Category: Type: Fatal Neglect

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

Ellen Jackson

Photo of Ellen Jackson, a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length gray hair and light skin, wearing round-rimmed glasses and an olive-green sweater.Name: Ellen Jackson.
Died: February 16, 2015.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Hypothermia.
Location: Shamokin, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Blindness, diabetes, heart disease.

Details:
Ellen’s daughter allegedly left her home unheated and left Ellen alone on the floor to freeze to death.

Ellen was a good baker; her family especially remembers her coconut cream and chocolate pudding pies. She listened to gospel music and loved her three grandchildren.

Case status:
Mary Ellen Collins (Daughter), pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter.

Source:
Daughter in mom’s fatal hypothermia case pleads no contest
Woman to trial in mom’s alleged neglect, hypothermia death
Family Reacts After Woman Charged with Mother’s Death in Shamokin
Shamokin woman seeks dismissal of charges linked to her mother’s death

Lee Del Ratez

Photo of Lee Del Ratez, a man with dark hair and light tan skin. He is holding his hands in fists just below his chin, and wearing a black and blue T-shirt.Name: Lee W. Del Ratez.
Died: January 8, 2015.
Age at death: 40.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: North Adams, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Lee died because of his siblings’ negligence when they did not take care of him properly.

Case status:
Heath Del Ratez (Brother), pleaded guilty to permitting abuse on a disabled person, sentenced to two years probation.
Jessica Kemp (Sister), charged with manslaughter by negligence and caretaker abuse of a disabled person.

Source:
North Adams pair charged with manslaughter in connection with death of disabled sibling
North Adams pair charged with manslaughter by negligence in death of disabled man
Lee W. Del Ratez, 40

Ena Lai Dung

No PhotoName: En Lai Dung.
Died: January 16, 2015.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Manurewa, South Auckland, New Zealand.
Disability: Elderly disabled; possibly bulimia.

Details:
Ena Lai lived with her daughter in a rented house. Her daughter refused to take care of her or ask for help; she claimed that Ena Lai had bulimia and refused to eat.

Ena Lai died in her filthy bed, weighing only 29 kg (64 pounds), dehydrated, malnourished, and suffering from infected bedsores. She had fourteen half-healed broken ribs and a broken sternum.

Case status:
Cindy Taylor (Daughter), found guilty of manslaughter, sentenced to 13 years 3 months.
Brian Taylor (Housemate), found guilty of failure to protect a vulnerable adult, sentenced to 6 years.
Luana Taylor (Housemate), found guilty of failure to protect a vulnerable adult, sentenced to 6 years 6 months.

Source:
Woman who let her mother starve to death declined parole
Appeals thrown out over harrowing death of Ena Lai Dung
Daughter on trial for manslaughter of mother
Dead woman had been ‘nibbled’, manslaughter trial hears
Jury to view shocking pics of dead woman
Paramedic overwhelmed by smell when examining malnourished woman’s body
Pathologist details state of dead elderly woman found in own waste
Pathologist: I’ve never seen anything like it
Trial begins over elderly woman’s grim death
Woman found guilty of letting mother starve
Daughter’s ‘cruel’ neglect killed mother
Jail for letting mother starve to death
Daughter jailed for neglect and manslaughter of elderly woman

Cyrus Buskirk

Photo of a young boy, printed on cloth. The boy has wispy auburn hair and is smiling.Name: Cyrus Buskirk.
Died: January 12, 2015.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Untreated diabetes.
Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes.

Details:
When Cyrus’s diabetes made him sick, his mother didn’t get him medical help. She called the doctor, but didn’t follow any of the doctor’s instructions. By the time she called 911, it was too late; Cyrus died of complications of juvenile diabetes.

Cyrus’s obituary says that he “loved school, baseball, the Iron Pigs, karate and being a ninja”.

Case status:
Ashleigh Buskirk (Mother), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, sentenced to 16 months to 10 years.

Source:
Cyrus T. Buskirk Obituary (2007 – 2015) Morning Call
Mother sentenced for letting diabetic child die
Allentown mother pleads guilty in death of diabetic son

Caryl Vanzo

A gravestone, reading, "Mother Caryl. 1924-2015."Name: Caryl Vanzo.
Died: January 5, 2015.
Age at death: 90.
Cause of death: Unspecified.
Location: Plymouth, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled; wheelchair user.

