Type: Fatal Neglect – Disability Day of Mourning

Elmer Norris

No Photo Name: Elmer Norris.
Died: November 22, 2019.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Pasadena, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; needed help with daily life activities.

Details:
Elmer lived with his son, who neglected him. When other family members tried to help him, his son refused to let them see Elmer and even changed the locks on the doors. Elmer died of pneumonia and pressure ulcers from being left alone on his bed with no care.

Perpetrator: Danny Norris (Son), charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, vulnerable adult abuse, and reckless endangerment.

Source:
Man arrested on charges including second degree murder, adult abuse of family member

Mildred Costanza

No Photo Name: Mildred Costanza.
Died: October 4, 2019.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Wausau, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Frail elder.

Details:
Mildred’s daughter, who ostensibly cared for her, kept her in deplorable conditions and did not take her to the doctor even when she developed a serious infection. Weakened by hunger and neglect, Mildred died of a Tramadol overdose. She weighed only 75 pounds.

Perpetrator: Mary Tessmer (Daughter), charged with intentionally subjecting an individual at risk to abuse, causing death.

Source:
Woman charged in death of elderly mother who overdosed
Ringle woman accused of chronic neglect in mother’s death

Hector Pizarro

No Photo Name: Hector J. Pizarro.
Died: September 4, 2019.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Congenital disability, autism, epilepsy, mobility impaired.

Details:
Hector had been known to child protective services for some time. At one point, he was found to weigh only 60 pounds and monitored by child welfare until he gained weight to 68-70 pounds. But once watchful eyes were averted, Hector’s mother once again neglected him.

Hector’s mother brought him to the emergency room, weighing 42 pounds. He died shortly thereafter from malnutrition, with a bedsore covering one side of his body, making it clear that he was neglected to death. Her neighbors had been completely unaware that Hector even lived there.

Perpetrator: Iraida M. Pizarro-Osorio (Mother), charged with chronic child neglect resulting in great bodily harm.

Source:
16-year-old Milwaukee boy weighed 42 lbs.; mother charged with his death
Mom charged in death of 16-year-old son who weighed just 42 pounds
Milwaukee mom charged with starving her son to death
16-year-old boy weighs 42 pounds at death, mother charged
Milwaukee mom charged with neglect of teenage son, weighed just 42 pounds at time of death
Mother charged in death of disabled, 42-pound teen

Dinah Durham

No Photo
Name: Dinah Durham.
Died: September 2, 2019.
Age at death: 65.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Mableton, Georgia, USA.
Disability: ALS.

Details:
Dinah’s sons starved her, dehydrated, and left her alone in her wheelchair until she developed severe pressure sores that quickly became infected. She died from sepsis, weighing only 75 pounds.

Perpetrator: Christopher Lee Durham (Son), charged with felony murder, neglect, and exploiting an elderly or disabled person; James Stephen Stanfield Jr. (Son), charged with felony murder and neglect.

Source:
They left their mother sitting in her own feces for 2 weeks before she died. Now, they face felony charges
Cobb men charged with murder following disabled mother’s death
Mableton brothers killed elderly mother, police say

Adam Schneider

No Photo Name: Adam Schneider.
Died: August 15, 2019.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Richmond, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
After his mother died, Adam moved in with his brother. His brother neglected him; he was brought to the hospital with severe bedsores and malnutrition, and died from the effects of starvation two days later.

Perpetrator: Henry Lee Andrus III (Brother), charged with neglect of a dependent leading to death and neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury.

Source: Brother charged with neglect in death of 39-year-old man with cerebral palsy

Cristina Pangalangan

Photo of a young girl sitting in a wheelchair, her hair messy, lips pursed, looking annoyed. Name: Cristina Pangalangan.
Died: August 5, 2019.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Murder.
Location: Colleton County, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
On a hot August day, Cristina’s mother deliberately left her in the car for five hours. According to investigators, she checked on her twice, once at noon, before continuing to leave her in the car, and then again at 3pm where she claimed to discover the car was locked and her and her boyfriend had to leave to get a spare set of keys. When first responders who received a call about a child in a locked car arrived on the scene, they found that she had died.

Her eighth-grade teachers remember her as a “very motivated student” who smiled at everyone.

Perpetrator: Rita Pangalangan (Mother), charged with murder; Larry King (mother’s boyfriend), charged with murder.

