Relationship: Other household member – Page 4

Ronald Bettig

Photo of Ronald Bettig, an elderly man with pale skin and white hair and beard, wearing glasses and a colorful shirt. Name: Ronald Valentine Bettig.
Died: August 17, 2016 (Body found); died August 12-14, 2016.
Age at death: 56.
Cause of death: Dehydration, fall injuries.
Location: Black Hawk Quarry, Central County, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Depression/adjustment disorder, dementia.

Details:
Lonely and depressed after the death of his wife, Ronald took in a woman and her child as housemates. Thinking they would get money in his will, the woman and her boyfriend plotted to kill Ronald. They lured him to a quarry, where they pushed him over a 70-foot cliff. With all four limbs broken, Ronald may have lived for up to two days before dying of dehydration. The killers tried to pass it off as a suicide.

Case status:
George G. Ishler Jr., convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Danelle Geier, convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Was there a motive to kill a Penn State professor?
PSU professor struggled personally, professionally before death: Co-workers, acquaintances
Penn State professor Ronald Bettig allegedly pushed off cliff by Danelle Geier, George Ishler in Pennsylvania
Woman charged in death of PSU professor
State College, PA – Trial Begins for Two Accused of Murdering Penn State Professor –
Two found guilty in the 2016 murder of a Penn State professor
Verdict delivered in Penn State professor’s death
‘I can still hear the crunch today.’ George Ishler takes the stand

Kathryn Ashe

Photo of Kathryn Ashe. She is a middle-aged African-American woman with dark brown skin and frizzy, graying black hair. She is wearing a bright orange T-shirt and looks like she was photographed while she was talking. Name: Kathryn Ashe.
Died: June 24, 2016.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Tampa Bay, Florida, USA.
Disability: Physical disability.

Details:
Kathryn, frail and not able to take care of herself, was abandoned by her roommates, who had been acting as caregivers to some extent. They moved out of the house they all lived in, leaving her behind. The house had no air conditioning and was uninhabitably filthy. Though the former roommates stopped in to “check on” her, they never called for medical help even though Kathryn’s condition was visibly getting worse. They never helped her or even gave her food or water. Eight to ten days after she was abandoned, Kathryn was dead.

Case status:
Jennifer Susan Poulos and Debra Germain Poulos were both charged with neglect of an elderly or disabled adult. The charges were dropped because the two women were determined not to have been legally responsible for Kathryn’s care.

Source:
Pinellas woman starves to death among roaches, rotting garbage
Gulfport Woman’s Death Under Investigation
2 arrested for elderly neglect resulting in death
Gulfport police: 66-year-old woman left to die in squalor and heat
Death of 66-year-old Gulfport woman highlights risks of senior citizens who choose to live alone

Margaret Sinclair

Photo of Peggy Sinclair. She is an elderly woman with light skin and gray hair; she is wearing glasses, which are slipping down her nose, and a polka-dotted beige headscarf. Name: Margaret “Peggy” Sinclair.
Died: June 18, 2016; body found June 21, 2016.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Lake Frederick, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Peggy was beaten to death with a hammer and dismembered by her caregiver.

Case status:
Frances Charlene Moss Hopkins (Unlicensed caregiver, unrelated), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
Police say 85 year old Peg Sinclair’s caregiver has been arrested for murder
Berryville woman charged with first-degree murder
BREAKING: Elderly woman found dead,caregiver arrested for murder
Search ongoing for missing elderly woman
Sentencing for caregiver who killed, dismembered 85-year-old delayed to Tuesday
Moss-Hopkins to serve 20 years in prison for murder of elderly woman

Billie Jo Quintier

No Photo Name: Billie Jo Quintier.
Died: June 12, 2016.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Rosington, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Stroke; wheelchair user.

Details:
When Billie Jo was found unconscious, she weighed 65 pounds and had severe bedsores. Her home was in bad shape, and police immediately suspected neglect. After two days in the hospital, doctors found no brain activity and terminated life support.

Billie Jo had spent time working as a paralegal, but due to an alcohol addiction she lost her job and eventually her home. After she suffered a stroke, her boyfriend helped her get sober and helped take care of her. But over the years, her boyfriend died, and then her immediate family died. She had to move in with the friend whose poor care caused her death.

Case status:
Angela Butler (Housemate), charged with neglect and abuse of a disabled person; pleaded guilty, given a suspended sentence.

Source:
All in the Family • The Appalachian Crime Trail – via Podcast Addict
Baldwin woman charged in death, alleged elder abuse
Caretaker caused patient weight loss, severe bed sores
DISTURBING: Woman Arrested for Reckless Abuse of Elder
Robertsdale caregiver charged in death of patient

James Hill

Photo of James Hill, an adult man with black hair and light skin. He is smiling. He has a short goatee and mustache. Name: James Matthew Hill.
Died: February 18, 2016.
Age at death: 33.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Enterprise, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
James was murdered by his roommate, who had also been his caregiver. Police say he was bound, blindfolded, and repeatedly stabbed.

