Hope Ruller

Grainy newspaper photo of a woman in an old-fashioned dress and hat; she looks to be in her twenties and is smiling.Name: Hope Beverly Ruller, née Carr.
Died: Body found December 29, 2014; died October 2013.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Unknown suspicious death.
Location: Gloversville, New York, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; elderly disabled.

Details:
Hope lived in a duplex, downstairs from her daughter, who was supposed to be caring for her. However, instead her daughter isolated her and kept her from seeing family members or getting medical care.

When Hope died, her daughter did not report the death and continued cashing her mother’s disability checks for more than a year, assuring her family that she was “fine” and even cashing a check sent as a Christmas present. Eventually, Hope’s son grew suspicious and asked police for a welfare check; they found her body.

Hope’s cause of death can never be determined because her body was left in a bed for 14 months after she died. Police could only say that her death was considered suspicious.

Case status:
Mary Kerstig (Daughter), pleaded guilty to larceny, improper disposal of a body, and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or disabled person; sentenced to 6 months in jail, 5 years probation, and community service.

Source:
Upstate New York Woman Admits to Keeping Mother’s Corpse for More Than a Year To Collect Government Checks
Hope Beverly Carr Ruller

Kendrea Johnson

Photo of Kendrea Johnson. She is an African-American girl wearing a yellow dress, her hair in hair clips. She has her hands on her hips and is leaning forward, lips puckered, as though she is trying to kiss the camera.Name: Kendrea Johnson.
Died: December 27, 2014.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Hanging.
Location: Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: PTSD.

Details:
Foster child Kendrea was showing signs of severe mental illness; she had been experiencing suicidal ideation every day for months. But her foster home did nothing to help her; instead, she was threatened with beatings and locked in her room. Four times, her foster home was reported for neglect, but not investigated.

Kendrea was found hanging from her bunk bed with a jump rope tied around her neck; the death was ruled a “ligature hanging” and showed all the signs of suicide, including a suicide note reading “I’m sorry”. If that is the case, then Kendrea’s death was the result of neglect, with her mental illness left untreated to the point that the little girl died by suicide. However, Kendrea’s grandmother believes her death was a murder rather than a suicide, since the knot in the jump rope might have been too complex for a six-year-old to tie.

Case status:
Tannise Nawaqavou (foster mother), foster care license revoked.
$1.5 million settlement paid to Kendrea’s grandmother by Hennepin County.

Source:
SiebenCarey and NewmarkStorms File Civil Lawsuit Following Death of Six-Year-Old in Foster Care
String of failures came before suicidal 6-year-old’s death
Did 6-year-old Brooklyn Park girl kill herself? Police wonder
Hennepin County officials say little about death of girl in Brooklyn Park foster-care home
Girl, 6, died by hanging in foster care. County settles with family for $1.5 million.
$1.5 million settlement in Minnesota six-year-old’s foster care death
Minnesota girl, 6, died by hanging in foster care. Hennepin County settles with family for $1.5 million.

William Collins

No PhotoName: William Collins.
Died: December 27, 2014.
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Head trauma, broken neck.
Location: Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; Elderly; wheelchair user.

Details:
William was beaten to death by his caregiver, with whom he was living. He died of head injuries and a broken neck. Mr. Collins was the third elderly tenant to die while living with them; apparently, the couple used the vulnerability of the elderly disabled to steal their tenants’ assets under the guise of caring for them.

Case status:
Judith Marc (Caregiver), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 15-40 years.

Source:
Coolbaugh Twp. caregiver faces murder charge
Caretaker pleads guilty to murder in death of 92-year-old
Caregiver sentenced to 15 to 40 years in elderly man’s death

Rosemary Vincent

Photo of Rosemary Vincent. She is a middle-aged woman with a round face, pale skin, and short curly red hair. She is wearing big white feathered earrings.Name: Rosemary Vincent.
Died: December 24, 2014.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: McConnelsville, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.

Details:
Rosemary’s cousin, instead of caring for her or taking her to the doctor, stole her disability payments and neglected her. He would often tie her to a chair and put her in the closet. Weakened from lack of care, Rosemary was admitted to the hospital emaciated, with broken ribs and untended bedsores. She died of pneumonia.

Case status:
Jerry Campbell II (Cousin), pleaded guilty to theft from an elderly or disabled person, robbery, illegal use of food stamps, kidnapping, domestic violence, intimidation of a witness, and illegal manufacture of drugs; sentenced to 8 years.
Shannon Campbell (Cousin’s wife), pleaded guilty to neglect.
Linda Campbell (Jerry’s wife), charged with obstruction of justice/failure to report a crime, ruled incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
One pleads guilty in disabled person abuse case
Mother, son both remain in custody
Trial delayed in case involving Nelsonville woman’s death
Man accused of neglect in death of woman gets 8 years

Georgianne Woolum

Photo: An elder woman with light skin and short curly gray hair, wearing a pastel sweater and dark, square-rimmed glasses, smiling for the camera.Name: Georgianne Woolum.
Died: December 3, 2014.
Age at death: 90.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Keller, Texas, USA.
Disability: Stroke, congestive heart failure, colectomy.

