Category: Location: USA

Geraldine Chandler

No PhotoName: Geraldine Joyce Chandler.
Died: October 12, 2015.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Restraint-related.
Location: Cleves, Ohio, USA.
Disability: “Functionally impaired”.

Details:
Geraldine’s caregivers allegedly caused her death; police reports are unclear how, but apparently they restrained or locked her up and failed to provide for her needs.

Case status:
Kimberly Taggart (Caregiver), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 8 years.
John Reid (Caregiver), guilty of failure to provide for a functionally impaired person, sentenced to 6 years.

Source:
John Reid | Madison Correctional | Ohio Inmates & Offenders
Caregiver sentenced in 84-year-old’s death
2 indicted in abduction, death of woman, 84

Kenneth Mobley Jr.

Gravestone reading Mobley, Edna Mae, 1/24/1926-5/11/1990, beloved mother and grandmother; Kenneth P. Jr, 8/25/1985-10/5/2015, beloved son & grandson.Name: Kenneth Pernell Mobley Jr.
Died: October 5, 2015.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Greenville County, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; dwarfism, “physical abnormalities”.

Details:
Kenneth’s sister beat him and starved him. When she poured hot water over his head, burning him, he drowned.

Case status:
Kendra Mobley (Sister), pleaded guilty to neglect, sentenced to 28 years.
Jamario Alexis Green (Sister’s boyfriend), sentenced to 9 years for failing to report a crime.

Source:
Woman burned, beat her disabled brother, who died weighing 51 pounds
Kenneth Pernell Mobley, Jr (1985 – 2015) – Find A Grave Memorial
Obituary for Kenneth Pernell Mobley, Jr. – MIAMI, FL

John Craig

Photo of Jack Craig, a middle-aged man in a dress shirt, with the bark of a large tree in the background. Jack has brown hair and light skin, large ears and a large nose, and a mustache above a wide smile.Name: John “Jack” Craig.
Died: October 4, 2015.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Portsmouth, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified mobility impairment.

Details:
Jack Craig’s boyfriend tied his hands, strangled him, and put a plastic bag over his head, suffocating him. Wanted for an unrelated robbery, the killer confessed but told the police that Jack’s murder had been an “assisted suicide”.

Case status:
Wayne McClellan (Boyfriend/Housemate), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 40 years in prison with 23 years suspended.

Source:
Portsmouth man gets 17 years in prison for killing boyfriend
Neighbors: Accused killer had party in home while body was there

Jhoel Noria

Photo of a young boy with brown hair and tan skin, smiling; in the background are the walls of a school classroom.Name: Jhoel Noria; also called Jhoel Jesus Gaspar.
Died: September 30, 2015.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Motor vehicle accident.
Location: Trenton, Texas, USA.
Disability: “Special needs”.

Details:
Jhoel died while waiting for the school bus; he walked into the road and was fatally hit by an SUV.

Normally this would have been categorized as an accident, but police investigated and found that Jhoel, whose special needs required supervision, had been completely unsupervised at the time. Suspecting neglect, they removed Jhoel’s three siblings from the home. These three siblings, now able to speak out, told the police that Jhoel’s stepfather and stepbrother had been sexually assaulting all four children. Jhoel’s parents and stepbrother were arrested.

Jhoel liked to play ball and he liked animals, but he had a passion for dancing. He was always showing his family his new dance moves.

Case status:
Pedro Noria (Stepfather), pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, sentenced to 20 years.
Nelson Rodriguez (Stepbrother), charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Noemi Noria (Mother), convicted of continuous sexual assault of a child, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Trenton mom gets 30 years in prison in sex abuse case
Father in Trenton child sexual abuse case gets 20 years in prison
Trenton police investigation into 12-year-old’s death leads to sexual assault arrests
Boy killed in Trenton wreck identified
Jhoel Jesus Gaspar Obituary
Family of boy who died while waiting on a school bus arrested on child abuse charges

Justin Kirby

Photo of Justin Kirby. He is a man with ruddy skin and light brown hair, wearing a white sweatshirt. His hair is cut short; his expression is neutral.Name: Justin Kirby.
Died: September 26, 2015.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Rod-cone dystrophy; visual impairment.

