Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Unrelated household member.
Name: Lucinda Palma.
Died: November 20, 2018.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Anaheim, California, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.
Details:
Lucinda’s housemate stabbed her twelve times, killing her. He later told the police that he wanted to put Lucinda “out of her misery”.
Case Status:
Michael Hallgren (Housemate), convicted of second-degree murder.
Sources:
Man convicted of killing woman, 70, with butcher knife at Anaheim boarding home
Name: Janice “Jan” Garrett.
Died: July 7, 2018.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Raymond Terrace, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Emphysema.
Details:
Jan died in a house fire started by a firebomb. Police arrested her caregiver and roommate, who was reportedly seen leaving the scene of the fire by neighbors attempting to break in to rescue Jan. Their efforts were in vain; Jan’s body was found after the house fire was extinguished.
Case Status:
Ronald John Reeves (Housemate, carer), charged with murder; died in police custody.
Sources:
Janice Garrett’s death in fire declared domestic murder by NSW coroner
Accused murderer dies before court
Man arrested after woman killed in home explosion
Name: Austin Steele.
Died: March 1, 2018.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lancaster, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
After his grandfather died, Austin moved in with a caretaker. At 18, he moved out, though he would often call his caretaker–sometimes in the middle of the night–to ask for a hug.
Austin was an independent young man. He would take weeks-long trips to the beach on his moped. He was enrolled in GED classes, and he wanted to join the military and become an engineer.
Two months after he allowed a man and his wife to move into his mobile home with him, his body was found. Austin may have been killed because he had become involved romantically with one or both of the couple; or the 30-year-old man, who was a registered sex offender, may have been abusing him.
The man had shot him, left him to die overnight, and with the help of his wife, dismembered, burned, and dumped his body.
Case status:
Christopher Allen Holford (Housemate), pleaded guilty to murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, sentenced to 50-60 years.
Brandy Nicole Faye Duncan (Housemate), convicted of accessory after the fact to murder, sentenced to 2-12 years.
Source:
Autistic SC teen who was burned, dismembered ‘knew he was loved’
LANCASTER HOMICIDE: Family seeks justice for teen’s death in Lancaster County
Lancaster autistic teen, killed in ‘haunting’ case, remembered as ‘kind, caring’
‘One of the worst cases’: Body of Lancaster man, 18, burned and dismembered; 2 charged
New details in Austin Steele murder
SC newlyweds charged in connection with murder, dismembering teen’s body
Human remains found as Lancaster Co. deputies investigate homicide
Couple Charged After An 18-Year-Old’s Dismembered Remains Were Found On Lancaster Property
Autism Memorial: Austin Steele
Name: Adeline Hill.
Died: January 29, 2018.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.
Details:
Adeline and her daughter Renee Cosom, age 42, were shot dead. Police found her daughter’s boyfriend at the house and took him in for questioning.
Case status:
Daughter’s boyfriend; suspect, no charges.
Source:
Adeline Hill, age 66
Victims in Northeast Philadelphia shooting identified
Boyfriend Questioned in Murders of Woman and Her Mother
Man questioned after mother, daughter killed in NE Philly
Name: Elba Enid Monroig.
Died: October 27, 2017.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Visually impaired, wheelchair user.
Details:
Elba’s housemate and caregiver bludgeoned her to death with a hammer and hid her body in the basement. She had given him a place to stay after he got out of jail.
Case status:
Eric Mackey (Housemate, caregiver), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison.
Source:
Trial begins for man accused of beating woman in wheelchair to death
Philly man convicted for beating woman in wheelchair to death, hiding her body
Elba Enid Monroig
Name: Courtney Ann Nemea Turney.
Died: August 5, 2017.
Age at death: 33.
Cause of death: Torture.
Location: Seaside, California, USA.
Disability: Unspecified special needs due to complications during birth.
Details:
Courtney moved in with a friend, only to have her so-called friend imprison her, force her to perform physical labor, starve her, and abuse her for around a decade before killing her. She weighed 54 pounds and had a fractured skull.
Case status:
Corrie Denise Arriaga (Housemate), charged with first-degree murder, in addition to torture, human trafficking, false imprisonment of a dependent adult and theft from a dependent adult; pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Manuel Jesus Lopez Jarquin, pleaded guilty to abuse of a dependent adult and accessory after the fact, sentenced to 7 years 8 months.
Source:
Monterey County DA: Seaside man played a role in death of woman prisoner
Seaside woman pleads guilty to murder by torture of dependent adult
Courtney Ann Nemea Turney (1984-2017) – Find A Grave
Calif. woman arrested for torture, murder of special needs woman
DA: Seaside woman arrested for murder, torture of special needs woman
Seaside woman arrested for torture, murder of special needs woman
Name: Tyson Timothy Clark-Robertson.
Died: July 20, 2016; body found April 11, 2017.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Mayfield, Tasmania, Australia.
Disability: Unspecified; received disability pension.
