Relationship: Offspring – Page 20 – Disability Day of Mourning

John Zdon

Name: John Emile Zdon.
Died: August 31, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Frail elder, needed 24-hour care.

Details:
John’s daughter knew his health was getting worse, but she would not take him to the doctor because she was afraid he would be put in a nursing home. He was found malnourished and unresponsive and brought to the hospital, where he died.

He was an Air Force veteran and a fan of the Atlanta Braves.

Case Status:
Tammy Zdon (Daughter), pleaded guilty to manslaughter and permitting abuse on an elderly or disabled person, sentenced to 6 months in jail.

Source:
John Zdon Obituary (1944 – 2016) The Berkshire Eagle
Massachusetts caregiver admits to causing father’s death
North Adams woman faces caretaker abuse, involuntary manslaughter charges in father’s death

Margaret Shelton

Name: Margaret “Pat” Patricia Shelton.
Died: August 31, 2016.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
Disability: Early-stage Alzheimer’s.

Details:
Police say Pat’s son turned himself in just after smothering her with duct tape and his hand and breaking the neck of the family dog.

Pat was known by her neighbors for her friendly demeanor. She liked to do yard work and would mow their lawns for them.

Case status:
Kenneth Baker (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 12 to 25 years.

Source:
Man arrested for murdering elderly mother inside Fort Worth home
Fort Worth man who called police accused of killing his mother
Margaret Shelton Obituary
Elderly woman killed by son in her Fort Worth home
Fort Worth man said he suffocated mother with duct tape, then snapped barking dog’s neck, police say

Gerald Sohn

Name: Gerald Sohn.
Died: August 14, 2016.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease.

Details:
Gerald was drowned in a river, and his son is suspected of pushing him off the dock to his death.

He was an attorney for 50 years. He had a great deal of intellectual curiosity and always had a book with him.

Case status:
Gerry Sohn (Son), died before he was charged; case closed when he died.

Source:
JSO: Man in wheelchair who fell into river was murdered by son
Fraternity brother remembers man who fell into St. Johns River in wheelchair
Police identify drowning victim, 84, who fell off dock Sunday into St. Johns River
Crews responding to possible drowning in Mandarin
Gerald Sohn Obituary – JACKSONVILLE, FL
Case closed: Son killed millionaire father in 2016, himself in February

Catherine Purcell

No Photo Name: Catherine Purcell.
Died: July 24, 2016.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Dehydration, sepsis.
Location: Kirkby, England, UK.
Disability: Korsakoff syndrome, emphysema.

Details:
Although they had four offers of help caring for her, Catherine’s husband and daughter refused them all. Instead, they left Catherine to starve on a filthy mattress. She died of dehydration, pneumonia, and infected bedsores.

Case Status:
Catherine Purcell Jr. (Daughter), found guilty of neglect, given a suspended 12-month sentence, 180 hours of community service, and a curfew for two months.
John Purcell (Husband), found guilty of neglect; given a suspended 18-month sentence, 270 hours of community service, and a curfew for three months.

Source:
Disabled mum ‘left to die in soiled bed while she was eaten by maggots’
Great-gran died in maggot-ridden “cesspit” due to “extreme neglect”
Dad and daughter guilty of neglecting Catherine Purcell who died while being eaten by maggots
Shocking details of ‘neglected’ gran; PROSECUTORS SAY NEGLECT DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTED TO 68-YEAR-OLD’S DEATH
Shocking messages sisters sent as mum lay dying in maggot-infested bed
Dad and daughter spared jail for neglecting mum who died in maggot-infested bed

Rietje Willms

Photo of Rietje Willms, an elder woman. She has short white hair and fair skin, and is wearing a black turtleneck and white jacket. Her expression is solemn, and she is squinting slightly into the sun. Name: Rietje Willms.
Died: June 12, 2016.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Morphine overdose.
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Rietje was the widow of a successful plumber and real estate dealer. She had inherited his money, and one of her four sons wanted it. When he saw that Rietje was getting dementia, he manipulated her into making him her sole heir. Then he locked her away in his house and neglected her; another of her sons said that sometimes, when he walked by the house, he could hear her in the house, crying to be let out. Rietje was eventually found dead with dangerous levels of morphine in her body and a morphine tablet under her tongue. When police questioned her son, he confessed to having poisoned her.

