Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Ronald Blevins.
Died: February 20, 1997.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: California, USA.
Disability: Disabled, diabetic.
Details:
During an argument over Ronald’s care, his father shot him and his mother, Jean Blevins, to death.
Case status:
Reed Blevins (Father), pleaded to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to 24 years, 4 months.
Name: Matthew Richmond.
Died: January 13, 1997.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability.
Details:
Matthew’s mother’s boyfriend held him in a tub of scalding water, and they did not seek medical treatment for twelve hours. He died of third-degree burns thirteen days later.
Case status:
Sharon Richmond (Mother), failing to seek medical care, 5 years.
Richard Joseph Klein (Mother’s boyfriend), child endangerment, 31 years.
Source:
Boy scalded in tub dies
Name: Christina Corrigan.
Died: November 19, 1996.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Heart failure.
Location: El Cerrito, California, USA.
Disability: Mobility impairment due to obesity; possible Prader-Willi syndrome.
Details:
Because Christina was gaining weight, her mother took her out of school. Her mother left her on the living room floor and did not take her to see a doctor. Christina gained so much weight that she could not walk, and died from heart failure. She had been badly neglected and was covered with bedsores.
Case status:
Marlene Corrigan (Mother), convicted of misdemeanor child abuse, sentenced to 3 years probation.
Source:
Christina Corrigan
Bedsores Covered 680-Pound Girl, Expert Says
Name: Robin Appleby.
Died: November 5, 1996.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability, epilepsy.
Details:
Robin’s parents kept her in a locked room without a toilet or sufficient food. There, she starved to death.
Case status:
Billy Appleby (Father), convicted of reckless homicide, sentenced to 5-20 years.
Alice Appleby (Mother), convicted of reckless homicide, sentenced to 5-20 years.
Billy Ray Appleby II (Brother), convicted of tampering with evidence, sentenced to 0-5 years.
Source:
Retarded Woman Dies Locked in Bedroom; Abused, Malnourished, Police Say
Robin Appleby’s Parents Deny Guilt; Lawyer says they were “overwhelmed” but cared for her
Name: Brenda Kay Thomas.
Died: April 9, 1996.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Head injury, pneumonia.
Location: Sand Springs, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Brenda’s mother abused and starved her; she died of a combination of head injury and pneumonia when her 36-pound body finally succumbed to her mother’s mistreatment.
Case status:
Eva Nell Thomas (Mother), convicted of second-degree manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Source:
Woman Held in Daughter’s Death
Name: Sandra Blair.
Age at death: 36.
Disability: Injury from a car accident.
Name: Justin Blair.
Age at death: 8.
Disability: Cerebral palsy; blindness.
Died: March 11, 1996.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned with hammer.
Location: Concord, New Hampshire, USA.
Details:
Sandra and Justin, mother and son, were killed by Sandra’s husband, Justin’s father, who bludgeoned them with a hammer.
Case status:
Robert Blair (Father); convicted of murder; sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
Name: Danielle Tucker, born Danielle R. Dornan.
Died: December 10, 1995.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Coldwater, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, spina bifida.
Details:
Danielle died of head injuries after she was pushed down a flight of stairs by her adoptive mother, who claimed she had fallen. Danielle died on December 10, eight days short of her fourth birthday.
To avoid facing scrutiny for her death, the family moved, taking Danielle’s two siblings with them, but two years later Danielle’s sister was found locked in the basement, starving and neglected, and rescued. Danielle’s case was re-opened and her mother was charged.
Case status:
Becky Tucker (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to child abuse, sentenced to 8-15 years.
Christopher Tucker (Adoptive father), not charged but served 6 years, 2 months for abusing Danielle’s sister.
Source:
Tucker sentenced for Michagan death
Danielle and Brittany Tucker (Dornan)
Name: Fiona Mitchell.
Died: July 12, 1995.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Brain injury from meningitis, causing blindness and deafness.
Details:
While her siblings lived in the rest of the house, little Fiona was shut up in a room and forgotten, denied care, medical attention, and even food and water. She died of starvation.
“…Fiona was among those whose cases were diffused by factual findings by the coroner. Though Fiona died of malnutrition, the Medical examiner attributed her death to her having had meningitis and said it was “amazing she lived as long as she did.” —Misplaced Mercy
Case status:
Mary Mitchell (Mother), pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide; two-year suspended sentence.
Source:
Misplaced Mercy
Girl’s Mother Indicted on Murder Charge
Name: Lucas Ciambrone; birth name, Pedro Garcia.
Died: May 13, 1995.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Florida, USA.
Disability: Reactive Attachment Disorder.
Details:
Lucas was kept naked in a bathroom, abused by his parents, and died of a head injury. He had multiple broken ribs that had gone untreated for months, and was malnourished. At trial, defense experts argued that because he had an attachment disorder, Lucas’s behavior traumatized his parents so much that it excused what they had done to him.
Lucas liked Star Wars.
Case Status:
Joseph Ciambrone (Adoptive father), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life.
Heather Ciambrone (Adoptive mother), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 55 years; appealed sentence, sentenced to life.
Sources:
‘Almost like he’s possessed;’ Couple convicted of murdering adopted son tried RAD defense
AT Victim — Lucas Ciambrone
Lucas Ciambrone
Name: Regina Savage.
Died: 1995.
Age at death: Elder.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Valley Cottage, New York, USA.
Disability: Arthritis, curved spine, cancer.
Details:
Regina was sitting in her wheelchair when her husband came up behind her and shot her in the back with a shotgun, killing her.
Case status:
Richard Savage (Husband), pleaded guilty, sentenced to 14 days in jail plus 28 days time served.
Source:
Mercy killings: After Westchester Medical Center deaths, a look at similar deaths
What is mercy killing? Does Richard DeLucia’s murder-suicide qualify?