Type: Homicide – Page 89 – Disability Day of Mourning

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

Lilian Gill

Photo of Lilian Gill, a toddler girl with light skin and dark hair. Name: Lilian Leilani Gill.
Died: March 1, 2002.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: San Bernardino, California, USA.
Disability: Mother claimed she was autistic.

Details:
Lillian was killed by her mother, who then claimed that Lilian had been sent to a special school to be treated for her autism. Lilian was later found buried in the backyard.

Case status:
Sharon Michelle Gill (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to “almost 14” years in prison and 5 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Lilian Leilani Gill
Lillian Leilani Gill
Woman gets prison for child’s killing in 2002
Remains found of missing girl

Irene Ritchie

No Photo Name: Irene Agnes Ritchie.
Died: February 14, 2002.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Mount Ousley, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Heart disease, blindness; frail elder.

Details:
Irene was smothered by her son, who initially hid her body and reported her missing. Once arrested by suspicious authorities, he confessed to the crime and told them where to find her body.

At trial, the judge commented that he did not believe the murder had been a mercy killing, and that Irene’s son simply “did not like living with an elderly woman in constant pain”.

Case Status:
Geoffrey Robert Ritchie (Adopted son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 11 years 9 months to 15 years.

Sources:
R v Ritchie [2003] NSWSC 864 (19 September 2003)
15 years jail for son who suffocated terminally ill mother

Michael Snyder

Name: Michael James “Mike” Snyder.
Died: January 11, 2002.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Mike was shot by his wife during an argument; he was unarmed. His body, buried under a concrete slab in his backyard, was not found for eight years.

Case Status:
Ellen Snyder (Wife), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a firearm, tax fraud, and tampering with evidence, sentenced to 11 years and released on parole after 8 years. Could not be charged with second-degree murder since the statute of limitations had run out.

Sources:
Mike Snyder Murder: Where is Ellen Snyder Now?

Shirley Harrison

No Photo Name: Shirley Harrison.
Died: December 31, 2001.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Shirley was hospitalized after a recent stroke; her husband shot her as she lay in the hospital bed.

Case status:
Thomas Harrison (Husband), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
From ‘mercy killing’ to ‘domestic violence’: Shirley Harrison, the Chicago Media and Not Dead Yet
Man, 77, sentenced for killing his wife

Johnny Churchi

No Photo 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

Pamela King

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

Matthew Sutton

No Photo 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)

Chelsea Craig

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