Details:
Caryl was neglected by her son, who stole and spent her retirement funds. When she was dying, or possibly soon after she had died, Caryl’s son put her in a wheelchair and went to the bank to withdraw more money from her account. Her body showed signs of malnutrition and dehydration, and she had severe untreated bedsores.

Case status:
David Vanzo (Son), pleaded guilty to one count of financial exploitation over $35,000; sentenced to 42 months in prison.

Source:
Guilty plea from son who forced mother to make bank withdrawal just before her death
Man Accused of Taking Possibly Dead Mother Into Bank Arrested in Pomona
Guilty plea from son who forced mother to make bank withdrawal just before her death
Twin Cities man accused of financially exploiting mom before her death
Minnesota man suspected of wheeling dead mother into bank
Man Accused of Taking Possibly Dead Mother Into Bank Arrested in Pomona
Man Allegedly Wheeled Dying Mother Into Bank to Withdraw Cash From Her Account
Man accused of taking dead mother into bank to make cash withdrawal

Barbara Beam

No PhotoName: Barbara Anne Beam.
Died: January 2, 2015.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Pulmonary embolism.
Location: Greeneville, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Mobility impairment.

Details:
Barbara’s caregivers allegedly left her sitting in her chair for six months, without moving her or cleaning her. Finally Barbara died from a blood clot, caused by sitting still for so long, that lodged in her lungs. She also had a severe untreated kidney infection.

Case status:
Carole Howell (Sister), charged with abuse and neglect resulting in the death of a vulnerable adult.
David Howell (Nephew), charged with abuse and neglect resulting in the death of a vulnerable adult.

Source:
Greenville mother, son indicted 2 years after elderly woman found dead
Woman charged in death of her sister who sat in chair for 6 months, warrants say

Elizabeth Siwicki

No PhotoName: Elizabeth “Betty” Siwicki.
Died: December 18, 2014.
Age at death: 89.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Garden City, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
When Betty fell out of bed and couldn’t stand back up, her son left her there for more than three weeks until she died from sepsis due to infected bedsores.

Case status:
Ron Siwicki (Son), pleaded guilty to criminal negligence, sentenced to 3 months in jail.

Source:
Man sentenced to 3 months for negligence in mother’s death
Winnipeg musician who left mother to die after fall sentenced to 3 months in custody
‘I should’ve disobeyed her’: Winnipeg man who let elderly mother die after fall speaks at sentencing

Samauri Page

No PhotoName: Samauri J. Page.
Died: November 30, 2014.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Diabetic ketoacidosis.
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes, autism.

Details:
Samauri died of diabetic ketoacidosis because he had been either not given enough to eat, or not given his insulin.

His favorite sport was wrestling.

Case status:
Bakari J. Page (Father), under investigation.

Source:
Samauri J. Page
Autism Memorial: Samauri Page
Diabetic teen dies despite multiple warnings to Children Services

Camaron Larson

Photo of Camaron Larson, a child wearing a turquoise shirt and turqoise baseball cap. He has fair skin and light brown hair and is smiling.Name: Camaron Larson.
Died: November 24, 2014.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Natural causes, aggravated by neglect.
Location: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease; Leukoencephalopathy.

Details:
Camaron was not given his medication, and his parents often left him alone for days at a time with just his brother, only a year older than him, to care for him. He had to live in a filthy house without utilities.

His brother, who was thirteen when Camaron died, survived their ordeal and testified at their parents’ trial.

Case status:
Robert McKay (Father), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to life plus 27 years.
Sarah McKay (Mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to life plus 27 years.

Source:
Jury Recommends Life For Tulsa Couple Convicted In Death Of Son
Tulsa child death report shows history of calls to authorities
Review of the Death of Camaron Larson
Camaron Larson Obituary

Jenhyla Simms

A small African-American girl in a frilly pink dress and hair ribbons. She has a large head and short arms, probably related to her disability.Name: Jenhyla Simms.
Died: November 14, 2014.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Saginaw, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability.

Details:
Jenhyla’s mother left her alone in the bathtub, where she drowned.

Case status:
Destiny T. Oglesby (Mother), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 1 year in jail.

Source:
Saginaw woman gets 1 year in jail for drowning of 6-year-old daughter