Source:
Lowcountry mother charged with murder in teen’s hot car death resigns from teaching job
13-year-old special needs girl found dead in car in SC; 2 people arrested, authorities say
Report: Two charged with murder after deliberately leaving disabled 13-year-old in car for several hours
Man, woman charged with murder in Colleton County after girl’s death in hot car
Teacher, boyfriend charged in 13-year-old’s death
Teacher mum ‘left disabled daughter, 13, to die in roasting hot car for 5 hours’
Colleton girl’s accused killers had multiple brushes with police amid rocky relationship
Authorities identify 13-year-old girl who died after being left in car
Mom, boyfriend left disabled girl in vehicle 5 hours before death, Colleton deputies say
Teacher of the Year ‘left her disabled teenage daughter to die in roasting car’
Cristina Pangalangan hot car death: Rita Pangalangan & Larry King charged w/ murder
Mother, Boyfriend Charged With Murder After 13-Year-Old Girl With Special Needs Dies in Hot Car
Woman leaves kids in hot car week after sister died in their mom’s hot car, SC police say

Darlene Conger

No Photo Name: Darlene Conger.
Died: June 20, 2019.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Zanesville, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user.

Details:
Darlene, whose caregivers forced her to live in a filthy home, died from neglect when her live-in caregivers did not care for her.

Perpetrator: Dustin Burr and Sheila Allberry (Live-in caregivers) both charged with involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, failing to provide for a functionally impaired person, theft, and misdemeanor child endangering; pleaded guilty to felonious assault.

Source:
Guilty plea entered in case of woman who died after severe neglect in deplorable home
Two face felony charges in disabled woman’s death
Two charged in death of elderly Zanesville woman living in ‘deplorable conditions’ – Y-City News
Obituary for Darlene (Henry) Conger | Bolin-Dierkes Funeral Home

Betty Crews

Name: Betty Elouise Crews.
Died: June 7, 2019.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Harriman, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Details:
Betty lived with her daughter and another caretaker. They did not care for her, and she starved to death.

Perpetrator: Christopher Kennedy and Evelyn Kennedy (Daughter), both charged with first-degree murder.

Source:
Daughter, one other charged with murder after 72-year-old mother starved to death in Roane County
Daughter charged in starving death of elderly mother
Caretakers charged in starvation death of Roane County woman
Obituary of Betty Elouise Crews | Harriman Location

Robbie Ballenger

Name: Robbie Ballenger.
Died: April 15, 2019.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, epilepsy.

Details:
Robbie lived, along with his twin brother and six other children, with his grandmother and five other adults. The children didn’t go to school or get medical care.

Robbie’s grandmother neglected him. He was not fed enough, and at the age of 8, he died of pneumonia secondary to starvation, weighing only 18 pounds.

Perpetrator: Geneen Romalia Ballenger (Grandmother).

Source:
DA: Fayetteville grandma faces 2 years max after child starved to death
Fayetteville boy who starved to death in grandmother’s care had cerebral palsy, weighed 18 pounds :
Fayetteville grandmother faces 2 years max for starving disabled child to death
Disabled boy, 8, ‘was so badly starved by granny his corpse looked like a baby’

Sam Koets

Name: Sam Koets.
Died: March 28, 2019.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Neglect/Abuse.
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Sam was made to live in the family’s unfinished basement, in horrible conditions. He died when his father left him alone, hands tied, near the family’s pool on a cold spring day. A little while later, he texted Sam’s thirteen-year-old sister, asking her to check on Sam. She sent back a photo of Sam, wading chest-deep in the pool, which was so cold it had ice floating on top. Sam’s father, however, did nothing to help Sam; he did not call emergency services, attempt to return home, or contact anyone but Sam’s thirteen-year-old sister who was watching Sam die in front of her eyes. Sam’s body was found floating in the icy pool; he had been dead at least an hour.

Perpetrator: Timothy Koets (Father), charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree child abuse, second-degree child abuse committed in the presence of another child and fourth-degree child abuse; Michelle Koets (Mother), charged with refilling Sam’s Ritalin prescriptions after he died.

Source:
GRCC fires man accused of manslaughter in son’s death
Mother enters plea for refilling dead son’s prescriptions
Michigan man charged with involuntary manslaughter in autistic son’s drowning death now accused of illegally filling teen’s prescriptions
GRCC professor headed to trial in son’s death
Haunting final photo shows disabled boy moments before he drowned in icy pool
Michigan dad charged after bound autistic son drowns in pool
‘It’s a nightmare:’ Professor’s arrest in death of son with severe autism rocks family
Former student shocked after professor charged in son’s death
Dad Charged in Death of Teen Son Who Has Autism
Local professor faces manslaughter charges in autistic son’s death
Michigan Professor Arraigned in Drowning Death of Autistic Teen Son Found in Icy Pool With Arms Bound
Father didn’t alert rescuers when son with autism waded into deep, cold pool, police report says
Father charged with manslaughter in son’s death
Teen with severe autism found dead in icy pool with arms bound; Michigan professor father charged
Professor facing charges in drowning death of son with special needs
Father charged with manslaughter in son’s death
Georgetown Township Father Arrested After Son’s Death
Professor facing charges in connection with drowning death of son with special needs