Type: Homicide – Page 87 – Disability Day of Mourning

Raya Donagi

A gravestone reading: Raya Rakefet Donagi. Feb. 1, 2003 - Aug. 4, 2003. In the eternal embrace of her mother. Mine An Ener, July 14, 1965 - Aug. 30, 2003. Name: Raya Rakefet Donagi.
Died: August 4, 2003.
Age at death: 6 months.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Raya’s mother slit her throat because she was afraid Raya might have to get a feeding tube.

Case status:
Mine An Ener (Mother); charged with murder. Died by suicide before she could be tried.

Source:
Mine An ENER
Wife of U. prof commits suicide awaiting trial
College prof charged with killing baby
PROFESSOR JAILED IN BABY’S DEATH APPARENTLY SUFFOCATES HERSELF

Jason Dawes

Black and white photo of a smiling boy with light skin and short hair. Name: Jason Dawes.
Died: August 4, 2003.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Suffocated.
Location: New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Jason was suffocated by his mother, who believed there was “no hope for her son”.

Jason communicated by using sign boards.

Case status:
Daniela Dawes (Mother). Convicted of manslaughter; served no jail time.

Source:
Deadly Currents Beneath Calm Waters: Persons with Disability and the Right to Life in Australia
Child murder case highlights lack of services for carers of disabled
When Love is Not Enough
R v Daniella Dawes
Autism Memorial: Jason Dawes

James Orr

Photo of James Orr. He is an adult man with fair skin and black hair, smiling at the camera. Name: James Orr.
Died: May 14, 2003.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Little Elm, Denton County, Texas, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user (from childhood injury).

Details:
James’s wife set their house on fire, knowing he would burn to death. She intended to collect his life insurance.

Case status:
Rhonda Orr (Wife), sentenced to 88 years in prison.

Source:
Rhonda Orr

David Leath

Portrait of David Leath. He is a middle-aged man with curly brown hair and beard and light skin; he is wearing a striped shirt. Name: David Leath.
Died: March 13, 2003.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
David’s wife allegedly drugged him, shot him, and then staged the scene to try to make it look like a suicide. She claimed he was despondent over his recent diagnosis of early dementia. However, evidence pointed to murder and she was arrested.

David Leath was a retired barber.

Case status:
Raynella Dossett Leath (Wife), charged with first-degree murder. Her first trial ended in a hung jury; her second trial was a conviction but was overturned; convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 51 years to life. Charges related to the death of her first husband were dropped after she was sentenced. Granted a new trial based on the first judge’s drug use; new judge declared that insufficient evidence remained to prove guilt. Case dismissed.

Source:
Raynella Leath
David Robert Leath
Jury selection in accused black widow case underway
Testimony begins for woman accused of killing both of her husbands
Knox medical examiner calls death ‘homicide’ in accused black widow trial

Nadine Richards

Name: Nadine Dolores Richards.
Died: January 9, 2003.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Sonora, California, USA.
Disability: Physical disability, unspecified.

Details:
Nadine’s brother poured a can of gasoline on his sister and set it on fire. Nadine died in the fire; the family dog also died, and the family’s home was destroyed.

Case Status:
Steven Richards (Brother), convicted of first-degree murder and arson, sentenced to 8 years plus 25 years to life in prison. Diagnosed with schizophrenia but found legally sane, having planned to kill his sister while his father was not home.

Sources:
Former Sonora Man Convicted Of Setting Sister On Fire, Denied Parole
Parole denied for former Tuolumne County man who burned sister alive in 2003
Nadine Dolores Richards (1956-2003)

Clothilde D’Auteuil

No Photo Name: Clothilde D’Auteuil.
Died: July 21, 2002.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Murder.
Location: Rimouski, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Clothilde lived at a nursing home and her son visited her. When the nursing home told him that he needed to stop visiting her because she became agitated when he visited, he went to the nursing home, strangled her to death, and beat up several aides with a metal bar.

She was the widow of a doctor who had died two years before, and had three sons and three grandsons.

Case status:
Alain Quimper (Son), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 14 years to life.

Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Supreme Court of Canada Bulletin of Proceedings
Alfred QUIMPER
Condamné pour le meurtre de sa mère malade – Quimper veut un nouveau procès
Un homme de 46 ans est accusé du meurtre de sa mère

Amber Haigh

Name: Amber Haigh.
Died: June 5, 2002 (Missing).
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Kingsvale, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Amber, who lived with an older couple, vanished in June 2002, leaving her six-month-old baby behind. In 2011, a coronial inquest declared her dead as a result of “homicide or other misadventure”. It took until 2020 for the couple she had been living with to be arrested and charged with her murder, but a trial ended in acquittal. Amber’s body has still not been found.

Amber’s parents remember her as a kind, loving soul who would help anyone who needed her, and as a dedicated mother who would never have voluntarily left her son behind.

Case Status:
Robert Geeves, charged with aggravated sexual assault (victim with a serious intellectual disability) and murder, acquitted.
Anne Geeves, charged with murder, acquitted.

Sources:
Amber Haigh: Couple accused of killing teen to steal baby acquitted
Geeves couple acquitted of Amber Haigh cold case
Court hears of accusation of body being fed to pigs, calls from psychics as Amber Haigh trial nears its end
Missing teen Amber Haigh was ‘removed from the equation’ after giving birth, court told
Married couple accused of murdering teenage mother in 2002 plead not guilty
Wire tap caught cold case murder accused discussing young mum’s remains, court told
Couple charged over alleged murder of NSW teen who vanished nearly 20 years ago
Couple charged with murder of disabled teenage mum
Man and woman charged over the murder of Amber Haigh
Couple charged with murder 20 years after young mum Amber Haigh vanished
Two charged with missing NSW teen’s murder

Mitchell Dickson

No Photo Name: Mitchell Dickson.
Died: June 4, 2002.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Seymour, Texas, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Mitchell’s mother slashed him to death with razor blades and then tried to disguise it as a car accident.

Case status:
Melanie Rochelle Dickson (Mother); pled guilty to murder; sentenced to 15-30 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Mitchell Dickson
Mom Gets 30 Years In Prison For Son’s Murder

Unknown Man

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: March 12, 2002.
Age at death: 50s.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disability, fronto-temporal dementia.

Details:
This man, whose name was not released, had a life-long intellectual disability, but began needing full-time care in his fifties, so he moved in with his father, his niece, and her baby son. His dementia had become quite severe, resulting in behavioral disinhibition, when he became confused and masturbated in the presence of his niece’s baby. She reacted by beating and kicking him to death.

He was a Vietnam veteran who worked stocking shelves before the dementia forced him to retire.

Case Status:
KMB (Niece), sentenced to 3-7 years.

Sources:
R v KMB [2005] NSWCCA 185 (6 May 2005)

Olga Law

No Photo Name: Olga Law.
Died: March 6, 2002.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Thames, New Zealand.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Olga’s husband drugged her with sleeping pills, bludgeoned her with a hammer, and then smothered her.

Case status:
Rex Arthur Law (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 18 months in prison, with the possibility of applying for home confinement.

Source:
Wife killer sealed his deed with a kiss
The Queen v Rex Arthur Law
‘Honourable man’ faces 9 months’ jail