78-year-old woman

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: March 2021.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Saint-Joseph, Reunion, France.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
This woman’s husband bludgeoned her to death with a sledgehammer, then killed her caregiver as well. In court, the perpetrator, who had a history of violent behavior, claimed it had been a “compassionate killing.”

Case Status:
Her husband was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years.

Sources:
Man, 88, jailed for killing wife who lived with Alzheimer’s
Husband jailed for ‘compassionate killing’ of wife with sledgehammer

Robyn Beever

Photo of an older woman with chin-length dark brown hair and fair skin, wearing a string of pearls.Name: Robyn Beever.
Died: February 25, 2021.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Varsity Lakes, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Robyn was found dead in her garage. Police suspect her husband of having strangled her or killed her with an axe during an attempt at murder-suicide.

She had a small dog named Foxy.

Case Status:
Maxwell Beever (Husband), charged with murder; died before trial.

Source:
Why slain Gold Coast grandma will never see justice
Elderly man in court charged with wife’s murder at Gold Coast home
Man accused of killing his wife allegedly tried to put body in a car
Family say they are supporting 82yo man accused of murdering wife
Woman allegedly murdered by husband may have been dead for a day
Husband charged over suspected murder suicide won’t cooperate, police say

Joanne Wheeler

Photo of an older lady.Name: Joanne Marcella Wheeler.
Died: January 11, 2021.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Shooting.
Location: Medford, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Unspecified chronic illness; frail elder.

Details:
Joanne was shot to death.

Police say her husband told them that he had shot her because he believed that due to her health problems, she would be “better off dead than alive”.

Joanne enjoyed acrylic, oil, and watercolor painting. Her granchildren called her “Booma”.

Case status:
James Edward Wheeler (Husband), charged with second-degree murder; died before trial.

Source:
Obituary for Joanne M. Wheeler
Elderly Medford man accused of killing his wife dies before trial
88-year-old Southern Oregon man accused of killing wife
88-year-old Medford man arraigned on murder charge

Tiffany Lazon

Photo of a middle-aged woman with fair skin and short blonde hair. She is smiling for the camera. She is wearing black-rimmed glasses and a flannel shirt, and a tattoo in cursive script is just visible along her collarbone.Name: Tiffany Marie Lazon.
Died: December 27, 2020 (Missing).
Age at death: 37.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Albany, New York, USA.
Disability: PTSD, borderline personality; disabled veteran.

Details:
Tiffany’s body was never found, but her blood was found on a circular saw that her ex-husband, who was living with her, admitted to borrowing. He had a history of abusing Tiffany and then trying to get her not to testify against him about the abuse. In court, the jury convicted him of murder, agreeing with the prosecution’s argument that Tiffany’s ex-husband had killed Tiffany and disposed of her body with the help of the circular saw on which her DNA was found.

Case Status:
Craig Lazon (Ex-husband), convicted of murder.

Sources:
Man Living Off His Murdered Wife’s Disabled Veteran Benefits Will Be Sentenced Tomorrow Even Though Her Body Has Never Been Found
Missing Oregon Mom’s Blood Turned Up On A Circular Saw Used By Her Estranged Husband, Leading To Murder Charge, Police Say
Trial underway for Albany man accused of murdering ex-wife

Ms. Hsu and her children

No PhotoName: Ms. Hsu.
Age at death: 57.
Disability: Cancer.

24-year-old man.
Disability: Epilepsy.

11-year-old girl.
Disability: Aphasia.

Died: December 4, 2020.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.

Details:
Ms. Hsu and her two children were killed by her husband, their father, when he put them in the back seat of their car and gassed all of them to death with the exhaust fumes.

Case status:
Mr. Chien (Husband, father), deceased.

Source:
Group urges awareness of caregivers after deaths
Family of four found dead in apparent murder-suicide in Kaohsiung

Mr. Mukai

No PhotoName: Mukai (Family name; given name unknown).
Died: December 2020.
Age at death: 51.
Cause of death: Insulin overdose.
Location: Osaka, Japan.
Disability: Diabetes.

