Category: Location: USA

Selena Kellum

Photo of a young girl sitting in a car. She has light-brown skin, and her brown hair is done in two braids. She is wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt. She is smiling broadly, showing gaps between her teeth, and her eyes are squinted almost shut.Name: Selena Kellum.
Died: November 15, 2024.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Unspecified abuse and neglect.
Location: Sebring, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Selena was found dead in her mother’s garage, wearing only a diaper. She was extremely malnourished and covered in injuries in multiple stages of healing, and had been tied to the garage door.

Case Status:
Diana Natasha Mack (Adoptive Mother), charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and destroying evidence.

Sources:
Hernando mother remains worried about 12-year-old daughter’s whereabouts after other daughter’s murder
Former DCF employee accused of abusing, killing adopted daughter in Sebring: ‘Horrific crime’
Birth mother of 13-year-old believed to be murdered shares concern for other child adopted by suspect
Woman charged with abuse and first-degree murder of adopted daughter

Phyllis Walburn

Photo of a woman with very curly auburn hair and pale skin. She is wearing a white top.Name: Phyllis Walburn.
Died: October 31, 2024.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Oxygen disconnected.
Location: Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Bedridden, chronic illness.

Details:
Phyllis’s son allegedly removed her oxygen tube and dumped large amounts of water on her. Police responded to the home and found Phyllis unconscious, with bruises on her neck. She was taken to the hospital, where she spent a week in a coma before dying. Police say that Phyllis’s son confessed to his actions, saying that she “needed to die”.

Phyllis was a country music fan who loved cooking for her family.

Case Status:
Chad Walburn (Son), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Son ‘murdered his bedridden mom by ripping out oxygen tube’
Son wanted bedridden mother to die so he yanked oxygen tube and doused her with water: Cops
Erie man faces 1st-degree murder after police say he admits to removing mom’s oxygen
Coroner rules Erie woman’s death a homicide after a week in a coma
Phyllis Elaine Walburn Obituary 2024
Erie woman dies week after son accused of removing her oxygen, dumping water on her

Malka Semenduyeva

Photo of an older woman with shoulder-length brown hair and light skin. She is wearing a dark-red dress.Name: Malka Semenduyeva.
Died: October 25, 2024.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Deaf.

Details:
Police responded to a 911 call to find Malka and her son with multiple stab wounds. Malka was dead; her son, who was badly wounded, was able to tell the police that his brother had stabbed them both.

“I think we just lost an angel,” said one of Malka’s neighbors, who remembers her as one of the kindest women she had ever met.

Malka’s wounded son is expected to recover.

Case Status:
Vadim Semenduyev (Son), charged with murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Sources:
Brooklyn man nabbed in stabbing death of 72-year-old deaf mom
Deaf woman fatally stabbed by relative in Brooklyn was ‘an angel,’ neighbor says

DJ McCollum

A young man with light-brown skin, photographed in profile. His brown hair is in short dreads, and he has a fuzzy mustache. He is wearing a black T-shirt and blue bib. Burn scars are visible on his face and the stub of his hand.Name: DJ McCollum.
Died: October 24, 2024.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Severe burn survivor; wheelchair user.

Details:
DJ lived with his adoptive mother, Patricia and Kaydence, his 11-year-old sister. Concerned neighbors called the police, saying an armed man with a knife was in the home. That led to an hours-long standoff, with SWAT teams negotiating, before they were finally able to enter the home. There, they found DJ, his mother, and his 11-year-old sister dead from stab wounds. The suspect, who turned out to DJ’s brother-in-law, had self-inflicted stab wounds, of which he died after he was taken to the hospital. He had a history of arrests for domestic violence.

DJ and Kaydence had been two of Patricia’s many foster children. DJ, who had been severely burned as an infant, became Patricia’s foster son and then, at ten years old, her adopted son. She raised him through childhood and adolescence and watched him accept his high school diploma, walking on prosthetic legs.

Case Status:
Anthony Mathis (brother-in-law), deceased.

Sources:
Ohio foster mom, daughter and disabled son killed in murder-suicide
‘Hero’ foster mom, her daughter and disabled son stabbing victims
Cincinnati foster mom, adopted son killed in triple homicide
Man who stabbed his family to death had recent history of arrests for violence

89-year-old woman

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: October 24, 2024.
Age at death: 89.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Pottstown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; nursing home resident.

Details:
This woman’s husband came to visit her at her nursing home, shot her dead, and shot himself.

Case Status:
Ruled murder-suicide. Her husband died that night at the hospital.

Sources:
Husband, wife die in murder-suicide in nursing home
DA: Shooter in murder-suicide at East Coventry senior living facility dies overnight
Shooting at Chester County nursing and care facility was ‘murder-attempted suicide,’ DA says [Updated]
Murder-attempted suicide at Chester County nursing home
89-year-old woman killed in murder and attempted suicide at Chester County nursing home, DA says

Kris Knox

a young Black man wearing a baseball cap faces to the rightName: Kris Knox.
Died: October 20, 2024.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Warren, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Brain cancer, mental health disability.

