Location: USA – Page 44 – Disability Day of Mourning

Kelly Barber

Name: Kelly Denise Barber.
Died: October 26, 2018.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Newark, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Kelly died of severe head injuries after her boyfriend headbutted her.

Kelly was a music-lover who played and composed music for the guitar. She was an outgoing woman who could always be counted on to help anyone who asked her, whether they needed food, a place to stay, or someone to go sing karaoke with them. She also liked to spend time with her grandchildren.

When she met the man who killed her, she was a widow who had lost her first husband eleven years previously.

Case status:
Brady R. Workman, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, and aggravated trafficking in drugs, sentenced to 18 years.

Source:
Newark man formally indicted in girlfriend’s death
Newark man charged in 2018 murder of bedridden, live-in girlfriend
Newark man charged in murder of bedridden girlfriend in October incident
Obituary for Kelly Denise Barber at Criss Wagner Hoskinson Funeral and Cremation Service

Linda Sweat

No Photo Name: Linda Sweat.
Died: October 23, 2018.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Mansfield, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; disabled elder, “bedridden”.

Details:
Linda starved to death while in the care of her daughter.

Case status:
Jennifer Sweat (Daughter), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and abduction, sentenced to 14 years.

Source:
Woman who let mother starve to death sentenced to 14 years in prison
Woman whose mother starved to death charged with murder
Mansfield woman indicted for murder after her mother starves to death
Mansfield woman arrested in suspicious death of 77-year-old mother
Woman accused of starving her mom ‘lied from the beginning,’ detective says
Woman held on $500,000 cash bond in connection with mother’s death

Samantha Tache

No Photo Name: Samantha Tache.
Died: October 18, 2018.
Age at death: 36.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Samantha’s father killed her, then hung himself.

Case status:
Scott Tache (Father), deceased.

Source:
Two people found dead in suspected murder-suicide on Cleveland’s West Side
Father, daughter with cerebral palsy found dead in suspected murder-suicide on Cleveland’s West Side
Victims in murder-suicide on West 112th identified
Police find 2 bodies in house on Cleveland’s west side in possible murder-suicide

Irma Reese

Photo of an older woman with very short gray hair, dark skin, and white shirt, photographed outdoors. Name: Irma Jean Reese.
Died: October 18, 2018.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Bailey, Mississippi, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Irma died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a house fire allegedly set by her son, who knew that she used a wheelchair and couldn’t get out of the house on her own.

Case status:
Michael Reese (Son), charged with capital murder and arson.

Source:
Son charged with capital murder, arson in fatal fire
Mississippi man charged with setting fire, killing mother
Bailey man charged with arson, murder in mother’s death

Jonathan Schmoyer

Photo of a toddler boy with very fair hair and pale skin. He is looking at the camera with a slightly puzzled expression. He is wearing a yellow SpongeBob T-shirt. Name: Jonathan “JJ” Schmoyer.
Died: September 29, 2018.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Explosion.
Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Suspected autism.

Details:
JJ’s father rigged his car to explode. He put JJ in the car seat, lured 66-year-old family friend David Hallman into the car, and set off the explosives. All three were killed.

In suicide letters left behind, the killer mentioned that he “had something against autism, which he suspected JJ had.”

From JJ’s obituary:
“JJ was a loving, intelligent and inquisitive child who loved to explore, laugh, take walks, roller skate and play patty-cake. JJ also loved to eat Subway meatball sandwiches and he adored Thomas the Tank [Engine] and his Spider-Man and SpongeBob t-shirts.”

Case status:
Jacob Schmoyer (Father), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jonathan Schmoyer
View Jonathan Schmoyer’s Obituary on mcall.com and share memories
Cops: ‘Miserable’ dad rigged car to explode, killing 2-year-old son, friend and himself
Allentown car explosion: Jacob Schmoyer committed murder-suicide using homemade explosives, ATF says
Allentown Car Bomb: Mystery Surrounds Grisly Deaths of 2 Men and Child in Explosion
Allentown car explosion: Toddler’s mom searching for answers, too

Ecie Gabrielsen

Name: Ecie Gabrielsen.
Died: September 29, 2018.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Citrus Springs, Florida, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Ecie loved kids and her family. She had five grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, and she would often go out to dinner with them and tell them stories of when she was a girl in Kentucky coal country.