Details:
Mr. Mukai’s wife gave him an overdose of insulin, which he had not been prescribed, causing him to fall into a coma. He remained hospitalized until he died the next year.

Case Status:
Shizuka Mukai (Wife), convicted of murder, sentenced to 15 years.

Sources:
Court rejects appeal of woman jailed for 15 years for killing husband with insulin overdose
A 48-year-old woman arrested in Osaka for suspected murder or insulin administration to her husband Osaka

William and Eric Smithson

No PhotoName:William Harvey Smithson.
Age at death: 78.
Disability: Chronic illness/frail elder.

Name: Eric Russell Smithson.
Age at death: 54.
Disability: Unspecified special needs.

Died: November 24, 2020.
Cause of death: Shooting.
Location: Clermont, Florida, USA.

Details:
William and his son Eric lived with his wife. Authorities concluded that William’s wife shot and killed her husband and son, then killed herself.

Case status:
Joyce Lorraine Smithson (wife/mother), died by suicide.

Source:
Florida woman accused of killing husband, son with special needs in double murder-suicide
Deputies: Woman killed her husband, son with special needs before killing herself
Elderly Woman Murdered Her Ill Husband and Special Needs Son Before Dying by Suicide: Deputies
Incident 11-24-2020 Florida Clermont 2-1

Vincent Avellino

Photo of an older man with pale skin and gray hair, wearing glasses and a blue striped polo shirt.Name: Vincent C. Avellino.
Died: November 2, 2020.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Infection.
Location: Ranshaw, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Vincent died because he developed a massive pressure sore that ultimately killed him; reportedly, he had been left in place in his chair for over a month. His wife, with whom he lived, was trained as a home health aide. Home health aides like Vincent’s wife are are trained in bedsore prevention and taught how dangerous it is not to move a patient for extended periods of time.

Vincent was a retired factory worker who loved the outdoors. He liked hunting, fishing, crabbing, mushroom and berry picking, and grew a garden. He was a good baker and wine maker. He liked antiques and going to yard sales, and collected coins. He loved long car rides and milkshakes. He had nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Case status:
Debora Avelino (Wife), charged with involuntary manslaughter and neglect.

Source:
Vincent Avellino Obituary (2020)
Woman charged with neglect and involuntary manslaughter for husband’s death
Pa. wife charged with causing death of husband with dementia

Adrian White

Photo of a woman with curly short black hair, tan skin, and light make-up. Her expression is neutral.Name: Adrian White.
Died: October 23, 2020.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Jefferson County, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Leukemia, in remission.

Details:
Adrian was shot by her fiance in a murder-suicide.

She lived with her fiance and her father, who has dementia, and helped care for him. She was the youngest of twelve siblings; her family remembers her as “a caretaker and a jokester”. She was a University of Alabama graduate who worked as a systems analyst. Her father survived the murder-suicide unharmed and was hospitalized for observation.

Case status:
Her fiancé (Deceased).

Source:
‘She was angelic’: Family stunned at woman’s death in Jefferson County murder-suicide
Man and woman dead in apparent murder-suicide in Jeffco subdivision

Homer Piatt

Photo of a bearded older man wearing a Trump 2020 baseball cap.Name: Homer “Dave” Piatt.
Died: October 15, 2020.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Las Crucez, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness, mobility impaired.

Details:
Dave’s wife shot him. Three days later, she went to the police and explained she had killed him to “ease his suffering”.

He was the former Postmaster of Haydenville, a nearby town.

Case Status:
Gayle L. Piatt (Wife), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter; sentenced to 11 to 16-1/2 years in prison.

Source:
Haydenville woman sentenced for husband’s death
Obituary for Homer David “Dave” Piatt at Cardaras Funeral Home – Logan