Category: Location: USA

Caterina Whitten

Photo of a young woman wearing a pink dress. She has light skin and brown hair, which is held back by a white headband. Her eyes are small and the eyelids closed. Her expression is neutral.Name: Caterina Whitten.
Died: January 3, 2025.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Unspecified neglect.
Location: Lowell, Arkansas, USA.
Disability: Fraser syndrome; blind, autism.

Details:
Caterina was found dead in a filthy home.

One of six adopted siblings, Caterina was born in Russia. As a child, she loved swimming and playing on her swing set. Her five siblings, who had also allegedly been neglected, were rescued when her father was arrested after Caterina’s death.

Case Status:
David Whitten (adoptive father), charged with negligent homicide and six counts of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.

Sources:
Arkansas police arrest 72-year-old man for negligent homicide in disabled daughter’s death
Lowell man accused of negligent homicide, endangering welfare
Lowell man faces negligent homicide charge after death of disabled daughter
‘A really sad story’: Neighbors react to tragic death of Lowell woman
Horrifying way disabled woman died in Ozarks house of horrors she shared with ‘dad’ and 5 handicapped siblings

Addison Carr

Photo of a chubby young girl lying on an orange pillow, red hair gathered into a bun. She has pale skin, and is dressed in a pink nightie and covered with a pink-and-white blanket. Her eyes are half-closed and her mouth open. One of her hands lies across the pillow, fingers curled into a loose fist.Name: Addison Rebecca Carr.
Died: December 26, 2024.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Greenville, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Perinatal hypoxia; feeding tube, limited mobility.

Details:
Addison’s mother’s boyfriend was babysitting when she suffered what an arrest warrant called “non-accidental trauma.” Addison was taken to the hospital, where she died four days later from her injuries.

Addison’s mother mourns the loss of her smile, remembering that “she was just a sweetheart and a joy to be around.”

Case Status:
Tyler David Ternberg (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with homicide by child abuse.

Sources:
Accused child killer granted bond and released
Mother’s boyfriend accused of killing 4-year-old with special needs: ‘She was my entire world’
Simpsonville man in custody, accused of causing death of four-year-old with special needs
SC man charged in death of 4-year-old with special needs, deputies say
Sobbing mom confronts boyfriend ‘for murdering her disabled daughter’
Mom rages at boyfriend accused of shaking and beating disabled daughter to death

Princeton Jones

Photo of an African American boy with light-brown skin, his dark-brown hair in tight curls. He is wearing a blue dress shirt and smiling for the camera.Name: Princeton Nicholas Jones.
Died: November 30, 2024.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Compton, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Princeton was staying with his grandfather when his father allegedly fatally shot him.

A bright, funny boy, Princeton was very close to his mother.

Case Status:
Nicholas Jones (Father), charged with murder and child abuse resulting in death.

Sources:
West Rancho Dominguez father pleads not guilty in son’s shooting death
Father arrested after his 9-year-old son shot and killed in Compton
Father Arrested In Shooting Death Of Autistic Boy, 9
Father Arrested in Fatal Shooting of 9-Year-Old Autistic Son in Compton

Florence Albert

No PhotoName: Florence Albert.
Died: November 17, 2024.
Age at death: 94.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Rochester, New York, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; nursing home resident.

Details:
Florence’s son walked into her nursing home and shot her in a murder-suicide.

Case Status:
Robert Albert (Son), deceased.

Sources:
Rochester police identify man, woman dead after murder-suicide at nursing home
Two people are dead after apparent murder-suicide at a nursing home in Rochester
RPD: Son shoots and kills mother at nursing home, then kills himself
RPD: Man kills mother in murder-suicide at nursing home
City, county emergency teams carefully help residents during nursing home murder-suicide
Assemblymember, nurses’ union weigh in on nursing home safety after murder-suicide

Barbara Conroy

Photo of an older woman with wispy white hair, tan skin, cat-eye glasses, and a red shirt printed with stars. She is scowling at the camera, corners of her lips pulled down.Name: Barbara Ann Conroy.
Died: November 17, 2024.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Heart disease, Crohn’s disease, psychosis; wheelchair user.

Details:
Barbara’s husband picked her up from her nursing home before killing her in a murder-suicide.

Case Status:
Dennis Raymond Conroy (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
2 people, 78 and 81, dead in suspected murder-suicide at Cleveland Metroparks, police say
Endangered Missing Adult Alert: Barbara Conroy

Joyce Gaskins

a middle-aged dark skinned Black woman looks to the right, appearing to be mid-conversationName: Joyce Elizabeth Gaskins.
Died: November 15, 2024.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Unspecified mental illness.

Details:
Joyce’s neighbor found her dead in her bedroom and called the police. Her son was arrested on suspicion of strangling her and then putting some of her mental health medication in her mouth to try to pass it off as an overdose.

Joyce was a devout Christian who liked sewing, debate, and watching horror and mystery movies. She was the oldest of seven children and had five children of her own.

Case Status:
Ajay Wiggins (Son) was charged with murder. He has been hospitalized for a psychological evaluation and treatment.

Sources:
Joyce Elizabeth Gaskins – View Obituary & Service Information
FOX45: Police say son tried to stage overdose in mother’s death on Druid Hill Avenue
Baltimore man charged with murder of his mother, police say – CBS Baltimore
Baltimore man charged with first-degree murder of his 64-year-old mother in West Baltimore

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

Louise Lewallen

Photo of an elderly woman with white hair. She has light, wrinkled skin, and she is wearing glasses, a black top, and a necklace with a white stone.Name: Louise Wilda Greenway Lewallen.
Died: November 10, 2024.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lula, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user.

Details:
After police arrested Louise’s son on unrelated charges, they decided to check on Louise, since her son was her caregiver; but they found Louise’s body, sitting in her wheelchair, in the yard of her home. She had been fatally shot.

Case Status:
Wesley Lamar Lewallen (Son) is charged with malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault.

Sources:
Louise Wilda Greenway Lewallen’s Obituary
Elderly woman in wheelchair found dead outside home, son charged with murder
Suspect charged with murder after shooting death in Banks County

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