Category: Type: Fatal Neglect

Medical neglect, lack of care, failure to provide necessities of life.

Ecie Gabrielsen

Photo of Ecie Gabrielsen, an elderly woman. She has brown curly short hair and fair skin that is freckled and wrinkled. She is wearing pink lipstick and star-shaped dangle earrings, and smiling for the camera.Name: Ecie Gabrielsen.
Died: September 29, 2018.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Citrus Springs, Florida, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Ecie loved kids and her family. She had five grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, and she would often go out to dinner with them and tell them stories of when she was a girl in Kentucky coal country.

Ecie’s grandson, who had moved in to help her out, gradually separated her from her family; then he neglected her until she died. He buried her in a shallow grave, told family he had put her in a nursing home, and tried to flee to Mexico. He and his girlfriend were arrested at the border.

Perpetrator: Arthur Miller (Grandson/Adoptive son), charged with neglect and gross abuse of a human body; Vivian Gutierrez (Grandson’s girlfriend), charged with neglect.

Source:
Family remembers Ecie Gabrielsen as loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother
Florida man allegedly neglected grandmother to point of death, buried her, tried to flee country
Family of Citrus Springs woman neglected until death speak out
Man allegedly neglected grandmother to point of death, buried her, tried to flee country
Deputies: Man neglected grandmother until she died, tried to flee U.S.

Ronald Blankenship

No PhotoName: Ronald Blankenship.
Died: August 20, 2018.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Monticello, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; diabetes, mobility impaired.

Details:
Ronald lived with his sister and nephew, who were supposed to care for him. Instead, they left him neglected in filthy surroundings. Ronald died of severe, untreated bronchopneumonia.

When Ronald was found dead, police also found a young woman with Down syndrome, who had been adopted by one of Ronald’s relatives; she was taken into adult protective services. Three dogs and three cats, also neglected, were taken by animal control; one of the dogs was too sick to survive and had to be euthanized.

Perpetrator: Christie Brown (Sister), Mason Brown (Nephew), and Justin Tatman (Power of Attorney).

Source:
Bond set for three in neglect case | Piatt County Journal-Republican
3 arrested in connection with death of Monticello man

Muhammad Rabiul

No PhotoName: Muhammad Rabiul.
Died: August 12, 2018.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Disability: Mental disability.

Details:
Muhammad lived with his mother in a makeshift house. When she went out to go begging for the day, she shackled him to the house. While she was gone, the house and several others burned down. Everyone but Muhammad escaped; he died in the fire because he could not get out of his chains.

Perpetrator: His mother.

Source:
Bound man with mental disability burns to death in Chattogram fire

Barbara Lewis-Brown

Photo of a middle-aged woman with dark brown skin and short, straight black hair. She is smiling at the camera; her eyes are twinkling. She is wearing big hoop earrings and an orange-and-green print top.Name: Barbara Lewis-Brown.
Died: July 22, 2018.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Details:
Instead of caring for her, Barbara’s children and grandchildren left her on the couch. There, she slowly died from a combination of malnutrition, dehydration, and stage 4 pressure sores infected by her filthy environment, having been starved down to a skeletal 108 pounds on her 5’8″ frame.

Barbara was retired from the Louisiana Department of Labor, having worked there for more than thirty years. Her co-workers remember her teaching them their jobs when they were new. She was the “life of the party,” good at encouraging others and brightening their day. She had three children, thirteen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Perpetrator: Chastity Lewis (Granddaughter), Carlnessa Butler (Granddaughter or grandniece, conflicting reports), Carl Lewis (son) and Chira Lewis (daughter) were charged with manslaughter and cruelty to the infirm. 

Source:
New details in Baton Rouge woman’s tragic bedsore death shed light on elderly neglect
Barbara Lewis-Brown’s Obituary on The Advocate
Pair faces manslaughter charge in death of elderly woman
In Memory of Barbara Lewis-Brown — Wilson-Wooddale Funeral Home, Baton Rouge
Third family member arrested after woman dies of bedsores in Baton Rouge

Joshua Alonzo

Photo of a teenage boy in a power chair, wearing a blue shirt and tie. He is smiling broadly. His dark hair is cut short.Name: Joshua Alonzo.
Died: May 27, 2018.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Disability: Schizencephaly, cerebral palsy.

Details:
At 18, Joshua got too old to go to his pediatrician, but instead of finding a new doctor, his mother denied him medical care for the last three years of his life. He couldn’t eat on his own, and she didn’t feed him enough.

Joshua died of malnutrition and dehydration. Though he had always been small, weighing 51 pounds at age 18, when he died he weighed only 38.

Perpetrator: Alma Munoz (Mother), charged with causing serious bodily injury to a disabled person.

Source:
Mom collected benefits as disabled son, 21, died weighing 38 pounds, Texas cops say
Texas mom charged when disabled adult son dies after three years without medical care
Obituary for Joshua Alonzo – San Antonio, TX
San Antonio mother arrested after disabled son dies of malnutrition, dehydration

Mary Smith

Photo of Mary Smith, a heavyset woman with dark-brown skin and shoulder-length hair in ringlets. She is wearing lipstick and a white blouse, and squinting at the camera.Name: Mary Jane Smith.
Died: May 22, 2018.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Dementia, Parkinson’s disease.