Ecie’s grandson, who had moved in to help her out, gradually separated her from her family; then he neglected her until she died. He buried her in a shallow grave, told family he had put her in a nursing home, and tried to flee to Mexico. He and his girlfriend were arrested at the border.

Case status:
Arthur Miller (Grandson/Adoptive son), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, neglecting an elderly person, and abusing a corpse, sentenced to 13-15 years.
Vivian Gutierrez (Grandson’s girlfriend), convicted of elder neglect, sentenced to 3-5 years.

Sources:
Man pleads guilty, agrees to serve 15 years for neglecting, burying grandmother
Family remembers Ecie Gabrielsen as loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother
Florida man allegedly neglected grandmother to point of death, buried her, tried to flee country
Family of Citrus Springs woman neglected until death speak out
Man allegedly neglected grandmother to point of death, buried her, tried to flee country
Deputies: Man neglected grandmother until she died, tried to flee U.S.

Logan Starling

Name: Logan Starling.
Died: September 28, 2018.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Heat stroke.
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Logan’s father remembers him as “my little Logo on the go go”, a hyperactive child who would hop around like a kangaroo. He liked watching the SunRail trains and pretending they were Thomas the Tank Engine. He went to school in a pre-K class.

Logan’s father’s fiance left him locked inside her van on a hot day in Florida, parked outside the school. He died of heat stroke and wasn’t found until 2:30 in the afternoon.

Logan’s great-aunt says that Logan was not the sort of quiet child who could be forgotten in a van by accident; if he wasn’t there, you would notice it.

Case status:
Mariah Butler (Father’s girlfriend), pleaded guilty to child neglect, sentenced to 5 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Logan Starling
Woman pleads guilty to child neglect in Logan Starling death – Orlando Sentinel
Happening today: Woman accused of leaving 4-year-old boy in hot car to die to be sentenced
Woman accused in death of 4-year-old boy released on bond
After boy’s hot-car death, 4-year-old Logan Starling’s family seeks answersl

Stacy Hunsucker

Name: Stacy Hunsucker.
Died: September 23, 2018.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Tetrahydrozoline poisoning.
Location: Mount Holly, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Chronic heart condition; pacemaker.

Details:
Stacy had a heart condition that had required a pacemaker. She died and her husband tried to claim the insurance money, but Stacy’s mother was suspicious and requested an investigation into possible insurance fraud. Stacy had been cremated, but because she was an organ donor, a vial of her blood had been taken and stored. When analyzed, the blood was shown to contain a chemical found in eye crops, which can cause heart failure, and with which her paramedic husband had allegedly poisoned her.

Case status:
Joshua Hunsucker (Husband), charged with first-degree murder.

Source:
Who is Joshua Hunsucker? Man accused of poisoning wife with eye drops arrested for starting fire on helicopter | MEAWW
‘Cheating’ Paramedic ‘murdered wife with eye drops to claim huge life insurance payout’
View Stacy Hunsucker’s Obituary on gastongazette.com and share memories

Evelyn Bailey

Name: Evelyn Bailey.
Died: September 22, 2018.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Erwin, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Evelyn’s son-in-law shot her dead from behind; then he killed himself.

Before retiring, Evelyn worked as a shirt inspector in a garment factory. She liked flowers and sewing by hand. She had two children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Case status:
Grady Hughes (Son-in-law), deceased.

Sources:
Unicoi County murder-suicide involved family members
Unicoi man kills mother-in-law, self
Evelyn Bailey

Mary Terry

No Photo Name: Mary Kathleen Black Terry.
Died: September 21, 2018.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Shooting.
Location: Catonsville, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; recent injury requiring wheelchair use.

Details:
Mary and her husband were living in a retirement community when she was injured and had to start using a wheelchair. Mary’s husband fatally shot her, then killed himself.

Case status:
Clifford Wilson Terry (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Police ID Elderly Couple In Murder-Suicide In Retirement Community
Police name Clifford and Mary Terry as couple in murder-suicide at Catonsville retirement home
UPDATE: Couple identified after retirement community murder suicide
Baltimore County police investigating suspected murder-suicide in parking lot of Catonsville retirement community