Location: USA – Page 64 – Disability Day of Mourning

Emily Perrin

Photo of Emily Perrin, a small blonde girl sitting on a bed. She is wearing a light blue dress and holding a doll wearing a matching blue dress. Name: Emily Rose Perrin.
Died: April 10, 2016.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Dupo, St. Louis, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Cystic fibrosis.

Details:
Emily was a pre-kindergarten student a day short of her fifth birthday when her mother smothered her.

She loved pretending to be a princess.

Case status:
Mary Lockett (Mother), charged with first degree murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Source:
Mother charged with murdering her cystic fibrosis-suffering daughter, 4, a day before her birthday
Mother charged in Dupo child’s death
Dupo mom accused of killing 4-year-old daughter found not guilty by reason of insanity
Ten reports of abuse weren’t enough to save ‘Princess’ Emily

Cathy Evans

Portrait photo of Cathy Evans. She is a middle-aged woman with permed dark-brown hair and pale skin. Name: Cathy Evans.
Died: April 5, 2016.
Age at death: 65.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Springfield Township, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Cathy’s husband shot and killed her, then killed himself.

Cathy and her husband used to walk the neighborhood, picking up trash as they went.

Case status:
Daniel Evans (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Police: Married couple dead in Springfield Twp. murder-suicide
Dan Evans Obituary
Wife, husband dead after apparent murder-suicide

Kenneth Nix

Name: Kenneth Nix.
Died: March 21, 2016.
Age at death: 69.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Chronic nerve disease, related mobility issues.

Details:
Kenneth was shot to death by his ex-wife as he lay asleep in bed. She tried to cover up the death as a suicide.

During trial, the defense claimed that Kenneth’s ex-wife had battered woman syndrome and was trying to protect herself when she shot Kenneth, whose mobility issues prevented him from getting out of bed.

Ken loved motorcycles.

Case status:
Judith Nix (Ex-wife), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 39 years to life.

Source:
Broken Arrow woman gets life sentence in shooting death of ex-husband
Broken Arrow woman convicted of murdering ex-husband

Bethannie Johnson

Photo of Bethannie Johnson, a toddler girl in a short black-and-white dress and pink sandals. She has fair skin and short, wispy brown hair; she is sitting sideways on a curved surface and looking at the camera. Name: Bethannie Raychelle Johnson.
Died: March 17, 2016.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Grand Junction, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Reactive attachment disorder.

Details:
Bethannie was living with her aunt and her aunt’s girlfriend.

For two weeks, Bethannie’s aunt had kept her strapped to a high chair in the closet, claiming that she had to do this to keep Bethannie from hurting herself.

Bethannie was found unresponsive and dying of a massive head injury; she had been beaten to death by her aunt’s girlfriend. Her body showed signs of chronic child abuse.

Case status:
Shanna Gossett (Aunt), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 48 years in prison and 5 years parole.
Rebekah Joy Wallin (Aunt’s girlfriend), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 48 years in prison and 5 years parole.

Source:
Mesa County women sentenced in beating death of 3-year-old girl
Rebekah Joy Wallin on Why She Admitted Role in Child’s Death: “Because I’m Guilty”
Cops: Suspect kept child in closet
Woman Kept Niece Strapped To A High Chair And Locked In A Closet For Weeks
Woman, 29, ‘kept her niece in closet for two weeks before killing her’
Shanna Gossett: Aunt Kills 3-Year-Old Niece After Pushing Girl’s Head Into A Wall

Kobe Shaw

Name: Kobe Conley Shaw.
Died: March 11, 2016.
Age at death: 9 months.
Cause of death: Methamphetamine poisoning.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Pontocerebellar hypoplasia.

Details:
When Kobe’s parents found him dead in his crib, they thought he had died because of his disability, which doctors had told them would limit his lifespan to about five years. But when toxicology testing was done, Kobe was found to have been poisoned with methamphetamine. His grandmother, who had been babysitting him that day, initially went on the run, but was eventually arrested and convicted of fatally poisoning Kobe with methamphetamine.

