Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Relative other than parent, child, or sibling.
Name: Asma Akter.
Died: April 26, 2020.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Burns and/or smoke inhalation.
Location: Gazipur, Bangladesh.
Disability: Developmental disability.
Details:
Asma’s family chained her up, then left her alone at home. An electrical fire destroyed the home, killing Asma.
Case status:
Abdul Kader (Family), unknown status.
Source:
Mentally challenged woman burn to death in Gazipur house fire
Bangladesh: Mentally challenged woman charred to death
Name: Damian B. Scott.
Died: April 26, 2020.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Bloomingdale, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Blind, unable to walk, unspecified mental disability.
Details:
Scott’s uncle strangled him to death. An autopsy found that Scott had survived at least one previous strangulation attempt.
Case status:
Dominick Taylor (Uncle), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 50 years and must serve all of his sentence.
Source:
Man sentenced to 50 years for killing disabled nephew
Bloomingdale man accused of killing disabled nephew back in Illinois
Bond Set At $2M For Bloomingdale Man Charged With First Degree Murder
Name: Gladys Ambert.
Died: April 7, 2020.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Positional asphyxia.
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA.
Disability: Deaf, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability.
Details:
Gladys’s mother abandoned her when she was two years old, but her grandmother took her in and lovingly raised her. At 26 years old, Gladys went to stay with younger relatives–an aunt and two cousins. According to police, her aunt and cousins beat her, tied her up, and kept her in filthy conditions until she died from abuse and neglect and they discarded her body and tried to pretend she had run away from home. Gladys’s body was found on her 27th birthday, and an autopsy concluded that she had suffocated while being restrained, her body compressed too much for her to breathe.
Case status:
Nellie Ambert (Aunt), charged with first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, aggravated abuse of a disabled person, neglect, and abuse of a disabled person.
Jasmine Ambert (Cousin), charged with neglect and abuse of a disabled person; and Christian Matias (Cousin), charged with fabricating evidence and providing false information to an officer investigating a missing person.
Source:
‘Sheer horror’: 3 relatives arrested in death of woman, 27, who had cerebral palsy, mental capacity of 5-year-old
‘These were disgusting crimes:’ Woman with severe disabilities was abused prior to murder, detectives say
Florida authorities: 3 charged in death of disabled relative
3 family members arrested in connection with death of deaf woman who had cerebral palsy
Disabled woman beaten, forced to defecate on herself by relatives before she was killed and dumped in the woods
Mom And Her Kids Allegedly Beat And Murdered Disabled Relative — Then ‘Discarded Her Like A Piece Of Trash’
Name: James Samuels.
Age at death: 69.
Disability: Leg amputee.
Name: Janet Samuels.
Age at death: 67.
Disability: Unspecified disability.
Name: Lachesta “Shasta” Childs.
Age at death: 47.
Disability: Autism.
Died: March 31, 2020.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Macon, Georgia, USA.
Details:
After Janet’s sister’s boyfriend assaulted her sister and Janet tried to intervene, James, Janet, and Shasta were shot by the boyfriend of Janet’s sister, who then proceeded to kidnap his two-year-old son. Janet’s sister escaped to safety; the toddler was rescued unhurt after a police standoff ended in the killer’s arrest.
Janet leaves behind a twin sister; her sister remembers that the two were inseparable until Janet’s death.
Case Status:
Caesar Crockett (Sister’s boyfriend), convicted of three counts of murder and kidnapping, sentenced to life without parole.
Sources:
‘You need to die in the penitentiary’: Macon man convicted of triple murder and kidnapping
Autism Memorial: Lachesta Childs
Name: Ben Edward Thompson.
Died: November 3, 2019.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: House fire.
Location: Watertown, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user.
Details:
Ben died in a house fire, unable to escape the house because of his mobility impairment. Authorities suspect his nephew of setting the fire.
Case status:
Christophe Sean Tillison (Nephew), charged with reckless homicide.
Source:
Tennessee man charged in 72-year-old uncle’s fire death
TBI: Nephew charged in fatal fire that killed wheelchair-bound uncle in Wilson County
Name: Aiko Matsubara.
Died: October 9, 2019.
Age at death: 90.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; disabled elder.
Details:
Police received a phone call from Ms. Matsubara’s granddaughter, saying she had killed her grandmother. When they arrived at her house, they found her dead, killed by having a towel stuffed into her mouth until she suffocated.
