Ila Gandhi

No PhotoName: Ila Harjivandas Gandhi.
Died: November 15, 2010.
Age at death: 62.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Disability: Schizophrenia.

Details:
Ila’s servant attacked her and her mother. Her mother survived the attack, but Ila died from stab wounds. The servant claimed that he had been paid by their daughter-in-law to commit the crime, but she was acquitted.

Case status:
Ramchandra Ganpat Gomane (Servant), charged with murder.
Rupal Gandhi (Daughter-in-law; caregiver), charged with murder, acquitted.

Source:
Rupal Gandhi: HC hauls up police for wrong arrest in murder
Sister-in-law gave supari to murder 62-yr-old in Mumbai
Senior citizen found murdered in Gamdevi

Allan Heath

No PhotoName: Allan Heath.
Died: November 3, 2010.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Langford, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Mobility impaired.

Details:
Allan had a tenant who lived in a shed in his backyard, and who functioned as a caregiver for him. However, his tenant sold drugs; and though Allan used drugs himself, he was growing tired of having his caregiver do drug deals on the property. Three days after Allan gave the man an ultimatum and told him to move out, the man returned to the house and stabbed him in the stomach, perforating a large vein and killing him.

Case Status:
Christopher John Elliott (Friend, live-in caregiver), convicted of murder, sentenced to 14 years to life.

Sources:
Drug-user jailed for life for stabbing friend
Fatal stab victim was ‘white as a ghost’
Murder accused: ‘I stabbed the dog’
Accused murderer spoke of stabbing man
Tenant living in shed jailed for owner’s murder
Life sentence for stabbing murder

Jeffrey Bishop

No PhotoName: Jeffrey Bishop.
Died: Late August 2010.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Unknown; was receiving disability checks.

Details:
Jeffrey’s body was found in the basement of the house where he had been staying with his caregivers, who received his disability checks in exchange for caring for him. Police say that one of his caregivers strangled Jeffrey, and when he was dead, they hid his body and continued spending his money.

Case status:
Dennis Mitchell Hall (Caregiver), convicted of murder, tampering with evidence, forgery, and fraud; sentenced to 35-50 years.
Heather Lynn Baringer (Caregiver), charged with murder and tampering with evidence.

Source:
Offender Information – Kentucky Department of Corrections – Offender Online Lookup System
Two charged with murder after body found wrapped in bags in basement

Amanda Quirk

Photo: A blurry image of a young woman with very short brown hair and pale skin, wearing a black sweater. She is holding an orange-and-white cat. Name: Amanda Quirk.
Died: April 8, 2010.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Booval, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Unspecified; on disability pension.

Details:
Amanda’s roommates tortured her to make her give them access to her bank account, killed her, and dumped her body.

Amanda had an orange-and-white cat named Megsy. She had a tattoo on her hand that read, “Mum”.

Case Status:
Christopher James Swan (Roommate), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.
Rachel Narelle Smith (Roommate), convicted of being an accessory to murder, sentenced to 3-7 years.
Michelle Anna Mondientz (Acquaintance), convicted of being an accessory after the fact to murder, sentenced to 5 years.

Sources:
Quirk flatmate found guilty of being accessory to murder
Flatmate convicted of murdering Quirk granted re-trial
R v. Swan
AMANDA QUIRK (#48-2010)
Woman ‘tortured and bashed to death’
Witness helped smuggle Amanda’s dead body out of home
Man tells of drive to dump body
Murdered Ipswich woman’s body ‘unidentified’
Family speaks out on Quirk murder

Lindsey Alvarez

No PhotoName: Lindsey Angela Alvarez.
Died: August 4, 2009.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Salt poisoning.
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Lindsey was brought to the emergency room, vomiting and having difficulty breathing. A few days later, she was dead from severe brain swelling caused by an excess of salt.

Doctors determined that Lindsey had ingested at least seven and a half teaspoons of salt–a fatal dose. A coroner also found that Lindsey had fractured ribs, a broken ankle, and fingertip-shaped bruises on her neck.