Details:
Tyson lived with his ex-girlfriend, who had recently started dating their housemate. The housemate became angry and hit him in the head with a hammer, killing him. They buried him in a shallow grave. For the next seven months, they pretended Tyson was still alive by impersonating him on social media and stole his disability pension from his bank account.
Case Status:
Ian Rosewall, pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 12.5 to 22 years.
Renae Lorraine Donald (Ex-girlfriend), pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder, sentenced to 3-6 years.
Source:
STATE OF TASMANIA v RENEE LORRAINE DONALD, COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE
Murderer ‘lost it’ after victim’s ‘paedo dog’ comment, court hears
Human remains found at Launceston house, three charged
Name Unknown.
Died: Unknown; charges brought in 2017.
Age at death: 96.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Anderson County, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; frail elder, wheelchair user.
Details:
This 96-year-old woman’s great-grandson and a woman had moved in to care for her; but instead of doing so, they used meth and neglected her. She died from sepsis, from an infected bedsore.
Case status:
Jesse Long (Great-grandson), pleaded guilty to abuse of a vulnerable adult resulting in serious bodily injury, sentenced to 15 years in prison and 5 years probation, as well as 15 years for drug charges.
Veronica Bryant (Housemate), pleaded guilty to abuse of a vulnerable adult resulting in death, sentenced to 3 years in prison and 5 years probation.
Source:
Great-grandson, woman plead guilty in 96-year-old’s death
Great-grandson, woman let 96-year-old die from maggot-covered sores
Name: Kathryn Breen.
Died: December 23, 2016.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; elder disabled.
Details:
Kathryn Breen suffered burn injuries in a fire set in her bedroom by her caretaker. She was taken to the hospital with third-degree burns over 25% of her body and died a month later.
Case status:
Celia Schwab (Live-in caretaker), charged with murder, arson, and assault, died of natural causes before conviction.
Maria Meisner (Neighbor), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.
Source:
Caretaker accused of setting elderly woman on fire found unfit to stand trial for now
Beaverton woman gets life in prison for setting elderly neighbor on fire, killing her
Name: Margaret Fleming.
Died: Reported missing October 28, 2016. Probably died between December 18, 1999 and January 5, 2000.
Age at death: 35 (when reported missing; most likely 19 at death).
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead, ruled homicide.
Location: Inverkip, Inverclyde, Scotland.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Margaret was last seen alive at a family gathering on December 17, 1999. At the time, she was staying with a couple who served as her caregivers. For many years, her caregivers pretended she was alive and that they had heard from her, while they pocketed her disability allowance.
Seventeen years after she disappeared, with Margaret required to appear for a benefits assessment, her caregivers finally reported Margaret missing. Though they claimed they had seen her, no one else had. After detectives investigated, Margaret’s housemates were arrested for tying her up, bludgeoning her to death, and dumping her body. They had apparently held her hostage for two years before her death, tied up and locked in a room.
Margaret’s body has not been found. When she was last seen, she was “around 5ft 5 inches in height, with collar length black hair and brown eyes… of heavy build… wearing a green coloured tartan fleece or jumper, dark coloured jeans or trousers, wearing [dark] ‘Karrimor’ type boots… had a satchel-type handbag.” Anyone who knows anything about Margaret’s disappearance and death is encouraged to call the Inverclyde police department.
She attended a local college, but had never worked.
Case status:
Eddward Cairney (Unrelated housemate/caregiver), convicted of murder and sentenced to 14 years to life.
Avril Jones (Unrelated housemate/caregiver), convicted of murder and sentenced to 14 years to life.
Source:
Margaret Fleming: Man who murdered vulnerable teenager dies in jail
Man who murdered vulnerable woman refusing to settle proceeds of crime action
Carer who murdered teen & claimed her £182k benefits REFUSES to pay back cash
Margaret Fleming: Killer Cairney refuses to settle benefit scam claim
Margaret Fleming inquiry postponed by council
Independent inquiry into murder of Margaret Fleming to begin
Carers jailed for murdering teenager
Bogus carers who murdered vulnerable teenager Margaret Fleming sentenced to life in prison
Carers guilty of murdering missing teenager
Carers accused of murdering missing disabled woman claim she is still alive
Margaret Fleming murder accused carers Eddie Cairney and Avril Jones set for High Court
Missing woman still alive, claim carers
Carers of vulnerable woman not seen since 1999 accused of murder
Missing woman Margaret Fleming was not in control of her bank cards
Missing Person, Margaret Fleming – Inverkip – Police Scotland
Carers of missing Margaret Fleming ‘murdered her and claimed benefits’
Carers detained over disappearance of Inverkip woman not seen in 18 years
Couple claim that missing Margaret ran away in fear
Carers due in court over disappearance of Inverkip woman not seen since 1999
Renfrewshire couple face High Court accused of murdering Margaret Fleming, who ‘vanished’ 18 years ago
Margaret Fleming murder accused left without wheelchair
Murder accused ‘swore at police officers’