Location: Australia – Page 3 – Disability Day of Mourning

Sarah-Jane Gatt

Tilted photo of a young woman with messy brown hair, wearing a denim jacket and smiling at the camera. Name: Sarah-Jane Gatt.
Died: January 3, 2018 (Body found; died April 20-24, 2017).
Age at death: 40.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Kensington, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Unspecified; on disability pension; bulimia, drug addiction.

Details:
Sarah-Jane’s body was found in her bathtub, where it had been for months after her death. In the interim, her partner continued to collect her disability pension.

Sarah wanted to become a model when she was younger and went to school for it, but the diet pills she took to stay thin were the beginning of her problems with eating disorders and drugs. She became the mother of four children, but was unable to care for them because of her addiction. She wanted to become a counselor to help others.

Case status:
Andrew Baker (Partner), charged with murder and social security fraud.

Source:
Murder-accused boyfriend admits seeing body in bath
Lover’s grim bathtub discovery
Man charged with murder of Melbourne woman found in bathtub
No-show in Vic death welfare fraud case
Kensington dead body: Mum Sarah Gatt died months before bathtub find
What happened to Sarah?
Man charged with murder of Melbourne woman Sarah Gatt after body found in bathtub

Mathew Dunbar

Photo of Mathew Dunbar, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, gray eyes, and a friendly smile. Name: Mathew Dunbar.
Died: August 2, 2017.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Suffocated due to helium inhalation.
Location: Walcha, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Depression, leg injury.

Details:
Mathew was a farmer who used his land to raise sheep.

After he made her the sole heir of his large property, Mathew’s partner made up a cocktail of sedatives and fed it to Mathew; when he was unconscious she gassed him with helium. She claimed that Mathew had committed suicide due to his depression, but when police checked her computer, they found evidence that they say shows she had been researching how to commit murder. Mathew’s partner had also been arrested and charged with attempted murder years ago for setting the house on fire with her previous husband inside, but that charge was withdrawn.

Case status:
Natasha Beth Darcy (Partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Source:
Natasha Beth Darcy found guilty of murdering partner after saying he had taken his own life | Daily Mail Online
NSW woman ‘not upset’ at partner’s death
Nutribullet used to blend cocktail of drugs in grazier murder: court
Woman charged over death of NSW farmer allegedly searched ‘murder’ before his death

Jonathan Crabtree

Photo of Jonathan Crabtree, a young man with light skin and brown hair, wearing a T-shirt. Name: Jonathan Crabtree.
Died: July 18, 2017.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Opiate poisoning.
Location: Upper Coomera, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Developmental disability, TBI from car accident.

Details:
Jonathan and his two disabled sisters were allegedly abused by their mother, who repeatedly sedated them with prescription drugs, likely worsening the effects of their disabilities. Jonathan’s sister Erin died in 2012, a victim of an opiate overdose; but her death had initially been ruled a suicide.

After Jonathan was hurt in a car accident, he had to take opiates and became addicted. His mother allegedly encouraged his addiction and even manipulated him into robbing a pharmacy for Tramadol. He died of an overdose of opiates, which police say his mother gave him after forging a suicide note.

Jonathan’s other sister survived their ordeal and was rescued when the murders were discovered.

Case status:
Maree Crabtree (Mother), charged with two counts of murder, grievous bodily harm, torture, fraud, and armed robbery.

Source:
Dramatic turn in court for mum accused of murdering kids, torturing woman
Mum’s strange decision before deaths
Witness claims mum accused of murdering children wished son was dead: court
Gold Coast mum Maree Mavis Crabtree accused of murdering her two disabled children
‘Very controlling’: Chilling allegations against Qld mum accused of killing her disabled kids
Mum’s strict rules before alleged murder
Mom murdered her two adult children for insurance payouts, police say
Australian mother arrested after she allegedly poisoned her disabled kids
Gold Coast mother killed two adult children for financial gain, police allege
Maree Crabtree ‘told disabled son to hold up a chemist’ | Daily Mail Online
Mum, 51, charged with murdering her kids told one to rob a chemist
Mother accused of poisoning her disabled adult children to death bagged $500k in insurance
‘Killer mum’ claimed $500k in insurance for disabled kids
Mum allegedly poisoned two children, prepared suicide note
Queensland mother allegedly murdered her two children with disabilities for money
Mother charged over children’s murders
QLD mother charged with murder, torture after allegedly poisoning two children to death
Friend says murdered Jonathon Crabtree was ‘full of life’
Jonathan Crabtree tried to call best mate an hour before his death
Australian mother arrested for the alleged murder of her two disabled children
Gold Coast mother killed two adult children for financial gain, police allege
Son of murder-accused had been ‘trying to pick up his life’ before he was found dead
Pictured: Disabled siblings ‘poisoned to death by rat-loving mother’
Australian mum ‘poisoned, killed disabled children for financial gain’, police claim
Murder-accused mother used prescription drugs to control children: police
Police say murder-accused mum helped son secure $200,000 disability benefits, then staged his suicide
Mum accused of disabled kids’ murder said one got Autism from a needle
Australian woman kills two ‘disabled’ adult children for financial gains
Mum partied as Erin died alone
Father of murdered siblings tried to have his son put in care
The missing Sprite cup in the police case against an accused double murderer

Ozlem Karakoc

Name: Özlem “Ozzie” Karakoç.
Died: July 14, 2017.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: Dandenong, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.

