Scott McCallum

Photo of Scott McCallum, a white man with black hair and a receding hairline; he has a salt-and-pepper beard and mustache.Name: Scott McCallum.
Died: January 6, 2017.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Fatal neglect.
Location: Howard City, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Scott’s caregiver left him alone and didn’t care for him. He died of neglect, with severe bedsores. She left his body in place for two days before finally calling a funeral home.

Case Status:
Rebecca Ann Deters (Son’s girlfriend), pleaded no contest to second-degree abuse, sentenced to 12 months in jail; serving 24 months in prison due to probation violation.

Source:
Woman sent to prison for abuse of bedridden man
Woman pleads to abusing bedridden man who died in her care
Woman accused of neglecting bedridden man, not reporting his death

96-year-old woman

No PhotoName 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

Albert Weaver Sr.

No PhotoName: Albert W. Weaver Sr.
Died: November 22, 2016.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Sepsis, malnutrition.
Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Albert was neglected by his family while they emptied his bank accounts and cashed his pension checks. He was taken to the hospital with a combination of malnutrition, septic shock, untended bedsores, and multiple infections, and survived for twelve days before dying from the effects of neglect.

Case status:
Albert W. Weaver Jr. (Son), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person, sentenced to 15-48 months.
Virginia Weaver (Daughter-in-law), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft, sentenced to 2-5 years.
Amanda Weaver (Granddaughter), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft.
Anthony James Dorney (Granddaughter’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft, sentenced to 2-5 years.

Source:
Family Members Plead Guilty in Elderly Man’s Neglect Death
DA: Family left Bucks County man to starve while they spent his money on cars, firearms
4 Charged In Deadly Bucks Co. Neglect Case Appear In Court
Four Held for Trial in Deadly Neglect of Elderly Man

Carol Simon and Brayden Otto

Picture of Carol Simon. She is a heavyset woman with brown curly hair and fair skin; she is wearing a pink fuzzy scarf. Brayden is a young boy with red hair and fair skin, wearing a collared orange shirt.Name: Carol Simon.
Age at death: 48.
Disability: Unspecified skin condition.

Name: Brayden Robert-Emil Otto.
Age at death: 7.
Disability: Unspecified disability.

Died: November 20, 2016.
Cause of death: Strangled, throat cut.
Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.

Details:
Carol and her grandson Brayden were killed by her son, who strangled them and then slit their throats to make sure they were dead. Later, the killer claimed that he had done it as a “mercy killing”, because Carol was ill and wasn’t getting better and because Brayden was disabled.

Carol was an outgoing nurse who liked learning. Brayden was an elementary school student remembered for his big smile.

Case status:
Heath Allen Otto (Carol’s son, Brayden’s uncle), charged with first-degree murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity; committed to a mental institution.

Source:
Man who killed mother, nephew in 2016 not guilty by reason of insanity
Man told police he wanted to put mother, nephew out of their misery
7-year-old homicide victim was South Dakota suspect’s nephew
Name released of 7-year-old killed in double homicide
Accused killer makes amazing claim
Child in double killing also related to suspect
Child’s name released in double homicide
Brayden Otto, 7
Guestbook for Brayden Robert-Emil Otto
Brayden Otto’s Obituary
Carol L. Simon, 48
Monsters Among Us: Heath Otto charged with killing his mother, Carol Simon and a his 7-year-old nephew, Brayden Robert-Emil Otto
Trial on pause to evaluate competency of man charged with murder of mother, nephew

Patricia Swink

Photo of Patricia Swink, a heavyset middle-aged woman with glasses, smiling. She has short wavy blond hair and fair skin, and her make-up is neatly done.Name: Patricia Diane Swink.
Died: November 2, 2016.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Hickory, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified disability; vision impairment.

Details:
Patricia was killed by her niece and her niece’s son, who then proceeded to steal her car.

Case status:
Micky Lee Swink (Niece’s son), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Tina Louise Swink (Niece), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and car theft, sentenced to 18 to 22 years in prison.
Richard Lee Deal, charged with accessory after the fact.

Source:
Hildebran woman to spend at least 18 years in prison for Halloween murder of her aunt
Judge hands Hickory man life-in-prison sentence for Halloween murder | Latest Headlines
Three charged in murder of 66-year-old disabled woman
Hickory woman found dead in home, Police treat case as murder
Mother, son arrested in death of handicap woman
Relatives among three charged in killing of Hickory woman
Mother, son charged with first-degree murder appear in court for death penalty hearings

Shobhana Kunnath

Photo of Shobhana, an Indian woman with her dark brown hair pulled back. She has light-brown skin and a bindi on her forehead, and is wearing a flower-print sari over a dark shirt.Name: Shobhana Kunnath.
Died: September 26, 2016.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Edappal, Malappuram, Kerala, India.
Disability: Mentally disabled.