Details:
Justin was shot by his wife. She claimed self-defense, but the placement of the bullet wounds proved he had been shot while trying to run away.

He was a stay-at-home dad for his three children; he loved the outdoors and riding his horse.

Case status:
Taylor Roxann Kirby (Wife), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to 15-22 years.

Source:
Justin Wayne Kirby – View Obituary & Service Information
Woman who killed husband sentenced to 22 years
Neighbor says children played 20 feet away from dying father

Thelma Hayner

No PhotoName: Thelma Ruth Hayner.
Died: September 23, 2015.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Heart attack, aggravated by infection from untended pressure sores.
Location: Asheboro, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia, frail elder.

Details:
Thelma’s son and daughter-in-law allegedly neglected her, leaving her alone at home, locked into her room and in her bed. When she was finally taken to the hospital, doctors discovered multiple severe pressure sores and malnutrition. She died of a heart attack shortly thereafter, her body weakened by infection and poor care.

Case status:
James Hayner (Son), convicted of elder neglect resulting in serious injury and involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 1 year 1 month to 2 years 1 month.
Kathleen Hayner (Daughter-in-law), convicted of elder neglect, sentenced to 10 months to 1 year 9 months.

Source:
State v. Hayner, 840 S.E.2d 539
Couple charged in alleged elder neglect death

John Pehota

Photo of John Pehota, a fair-skinned, balding man in a sports-themed sleeveless shirt and glasses.Name: John “Jack” Pehota.
Died: September 23, 2015.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: The Hammock, Florida, USA.
Disability: Heart condition, mobility impairment.

Details:
John was shot by his wife.

He loved the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing, and collected guns. In 2005, a local newspaper published a letter to the editor that John had written, in which he complained about a recent ban on beach-going vehicles. The ban on vehicles extended to John’s mobility scooter, and because he could not walk to the beach while carrying his fishing tackle, the ban prevented him from going fishing.

John owned a small dog and was often seen walking the dog around his neighborhood.

Case status:
Anna Pehota (Wife), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years.

Source: Anna Pehota, 75, Charged With 2nd-Degree Murder for Shooting Husband in Hammock
“He Kept Pushing Me Mentally”: Anna and John Pehota’s Life Before She Shot Him

Kathryn Burroughs

No PhotoName: Kathryn “Katie” Burroughs.
Died: September 22, 2015.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Barrington, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, intellectual disability.

Details:
Katie’s father suffocated her, then committed suicide.

Katie enjoyed attending summer camp.

Case status:
Harry Burroughs (Father), deceased.

Source:
Barrington father, daughter dead in apparent murder-suicide, coroner says

Margaret Yamaguchi

Photo of Margaret Yamaguchi, a middle-aged Asian woman wearing a white dress and holding a bouquet of red roses.Name: Margaret Machiko Yamaguchi.
Died: September 7, 2015.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Covina, California, USA.
Disability: Unspecified (Assisted living facility resident).

Details:
Margaret’s daughter went to the assisted living center where she was staying and stabbed her to death.

Case status:
Athina Sumi Rivera (Daughter), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 10-16 years.

Source:
Woman Allegedly Stabs Mother to Death at Assisted Living Facility in Covina
Woman gets 16 year prison sentence for stabbing mother to death at Covina senior living facility
Margaret Yamaguchi Obituary

La’Marion Jordan

Closeup photo of La'Marion Jordan, a small African-American boy with medium-brown skin and close-cropped black hair.Name: La’Marion Jordan.
Died: September 4, 2015.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Lancaster, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
La’Marion’s adoptive father picked him up and threw him down the hallway, causing a fatal head injury.

Case status:
Robert Jordan (Adoptive father), pleaded guilty to infliction of great bodily injury upon a child, sentenced to 14-20 years.

Source:
Father charged with homicide by child abuse after disabled 5-year-old son dies
Lancaster man pleads guilty in adopted son’s death