Case status:
Akane Matsubara (Granddaughter), charged with murder.
Source:
Woman arrested after stuffing towel into 90-year-old grandmother’s mouth, killing her
Name: Ana Vasquez-Rodriguez.
Died: October 6, 2019.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Fall River, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Stroke.
Details:
Ana was stabbed in her bed by a teenage relative she was living with. Her disability made it difficult for her to fight back, and she died.
Case Status:
Heavenly Arroyo (Daughter’s boyfriend’s great-niece; household member), sentenced to 19 years to life.
Sources:
Fall River woman, 18, gets life in prison for 2019 killing
Fall River teen sentenced to life for brutal murder
Name: Joel “Bubby” Parks.
Died: September 22, 2019.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Medication overdose.
Location: Bradenton, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism, developmental delay from injury as an infant.
Details:
Joel took part in an Easter Seals day program. He played baseball on the Miracle League and was called “Home Run Joel” for his love of the sport.
Joel lived in a group home most of the week, but visited his grandmother on the weekends. His family called him “Bubby”. Although his grandmother told police she thought no one would care for him after she died, Joel’s mother and sister both say they were perfectly willing to step in; in fact, his sister was visiting when he died. Had that failed, Joel had state funding set aside to ensure his care continued if his grandmother died.
Joel’s grandmother allegedly killed him with an overdose of medication.
Case status:
Lillian Parks (Grandmother), charged with second-degree murder.
Source:
Florida Woman Charged With Killing Disabled Grandson By Drug Overdose
Autism Memorial: Joel Parks
Bradenton woman wanted disabled grandson with her in heaven. She ‘put him to sleep,’ cops say
Police: Bradenton woman purposely gave grandson drugs to overdose, charged with second-degree murder
Family speaks out after police say Bradenton man with disabilities was murdered by grandmother
Family speaks out after 87-year-old grandma is accused of killing autistic grandson
87-Year-Old Killed Her Disabled Grandson With Overdose, Police Say – The New York Times
Not A Unique Case: 87-Year-Old Murdered Disabled Grandson With Overdose
Miracle League baseball community mourns one of its own
Warrant charges woman with killing disabled grandson. There is a lot police don’t know
Grandmother admits to killing disabled grandson with drug overdose: cops
Florida woman says she killed disabled grandson by overdose, fearing no one would care for him after she died
87-year-old Florida grandma overdoses disabled grandson fearing no one would care for him after she dies
Bradenton grandmother accused of killing disabled grandson, fearing no one would care for him after she died
Family questions grandmother’s supposed motive for overdosing grandson
Name: Amzin “Bibi Jasmin” Shaw.
Died: September 3, 2019.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Smoke inhalation.
Location: Queens, New York, USA.
Disability: Stroke.
Details:
Bibi Jasmin died in a fire allegedly set by her niece’s boyfriend, who was staying rent-free with her and her niece. She had recently had a stroke, and used a cane and sometimes a wheelchair, and was unable to get out of the house. Apparently, she had attempted to evict the couple because they did not help her pay for rent or utilities and, when asked, her niece’s boyfriend threatened to kill her.
Bibi Jasmin was one of 17 siblings and had several grandchildren.
Case status:
Rampersaud Persaud (Boyfriend of niece), charged with murder and arson.
Source:
Murder charge in Queens Village fire
Queens Village Man Charged in Death of Wheelchair-bound Property Owner who Evicted Him
Former Tenant Accused Of Setting Deadly Fire Due In Court On Murder, Arson Charges
Man Charged With Murder As Woman Dies in Queens Fire: NYPD
Man charged with murder in Queens fire that killed woman: police
Ungrateful tenant charged in deadly arson that killed Queens homeowner: ‘Her kindness got her killed’
Name: Polly Kunti “Mama” Bahadoor.
Died: August 25, 2019.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Charlieville, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago.
Disability: Arthritis; wheelchair user.
Details:
Polly was bludgeoned to death.
She was a quiet, helpful woman who made and sold food to the neighbors. Energetic and “always moving”, she liked to have her nails painted and “pretty up”.
Case status:
Devanand Bahadur (Grandson), charged with murder.
Source:
Teen charged with killing his enfeebled grandma
Wheelchair granny, 85, beaten to death
83-year-old woman murdered in Charlieville
Trinidad: ‘Quiet’ granny’s murder stuns family
Relatives in shock