50 years in prison.
Source:
Murder trial for Iowa woman whose body was never found begins Monday
Prosecution witnesses testify in Purk murder trial
Cora Okonski feared for her life, friend testifies at Tait Purk murder trial
Cara Okonski feared for her life, friend testifies in murder trial
UPDATE: Purk case goes to the jury
Iowa mom’s 2000 disappearance now investigated as murder
Tait Purk found guilty of fiancee’s murder
Tait Purk guilty of killing fiancée in rare murder trial with no body