Relationship: Partner – Page 39 – Disability Day of Mourning

Jean Chamberlain

Photo of an older woman with short, permed, dark-blond hair and light skin, wearing a blouse and neat make-up. Name: Jean Chamberlain.
Died: February 16, 2014.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Ogden, Utah, USA.
Disability: Stroke, brain cancer survivor.

Details:
Jean’s husband put a plastic bag over her head and fed helium into it, suffocating her.

Jean survived brain cancer at age 8 and grew up to work at various jobs, including department store assistant, switchboard operator, and hospital employee. She raised five children and welcomed 25 grandchildren. As a young mother, to help make money to feed her children, she sold encyclopedias and sandals out of her home.

Case status:
Dennis Chamberlain (Husband); pleaded guilty to attempted murder, sentenced to three years to life in prison.

Source:
Obituary for Jean Andersen Chamberlain
Elderly Utah man sentenced to prison in death of ailing wife
The Justice Files: Imprisoned elderly man claims it was assisted suicide not murder

Bridget Charlebois

Name: Bridget Charlebois.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Disability: Quadriplegic.
Died: February 2, 2014.
Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

Details:
Bridget’s abusive boyfriend and caregiver had already been caught once leaving her for twelve hours without food or water.

Bridget was nine months pregnant when she had a medical emergency. Instead of helping her or calling emergency services, her boyfriend let her die. By the time an ambulance was called, Bridget was dead, and it was too late to save her baby boy, Isaiah.

Case status:
Andres Bohn Reyes (Bridget’s fiance), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 6-7 years.

Source:
Glendale caregiver arrested for murder of disabled fiancee, unborn son
Phoenix Man Accused of Murdering His Quadriplegic Fiancée and Their Unborn Child
Memories of Bridget Charlebois
Man arrested in 2014 deaths of quadriplegic fiancée, unborn son
Mother of pregnant woman: ‘He watched my daughter die’
Police: Phoenix caregiver let pregnant, quadriplegic fiancee die
Caregiver arrested for murder in death of disabled fiancee, unborn son
Arizona man charged for ‘killing pregnant quadriplegic fiance’
Maricopa County Man Arrested For Death Of Woman, Full Term Unborn Child
County Attorney: The Cold Case of a Cold-Hearted Lover
The Latest: Prosecutor: Caregiver ‘did absolutely nothing’
Man Charged With Killing Quadriplegic And Pregnant Fiancee
Man Accused of Killing Quadriplegic Pregnant Fiancee and Her Unborn Child

Jagtar Gill

Photo of Jagtar Gill, a middle-aged woman with light brown skin and dark brown hair, wearing make-up, earrings, and a brightly colored green and purple top. Name: Jagtar Gill.
Died: January 29, 2014.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Barrhaven, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Crohn’s disease.

Details:
Jagtar was an immigrant from India to Canada, and she had met her husband as part of an arranged marriage.

But Jagtar’s husband had fallen in love with another woman; so the two conspired to get rid of Jagtar.

They saw their chance when Jagtar had just returned from hernia surgery and was weak and drugged from painkillers; this made her very vulnerable. So while her husband went to run errands with their daughter to establish an alibi, his girlfriend beat and stabbed Jagtar to death.

Case status:
Bhupinderpal Gill (Husband), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.
Gulpreet Ronald (Husband’s girlfriend), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
Gill and Ronald formally sentenced to life in prison for Jagtar Gill murder | Ottawa Citizen
Former lovers found guilty for 2nd time in Jagtar Gill killing
Barrhaven homicide victim was vulnerable, drugged and recovering from surgery
Gill trial: Accused wife-killer hid weapon for fear he’d be blamed, lawyer says
Barrhaven homicide victim was vulnerable, drugged and recovering from surgery
Accused in Jagtar Gill murder trial told police she cut hand opening bag of potatoes
No evidence co-accused in Jagtar Gill homicide ever discussed murder plan, court hears
Accused in Jagtar Gill murder trial came to house after body found, court hears
Accused in Jagtar Gill murder trial asked friend to keep crime scene detail from police

Frances Dresser

Black and white photo of a young woman with fair skin, wearing an old-fashioned cocktail dress and sitting on the hood of a car. Name: Frances Dresser.
Died: January 22, 2014.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Carson City, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Paralysis (from fall).

Details:
Frances fell at home and doctors said she would be paralyzed and need to move to a nursing home. Her husband went home, bought a gun, returned to the hospital and shot her in the chest. She died three days later.

Frances Dresser was a great-grandmother who loved music and nature.