Details:
Shobhana and her daughter Shruthi, who both had a mental disorder, were living in a house by themselves. Their family lived nearby and were wealthy but apparently made no effort to ensure their welfare. Unable to care for themselves, Shobhana and Shruthi went hungry. After a week of starvation, Shobhana died and Shruthi was found weak from hunger.

Case status:
Her family is under investigation.
The Human Rights Commission has registered a case.

Source:
Mentally challenged woman starves to death
Woman found starved to death at Edappal
Mentally disabled woman starves to death in Edappal
Mentally unstable woman found dead
Did mental illness and social neglect cause these two Kerala families to starve?

Stella Hamilton

No PhotoName: Stella Hamilton.
Died: July 31, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Undetermined.
Location: Malanda, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Dementia, terminally ill.

Details:
Stella’s family talked to staff at her nursing home, asking whether she could be euthanized, and were told that this was illegal. They also requested that 24 hours’ worth of morphine be left in her room, and were refused. One of her children said another had told them that if they covered her face, she would “go quicker”. Shortly after the family’s request for euthanasia, Stella was found dead with a blanket over her face. She could not have pulled the blanket up herself, but other residents theoretically had access to her room. Her family was seen celebrating that she had died, though this could have been relief that she was no longer in pain.

Case status:
Inquest determined that, despite the troubling factors in Stella’s death, her cause of death could not be determined because she was already terminally ill.

Source:
Inquest into the death of Stella Hamilton
Mystery surrounds aged care resident found dead with blanket over head
Daughter asked doctor to euthanase terminally ill mother, inquest hears

Mohan Lal

No PhotoName: Mohan Lal.
Died: July 24, 2016.
Age at death: Adult.
Cause of death: Head injury from axe.
Location: Naal Bashat, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Disability: No arms.

Details:
Mohan’s aunt and uncle were angry with him because he had taken a box of tomatoes without their permission. They attacked him with an axe, causing fatal head injuries.

Case Status:
Joli Ram (Uncle), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.
Thakri Devi (Aunt), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.

Sources:
JK Couple Gets Life Imprisonment For Disabled Nephew’s Murder
Udhampur couple gets life for killing disabled nephew
2016 Murder Case: Udhampur Court Awards Life Sentence To Couple
Life-term awarded to couple for murder

Nadia Schaible

Somewhat indistinct photograph of Nadia Schaible, an elderly woman with short curly hair and fair skin.Name: Nadia Evanowicz Schaible.
Died: July 12, 2016.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Parkville, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired; used a walker.

Details:
Nadia’s cousin allegedly bludgeoned her to death, then broke a glass door panel to stage a fake burglary; police doubt his story because the cobwebs outside the door through which the burglars were supposed to have entered were intact. Nadia’s cousin reportedly hoped to collect an inheritance from Nadia when she died.

Nadia was an independent woman who was known and loved by her neighbors.

Case status:
John Malko (Cousin), charged with first-degree murder.

Source:
Man charged with murder of 91-year-old cousin
Man, 72, charged in Parkville woman’s death
Cousin Charged With Parkville Woman’s Murder
Police say cousin killed elderly Parkville woman in staged burglary
Utah man charged with murder of elderly Baltimore woman

Jordan Burling

Photo of a fair-skinned teenage boy, smiling; he is wearing square-rimmed glasses and a black beanie with the Atari logo.Name: Jordan Burling.
Died: June 30, 2016.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Leeds, England, UK.
Disability: Developmental and behavioral problems, mobility impaired.

Details:
At sixteen years old, Jordan’s family took him out of school, claiming they were home-schooling, and neglected him.

Jordan was left on an air mattress by his family. There, he slowly died of malnutrition and infected bedsores. He died of pneumonia, weighing only 37 kg (82 pounds).

The body of Jordan’s baby brother was found in Jordan’s closet. It could not be determined whether he had been born alive.

Jordan liked WWE wrestling, video games, and football.

Case status:
Dawn Cranston (Mother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to four years.
Denise Cranston (Grandmother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to four years.
Abigail Burling (Sister), convicted of causing or allowing a vulnerable adult’s death, sentenced to 18 months.

Source:
‘No-one’ responsible for grandson’s death
Mum and gran accused of neglecting teen who ‘rotted to death’ in family home
Family on trial after dead teen and baby found in Leeds house
Teen ‘starved to death by mum, sister and gran was as thin as death camp victim’
Son ‘left to rot to death was as thin as a WW2 death camp victim’
Emaciated man’s family ‘reclusive’
Emaciated son was ‘pale and drawn’
The teenager left to waste away
Women jailed after teen ‘rotted to death’
Shocking pictures show teenager left to ‘rot to death’ by his mother and gran
Women jailed after teen ‘rotted to death’