Relationship: Offspring – Page 23 – Disability Day of Mourning

Anthony Tomaselli

Name: Anthony Joseph “Tony” Tomaselli.
Died: March 6, 2015.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Palm Harbor, Florida, USA.
Disability: Cancer, dementia, heart disease.

Details:
Tony’s two daughters decided to kill him. They say that it was because he didn’t want to go to a nursing home. They fed him sleeping pills and alcohol, but he survived this; so they suffocated him by stuffing a rag down his throat.

Tony was a retired barber who liked to watch Wheel of Fortune and the sunset. He said his prayers every night. His favorite cocktail was vodka and Diet Coke.

Case status:
Mary-Beth Tomaselli (Daughter), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years.
Linda Roberts (Daughter), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
‘Like Arsenic and Old Lace’: Sisters in Their 60s Hid Secret of Dad’s Murder — Until They Slept with Same Man
Florida Man Dated 2 Sisters Who Killed Their Father and He Decided to Turn Them In
Two Sisters Allegedly Killed Their Father And Hid It For Years Before Confessing To A Man They Were Both Sleeping With
FL Sheriff: Sisters killed father, committed “perfect murder,” but were caught 4 years later
Sisters arrested, accused of killing father four years ago in what sheriff calls the ‘perfect murder’
Sisters charged with murdering their father after one confesses to their shared lover
Sisters charged after they ‘euthanized’ elderly father, police say
Pinellas sheriff: Sisters said they ‘euthanized’ elderly father
Two sisters arrested, admitted to killing 85-year-old father in Pinellas County in 2015
Daughters Killed Father After Failed Euthanasia, Busted By Man Both Slept With
Two sisters killed their father. They got caught after sleeping with same man, sheriff says.
Florida sisters arrested for killing cancer-stricken father in 2015
Sisters Accused Of Dad’s Murder Nearly Committed ‘Perfect Crime’
Anthony Joseph TOMASELLI Obituary
Roberts Affidavit | Public Sphere | Common Law

Ellen Jackson

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

Angela Rios

Photo: A middle-aged woman with brown hair, pale skin, brown eyes, and a round face. Name: Angela Rios.
Died: February 5, 2015.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: New Port Richey, Florida, USA.
Disability: Diabetes, resulting in two leg amputations and visual impairment.

Details:
Angela was killed by her son, who beat her to death with a tire iron. He also killed his niece, nine-year-old Jenica Randazzo.

Case status:
Jason Rios (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 39-50 years.

Source:
For killing his mother and niece, a half-century in prison for Pasco man
Agency: No signs Pasco girl faced danger before fatal attack

Ena Lai Dung

No Photo Name: 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

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

Hope Ruller

Name: Hope Beverly Ruller, née Carr.
Died: Body found December 29, 2014; died October 2013.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Unknown suspicious death.
Location: Gloversville, New York, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; elderly disabled.

Details:
Hope lived in a duplex, downstairs from her daughter, who was supposed to be caring for her. However, instead her daughter isolated her and kept her from seeing family members or getting medical care.

When Hope died, her daughter did not report the death and continued cashing her mother’s disability checks for more than a year, assuring her family that she was “fine” and even cashing a check sent as a Christmas present. Eventually, Hope’s son grew suspicious and asked police for a welfare check; they found her body.

Hope’s cause of death can never be determined because her body was left in a bed for 14 months after she died. Police could only say that her death was considered suspicious.

Case status:
Mary Kerstig (Daughter), pleaded guilty to larceny, improper disposal of a body, and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or disabled person; sentenced to 6 months in jail, 5 years probation, and community service.

Source:
Upstate New York Woman Admits to Keeping Mother’s Corpse for More Than a Year To Collect Government Checks
Hope Beverly Carr Ruller

Elizabeth Siwicki

No Photo Name: 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

Agnes Caviston

Photo of an elderly woman with gray hair and pale skin, lying back against a pillow and smiling slightly. She is wearing a hospital gown. Name: Agnes Caviston.
Died: November 15, 2014.
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Augusta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Dementia, bedbound.

