Location: USA – Page 5 – Disability Day of Mourning

Patricia Zaccario

Photo of a middle aged woman with short, wavy blond hair and fair skin, wearing silver earrings and a red blouse, smiling. Name: Patricia Zaccario.
Died: July 15, 2023.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Hackensack, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; terminally ill nursing home resident.

Details:
Patricia’s husband visited her at her nursing home, shot her dead, and then shot himself.

Case Status:
Michael Zaccario (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Authorities ID husband, wife dead in murder-suicide at N.J. nursing home
Elderly married couple shot dead in nursing home in ‘murder suicide’
Officials: 73-year-old Patricia Zaccario, 76-year-old Michael Zaccario fatally shot at New Jersey nursing facility

Alivia Hobbs-Jordan

Photo of a young girl with brown skin and black hair in tight braids. She is wearing a puffy blue jacket. Name: Alivia Hobbs-Jordan.
Died: June 25, 2023.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Abandonment.
Location: Decatur, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Alivia’s mother allegedly buckled her into her stroller, rolled her into a closet, and left the apartment, never to return. Alivia’s body was found months later.

Case Status:
Alondra Hobbs (Mother), charged with murder and child cruelty.

Sources:
New details emerge in case where 7-year-old girl with autism was left in closet for so long she became mummified
Mother accused of killing 7-year-old daughter who was found mummified in closet left her there, had ‘no intention of returning’: Warrant
Autism Memorial: Alivia Hobbs-Jordan

Shana McClain

Photo of a middle aged woman with light-tan skin, her brown hair arranged in neat braids that coil around her head and fall over her right eye. She is smiling. Name: Shana McClain.
Died: May 29, 2023.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Landrum, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
When police responded to Shana’s home, they found her stabbed to death in her wheelchair and her boyfriend holding a knife.

Case Status:
Freddie Edwards (Boyfriend), fatally shot by police.

Sources:
South Carolina woman found dead in wheelchair, boyfriend killed after charging police
Man accused of fatally stabbing woman in wheelchair shot, killed by authorities, sheriff says
Woman found dead in wheelchair, suspect killed in officer-involved shooting

3-year-old boy

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: May 12, 2023.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Bedsores; sepsis.
Location: Bartow, Florida, USA.
Disability: Hypoxic brain injury, ventilator-dependent.

Details:
Although this three-year-old’s parents had nursing assistance and a caregiver allowance to assist them in caring for him, they dismissed the nurses. Some months later, paramedics were called to the house to find the toddler dying from sepsis caused by extreme, untreated pressure sores. He was rushed to the hospital but could not be saved, and his parents were arrested.

Case Status:
Takesha Williams (Mother), charged with aggravated manslaughter.
Efrem Allen (Father), charged with aggravated manslaughter.

Sources:
Bartow Parents Left Disabled 3-Year-Old Child To Rot To Death: Sheriff
Emergency Doctors Say 3-Year-Old Bartow Boy Hadn’t Been Cared For In Months Before He Died
Florida Couple Charged With Manslaughter in Special Needs Child’s Death

A’niyah Perry

Name: A’niyah Perry.
Died: May 1, 2023.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Hinesville, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Emergency responders were called to A’niyah’s home for a report of an unresponsive child. They found A’niyah’s body, emaciated and weighing only 28 pounds; investigators determined she had died from malnutrition, and examination of the home showed a dirty environment with almost no food available. Child services had been alerted to A’niyah’s case when she was treated for a broken leg, which medical professionals said was non-accidental but her mother said had come from falling off the bed; A’niyah had also been missing medical appointments. Her non-custodial father had also been attempting to get help for A’niya for two years, but, he says, “No one ever listened to me.”

Case Status:
Shelly Perry (Mother), charged with child cruelty through starvation, tampering with evidence, false statements, and concealment of a death.
Brandon Robinson (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with child cruelty through starvation, tampering with evidence, false statements, and concealment of a death.

