Relationship: Other household member – Page 5

Maria Fuentes

No Photo
Name: Maria Fuentes.
Died: November 14, 2014.
Age at death: Adult.
Cause of death: Internal injuries.
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Disability: “Physically and mentally disabled”.

Details:
Maria was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries, including broken bones and bruises in multiple stages of healing. Her sole caregiver was arrested on suspicion of having beaten her to death.

Case status:
Patrici Devonne Reader (Caregiver), convicted of murder, sentenced to 45 years.

Source:
Autopsy reveals disabled patient suffered ‘painful’ death at hands of caregiver
Patrici Devonne Reader | Christina Melton Crain Unit Prison | Texas Inmates & Offenders

Dayne Hathman

Photo of a small boy with white-blond hair and fair skin, standing on a red plastic swing seat, head thrown back, laughing. Name: Dayne William Hathman; also spelled “Dane”.
Died: August 28, 2014.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fulton, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Dayne was shot to death by his live-in babysitter.

Case status:
Scottie A. Willet (Family friend; caregiver); pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Slain 6-year-old loved to play, give hugs
Callaway County Sheriff’s Office – Posts | Facebook

Shirley Beck

Photo of Shirley Beck. She is a woman with long blonde hair and pale skin; she is wearing a colorful sweater. Name: Shirley Beck.
Died: June 26, 2014.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Clarksville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Unspecified mental disability (received disability payments); abuse survivor.

Details:
Shirley lived in a non-traditional relationship, as a “house slave” to her BDSM mistress and their housemates. Her mistress helped her manage her finances, which she could not do on her own, but Shirley was the one who did the chores.

Typically, such relationships involve a lot of trust on both sides; crucially, the “slave” role is voluntary, and any injury is superficial. However, Shirley’s mistress betrayed her trust. Instead of pretending to hold Shirley captive, she actually imprisoned Shirley; rather than staging a “safe, sane, consensual” BDSM scene, she and her housemates inflicted a severe, hours-long beating with a metal rod. Shirley died of her injuries.

Shirley loved feeding birds.

Case status:
Cynthia Dianne Skipper (Partner), negligent homicide and kidnapping, 25 years.
Derek M. Vicchitto (Housemate), facilitation of second-degree murder and kidnapping, 25 years.
Matthew Lee Reynolds (Housemate), first-degree murder and kidnapping, 59 years to life.
Alphonso Richardson (Housemate), first-degree murder and kidnapping, life plus 25 years.

Source:
Jury to get ‘house slave’ slaying case Thursday
Defense: Slain ‘house slave’ wanted beatings
Four on trial in ‘house slave’ slaying
From wife and mother to ‘slave’ to murder victim
The Last Four Hours of Shirley Beck’s Life – Kate Kinsey (NSFW)
3 sentenced in BDSM slaying

James Sootheran

Photo of a middle-aged man in a beige cardigan, sitting in a living chair and reading a book. He has light skin, balding black hair and a beard. Name: James “Anthony” Sootheran.
Died: March 18, 2014.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: South Newington, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
Disability: Mental illness.

Details:
James lived with his elderly mother and a couple who cared for them. He and his mother owned a large property. After James’s mother died, his caregiver and her husband decided that they wanted the family’s money, so they forged a will that entitled them to an inheritance. Realizing that they couldn’t inherit until James was dead, they took advantage of his mental illness and tendency to self-neglect. They locked him in a single filthy room where he starved to death.

Mr. Sootheran was a retired auctioneer’s clerk.

Case status:
Lynda Rickard (Tenant, household member), convicted of murder, sentenced to 28 years to life.
Wayne Rickard (Tenant, household member), convicted of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult, sentenced to 10-and-a-half years.

Source:
Lynda Rickard: Woman who forged millionaire’s will and starved him to death to inherit slice of his estate is jailed for life
Oxfordshire couple starved man to death for windfall, court hears
Husband and wife starved their live-in landlord to death, court hears

Arthur Pelham

Photo: An older man, balding, with brown hair, wearing a jacket and red shirt. Name: Arthur “Gary” Pelham.
Died: January 5, 2014.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Hypothermia.
Location: Jonesboro, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia.