Case status:
Tonya Monroe (Grandmother), convicted of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, cruelty to children and distribution of methamphetamine, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Fulton grandmother who ‘poisoned’ toddler with meth sentenced to life in prison
Georgia grandmother ‘murders her nine-month-old grandson with a meth overdose’
In Memory of Kobe Conley Shaw
Police searching for woman accused of murdering infant grandson
Tonya Monroe, 45, of Sandy Springs, accused of killing nine-month-old grandson with Methamphetamine, finally arrested
Woman arrested in her nine-month-old grandson’s overdose death

Tony Myhand

Photo of a white marble gravestone reading, "Tony Myhand, SP4 US Army, Feb 7 1957 to Mar 11 2016." Name: Tony Myhand.
Died: March 11, 2016.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Montgomery, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Tony and his son were arguing because his son would not give Tony the keys to the van. Angered, his son shot him twice, in the neck and chest, killing him. Tony was unarmed.

Case status:
Christopher Myhand (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 11-22 years.

Source:
Montgomery man convicted of fatally shooting his father in 2016
Montgomery man accused of murdering father during family altercation
Montgomery Man Convicted of Fatally Shooting His Father in Argument Over Keys

Mary Palley

Photo of Mary Palley. She is an older woman with graying blonde hair and fair skin. She is wearing glasses and a pearl necklace. Name: Mary Flynn Palley.
Died: March 11, 2016.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Logan, Utah, USA.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease.

Details:
Mary Palley was a retired lawyer. She was an advocate for abuse victims, served as a historian for Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse, and did pro bono work for abuse victims, helping them get protective orders.

When she became disabled because of Parkinson’s disease, her husband killed her and then committed suicide.

Case status:
Dell Andrew Johnson (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Logan woman killed in apparent murder-suicide remembered as advocate for victims of abuse
Mary Palley Obituary
Couple identified after letter to newspaper leads Logan police to apparent murder-suicide
‘Something about Mary:’ Logan woman remembered for her passion, selflessness
Police continuing to look for answers in apparent murder-suicide
Logan woman killed in apparent murder-suicide remembered as advocate for victims of abuse

Cynthia Busch

Name: Cynthia Busch.
Died: March 10, 2016.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fairfield Township, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability.

Details:
Cynthia was shot by her mother in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Barbara Busch (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Fairfield Twp. Police identify mother, daughter found dead in murder-suicide
Mother fatally shoots disabled daughter, self in Fairfield Twp.
Police: Mother Killed Daughter, then Killed Herself
Police: Overwhelmed mother killed developmentally disabled daughter
Cynthia Busch Obituary
autism wars: On The Murder of Cynthia Busch
No Mystery Here: Call a Murderer a Murderer
Cynthia Busch: The Disability Holocaust Continues

Roberta Rybinski

Name: Roberta A. Rybinski.
Died: March 8, 2016.
Age at death: 51.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Tonawanda, New York, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.

Details:
Roberta, who was living on disability payments due to her bipolar disorder, was abused by her boyfriend. At one point she was able to leave him and get a protection order, but eventually she moved back into his apartment–an apartment to which he held the only key.

Roberta was stabbed to death by her boyfriend.

Case status:
John M. Avent (Boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
Judge tells convicted murderer his 25 years-to-life prison sentence is well-deserved
Jury convicts boyfriend in Tonawanda woman’s murder
Man arrested in connection to Tonawanda murder
Police investigate Town of Tonawanda woman’s death

Michael Furst

Photo of Michael Furst. He is a young man being held up by someone behind him; he is up to his waist in water and leaning over to look into the water. He has red hair and fair skin; his arms are curled over his chest because of spasticity. He wears a blue T-shirt. Name: Michael Furst.
Died: March 6, 2016 (Body found; died February 2016).
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Peshtigo, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Michael died of starvation because his mother, though she was paid a government stipend to care for him, did not feed him. When he was found dead, his body weighed only 36 pounds.

Case status:
Renee Furst (Mother), died of a drug overdose several days after Michael died.

Source:
Peshtigo man with cerebral palsy starved to death by mother — also dead
Peshtigo starvation death investigation complete