Sources:
What happened to A’niyah? Report sheds new light on what Hinesville police found after child’s death
Records detail abuse investigation years before Hinesville 6-year-old died
Obituary for A’Niyah Sandrea Perry at SMALLS FUNERAL HOME, INC.
Father of 6-year-old found dead in Hinesville home says he had been worried for his daughter for years

Ray Crammond

No Photo Name: Ray Crammond.
Died: April 29, 2023.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Pneumonia; bedsores.
Location: Ankeny, Iowa, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Medics were called to Ray’s house and found him in a terrible condition, with severe bedsores. Eight days later, he died in the hospital from pneumonia. Court documents say that Ray had been left without food water, baths, or medication.

Ray was a retired agricultural engineer.

Case Status:
Diana Lynn Becker-Abeyta (Unlicensed live-in caretaker), charged with second-degree murder.

Sources:
Live-in caretaker murders bedridden elderly man in Iowa: Police
Ankeny woman charged with murder in death of 73-year-old, bedridden man
Ankeny caretaker charged in death of 73-year-old bedridden man
Ray Crammond Obituary

Jermiyah Puskac

Photo of a boy with pale skin and short-cropped brown hair, wearing a bulky black jacket and holding up his hand to the camera. Name: Jermiyah Puskac.
Died: April 29, 2023.
Age at death: 17 months.
Cause of death: Head and neck trauma.
Location: Ocala, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Jermiyah’s mother allegedly caused a skull fracture and neck injury, and then did not call an ambulance until a day after the injury happened. Jermiyah spent two days in the hospital before he died. He had bruises and other injuries consistent with child abuse.

Case Status:
Puskac Summerfield (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Marion County mother charged with murder in death of her 17-month-old son
Central Florida mother charged in infant’s death
Central Florida woman accused of killing her 17-month-old son, deputies say
‘I’ll just have another one’: Mother who gave shifting stories about toddler son’s death now facing murder charges
Autism Memorial: Jermiyah Puskac

Janice Houston

No Photo Name: Janice Lynn Houston.
Died: April 21, 2023.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Bullhead City, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Janice was allegedly beaten to death by her son. According to her family, he had choked her the day before, then returned, broke in through a glass door, and beat her to death.

Case Status:
Joseph Houston (Son), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sources:
Homicide Arrest
Woman dies after alleged beating by son
Arizona Man, 27, Beats Disabled Mother to Death

Gary Lew

No Photo Name: Gary Lew.
Died: April 11, 2023.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Beating.
Location: Denton, Nebraska, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida, dementia; wheelchair user.

Details:
Gary was beaten to death by his daughter, son in law, cousin, and a family friend. Two young children witnessed the incident.

Case Status:
Christina Thornley (Daughter), pleaded no contest to six charges including abuse of a vulnerable adult, false imprisonment, being an accessory to murder, and evidence tampering; sentenced to 15 years.
Justin Thornley (Son in law), pleaded no contest to manslaughter, tampering with evidence, vulnerable adult abuse, false imprisonment, and criminal conspiracy; sentenced to 25 to 30 years.
Jacob Thornley (Cousin), pleaded no contest to manslaughter, abuse of a vulnerable adult, false imprisonment, evidence tampering and criminal conspiracy; sentenced to 29 to 30 years.
Braden Bongers, pleaded no contest to attempted assault; sentenced to 9 to 18 years.

Sources:
Final 2 of 4 suspects convicted in Omaha man’s murder sentenced to prison
Three men accept plea deals in beating death of wheelchair-bound Omaha man
Multiple suspects found guilty in Omaha man’s death after pleading ‘no contest’
3 of 4 suspects in Omaha man’s murder plead ‘no contest’

Carol Clark

Name: Carol Clark.
Died: April 9, 2023.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Falls Township, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Stroke, diabetes, mobility impaired (Wheelchair user).

Details:
Carol’s body was found in a shed. Her son had drugged her with Fentanyl and then fatally shot her.

Case Status:
Sean Rivera (Son), agreed to plead guilty to homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and drug possession with intent to deliver; plea deal is for life without parole.

Sources:
Falls man takes plea deal to avoid death penalty in murder of his mother
Man Accused Of Drugging & Shooting His Mother
Son Charged With Murder of Bucks Co. Woman
Falls man drugged mother, took her to Philadelphia and fatally shot her: Police
Bucks County man charged with killing his mother on her 72nd birthday