Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Medical neglect, lack of care, failure to provide necessities of life.
Name: Ramona Atkinson.
Died: April 30, 2014 (Body found).
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Abandonment.
Location: Parker, Florida, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled; wheelchair user.
Details:
Ramona’s son stole her money and her wheelchair and left her to die.
Case status:
Herbert Todd Atkinson (Son), convicted of elder neglect, exploitation, and theft, sentenced to 20 years.
Source:
Police: Man stole disabled mom’s money and left her to die
Inmate Population Information Detail
Name: Kalib Smart.
Died: April 28, 2014.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, bedsores, infection.
Location: Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Shaken baby syndrome.
Details:
Kalib’s parents neglected him; he died of pneumonia, untreated bedsores, and infection.
Case status:
Twana Smart (Adoptive mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 15 years, with all but 7 years suspended.
Timothy Smart (Adoptive father), convicted of permitting child neglect, given a 10 year deferred sentence.
Source:
Alva couple sentenced in child neglect cases
Review of the Death Kalib Smart
Report released detailing cause of death, injuries to Kalib Smart
Reports on death of handicapped boy, 17, prompts investigation into parents
Name: Hannah Hoag.
Died: March 26, 2014.
Age at death: 18 months.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Tumor in her trachea.
Details:
Because Hannah had a tumor in her trachea, she had a tube to keep her airway open, and had monitoring equipment to alert family if the tube became dislodged.
Hannah’s mother put her in her crib and turned off the monitoring equipment. The tube was pulled out–either by Hannah or by her mother–and Hannah suffocated.
Case status:
Rebecca Cotes (Adoptive mother), convicted of involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 4 1/2 months in jail.
Source:
Mom accused of manslaughter in toddler’s asphyxiation death wants test of medical equipment
Jury: Wyoming mother guilty in toddler’s death
Woman gets leniency for accidental death of child
Name: James “Anthony” Sootheran.
Died: March 18, 2014.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: South Newington, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
Disability: Mental illness.
Details:
James lived with his elderly mother and a couple who cared for them. He and his mother owned a large property. After James’s mother died, his caregiver and her husband decided that they wanted the family’s money, so they forged a will that entitled them to an inheritance. Realizing that they couldn’t inherit until James was dead, they took advantage of his mental illness and tendency to self-neglect. They locked him in a single filthy room where he starved to death.
Mr. Sootheran was a retired auctioneer’s clerk.
Case status:
Lynda Rickard (Tenant, household member), convicted of murder, sentenced to 28 years to life.
Wayne Rickard (Tenant, household member), convicted of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult, sentenced to 10-and-a-half years.
Source:
Lynda Rickard: Woman who forged millionaire’s will and starved him to death to inherit slice of his estate is jailed for life
Oxfordshire couple starved man to death for windfall, court hears
Husband and wife starved their live-in landlord to death, court hears
Name: Harlan Haynes.
Died: March 12, 2014 (Body found).
Age at death: 96.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: South Kitsap, Washington, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.
Details:
Harlan was neglected by his daughter; he died of starvation.
Case status:
Renee Roberta Nash (Daughter); pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree manslaughter; sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Source:
Caretaker gets 2 years in prison for father’s death
South Kitsap woman jailed on murder charge in father’s death
Name: Billy Ray Young.
Died: March 11, 2014.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Belleville, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Physical and mental disability, blindness.
Details:
Billy was allegedly starved to death by his brother and sister-in-law.
Case status:
Richard R. Young (Brother); charged with criminal neglect of a person with a disability.
Elizabeth R. Young (Sister-in-law); convicted of reckless conduct with great bodily harm; sentenced to 1 year.
Source:
Belleville couple charged with neglecting disabled man found dead in home
Couple pleads not guilty in deadly neglect case
Billy Ray Young Obituary (2014) Belleville News-Democrat
Name: Blanche Effie Cowen.
Died: March 10, 2014.
Age at death: 100.
Cause of death: Starvation, infection.
Location: Rushsylvania, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled.
Details:
Blanche’s daughter was supposed to be caring for her, but instead Blanche was exiled to a filthy trailer behind her daughter’s house. There she stayed with only her developmentally disabled son for company, and he was unable to care for her because of his own disability and health problems. Blanche died of starvation, dehydration, and untreated bedsores. Her son died several months after his mother, from natural causes, at the age of 67.
Case status:
Mary Strawser (Daughter); pled guilty to neglect; sentenced to 18 months, eligible for early release in 30 days.
Name: Monique Johnson.
Died: February 12, 2014.
Age at death: 37.
Cause of death: Starvation/dehydration.
Location: Sacramento, California, USA.
Disability: Developmentally disabled; mobility impaired; non-verbal.
Details:
Monique died of severe neglect, dehydration, and starvation, weighing only 37 pounds. Her mother and sister took the money the state gave them to care for her, refusing offers of help.
Case status:
Sheila Johnson (Mother), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.
Ravetra Jones (Sister), pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and fraud, sentenced to 4 years 8 months.
Source:
Mom, sister sentenced in case of woman ‘neglected to the point of death’
Sacramento Mother Who Starved Daughter to Death Sentenced
Mother & Daughter Convicted for Death of Disabled Victim
Sacramento Mom Tells CBS13 She Didn’t Starve Disabled Daughter To Death
Mother, sister of woman who starved plead in Sacramento court
Mom, sister sentenced in case of woman ‘neglected to the point of death’
Monique Johnson Obituary
Name: Bridget Charlebois.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Disability: Quadriplegic.
Died: February 2, 2014.
Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Details:
Bridget’s abusive boyfriend and caregiver had already been caught once leaving her for twelve hours without food or water.
Bridget was nine months pregnant when she had a medical emergency. Instead of helping her or calling emergency services, her boyfriend let her die. By the time an ambulance was called, Bridget was dead, and it was too late to save her baby boy, Isaiah.
Case status:
Andres Bohn Reyes (Bridget’s fiance), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 6-7 years.
Source:
Glendale caregiver arrested for murder of disabled fiancee, unborn son
Phoenix Man Accused of Murdering His Quadriplegic Fiancée and Their Unborn Child
Memories of Bridget Charlebois
Man arrested in 2014 deaths of quadriplegic fiancée, unborn son
Mother of pregnant woman: ‘He watched my daughter die’
Police: Phoenix caregiver let pregnant, quadriplegic fiancee die
Caregiver arrested for murder in death of disabled fiancee, unborn son
Arizona man charged for ‘killing pregnant quadriplegic fiance’
Maricopa County Man Arrested For Death Of Woman, Full Term Unborn Child
County Attorney: The Cold Case of a Cold-Hearted Lover
The Latest: Prosecutor: Caregiver ‘did absolutely nothing’
Man Charged With Killing Quadriplegic And Pregnant Fiancee
Man Accused of Killing Quadriplegic Pregnant Fiancee and Her Unborn Child
Name: Ayahna Comb.
Died: January 29, 2014.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Malnutrition/dehydration.
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Ayana was fatally neglected by her mother. When she died, her mother wrapped her in blankets and put her 15-pound body in the crisper drawer of her refrigerator.
Case status:
Amber Keyes (Mother), pleaded guilty to injury to a child by omission, sentenced to 20-40 years.
Source:
Death of girl found wrapped in blankets in refrigerator ruled a homicide
Mother of girl, 9, found dead in refrigerator sentenced to 40 years