Details:
Ozzie’s ex-boyfriend killed her because she had ended the relationship and wanted to marry another man. He drowned her in the bathtub, and then claimed that they had had a suicide pact (there is no evidence that they ever did).

Case status:
Murat Davsanoglu (Ex-boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 18-23 years.

Source:
Man jailed for drowning girlfriend after she told him she was marrying someone else
Man jailed for drowning girlfriend after she told him she was marrying someone else
‘Suicide pact’ man facing murder trial for girlfriend’s bath drowning
‘You left us too soon’: Family pays tribute to young mum found dead in Lalor
Melbourne man ‘drowned partner in the bath in suicide pact’
Vic man to stand trial over bath murder
Tributes pour in for Melbourne mum allegedly murdered by partner
Mother allegedly dumped in abandoned house in ‘suicide pact’

Helen Dansie

Name: Helen Dansie.
Died: April 16, 2017.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Helen’s husband picked her up from her nursing home, went to a park, and pushed her into a pond, where she drowned. He believed she had become a burden to him, and had taken out a life insurance policy on her four days prior.

She was a retired microbiologist. At the nursing home, she liked playing chess and doing crossword puzzles.

Case status:
Peter Rex Dansie (Husband); charged with murder. First trial ended in mistrial; second trial ended in conviction for murder. Sentenced to 25 years. Died in prison in 2024.

Source:
Man who killed his disabled wife dies in prison
Life sentence stands for killer who pushed disabled wife into pond
Killer who pushed wife’s wheelchair into pond loses appeal
Real life: My dad staged my mum’s murder as an accident
Lawyer for wife-killer Peter Dansie compares his murder conviction to George Pell case
Man killed wheelchair-bound wife by pushing her into pond
Adelaide man guilty of murdering wife who drowned in pond
This is what accused Adelaide wife-killer Peter Rex Dansie told police on the day his wife died
‘Suitcase full of condoms’: Adelaide murder accused bought ticket to China
Alleged wife killer replied ‘no comment’ when son asked about her death
Dansie to face new murder trial in October
Disabled woman’s husband ‘carefully planned her murder’
Husband charged with murder of wheelchair-bound wife found in pond
Murder charge
Man charged with murder of wife who drowned in Adelaide pond
Wheelchair-bound wife drowned in ‘planned attack’
Husband charged with murder of wheelchair-bound wife
SA man charged over Adelaide pond death
Husband charged with his wheelchair-bound wife’s murder
Tiny pond where a wheelchair-bound woman was mysteriously found dead
Veale Gardens pond drained as police investigate Helen Dansie’s death
Wheelchair drowning death unexplained, despite autopsy, police say
Detectives return to scene of pond death
Pond death: ‘Of course it was an accident’
Twist in parklands pond death mystery
Man accused of drowning wife had allegedly searched internet for ‘cheap funerals’
Man accused of pushing disabled wife into pond pleads not guilty to murder
Man accused of drowning wheelchair-bound wife fronts court
Man charged with drowning wheelchair user wife in Adelaide pond to face trial by judge
Husband ‘pushed wife’s wheelchair into pond for insurance pay-out’
Man accused of drowning wife seemed ‘unfazed’ when paramedics arrived, court hears
Man, 70, accused of drowning disabled wife in pond after she ‘became a burden’
Man accused of drowning wife with disabilities saw her as a ‘cost burden’, court hears

Tyson Clark-Robertson

Name: Tyson Timothy Clark-Robertson.
Died: July 20, 2016; body found April 11, 2017.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Mayfield, Tasmania, Australia.
Disability: Unspecified; received disability pension.

Details:
Tyson lived with his ex-girlfriend, who had recently started dating their housemate. The housemate became angry and hit him in the head with a hammer, killing him. They buried him in a shallow grave. For the next seven months, they pretended Tyson was still alive by impersonating him on social media and stole his disability pension from his bank account.

Case Status:
Ian Rosewall, pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 12.5 to 22 years.
Renae Lorraine Donald (Ex-girlfriend), pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder, sentenced to 3-6 years.

