Type: Fatal Neglect – Page 26 – Disability Day of Mourning

Geraldine Chandler

No Photo Name: Geraldine Joyce Chandler.
Died: October 12, 2015.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Restraint-related.
Location: Cleves, Ohio, USA.
Disability: “Functionally impaired”.

Details:
Geraldine’s caregivers allegedly caused her death; police reports are unclear how, but apparently they restrained or locked her up and failed to provide for her needs.

Case status:
Kimberly Taggart (Caregiver), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 8 years.
John Reid (Caregiver), guilty of failure to provide for a functionally impaired person, sentenced to 6 years.

Source:
John Reid | Madison Correctional | Ohio Inmates & Offenders
Caregiver sentenced in 84-year-old’s death
2 indicted in abduction, death of woman, 84

Jhoel Noria

Photo of a young boy with brown hair and tan skin, smiling; in the background are the walls of a school classroom. Name: Jhoel Noria; also called Jhoel Jesus Gaspar.
Died: September 30, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Motor vehicle accident.
Location: Trenton, Texas, USA.
Disability: “Special needs”.

Details:
Jhoel died while waiting for the school bus; he walked into the road and was fatally hit by an SUV.

Normally this would have been categorized as an accident, but police investigated and found that Jhoel, whose special needs required supervision, had been completely unsupervised at the time. Suspecting neglect, they removed Jhoel’s three siblings from the home. These three siblings, now able to speak out, told the police that Jhoel’s stepfather and stepbrother had been sexually assaulting all four children. Jhoel’s parents and stepbrother were arrested.

Jhoel liked to play ball and he liked animals, but he had a passion for dancing. He was always showing his family his new dance moves.

Case status:
Pedro Noria (Stepfather), pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, sentenced to 20 years.
Nelson Rodriguez (Stepbrother), charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Noemi Noria (Mother), convicted of continuous sexual assault of a child, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Trenton mom gets 30 years in prison in sex abuse case
Father in Trenton child sexual abuse case gets 20 years in prison
Trenton police investigation into 12-year-old’s death leads to sexual assault arrests
Boy killed in Trenton wreck identified
Jhoel Jesus Gaspar Obituary
Family of boy who died while waiting on a school bus arrested on child abuse charges

Thelma Hayner

No Photo Name: Thelma Ruth Hayner.
Died: September 23, 2015.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Heart attack, aggravated by infection from untended pressure sores.
Location: Asheboro, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia, frail elder.

Details:
Thelma’s son and daughter-in-law allegedly neglected her, leaving her alone at home, locked into her room and in her bed. When she was finally taken to the hospital, doctors discovered multiple severe pressure sores and malnutrition. She died of a heart attack shortly thereafter, her body weakened by infection and poor care.

Case status:
James Hayner (Son), convicted of elder neglect resulting in serious injury and involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 1 year 1 month to 2 years 1 month.
Kathleen Hayner (Daughter-in-law), convicted of elder neglect, sentenced to 10 months to 1 year 9 months.

Source:
State v. Hayner, 840 S.E.2d 539
Couple charged in alleged elder neglect death

Elaine Latshaw

No Photo
Name: Elaine Latshaw.
Died: August 15, 2015.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Starvation, sepsis, pneumonia.
Location: Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Elderly; mobility impaired.

Details:
Elaine was neglected by her son and daughter-in-law. She died of a combination of starvation, systemic infection from untreated bedsores, and pneumonia.

Case status:
John F. Latshaw Jr. (Son), pled no contest to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 3-24 months in prison.
Dorothy Robinson (Daughter-in-law), pled no contest to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 3-24 months in prison.

Source:
Couple charged in woman’s death by neglect
Elder Abuse or Respecting Last Wishes?
Police Charge Couple in 2015 Death in Schuylkill County
2 from Mahanoy City to face homicide charges
2 sentenced for role in woman’s death

Albert Vereen

An African-American man in a white T-shirt. Name: Albert Lee Vereen.
Died: August 7, 2015.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Longs, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
When Albert was admitted to the hospital in poor condition, doctors called police to report neglect. The next day, he died of sepsis from a large, untreated bedsore.

Albert had seven grandchildren.