Details:
Police were summoned to Kris’s home after his brother ran to a neighbors house for help, saying that his mother had threatened him with a gun. When the police checked on Kris and his mother, they found that she had shot him and then killed herself. His brother, who had escaped the house, survived unhurt.

Case Status:
His mother; deceased.

Sources:
2 dead in Warren, police suspect murder-suicide – CBS Detroit
Mother, son dead after murder-suicide in Warren
Police: Warren mom fatally shoots special needs son before taking her own life
Grandma of Warren man shot by mom in apparent murder-suicide said family struggled with health issues

Barbara Brandt

Photo of an older woman wearing a red shirt and glasses, which are slipping down her nose. She has light skin, and her short gray hair is wispy.Name: Barbara “Bobbie” Brandt.
Died: October 4, 2024.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Cromwell, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Bobbie’s husband went to her nursing home and fatally shot her before killing himself.

Bobbie left behind her two cats, which had been living with her husband and were taken into custody by animal control when he died.

Case Status:
Dennis Brandt (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Nursing Home Murder-Suicide: Cops ID Husband, Wife Dead in CT
Cromwell neighbors shocked, saddened by nursing home murder-suicide: ‘There’s an empty spot’
Nursing Home Murder-Suicide: Cops ID Husband, Wife Dead in Cromwell
Cromwell nursing home resident killed in apparent murder-suicide
Police ID husband, wife killed in apparent murder-suicide at Apple Rehab Cromwell
Cromwell Nursing Home Murder-Suicide IDs Released: Police
Murder-suicide at Cromwell nursing home raises ‘discussion’ on safety protocols, official says

Donna Kitzmiller

Photo of a middle aged woman with short brown hair, light skin, and red cheeks. She is wearing glasses and a light-yellow sweater, and smiling broadly at the camera.Name: Donna L. Kitzmiller.
Died: September 28, 2024.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Grand Haven Charter Township, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Donna’s husband fatally shot her before fatally shooting himself. He told a 911 operator that he was “giving [her] a merciful ending”.

Donna was a retired elementary school teacher. She loved nature and wildlife, enjoyed reading and watching movies, and cared for pet Golden Retrievers and cats.

Case Status:
William Kitzmiller (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Retired cop, 80, shot wife in ‘merciful’ end to her Alzheimer’s disease, 911 call shows
Retired Cop Fatally Shot Wife, Then Himself, Claiming ‘Merciful Ending’ Because of Her Alzheimer’s: 911 Call
William & Donna Kitzmiller Obituary | Sep 28, 2024 | Grand Haven, MI

Carmel McDougall

Photo of an older woman in a lacy white dress, wearing a corsage of red roses on her wriest. She is smiling. Her skin is brown, and her short black hair is curly. There are balloons in the background.Name: Carmel McDougall.
Died: September 18, 2024.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Brain trauma.
Location: Roosevelt, New York, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Carmel died from head injuries sustained after a fall. According to video recordings from their home security system, the fall happened because Carmel’s son put her in a headlock and swung her around, causing her to lose her balance; police say he was “frustrated with [her] declining health”. Videos from two weeks before show her daughter “constrict[ing] her mother’s ability to move and breathe”.

Carmel was born in Jamaica and had lived in Canada before moving to New York. Her passion for cooking invigorated her career as a hospital dietician. Along with her own four children, she fed and cared for many children in her community. She was a devoted Christian who spent much of her time after retirement doing volunteer work for the Most Holy Rosary Church.

Case Status:
Michael Rainford McDougall (Son), charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree endangerment of a vulnerable person, and criminally negligent homicide.
Nichole McDougall Mullings (Daughter), charged with first-degree endangerment of a vulnerable person.

Sources:
LI Son Charged After Abuse Of Mother Leads To Her Death: DA
Roosevelt siblings indicted in elder abuse case, mother dead.
Obituary of Carmel McDougall

Elijah Hale

Photo of a small boy with light-brown skin and brown eyes. He is grinning. He is wearing a red coat with a fuzzy black hood.Name: Elijah Anthony Hale.
Died: September 5, 2024.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Hot water burns.
Location: Walkertown, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Elijah suffered severe burns, believed to have been inflicted when he was put into a bathtub full of scalding hot water. Elijah’s stepfather was arrested for child abuse, and Elijah was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with third-degree burns. He lived for 46 days before dying from his injuries.

Elijah loved animals and loved his family. An active, energetic child, he spent his days singing, running, and playing ball.

Case Status:
James Wilford Huff (Stepfather), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Stepfather charged with first-degree murder in death of 5-year-old autistic boy in Walkertown
Autistic boy, 4, dies after being severely burned in bathtub
Walkertown man charged with murder after death of child, Forsyth County deputies say