Relationship: Offspring – Page 24 – Disability Day of Mourning

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

Michaelina Simonetti

Old-fashioned portrait photo of Michaelina Simonetti, a young woman with fair skin, rosy cheeks, and curly dark hair. Name: Michaelina Simonetti.
Died: September 15, 2014.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Homicide by neglect.
Location: New Britain, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Blind; disabled.

Details:
Michaelina was discharged from a nursing home into her son’s care. She was found in poor condition by emergency services; she was lying on a mattress on the floor with severe bedsores, and police believe she had not been moved from the mattress or fed properly in five months. She died after two weeks at the hospital.

Case status:
Frank Simonetti (Son), charged with first-degree manslaughter.

Source:
New Britain Man Charged With Manslaughter In 93-Year-Old Mother’s Death
New Britain man arrested in connection to mother’s death

Sophie Kostek

No Photo Name: Sophie Kostek.
Died: August 7, 2014.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Somerset, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Sophie’s son beat her to death.

She enjoyed reading and caring for her home.

Case status:
Michael Kostek (Son), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and permitting injury to an elder/disabled person, sentenced to 8-10 years.

Source:
Somerset man sentenced in mother’s killing | WJAR
Sophie (Provocyck) Kostek – Obituary
Somerset man pleads guilty in death of disabled mother
Prosecutors allege Somerset man hit elderly, disabled mother and threw her on bed, where she was found dead
Trial date set for Somerset man accused of killing mother
Trial date scheduled for Somerset man accused in mother’s murder
Boyko Memorial Funeral Home – Sophie (Provocyck) Kostek – Obituary
Somerset man held without bail in killing of mother
Lawyer for Somerset man accused of killing mom asks for medical records
Somerset man charged with killing elderly mother
Somerset man indicted on murder charge in death of elderly mother

Marcia Clark

Photo of Marcia Clark. She is a thin elderly woman with pale skin and gray hair, wearing glasses and a purple long-sleeved shirt. Name: Marcia Clark.
Died: July 20, 2014.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Starvation and infection.
Location: Taree, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Frail elder; caregiver claimed dementia and Parkinson’s.

Details:
Marcia died of infected bed sores and starvation after being neglected by her daughter.

The death was ruled as having been of “natural causes… the combined effects of severe malnutrition and infection… after a period of being neglected by her carer.”

Case status:
Nardia Clark (Daughter), no charges; went missing, found dead in 2016.

Source:
How the system failed this elderly mother and her daughter who couldn’t cope
Death of Marcia Clark: Coroner finds daughter struggled to care for elderly mother
Findings Marcia Clark.pdf

Cecily Kurtz

No Photo Name: Cecily Kurtz.
Died: July 2, 2014.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Pulmonary embolism.
Location: Didcot, England, UK.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, OCD.

Details:
Cecily was unable to care for her own needs because of her mental illness, but her daughter left her on the couch and did not care for her. Having been neglected for years, she died of a pulmonary embolism in a filthy room, weighing 85 pounds.

Case status:
Emma-Jane Kurtz (Daughter), convicted of willful neglect, sentenced to serve at least half of a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence; sentence overturned when judge determined that the court had not proved that Cecily lacked the ability to make her own decisions.

Source:
Daughter left mum to die in own faeces
Emma-Jane Kurtz jailed after mum is found dead due to neglect
Daughter jailed for leaving mother to die in her own feces
Neglected mum’s body ‘looked like photograph from WW2 concentration camp’
Doctor who cared for ‘neglected’ mother ‘blocked by family’
Daughter cleared of neglect after mum, 79, died in ‘pool of urine and diarrhoea’