Case status:
Nearly five years after her death, a judge decided that there was a good chance Lindsey had been deliberately abused or murdered and that despite her severe autism, Lindsey would not voluntarily have eaten such a large amount of salt. The investigation into her death is ongoing.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Lindsey Angela Alvarez
Child salt poison inquest is halted after coroner felt an ‘offence may have been committed’
Coroner halts inquest into salt poisoning death
Autistic girl, 4, killed by too much salt
Adult could have administered salt that killed girl of four, inquest told
Coroner uneasy over little girl’s injuries after inquest fails to establish how she died from salt poisoning

Shaun Moloney

Photo of an older man with pale skin and a beard and mustache going from blond to white, wearing a black baseball cap.Name: Shaun Moloney.
Died: March 8, 2009.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma, burns, alcohol poisoning.
Location: Glenroy, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
Shaun lived with two roommates. They beat him unconscious, dumped his body in a vacant lot, and set it on fire. Because Shaun had been drinking heavily the day he died, the court could not determine whether the cause of his death had been the beating, the fire, or alcohol poisoning; so his roommates could only be convicted of assault.

Case Status:
Darryl McHarg (Roommate), pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury, sentenced to 3 years 6 months to 6 years 6 months in prison.
Wayne Arthur (Roommate), pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury, sentenced to 3 years 6 months to 6 years 6 months in prison.

Sources:
R v McHarg & Arthur
Two charged with murder of Shaun Patrick Moloney
Pair jailed for assaulting a man who died, but escape charges over his death
MOLONEY, Shaun Patrick | Death Notices | Melbourne

Peggy Mehrman

Black and white photo of Peggy Mehrman, an elderly woman with pale freckled skin and short permed white hair, her eyebrows carefully shaped.Name: Peggy Albury Mehrman.
Died: May 28, 2008.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Overdose.
Location: Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA.
Disability: A “debilitating neuromuscular disease”.

Details:
Peggy was poisoned over several months with overdoses of her own medication by a neighbor who had moved in with her as her caregiver.

Case status:
Jana Porter Mallory (Caregiver/Neighbor), second-degree murder and elderly abuse, 30 years.

Source:
Jana Porter MALLORY

Brandon Williams

Photo of Brandon Williams, a young boy with tan skin and brown hair, in front of a brightly colored alphabet mural.Name: Brandon Williams.
Died: March 22, 2007.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Pima County, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Brandon died after regular abuse by his mother and two of her housemates. He had been beaten and poisoned with overdoses of Tylenol.

Brandon loved watching the Disney Channel, especially “Lilo & Stitch”.

Case status:
Diane Marsh (Mother), convicted of child abuse and negligent homicide; sentenced to 10 years; paroled after 3.8 years.
Mark Moss (Housemate), failing to report child abuse, charges dropped.
Flower Thompson (Housemate), convicted of murder, sentenced to 10 years.

Source:
People You’ll See in Hell: Diane Marsh, Flower Tompson And Mark Lee Moss
Murderpedia: Diane Marsh
Brandon Williams
Autism memorial: Brandon Williams

Jason Ritzert

Photo of Jason Ritzert, an man wearing a headband and casual clothes and sitting on a dirt bike. He has a tattoo on his right arm.Name: Jason Ritzert.
Died: November 10, 2005.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Jason’s roommates, who often abused him under the pretext of “punishing” him, set him on fire and then left his severe burns untreated for days before strangling him.

Case status:
Timothy Caldwell, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison.
Melissa Adams, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 30-60 years.
Russell Lee Hilliard, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 20-40 years.

Source:
Butler pair held in ‘bizarre’ killing of roommate

Donna Spadea

No PhotoName: Donna Spadea.
Died: June 26, 2005.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Along with several other intellectually disabled adults, Donna was imprisoned, starved, drugged, and beaten by Linda Weston, who acted as her Social Security payee so that she could steal Donna’s money. Donna died after two months of captivity while she was imprisoned in a tiny laundry room, and toxicology testing revealed that she had been poisoned with the drugs Linda had regularly mixed into her food.

Case status:
Linda Weston (Caretaker), multiple charges, life sentence + 80 years.
Gregory Thomas, charged with hate crimes.
Jean McIntosh, pleaded guilty, sentenced to 40 years.
Eddie Wright, pleaded guilty, sentenced to 27 years.
Nicklaus Woodard, pleaded guilty to several charges, including conspiracy, kidnapping and using a firearm in an act of violence, sentenced to 27 years.

Source:
‘Tacony dungeon’ woman who imprisoned disabled adults gets life sentence + 80 years
Daughter of Tacony dungeon ‘mastermind’ gets 40 years – Metro Philadelphia
Tacony ‘dungeon’ case ends with admission of hate crimes against disabled
Seven years after rescue, ‘Tacony dungeon’ victims confront tormentor sentenced to 40 years
‘Pastor Wright,’ codefendant in Tacony dungeon case, gets 27 years in prison
“Basement of horrors” indictment brings light to 2008 Norfolk death
‘Tacony dungeon’ woman who imprisoned disabled adults gets life sentence + 80 years