Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Eric Bland.
Died: February 24, 2003.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Rialto, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Eric’s sister and her boyfriend starved him to death.
Case status:
Delores Johnson (Sister); sentenced to 15 years to life.
Willie Brown (Sister’s boyfriend); sentenced to 18 years.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Eric Bland
Rialto woman sentenced in kin’s death
Varying Degrees of Disgust
Life with Aspergers: Murdering Disabled People
Name: Luzie Wilson.
Died: February 22, 2003.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Port Orange, Florida, USA.
Disability: Stroke, health problems.
Details:
Luzie’s husband shot her dead, then killed himself.
Case status:
James Wilson (Husband), deceased.
Source:
Murder-suicides among elderly driven by illness, depression
Caregivers who kill their spouses share traits, experts say
Name: Deetrick Brown.
Died: January 16, 2003.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: La Quinta, California, USA.
Disability: Parents claimed “drug baby”, intellectual disability, autism. Seizures, possibly due to abuse.
Details:
Deetrick died of head trauma that caused repeated seizures in the months before his death. His parents argued that, rather than being abused, Deetrick was a “drug baby” who had an intellectual disability. When Deetrick died, a judge ruled there wasn’t enough evidence for the case to go to trial. But ten years later, the case was re-opened and reexamined, and his father and stepmother were arrested.
Case status:
Patricia Brown (Stepmother), convicted of second-degree murder, conviction overturned, retrial underway on charges of murder and assault.
Derrick Brown (Father), charges dropped.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Deetrick Brown
Prosecutors Drop Appeal Of Decision To Overturn Murder Conviction
Closing Arguments Scheduled in Trial of La Quinta Woman Accused in Toddler’s Murder
Husband acquitted, testimony continues for wife in toddler murder trial
New Trial Sought For La Quinta Woman Convicted In Toddler’s Death 13 Years After It Happened
New Trial Sought For RivCo Woman Convicted in Toddler’s Death 13 Years After It Happened
Name: Nadine Dolores Richards.
Died: January 9, 2003.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Sonora, California, USA.
Disability: Physical disability, unspecified.
Details:
Nadine’s brother poured a can of gasoline on his sister and set it on fire. Nadine died in the fire; the family dog also died, and the family’s home was destroyed.
Case Status:
Steven Richards (Brother), convicted of first-degree murder and arson, sentenced to 8 years plus 25 years to life in prison. Diagnosed with schizophrenia but found legally sane, having planned to kill his sister while his father was not home.
Sources:
Former Sonora Man Convicted Of Setting Sister On Fire, Denied Parole
Parole denied for former Tuolumne County man who burned sister alive in 2003
Nadine Dolores Richards (1956-2003)
Name: Reece Mushrush.
Died: December 27, 2002.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Blood clot on the brain due to blows to the head.
Location: Painesville, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability, asthma, epilepsy
Details:
Reece died from blunt-force trauma to the head, inflicted during beatings over the course of several days. According to the sheriff, his mother’s boyfriend said he had “lost his temper” with Reece for not following instructions.
Reece was a football fan, and his favorite shirt was his Browns football jersey.
Case Status:
Emery Martin (Mother’s partner), convicted of involuntary manslaughter and attempted child endangerment, sentenced to 15 years.
Heather Mushrush (Mother), sentenced to 4 years for child endangerment.
Source:
Reece A. Mushrush (1993-2002) – Find A Grave
Boyfriend charged with endangering boy who died
Many abused children die while under government watch
Reece A. Mushrush
Beating kills ‘special’ boy
Name: Christopher Forder.
Died: November 22, 2002.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Seabeck, Washington, USA.
Disability: Reactive attachment disorder.
Details:
Christopher died of untreated pneumonia. He had been beaten and starved by his adoptive mother.
Case status:
Kimberly Ann Forder (Adoptive mother), pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, sentenced to 27 months in prison.
Source:
Christopher Forder
Name: Dale Voltaire Bartolome.
Died: July 29, 2002.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Mission Viejo, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Dale’s father shot him and then killed himself in a murder-suicide.
Case status:
Delfin Bartolome (Father), deceased.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Dale Bartolome
Stress Pushed Man to Kill Son, Himself, Family Says
Looking at a Murder for What It Really Is
Find a Grave: Dale Voltaire Bartolome
Name: Cassandra Taine Killpack.
Died: June 10, 2002.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Water intoxication.
Location: Springville, Utah, USA.
Disability: Reactive attachment disorder.
Details:
Cassandra’s adoptive parents forced her to drink so much water that she died of water poisoning.
Case status:
Jennete Killpack (Adoptive mother), child abuse, 1 to 15 years in prison (served 6 years).
Richard Killpack, acquitted.
Source:
Cassandra Taine Killpack
Name: Andy Byron Scott.
Age at death: 41.
Name: Michael Randy Scott.
Age at death: 42.
Died: June 8, 2002.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Spalding County, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Huntington’s disease.
Details:
Andy and Michael’s mother went to their nursing home and shot them.
Case status:
Carol Carr (Mother), pleaded guilty to assisted suicide, sentenced to 5 years in prison.
(There is no evidence that the two men ever asked their mother to help them commit suicide; she seems to have been the one who decided they should not live any longer. –Ed.)
Source:
Carol Carr
Name: Mitchell Dickson.
Died: June 4, 2002.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Seymour, Texas, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Mitchell’s mother slashed him to death with razor blades and then tried to disguise it as a car accident.
Case status:
Melanie Rochelle Dickson (Mother); pled guilty to murder; sentenced to 15-30 years.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Mitchell Dickson
Mom Gets 30 Years In Prison For Son’s Murder