Details:
Gary’s caregiver locked him outside the house during a January ice storm and would not let him back inside. In ten hours, he was dead.

Mr. Pelham was a military veteran.

Case status:
Dale El Smith (Paid caregiver), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.

Source:
Murder conviction stands for woman who left veteran outside to freeze
Ex-caregiver gets life for murder in freezing death of man
Murder conviction stands for woman who left veteran outside to freeze
Murder conviction upheld for woman who let veteran freeze to death

Michael Jones

Name: Michael Shane Jones.
Died: January 1, 2014.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Stockton, California, USA.
Disability: Diabetes, chronic pain, mobility impaired.

Details:
Michael’s roommate stabbed him to death. Together with Michael’s girlfriend, he dismembered and tried to burn the body. To police, they claimed that it had been a mercy killing.

Case status:
Bryan Scott Cook (Caregiver, roommate), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years to life
Valentina Paz (Girlfriend), pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact, sentenced to 2 years.

Source:
Suspect in dismemberment homicide to go to trial
Dismemberment called ‘sympathy killing’
Calif. couple accused of murder, dismemberment of roommate
Victim of bizarre Stockton killing identified
Man sentenced for murder, burning body in Groveland
Inmate suspected in stabbing death
Girlfriend of murdered man sentenced to two years in prison
Michael Shane Jones Allegedly Killed And Dismembered By California Roommates

Michael Sudkamp

Name: Michael Sudkamp.
Died: December 24, 2013.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Kingman, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Multiple disabilities; “Health issues”.

Details:
Michael was beaten to death by his roommate.

Case status:
Robert John Adkins (Roommate and caregiver), convicted of second-degree murder and vulnerable adult abuse, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
Kingman man gets 20-year sentence for killing roommate
Kingman caregiver arrested in death of patient

Susan Walter

Name: Susan Margaret Walter.
Died: March 2, 2013.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Blunt force trauma.
Location: Covington, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Susan was beaten to death by her caregiver.

Case status:
Cornelius Richardson-Bethea (Caregiver), convicted of malice murder and abuse of a disabled adult, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Mentally challenged Newton woman found beaten to death
Caregiver gets life for mentally challenged woman’s beating death

Barbara Rabins

No Photo
Name: Barbara Rabins.
Died: August 18, 2011.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Dehydration, choking.
Location: Ross, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability, stroke.

Details:
Barbara’s caregivers neglected her and stole her trust fund money. When she died, she was underweight, dehydrated, and covered in bedsores.

Case status:
John Tedesco and Tina Tedesco, friends of the family, charged with third-degree murder; initially pled guilty, but revoked the plea; convicted of third-degree murder, sentenced to 15 1/4 – 30 1/2 years in prison.

Source:
Defendants in fatal elder neglect case: ‘We did the best we could’
Ross Twp. couple gets state prison time for fatal neglect
Sleeping juror claim doesn’t save man from prison for neglect death of disabled woman

Amanda Cooper

Photo of Amanda Cooper, a girl in a fancy dark red dress and hairbow. She is smiling and holding up her hand in a peace sign. Name: Amanda Cooper.
Died: November 27, 2010.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Homicidal trauma.
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability, leukodystrophy.

Details:
Amanda was found unresponsive in her home by paramedics. She had been sexually assaulted, and died soon thereafter. At the time she was found dead, Amanda’s case was under active supervision by child protective services.

Case status:
Unsolved. Amanda’s death was likely caused by a family member, but there is a security hold on the case and no information is being released.

Source:
Death Of 10-Year-Old L.A. County Resident Amanda Cooper Might Have Involved Sexual Assault
No one arrested in Hawthorne girl’s death
Amanda Cooper, 10 [Updated]