Details:
Mary Jane’s daughter took her out of her nursing home and took her home. There, Mary was severely neglected. She didn’t get enough food to eat or adequate medical care, and she developed bedsores. Doctors repeatedly informed Mary’s daughter that she needed care. Finally, Mary was brought to the hospital, weighing only 72 pounds, and died days later.

Mary Jane owned a beauty shop, ran a day care, and worked as a nurse’s aide.

Perpetrator: Gladys Smith (Daughter).

Source:
Denver coroner rules 88-year-old woman’s death a homicide due to neglectful care
88-year-Old Woman’s Death In Denver Declared Homicide
Mary Jane Smith Obituary – Denver, CO

Antoin Hawes Jr.

No PhotoName: Antoin Hawes Jr.
Died: May 13, 2018.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Augusta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Autism, ADHD.

Details:
Antoin’s parents kept him locked in a room with the window boarded up, chained by his ankle. He had to sleep on old couch cushions wrapped in garbage bags and use a bucket for a toilet. There were no lights, no heating, and no air conditioning. When he got sick, they didn’t get him medical help. By the time an ambulance was finally called, he had died of pneumonia.

Perpetrator: Antoin Sylvester Hawes Sr. (Father) and Stephanie Jones Hawes (Mother), both charged with neglect of a disabled adult and felony murder.

Source:
Augusta death investigated, victim kept in room with no windows or bed
Man found dead in Kissingbower Rd. home, parents arrested
Parents arrested in suspicious death of son at Augusta residence
Parents of autistic man found dead indicted on felony murder charges
Richmond County couple indicted on murder charges in disabled son’s death
Shocking Death in Augusta: Parents Kept Autistic Son Locked in Windowless Bedroom!

Cynthia Brunner

No PhotoName: Cynthia Brunner.
Died: February 19, 2018.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Cary, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Diabetes, chronic illness; required caregiver.

Details:
For a month, Cynthia’s son didn’t give her her medication.

When Cynthia fell down the stairs, her son left her on the floor to die, refusing to call for help.

Perpetrator: Eric Paul Brunner (Son), charged with second-degree murder and elder abuse.

Source:
Son charged with murder and abuse of his mother is being held in protective custody
This Man Allegedly Left His Mother to Die Because He Wanted $30,000 From Her Bank Account
Son knew his injured mom would likely die while he ignored her, Wake deputies say
Man accused of letting mom die withheld medicine, sheriff’s investigator says
Cary man left mom to die after falling down stairs, warrants say
Man Allegedly Walked Over Dying Mother to Gain Inheritance

Tial Melvin

No PhotoName: Tial La’Chella Melvin.
Died: February 3, 2018.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, physically and mentally disabled.

Details:
Tial and her sister were both neglected by their adoptive mother. Tial died from starvation and hypothermia, weighing fifty pounds despite being 5’1″ tall.

Perpetrator: Bertha Brewington Melvin (Adoptive mother), charged with first-degree murder and two counts of domestic abuse, neglect, and exploitation of disabled or elderly adults; died before trial.

Source:
Fayetteville woman charged with murdering disabled daughter
Fayetteville mom charged with starving disabled daughter to death :
Fayetteville mom charged with murder, neglect of disabled daughter
Fayetteville woman starved her mentally disabled daughter to death, police say
N. Carolina mom charged in daughter’s malnourishment death
Mom charged with starving disabled daughter to death
Fayetteville mom charged with starving daughter to death
Disabled Fayetteville woman died weighing 50 lbs, autopsy says
Mom starves mentally disabled 55-pound adult daughter to death: Police
Fayetteville woman dies after being charged with killing disabled daughter

Paola Manchisi

Photo of Paolo Manchisi. She is a teenage girl with light skin and black hair held back with two bobby pins. She is wearing a white blouse and necklace.Name: Paola Manchisi.
Died: January 6, 2018.
Age at death: 31.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Polignano a Mare, Italy.
Disability: Unspecified; possibly mental illness.

Details:
Paola died of starvation at the age of 31, weighing only 30 kilograms. She was found in a filthy, cluttered house, where she had been kept isolated by her parents since she was a teenager.

Perpetrator: Her parents, both being investigated for neglect of a disabled person resulting in death.

Source:
Parents of dead disabled woman probe
Bari, a disabled 31-year-old dies of starvation: parents accused
Bari, 31enne disabile muore di stenti. Dito puntato sui genitori
Polignano, disabile muore di stentiGenitori indagati per abbandono
Trentunenne muore di stenti nel Barese. I genitori indagati per abbandono
La terribile morte di Paola a 31 anni a Polignano e la ricerca di una motivazione che non c’è
Bari. Disabile morta di stenti, il parroco: bussavo, non hanno mai risposto
La brutta storia di Paola Manchisi
PAOLA MANCHISI/ Disabile morta di stenti a Polignano: fratello Lorenzo, “usciva normalmente” (Pomeriggio 5)
Chi l’ha Visto – Misteri – Perché nessuno è riuscito a salvare Paola, segregata e morta di stenti in casa?