Case status:
William Lyle Dresser (Husband), charged with murder; charges dropped by a judge who said, “William Dresser killed his wife, but he is not a murderer”.

Source:
‘No evil in his act’: DA seeks to drop mercy killing murder charge
Murder charge dismissed against William Dresser

Lena Smith

Photo of Lena Smith. She is an African-American woman wearing big hoop earrings. She has very curly black hair. Name: Lena “Elaine” Smith.
Died: January 2, 2014.
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Schizophrenia.

Details:
When Lena’s boyfriend stabbed her to death, he claimed he had done it in self-defense because she had schizophrenia and was violent. Lena did have schizophrenia–but she had been stabbed six times in the back, and the jury didn’t buy his self-defense claim.

Case status:
Ulysses Jay James (Ex-boyfriend), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 31 years.

Source:
Man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in Norfolk gets 31 years
Police make arrest in stabbing death of Norfolk mother
Norfolk man stabbed his girlfriend in self-defense, lawyer argues as murder trial opens

Piotr Grabowski

Photo: Young man with pale skin and light-brown hair in a buzz cut. Name: Piotr Grabowski.
Died: Unspecified; killers sentenced in 2014 “after a lengthy trial”.
Age at death: 31.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Osztyn, Poland.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Piotr’s wife lured him into a park, where her two boyfriends were waiting to beat him to death.

Case status:
Joanna Grabowski (Wife); sentenced to 25 years.
Jacek Pawlak (Wife’s boyfriend), sentenced to life.
Lukasz Kaminski (Wife’s boyfriend), sentenced to life.

Source:
Wife rewarded two men who murdered her wheelchair-bound husband by having a threesome immediately after they killed him

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

Bertha Anderson and Lisa Nave

Portrait photos of Bertha Anderson and Lisa Nave. They are both light-skinned, light-haired women. Name: Bertha Maxine Anderson.
Age at death: 68.
Disability: “Breast cancer survivor, brain damage, trembling, panic attacks, hot flashes and cataracts”.
Location: Canyon Country, California, USA.

Name: Lisa Florence Nave.
Age at death: 58.
Disability: Heart disease; “Bedridden”; nursing home resident.
Location: North Hills, California, USA.

Died: December 11, 2013.
Cause of death: Gunshot.

Details:
Bertha’s husband shot her because she was sick. Then he drove to his sister Lisa’s nursing home and shot her, too. The police called them “mercy killings”.

Case status:
Lance Hoger Anderson (Husband, brother), found guilty of murder, sentenced to 100 years to life.

Source:
Canyon Country man found guilty of murders
Lance Anderson of Santa Clarita charged in double mercy killing of wife and sister
2nd woman shot in purported mercy killings identified
‘I hope… I can be forgiven’: Man gets 100 years for ‘mercy killings’ of wife, sister
Double-murder conviction holds for traumatic shock disorder vet who killed ailing wife, sister

Carol French

No Photo Name: Carol French.
Died: November 20, 2013.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Wandsworth, Southwest London, England, UK.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
When Carol survived a stroke, her husband tried to convince her to move to Switzerland for euthanasia. But Carol wanted to live; she declined to move and was planning her next summer vacation when her husband strangled her and stabbed himself in a murder-suicide.

Carol was a retired women’s magazine editor.

Case status:
Douglas “Harry” Morton (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Husband suspected of killing wife after stroke
Husband murdered wife then stabbed himself through the heart
Coroner says wife was killed unlawfully
Battersea woman died of strangulation and husband died from stab wounds in apparent murder and suicide

Minoru Hioki

No Photo Name: Minoru Hioki.
Died: September 20, 2013.
Age at death: 75.
Cause of death: Cyanide poisoning.
Location: Muko City, Kyoto, Japan.
Disability: Lung cancer.

Details:
Mr. Hioki moved in with a woman he had met through a dating service. When he went to take his health supplements, he did not know his wife had poisoned the capsules. When he began gasping for breath and passed out, his wife refused resuscitation on his behalf, telling medics that he was dying of lung cancer and had no children, even though his lung cancer was in remission and he had several children. Mr. Hioki’s death was initially ruled natural, as was that of Masanori Honda, who had also been living with the same woman. However, when she made the mistake of killing a healthy man whose death could not be written off, an autopsy was done and cyanide poisoning was discovered in all three bodies.

Case Status:
Chisako Kakehi (Common-law Wife), convicted of three murders, sentenced to death.

Sources:
The 74-year-old ‘Black Widow’ killer who murdered her lovers with cyanide
Alleged black widow gets second cyanide charge
‘Black Widow’ charged in Japan over death of husband No. 4