Case status:
Ronya Green (Daughter), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.
Albert Vereen Jr. (Son), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.

Source:
Obituary of Albert Lee Vereen – Longs South Carolina
2 arrested for neglect after father dies from untreated bedsore

Karen Passmore

Portrait photo of Karen Passmore. She is a young woman with straight light-brown hair. Name: Karen Passmore.
Died: August 6, 2015.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, sepsis, heart failure.
Location: Milton, Florida, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Karen’s daughter didn’t feed or care for her. Weakened by starvation, Karen died from a combination of pneumonia, heart failure, and infected bedsores, weighing 58 pounds.

Case status:
Jackie Passmore (Daughter), convicted of aggravated manslaughter of a disabled adult, given non-custodial sentence.

Source:
Don’t treat her like that
Arrest Report–Passmore
22-year-old woman charged in the death of her disabled mother
Woman Charged In Her Mother’s Death
Milton woman charged in death of her disabled mother
Milton woman charged in mother’s death
Karen Passmore Obituary – Milton, Florida
Woman convicted in disabled mother’s death
Milton woman convicted in the death of her disabled mother

Mr. Sulpizio

No Photo Name: Unknown. Possibly surnamed Sulpizio, like his mother.
Died: August 6, 2015.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Four Oaks, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Multiple disabilities; non-verbal, blind, brain injury.

Details:
This seven-year-old boy was neglected by his mother. She kept her own room air-conditioned, but the little boy had to live in a filthy room that reached 95 degrees in the summer heat. He died of neglect.

Case status:
Donna Mae Sulpizio (Mother), convicted of intentional child abuse resulting in severe bodily injury, sentenced to 8 years 9 months 24 days; minimum 6 years.

Source:
Mother indicted following death of handicapped child
NC DPS Offender Public Information

Jessie McCrimmon

No Photo Name: Jessie McCrimmon.
Died: July 15, 2015.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Septic shock, multiple organ failure.
Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.

Details:
Jessie’s girfriend neglected him so badly that when he was rushed to the hospital, he needed immediate amputation of both legs because of infected pressure sores. But the amputations failed to save his life, and he died of multiple organ failure and septic shock.

Case status:
Stacey Ann Cunnius (Girlfriend, paid caregiver), pleaded no contest to third-degree murder and neglect of care for a dependent person; sentenced to 4-10 years in prison and ten years of probation.

Source:
Caregiver charged with homicide in death of man with maggot-filled foot wounds
Woman charged after man with maggot-filled foot wounds dies
Reading woman charged in death of man in her care
Pennsylvania woman charged after man with maggot-filled foot wounds dies
Reading woman pleads no contest in death of her boyfriend
Woman gets prison in death of man with maggot-filled wound
Woman sentenced in death of man with maggot-filled wounds

Lala Mardigan

Photo of Lala Mardigan. She is a young woman with dark brown skin, wearing a yellow shirt; she has headphones in her ears. Name: Lala Mardigan.
Died: Late July 2015.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, infection.
Location: Wadeye, Northern Territory, Australia.
Disability: Lupus, intellectual disability.

Details:
Lala lived in a remote part of Australia. She had spent some time in foster care, but returned to her mother at age 18 even though her mother had told the health service she could not care for her. Despite a case worker’s warning that Lala was not being cared for, the health department did not assign her a guardian. At 20, Lala died from malnutrition and infection, a victim of neglect.

Case status:
No charges.

Source:
Twenty-year old’s death highlights the people in remote communities falling through the gaps
Aboriginal woman would be alive ‘if people in power cared’

Matthew Hoag

Name: Matthew Paul Hoag.
Died: June 30, 2015.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Methanol poisoning.
Location: Sylvan Township, Michingan, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
When this young man drank windshield wiper fluid, his mother refused to seek medical treatment for him. He died from poisoning.

Case status:
Paulette Redding (Mother), pleaded no contest to third-degree child abuse, sentenced to 2 years of probation and 50 hours of community service.

Source:
Obituary of Matthew Paul Hoag
Mother charged in death of disabled son who drank windshield wiper fluid
Mother in court in death of disabled son who drank windshield fluid
Michigan Mom Gets Probation In Adult Son’s Wiper Fluid Death