Location: Canada – Disability Day of Mourning

Thérèse Brassard-Lévesque

No Photo Name: Thérèse Brassard-Lévesque.
Died: September 30, 2023.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Thérèse and her partner were found unconscious in her room at her senior living home. Thérèse was declared dead at the scene, but her partner was taken to the hospital, where his condition improved. Police believe that Thérèse’s partner killed her and then tried to kill himself, but survived the attempt.

Case Status:
Gilles Brassard (Partner), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 10 1/2 years to life.

Sources:
Quebec man, 81, gets prison sentence after admitting to killing wife with Alzheimer’s disease
“I’m not an assassin” says Quebec man who killed his wife suffering from dementia
Police investigate homicide at Terrebonne, Que., seniors’ residence
Man, 81, charged in wife’s murder at Quebec seniors’ home
Woman, 79, killed at Quebec seniors residence; suspect, 81, under watch in hospital

Cheryl Mansoff

Name: Cheryl Lee Mansoff.
Died: September 2, 2023.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.
Disability: Leg amputee, diabetes.

Details:
Cheryl lived with a man who helped her by doing errands and yardwork. When police were called to their home, they found her dead; she had been violently assaulted.

Cheryl was an avid reader. She leaves behind three children and three grandchildren.

Case Status:
Stephen Teetaert (Caregiver, tenant), charged with second-degree murder.

Sources:
Neighbours, uncle talk about homicide
Obituary of Cheryl Lee Mansoff | Brockie Donovan Funeral & Cremation Services

12-year-old boy

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: December 21, 2022.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Unspecified neglect.
Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Unspecified special needs.

Details:
This twelve-year-old, an indigenous boy, was in foster care along with his younger brother. When he was seven and his brother was five, they were sent to stay with prospective adoptive parents. There, they were allegedly mistreated, isolated and denied food and medical care, and the older boy spent most of his time locked into his basement bedroom. When first responders arrived, they found the boy unresponsive and only about the size of a six-year-old. His brother, who survived, is expected to testify about the restraints and abuse the two boys were subjected to.

Case Status:
Brandy Cooney (Adoptive mother) is charged with first-degree murder, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and, and failure to provide the necessities of life.
Becky Hamber (Adoptive mother) is charged with first-degree murder, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and, and failure to provide the necessities of life.

Sources:
HUNTER: Trial of Burlington couple accused of murdering boy, 12, underway
‘Left to die’: 2 moms on trial for murder of would-be adoptive son in Burlington
Boy, 12, ‘left to die’ in basement by prospective parents who ‘despised’ him, Crown says at open of horrific Ontario murder trial
HUNTER: Did CAS give accused killer parents full story on victim, 12?
HUNTER: Did CAS drop ball in alleged murder of 12-year-old Burlington boy?
Boy, 12, ‘left to die’ in basement by prospective parents who ‘despised’ him, Crown says at open of horrific Ontario murder trial

Kieu Lam

No Photo Name: Kieu Lam.
Died: October 31, 2022.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Frail elder.

Details:
Ms. Lam, an immigrant from Vietnam, lived with her three adult children, who cared for her. Her children say that she was verbally abusive and controlling toward them, so they placed her in a nursing home, where she spent only three days before her son took her back home, believing that it was their duty to take care of their mother themselves. But her daughters say that her behavior only worsened.

Both daughters confessed to killing their mother by bludgeoning her with a hammer as she slept. Despite their confessions, the court concluded that Ms. Lam’s daughters were not guilty of murder because they had been abused and had killed their mother because they felt there was no other option, as their cultural traditions forbade them from putting their mother in a nursing home.

Case Status:
Chau Kanh Lam (Daughter), charged with murder, acquitted.
Hue Ai Lam (Daughter), charged with murder, acquitted.

Sources:
Lam trial hears ‘abusive’ mother spent three days in nursing home
‘I sacrificed my life to take care of her’ accused tells court
Defence calls on Vietnamese culture expert in Lam sisters’ murder trial
Lam sisters’ murder trial: Jury finds them not guilty

Richard Rutherford

Name: Richard Judson Rutherford.
Died: April 15, 2022.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Mobility impaired, cognitive decline.