Details:
Georgianne’s husband shot her in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Joe Woolum (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Murder-Suicide At Keller Living Center

Samauri Page

No PhotoName: Samauri J. Page.
Died: November 30, 2014.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Diabetic ketoacidosis.
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes, autism.

Details:
Samauri died of diabetic ketoacidosis because he had been either not given enough to eat, or not given his insulin.

His favorite sport was wrestling.

Case status:
Bakari J. Page (Father), under investigation.

Source:
Samauri J. Page
Autism Memorial: Samauri Page
Diabetic teen dies despite multiple warnings to Children Services

Brielle Gage

Photo of Brielle Gage, a toddler girl with very light, straight hair, wearing a pink t-shirt and holding a colorful toy. There is a small bruise on her chin.Name: Brielle Eternity Gage.
Died: November 25, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Blunt force injury.
Location: Nashua, New Hampshire, USA.
Disability: Torticollis (weak neck muscles); periventricular leukomalacia; perceived as intellectually disabled by her mother.

Details:
Brielle died of head trauma with more than 50 separate injuries on her body. She had been beaten to death by her mother who, on at least one occasion, complained to the police about her daughter’s “special needs”.

Only months before, Brielle’s mother and her boyfriend had been arrested for child abuse, but Brielle stayed in her mother’s custody anyway.

Case status:
Katlyn Marin (Mother), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 45 years to life.

Source:
NH Mother Sentenced To 45 Years For Killing 3-Year-Old Daughter
3-year-old Brielle Gage sustained 50 injuries prior to death
Marin told police she wanted to hold her baby after learning of daughter’s death
Legal team casts doubt on key witness in Brielle Gage murder case
Nashua mom claims falls killed tot
3-Year-Old Murdered After State Returns Her To Abusive Home
Murdered child, Brielle Gage, may have been victim of battered child syndrome
Brielle Gage Memorial Foundation
This Woman Is Charged With Second-Degree Murder For Beating Her Three-Year-Old Daughter To Death. She Was Arrested Just Six Months Earlier For Abusing Two Of Her Other Children.
Justice for Brielle Eternity

Camaron Larson

Photo of Camaron Larson, a child wearing a turquoise shirt and turqoise baseball cap. He has fair skin and light brown hair and is smiling.Name: Camaron Larson.
Died: November 24, 2014.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Natural causes, aggravated by neglect.
Location: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease; Leukoencephalopathy.

Details:
Camaron was not given his medication, and his parents often left him alone for days at a time with just his brother, only a year older than him, to care for him. He had to live in a filthy house without utilities.

His brother, who was thirteen when Camaron died, survived their ordeal and testified at their parents’ trial.

Case status:
Robert McKay (Father), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to life plus 27 years.
Sarah McKay (Mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to life plus 27 years.

Source:
Jury Recommends Life For Tulsa Couple Convicted In Death Of Son
Tulsa child death report shows history of calls to authorities
Review of the Death of Camaron Larson
Camaron Larson Obituary

Daryne Gailey

Photo of an adult man with pale skin, large nose, and slanted eyebrows, black hair and beard, wearing a baseball cap and blue sweatshirt, holding a newborn infant with a scrunched face and pink skin.Name: Daryne Gailey.
Age at death: 29.
Disability: Epilepsy, intellectual disability.

Name: Charley Hendrick.
Age at death: 7 months.
Disability: None; she was the child of a disabled parent.

Died: November 23, 2014.
Cause of death: Homicidal violence.
Location: Oxford, Michigan, USA.

Details:
Daryne and his seven month old daughter, Charley, were killed by his mother. She slashed Daryne’s throat and then beat Charley to death. She believed Daryne and Charley would be “better off dead”.

Case status:
Sylvia Majewska; convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 25-50 years.

Source:
Records show darker side to grandma accused of murder
Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS) – Offender Profile

Agnes Caviston

Photo of an elderly woman with gray hair and pale skin, lying back against a pillow and smiling slightly. She is wearing a hospital gown.Name: Agnes Caviston.
Died: November 15, 2014.
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Augusta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Dementia, bedbound.

Details:
Agnes’s son bludgeoned her head with an IV stand, killing her. He then set the house on fire.

Case status:
Robert Caviston (Son), convicted of murder and arson, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Augusta man describes for jury how his mother’s brutal demise was really an accident
Augusta man who beat elderly mother to death sentenced to life in prison without parole
Medical examiner describes condition of elderly woman’s body at son’s murder trial