Details:
Agnes’s son bludgeoned her head with an IV stand, killing her. He then set the house on fire.

Case status:
Robert Caviston (Son), convicted of murder and arson, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Augusta man describes for jury how his mother’s brutal demise was really an accident
Augusta man who beat elderly mother to death sentenced to life in prison without parole
Medical examiner describes condition of elderly woman’s body at son’s murder trial

Noama Ware

Blurry photo of a white-haired old lady with pale, wrinkled skin, her mouth open as though she is about to speak. Name: Noama Ware.
Died: October 2014.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Undetermined, in the setting of abuse and neglect.
Location: Shelley, Idaho, USA.
Disability: Frail elder, likely dementia/hoarding.

Details:
Noama’s husband and son both abused her. After an argument about her keeping her many cats in her bedroom, her son kicked her, injuring her severely; and then as she lay in bed, her grandson kicked her. They found her dead shortly thereafter.

Afraid that they would get in trouble because Noama was malnourished and abused, they buried her body in their duck pen, and her death went unnoticed for five years until her daughter died in a car accident and the police tried to find her to break the news.

Case status:
Harley Howell (Grandson), pleaded guilty to failure to report a death, sentenced to 3-10 years in prison.
Douglas Howell (Son), pleaded guilty to abuse and neglect of an elder, sentenced to 4 days in jail, $387.50 in fees, and 50 hours community service.

Source:
Local man sentenced to four days in jail for abuse and neglect of 78 year-old woman
Man admits to killing his grandmother and burying her in the backyard nearly 5 years ago
Shelley man sentenced after hiding grandmother’s death
Teen ‘killed bedridden grandma after row about her keeping 30 cats in her room’
Man admits to killing his grandmother and burying her in the backyard nearly 5 years ago

Bessie Looney

No Photo Name: Bessie Looney.
Died: September 29, 2014.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, sepsis.
Location: Baton Rouge, USA.
Disability: Dementia, heart disease, wheelchair user.

Details:
Bessie’s daughter and granddaughter neglected her. She was left strapped into a wheelchair, denied her medication, and not brought to the doctor when she became very sick. She died of starvation and septic shock from untreated bedsores.

Case status:
Joleslie Looney (daughter), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 40 years.
Lauren Looney (granddaughter), pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Source:
Louisiana high court upholds sentence in mom’s bedsore death
Woman pleads guilty to negligent homicide in 82-year-old grandmother’s death
Granddaughter pleads guilty to negligent homicide in 82-year-old woman’s gruesome 2014 death
Death of elderly Baton Rouge woman ruled a homicide
82-year-old found dead at home surrounded by flies, trash; two arrested
Doctors say woman facing charges was sane during the time of the death of her elderly mother
Baton Rouge woman declared sane when elderly mother died amidst deplorable conditions
Baton Rouge woman to be tried Aug. 28 in death of 82-year-old mother found in deplorable conditions
Daughter faces trial in death of bedsore-ridden mother, 82
Attorney for Baton Rouge woman accused of killing her mother doesn’t want her called ‘evil,’ ‘monster’ during trial
Elderly woman’s daughter told Baton Rouge police she wasn’t aware of severity of mother’s bedsores
‘A hard-working person that struggled,’ friends say of woman accused in elderly mother’s death
Daughter swiftly convicted of manslaughter in elderly mother’s 2014 bedsore-related death
Woman’s sentencing delayed in gruesome 2014 bedsore-related death of 82-year-old mother
Woman leaves grandmother in waste-covered wheelchair until bedsores kill her
Granddaughter sentenced in 82-year-old Baton Rouge woman’s bedsore-related death
Woman denied reduced sentence in death of elderly, malnourished mother
Judge won’t reduce Baton Rouge woman’s 40-year prison term in bedsore-related death of mother
Attorney says 40 years in bedsore-related death of 82-year-old woman is excessive punishment
Louisiana court upholds woman’s prison term for mom’s bedsore death
Court upholds woman’s prison term for mom’s bedsore death
Baton Rouge woman’s conduct ‘reprehensible’ in elderly mother’s bedsore death, appeals court says