Details:
Richard died the victim of homicide; his husband was arrested and charged with his murder, which is being called a “mercy killing”.

Richard was a former principal dancer in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet who worked with the Canada Council for the Arts after he retired as a dancer. In his elder years, he tended his garden and watched the birds and chipmunks that came to his feeder.

Case Status:
Philippe Hébert (Husband), charged with second-degree murder.

Sources:
The ‘tragic and profoundly human’ story of Richard Rutherford and Philippe Hébert
Bail granted to Ottawa man charged with second-degree murder in the death of his spouse
Ottawa man charged with murder after elderly man found dead on Good Friday
Richard RUTHERFORD Obituary (1935 – 2022)

Sara McKeddie

Name: Sara McKeddie.
Died: January 22, 2022.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Brain injury.
Location: Arnprior, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Injuries from car accident; required caregiver.

Details:
Sara was badly beaten by her husband, suffering broken ribs, internal injuries, and a brain injury that would lead to her death about a month later.

Her two boys, ages 5 and 3 when she died, are being raised by her sister.

Case Status:
David Michael Dubois (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 12 years minus time served.

Sources:
David Dubois to serve almost 10 years for manslaughter near Arnprior
McNab/Braeside man charged with murder 9 months after woman’s death
Obituary of Sara Jean McKeddie

Jacob Ardagna

Black and white photo of a fair-skinned man with dark hair, wearing a white shirt. Name: Jacob Ardagna.
Died: October 27, 2021.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Multiple blunt force injuries.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Mental illness.

Details:
Jacob’s son had recently moved in with him when the two got into an argument about money. The two were in the back of the building when Jacob’s son began beating him with a wooden stick, then dragged him back into the apartment, where he beat Jacob severely and went to work, leaving Jacob to die.

Jacob loved the rapper Tupac Shakur. He was cremated wearing a Tupac shirt, and his family wore Tupac shirts to his funeral.

Case Status:
Ryan Cannon (Son), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 9 years.

Sources:
Son sentenced to nine years for vicious assault leading to his father’s death
Hamilton man pleaded guilty to manslaughter in beating death of his dad Jacob Ardagna

George Howson

Name: George Howson.
Died: March 24, 2021.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Assault.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease.

Details:
George was beaten to death by his stepson.

Case Status:
Timothy Brown (stepson) was found not criminally responsible due to post-seizure psychosis and hospitalized; he was released after “less than a year and a half.” George’s family disputes the verdict, stating that experts “worked outside their expertise and scope of practice” and that the verdict was based on “incomplete testing and false information.”

Sources:
Hamilton Police are investigating the City’s fourth homicide of 2021
He beat his stepfather to death — and was found not criminally responsible
Hamilton man in hospital for psychiatric assessment will stand trial for alleged murder of stepfather
George Howson – 2021

Patrick Callighan

No Photo Name: Patrick Callighan.
Died: December 15, 2019.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Knife wounds.
Location: Quinte West, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: ADHD, depression, anxiety.

Details:
Patrick’s father killed him; then he and his mother buried him in cement in their basement. Patrick’s father told the court that he had to kill Patrick because he was threatening his mother with a knife.

Case Status:
Brian David Callighan (Father), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 8 years.
Christine Callighan (Mother), pleaded guilty to improperly interfering with human remains, conditional sentence of 2 years minus 1 day. A conditional sentence is a jail sentence served in the community.

Sources:
Quinte West couple sentenced in death of their son
Father pleads guilty in death of son
Parents charged in their son’s murder to have case tried before jury next year
A Quinte West father pleads guilty in death of his son
Quinte West man facing second degree murder charges

Terri-Lynn Thompson

Name: Terri-Lynn Thompson.
Died: October 14, 2019.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Belleville, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Unspecified disability; unable to work.

Details:
Terri-Lynn, whose family remembers her as a “loving grandmother” who “was amazing to everyone around her,” was allegedly murdered by her husband.

Case status:
Dewayne Jerome Vacciana (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 12 1/2 years.

Source:
Man sentenced for killing his wife in Belleville, Ont. over work visa
Belleville man, 38, charged in death of ‘loving grandmother’
INQUINTE.CA | Pre-trial date set for man accused of murder