Location: USA – Page 79 – Disability Day of Mourning

Michaelina Simonetti

Old-fashioned portrait photo of Michaelina Simonetti, a young woman with fair skin, rosy cheeks, and curly dark hair. Name: Michaelina Simonetti.
Died: September 15, 2014.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Homicide by neglect.
Location: New Britain, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Blind; disabled.

Details:
Michaelina was discharged from a nursing home into her son’s care. She was found in poor condition by emergency services; she was lying on a mattress on the floor with severe bedsores, and police believe she had not been moved from the mattress or fed properly in five months. She died after two weeks at the hospital.

Case status:
Frank Simonetti (Son), charged with first-degree manslaughter.

Source:
New Britain Man Charged With Manslaughter In 93-Year-Old Mother’s Death
New Britain man arrested in connection to mother’s death

Raashanai Coley

Photo of a girl with light-brown skin, brown curly hair, and a wide smile; she is wearing a black hat with a floppy brim. Name: Raashanai Coley.
Died: September 6, 2014.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Internal injuries.
Location: Waukegan, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Speech delay, possibly autism.

Details:
Raashanai was beaten and starved by her mother; she died of injuries from a beating, left untreated for three days.

Case status:
Nicholette Lawrence (Mother), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 43 years in prison.

Source:
Judge to Waukegan woman who killed daughter: ‘How can humans do this?’
Prosecutors ask for life sentence in Waukegan girl’s beating death
System failed to avert battered child’s slaying
Find A Grave: Raashanai J. Coley (2003 – 2014)
Homeschooling’s Invisible Children: Raashanai Coley
Raashanai Coley in Oregon speech therapy
Autism Memorial: Raashanai Coley
How Murder Victims With Disabilities Get Blamed For Their Own Deaths

Joan, Francis, and Mary Stack

No Photo
Name: Joan Stack.
Age at death: 82.
Disability: Terminal cancer, arthritis.

Name: Mary Stack.
Age at death: 57.
Disability: Autism.

Name: Francis “Frankie” Stack Jr.
Age at death: 48.
Disability: Autism; sciatica.

Died: August 30, 2014.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Details:
Joan Stack and her children, Mary and Francis Jr., were shot by her husband, their father, in a murder-suicide.

Joan Stack was a deeply religious Catholic homemaker known for keeping the house tidy and making dinner every night.

Frankie and Mary lived in group homes. Frankie was non-verbal, but Mary could say a few words.

Mary was a fan of action movies, and liked to look at magazines, especially magazines with photos of babies in them.

Case status:
Francis Stack Sr (Father, husband), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Mary Stack and Francis Stack Jr.
Four Dead In Elmhurst Murder-Suicide
Disabled children killed in Elmhurst murder-suicide
Elmhurst couple in murder-suicide were doting parents: neighbors
Four Bodies in Elmhurst

Dayne Hathman

Photo of a small boy with white-blond hair and fair skin, standing on a red plastic swing seat, head thrown back, laughing. Name: Dayne William Hathman; also spelled “Dane”.
Died: August 28, 2014.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fulton, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Dayne was shot to death by his live-in babysitter.

Case status:
Scottie A. Willet (Family friend; caregiver); pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Slain 6-year-old loved to play, give hugs
Callaway County Sheriff’s Office – Posts | Facebook

Isaac Robitille

Photo of Isaac Robitille, a young boy with fair skin and shaggy brown hair. His facial features are atypical, with a small, flat nose. He is sitting tilted back in a power chair outdoors, eyes closed, with the sun on his face. Name: Isaac Robitille.
Died: August 22, 2014.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Alcohol poisoning.
Location: Hardwick, Vermont, USA.
Disability: Holoprosencephaly.

Details:
Isaac was killed by his mother and her boyfriend; they put so much alcohol into his feeding tube (some news stories say it was an IV) that he died of alcohol poisoning.

Case status:
Melissa Robitille (Mother), charged with second-degree murder, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 4 years, sentence reduced to 3 1/2 years.
Walter Richter III (Mother’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years in prison with credit for 1 1/2 years time served.