Case status:
Hans W. (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 15 years 9 months in prison.

Source:
Zoon definitief de cel in voor moord op Rietje Willms
Son held in senile mother’s death; Fight over inheritance alleged
Demente Rietje Willms (80) overleden door verwaarlozing eigen zoon
Man verdacht van bizarre moord op zijn eigen moeder om de erfenis
Vermoorde moeder over verdachte zoon: ‘We kunnen goed opschieten hoor’
‘Bejaarde vrouw vermoord om de erfenis’ – AT5: de nieuwszender van Amsterdam en omgeving
Bizarre moord om erfenis
Moord om de erfenis
‘Zoon vast wegens betrokkenheid bij dood moeder’

Gertrud Sigman

Name: Gertrud “Trudy” Sigman.
Died: May 7, 2016.
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Orange Park, Florida, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Gertrud, whom everyone called Trudy, was a retired professional ballet dancer who had graduated from the Vienna Conservatory. She liked to cook and garden.

Trudy was beaten and strangled to death by her son.

Case status:
Lawrence Sigman (Son), deceased.

Source:
Clay County Sheriff’s Office closes case as murder-suicide
Death investigation underway in wake of domestic dispute
Clay County Sheriff’s Office closes case as murder-suicide
Obituary | Trudy Sigman of Orange Park, Florida

Cecilia Madray

Name: Cecilia “Suzy” Madray.
Died: April 21, 2016.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Mahaicony, Guyana.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden following an accident.

Details:
Suzy’s son bludgeoned her to death with a piece of wood.

Case status:
Terrence Madray (Son), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 21 years.

Source:
Man gets 21 years for killing bedridden mother
21 years in jail

Jack May

No Photo Name: Jack May.
Died: April 16, 2016.
Age at death: 89.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lecanto, Florida, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user.

Details:
Jack’s son shot him in the back as he sat in his wheelchair.

Case status:
James Troy May (Son), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years.

Source:
James May is accused of fatally shooting his 89-year-old father inside their Lecanto home
Florida Offender Search

Maria Branco

Photo of Maria Branco. She is an elderly woman with short white hair, and fair skin. She is wearing glasses and a white blouse, squinting slightly into the sun. Name: Maria Branco.
Died: April 13, 2016.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Sepsis, malnutrition.
Location: Fall River, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled; mobility impaired.

Details:
Maria and her three children lived together. She and her two daughters Lucy and Filomena, both intellectually disabled, depended on her third child, a son, to care for them. However, he habitually beat and neglected Maria and her daughters.

When Maria was taken to the hospital with injuries from a severe beating, police arrested her son and went to her house to check on her daughters. They were locked into the house and tried desperately to get out to the police officers; when police got the door open, they found both women neglected and battered but alive.

After four days in the hospital, Maria died from sepsis due to her infected bedsores, complicated by starvation and injuries from beatings. Her daughters survived, but are reported to be “in poor condition” as of July 2016.

Case status:
Antonio M. Branco (Son), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 8-10 years in prison.

Source:
Man convicted in neglect death of his mother sues Fall River Police
DA: Man Murders Mother, Abuses Disabled Sisters
Fall River man accused of murdering mother, abusing disabled sisters pleads not guilty, held without bail
Fall River man charged with murdering his mother, assaulting his disabled sisters
Fall River man indicted in elder abuse case
Fall River man to face ‘disturbing’ charges in murder of his mother
Fall River man sentenced for letting his mother die painful death

Tony Myhand

Photo of a white marble gravestone reading, "Tony Myhand, SP4 US Army, Feb 7 1957 to Mar 11 2016." Name: Tony Myhand.
Died: March 11, 2016.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Montgomery, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Tony and his son were arguing because his son would not give Tony the keys to the van. Angered, his son shot him twice, in the neck and chest, killing him. Tony was unarmed.

Case status:
Christopher Myhand (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 11-22 years.

Source:
Montgomery man convicted of fatally shooting his father in 2016
Montgomery man accused of murdering father during family altercation
Montgomery Man Convicted of Fatally Shooting His Father in Argument Over Keys