Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Intentional killing with multiple victims in one incident.
Name: Elwin F. “Scooter” Caler.
Age at death: 22.
Name: Melvin Randolf “Randy” Busby.
Age at death: 20.
Died: December 31, 1993.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Gray County, Texas, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Randy and Elwin were stabbed to death by their mother’s live-in boyfriend. He also killed Twila Busby, their mother.
Case status:
Henry Skinner (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to death.
Source:
Henry Watkins SKINNER
Name: Diana Maureen Weiland Robles.
Died: April 18, 1993.
Age at death: 44.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Bartlett, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired due to polio; used crutches.
Details:
Diana’s son offered his classmate $100 to kill her and her husband Peter. Her son held her down while the other man stabbed her to death.
Case status:
Eric Robles (Son), sentenced to 1oo years.
Sean Helgesen (hired killer), sentenced to 90 years.
Source:
ROBLES SENTENCED TO LIFE
Appellate court upholds 90-year sentence for Bartlett double murder by teen
Diana M. Robles (1948-1993) – Find A Grave
People v. Helgeson, 2020 IL
Name: Trevor Horn.
Died: March 3, 1993.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Hypoxia; ventilator disconnected.
Location: Montgomery County, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Quadriplegic, intellectually disabled.
Details:
In an attempt to collect the money that was going toward Trevor’s care, Trevor’s father hired a hit man to kill him. The hit man disconnected Trevor’s respirator, and then shot his mother, Mildred Horn, and his overnight nurse, Janice Saunders. Trevor’s two sisters, who had been out of the house that night, survived.
Case status:
Lawrence Horn (Father), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole, died in prison.
James Edward Perry (Hit man); convicted of murder, sentenced to death, died in prison.
Source:
Lawrence T. HORN
Father arrested in 3 murders
The chilling story of how a book by a cash-strapped mum from Florida is behind a triple murder
Name: Janet Cunningham.
Disability: Head injury from car accident.
Age at death: 43.
Name: Dorothy Cunningham.
Disability: Osteoporosis.
Age at death: 62.
Died: September 8, 1992.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Farmingham, Utah, USA.
Details:
Dorothy and Janet were hacked to death with a hatchet.
Dorothy, a homemaker, taught piano lessons. Janet loved skiing and was a former member of the National Ski Patrol.
Case status:
Ronald Cunningham (Janet’s father and Dorothy’s husband). Incompetent to stand trial; charges dropped.
Source:
Davis to drop murder counts against man in mental facility
MURDER SUSPECT TO REMAIN IN HOSPITAL
Name: Susan Shea.
Died: October 26, 1991.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lincoln Park, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Susan and her mother, Eileen Shea, were allegedly shot by Susan’s father.
Case status:
Michael Edward Shea (Father); charged with first-degree murder.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Susan Shea
Man Held in Killings in His Home
Name: Dr. Malanie Desilva Paul.
Age at death: 48.
Disability: Arthritis, depression.
Name: Medhini Paul.
Age at death: 17.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Name: Anthony Rajiva Paul.
Age at death: 12.
Disability: None.
Died: June 16, 1990.
Cause of death: Poisoned.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Details:
Dr. Malanie Paul, her 17-year-old daughter Medhini, and her son Anthony Rajiva were killed by her husband, also a doctor, who sedated his family and then attached them and himself to IVs full of poison. Apparently, he had decided that there was “no alternative to death” for his disabled wife and daughter, and had killed twelve-year-old Anthony too because he feared that the boy would enter the foster care system and become “a freak”.
Case status:
Anthony R. Paul (Husband/Father), deceased.
Name: Charles Forester Jr.; also known as Chucky Sweeten.
Died: January 24, 1990.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Citing years of abuse, Chucky’s mother shot her husband Tom, then shot Chucky because she “loved him and knew no one else would take care of him”.
Case status:
Dorothea Sweeten (Mother), charged with murder, died before trial.
Source:
Charles H. Forester Jr. (1950-1990) – Find A Grave
NATION : Woman Held in Family Slayings
Woman kills husband, retarded son
Woman kills husband and son
Name: Patricia McNeely.
Died: April 14, 1989.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Clearwater, Florida, USA.
Disability: Visually impaired.
Details:
Patricia’s father killed her and her mother Flora before committing suicide.
Case status:
Warren McNeely (Father), deceased.
Source:
Man kills ex-wife, child, himself
Slayings continue to haunt family
Name: Olla Mae Waller.
Died: August 23, 1987.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.
Details:
Olla was strangled by her husband, who also killed her daughter Lucinda Joan Zupan, age 30, and her grandson Brandon Zupan, age 7, before killing himself. Apparently, he also intended to kill Lucinda’s estranged husband, having tried to lure him to their house; but the man went to work instead and survived. Police believe the killer was stressed by Lucinda’s marital problems, and by being the primary caregiver for Olla Mae, who used a wheelchair.
Case Status:
Henry “Hank” Waller (Husband), deceased.
Sources:
Olla Mae Lemons Waller
Four Dead in Murder-Suicide In Colorado Springs
Killer Triggers by Joe Kenda: New Excerpt
Killings of three or more people pepper Colorado Springs history
Name: Michelle Sandor.
Age at death: 14.
Name: Scott Sandor.
Age at death: 11.
Died: September 3, 1982.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Marfan syndrome.
Details:
Scott and Michelle Sandor were shot by their mother, who then shot herself. Their mother also had Marfan syndrome.
Case status:
Linda V. Sandor, deceased.