Source:
Hardwick mom convicted in disabled son’s death gets reduced sentence
Woman convicted in disabled child’s death appeals again
Vt. woman convicted in disabled son’s death appeals again
Vermont mom, boyfriend kill disabled 13-year-old by putting alcohol in IV: cops
Man Sentenced After Killing Boy With Vodka
Vermont Woman Found Guilty of Manslaughter for Pouring Vodka in Disabled Child’s Feeding Tube
Mother who put vodka in disabled son’s feeding tube leading to his death gets appeal rejected in court

Jacee Sanner

Photo of Jacee Sanner, in black and white. The photo is cropped so that just her face can be seen. Jacee is a young girl with fair skin. She is smiling and looking away to the side. Name: Jacee Lynn Sanner.
Died: August 10, 2014.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Wilson, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Brain injury from fever in infancy.

Details:
Jacee died of severe neglect; she weighed only 23 pounds when she died, less than half of what she had weighed only two months earlier, and she had not been given her seizure medication.

Jacee liked listening to her sister sing.

Case status:
Ashley Naoma Milligan (Mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 1 year 6 months prison and 8 years 6 months probation.

Source:
Jacee Sanner – Sunday, August 10th, 2014
Review of the Death of Jacee L. Sanner
Four children dead or nearly died from abuse had prior DHS contact
Jacee Lynn Sanner
Ok Offender Search

Sophie Kostek

No Photo Name: Sophie Kostek.
Died: August 7, 2014.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Somerset, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Sophie’s son beat her to death.

She enjoyed reading and caring for her home.

Case status:
Michael Kostek (Son), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and permitting injury to an elder/disabled person, sentenced to 8-10 years.

Source:
Somerset man sentenced in mother’s killing | WJAR
Sophie (Provocyck) Kostek – Obituary
Somerset man pleads guilty in death of disabled mother
Prosecutors allege Somerset man hit elderly, disabled mother and threw her on bed, where she was found dead
Trial date set for Somerset man accused of killing mother
Trial date scheduled for Somerset man accused in mother’s murder
Boyko Memorial Funeral Home – Sophie (Provocyck) Kostek – Obituary
Somerset man held without bail in killing of mother
Lawyer for Somerset man accused of killing mom asks for medical records
Somerset man charged with killing elderly mother
Somerset man indicted on murder charge in death of elderly mother

Linda Kelley

Name: Linda Kelley.
Died: August 4, 2014.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Acute and chronic bedsores.
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.

Details:
Linda died after she was left without care on her kitchen floor for long periods of time. She developed bedsores which worsened and eventually killed her.

Case status:
John Kelley (Father), charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.
Lavonne Kelley (Mother), pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, sentenced to 1 year in prison and 5 years in community corrections.

Source:
Mother sentenced in death of her paralyzed daughter
Indianapolis couple charged with neglect in death of paralyzed daughter

Jarrod Tutko, Jr.

Name: Jarrod Tutko, Jr.
Died: July 29, 2014.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Starvation, dehydration.
Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Fragile X, autism.

Details:
Jarrod’s parents locked him into a bare attic, where Jarrod died of starvation and thirst. He weighed less than 17 pounds at his death.

Case status:
Jarrod Tutko Sr. (Father), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 21-42 years.
Kimberly Tutko (Mother), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 20 to 40 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jarrod Tutko, Jr.
Police report and charges
Harrisburg mother said she didn’t know son was dead upstairs in her house
Inside the Harrisburg home where child died: ‘They were a fighting family’
Cause of death undetermined for 9-year-old Harrisburg boy Jarrod Tutko Jr.
Authority on Fragile X: Child with this syndrome belonged in school
Coroner: Starvation contributed to death of Harrisburg boy, 9
Parents of autistic Pennsylvania boy charged in starvation death
Court refuses to cut Kimberly Tutko’s prison term for starving death of her 9-year-old son

Albert Franklin

No Photo Name: Albert Franklin.
Died: Sometime after July 28, 2014.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Sepsis and malnutrition.
Location: Flint, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Albert had a feeding tube because of an obstruction in his throat, but his caregivers refused to use it, so Albert starved until he weighed only 52 pounds. He was hospitalized in July 2014, in septic shock from untreated bedsores, and died there.

Case status:
Alice Bitters (Girlfriend), ruled not competent to stand trial and institutionalized.
Melissa Bardoni (Girlfriend’s niece), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, sentenced to 15-30 years.

Source:
Bardoni v. Howard, Case No. 20-11861 | Casetext Search + Citator
Woman pleads guilty to murder in elder abuse case
2 Flint women charged with abusing emaciated man
Caregivers arrested after emaciated man found with infected bed sores in Flint
Girlfriend, niece charged with elder abuse after police find 52 pound man
Woman Pleads Guilty In Flint Elder Abuse Case, Second Woman May Have Been Involved
Woman pleads guilty to murder in elder abuse case