Neighbors remember James as “a blessing” who would do anything for others. They often saw him going to a nearby restaurant, where he ate nearly every day.

Case status:
David Montel Cunningham (Caregiver; roommate); pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 40 years.

Source:
Enterprise man arrested in stabbing death
Enterprise man pleads guilty to murdering his roommate

Samantha Kelly

Photo of Samantha Kelly. She has fair skin and bright red shoulder-length hair, and is wearing sunglasses. Name: Samantha Kelly.
Died: January 22, 2016.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Kangaroo Flat, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Samantha and her four children lived with three housemates. The housemates eventually banned her from the main house and made her live in a rear bungalow, while they kept her children in the main house. Seeing the danger, Samantha asked a social worker to help her move out, but she never managed to escape.

Her housemates first tried drugging her. When that didn’t work, they beat her to death with a hammer and buried her body; then they claimed she had run off with a man and tried to take custody of her children.

The children, aged six, five, four, and 11 months, are safe and living with Samantha’s brother.

Case status:
Peter James Arthur (Housemate), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 18-22 years.
Christine Lyons (Housemate), convicted of murder and attempted murder, sentenced to 23-30 years.
Ronald Lyons (Housemate), convicted of attempted murder and assisting an offender, sentenced to 9-12 1/2 years.

Source:
Loner jailed over murder plot to steal kids
Bendigo man jailed for murdering woman with hammer over custody plot
‘Manipulated’ murder accused deeply regrets hammer killing of housemate
Vic accused killer wanted kids, court told
Vic murder accused said victim walked off
Christine was infertile and “desperately” wanted kids. So she masterminded a sick plan.
How a mother got trapped in squalid web of a woman who wanted to be ‘Ma’
Crown asks for life sentence as family grieves Samantha Kelly
‘I will never forgive you’: Murder victim’s family address killer who tried to take kids
Former Ballarat woman still denies she killed mum to gain custody of her kids
Woman jailed for 30 years for murdering mother to take her kids
Infertile woman planned murder of disabled neighbour to take custody of her four kids

Zvonimir Petrovski

Photo of Zvonimir Petrovski, a middle-aged man with dark brown hair and light skin, wearing a suit with a pink bow tie. His skin is slightly flushed, as though he finds the suit stifling. Name: Zvonimir Petrovski.
Died: November 21, 2015.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Mobility impaired; used crutches.

Details:
Zvonimir lived with a younger housemate who claimed he was her “father figure”. One day when his housemate demanded money for cigarettes and Zvonimir refused, she became angry and stabbed him to death.

Case status:
Anna Horneshaw (Housemate), convicted of murder, sentenced to 13-17 years in prison.

Source:
17 years jail for woman who stabbed ‘father figure’ to death in cigarette row
Woman jailed for killing housemate in ‘fit of rage’ over cigarette money

Geraldine Chandler

No Photo Name: Geraldine Joyce Chandler.
Died: October 12, 2015.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Restraint-related.
Location: Cleves, Ohio, USA.
Disability: “Functionally impaired”.

Details:
Geraldine’s caregivers allegedly caused her death; police reports are unclear how, but apparently they restrained or locked her up and failed to provide for her needs.

Case status:
Kimberly Taggart (Caregiver), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 8 years.
John Reid (Caregiver), guilty of failure to provide for a functionally impaired person, sentenced to 6 years.

Source:
John Reid | Madison Correctional | Ohio Inmates & Offenders
Caregiver sentenced in 84-year-old’s death
2 indicted in abduction, death of woman, 84

Sharon Johnson

No Photo Name: Sharon R. Johnson.
Died: August 27, 2015.
Age at death: 65.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Fairview, Mississippi, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Sharon was stabbed to death by her caregiver.

Case status:
Jimmy Carpenter (Caregiver), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole as a habitual offender.

Source:
Itawamba County murder suspect found guilty
Stabbing suspect charged with murder

George Philip Carter

No Photo Name: George Philip Carter.
Died: May 15, 2015.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Spanaway, Washington, USA.
Disability: Autism, developmental disability.

Details:
Philip’s caregiver neglected him; he died of infected bedsores because instead of taking him to a doctor, his caregiver stuffed the bedsores with paper towels.

Case status:
Larry John Lee (Unlicensed caregiver), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 18 years.

Source:
Caregiver charged with murder in neglect of vulnerable adult
Caretaker sentenced to 18 years for ‘murder by neglect’
Jury finds Spanaway man guilty in death of adult he cared for
Autism Memorial: George Philip Carter