Source:
STATE OF TASMANIA v RENEE LORRAINE DONALD, COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE
Murderer ‘lost it’ after victim’s ‘paedo dog’ comment, court hears
Human remains found at Launceston house, three charged

Janice and Robyn Frescura

Name: Janice Frescura.
Age at death: 68.
Disability: Lung cancer.

Name: Robyn Frescura.
Age at death: 50.
Disability: Unspecified.

Died: November 3, 2016.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Booral, Queensland, Australia.

Details:
Janice and her daughter Robyn were shot to death in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
John Frescura (Husband/father), deceased.

Source:
Three dead in apparent murder-suicide
Father calls police during murder-suicide
Three dead in suspected murder-suicide on Queensland’s Fraser Coast

Harold Nolan

No Photo Name: Harold Nolan.
Died: October 24, 2016.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Elderly disabled.

Details:
Convinced she was going to be jailed for fraud, Harold’s ex-wife stabbed him to death to prevent him from being sent to a nursing home.

Case status:
Renee Louise Nolan (Ex-wife), charged with murder, found not guilty by reason of mental impairment because she was suffering depression and “a pathological level of exhaustion”. Sent to secure hospital for 25 years.

Source:
Woman charged with ex-husband’s murder in Mitcham
Killer granny fuelled by depression
Money worries drove deluded grandmother to kill sick ex-husband while he slept
Ex-wife charged over fatal stabbing
Woman, 69, charged with stabbing her husband to death
Woman housed in secure hospital for murder

Andreas Headland

Photo of Andreas Headland, a smiling blond baby boy in a black and white onesie. He is outdoors and squinting in the sun. Name: Andreas Headland.
Died: October 20, 2016.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia.

Details:
Andreas and his five-year-old sister Zaraiyah-Lily were drugged and strangled by their father. Their mother had called police, worried about her children, but police took three hours to respond and found the children dead.

Case status:
Jason Craig Headland (Father), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 31 years to life.

Source:
Details about how an evil dad laced his kids’ juice and murdered them
Yanchep father, 35, charged with double murder of his children
A 35-YEAR-OLD father has been charged with the alleged murders of his two children, a boy and a girl aged three and five, at their home in Perth.
The father who ‘stabbed his two young children to death’ in an attempted murder-suicide in Yanchep, Perth
everydayhero: HBF Run for a Reason 2015

Maria, Elisa and Martin Lutz

Photo of Maria, Elisa, and Martin Lutz, a mother and two children. Maria is hugging her two children, who are wearing brightly-colored clothing. They are all fair-skinned with light brown hair. Name: Elisa “Eli” Lutz.
Age at death: 11.
Disability: Deaf; Autistic.

Name: Martin “Tin” Lutz.
Age at death: 10.
Disability: Deaf; Autistic.

Name Maria Claudia Lutz.
Age at death: 43.
Disability: Depression/Anxiety.

Died: October 17, 2016.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Davidson, Sydney, Australia.

Details:
When their mother did not show up at school to volunteer in the canteen, the school called police to check up on the family. Elisa and Martin were found dead in their home along with both parents, victims of murder-suicide. Their father had installed pipes in their house to fill it with carbon monoxide, killing the whole family.

Both children liked artwork at school. Martin was particularly talented at painting; Elisa liked dancing and singing. Maria was a dedicated mother who missed her native country, Colombia. The family’s bull mastiff, Tequila, died with them.

Case status:
Fernando Manrique (Father), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Elisa and Martin Manrique-Lutz
Martin, Elisa, Maria
Sydney dad intended to die with family
Davidson deaths: Police investigate murder-suicide at horror home where family of four were killed
Fernando Manrique installed carbon monoxide piping system in his Davidson home
Father turned house into ‘gas chamber’ to kill wife, autistic children, pet dog and himself in suspected murder-suicide
Euthanasia book purchase offers clue into Australian family’s deaths
St Lucy’s School in Wahroonga mourns after murder-suicide of the family in their Davidson home
Brother of Sydney woman gassed to death by husband wants to know why calls for help were ignored
Davidson death house’s grisly layout revealed
‘It’s a horrific thing that has happened to this suburb’: a young family’s death
The shocking details when family of four were found gassed to death
Mother Maria Lutz killed in murder-suicide honoured with posthumous school award
Art helps school recover from family loss
Davidson family murder-suicide ‘rang alarm bells’ for family friends
Davidson murder-suicide: Exhibition featuring autistic children’s art to honour family
Tragic murder-suicide anniversary marked
‘Our families are under pressure’: School rallies one year after horror murder-suicide
Chilling new details of killer dad’s ‘evil plan’ emerge
Inquest into Sydney family’s murder-suicide reveals mother had ‘constant battles’