Category: No Photo

Vivian Kefauver

No PhotoName: Vivian Norwood Kefauver.
Died: November 17, 2023.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Broken neck.
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Details:
Vivian’s daughter is accused of strangling her with a gait belt (a mobility device used to help people stand or transfer from one place to another).

Case Status:
Suzette Annette Kefauver (Daughter), charged with murder.

Sources:
Woman charged with murder claims she was trying to lift 80-year-old mom from ground, records show
Woman charged with murder for allegedly using a gait belt to strangle her 80-year-old mother

Jean Salter

No PhotoName: Jean Ann Salter.
Died: October 8, 2023.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Mount Maunganui, North Island, New Zealand.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Jean’s dementia was progressing, and it had been suggested that Jean should be moved to a residential facility; her husband, upset that they might be separated, strangled her with a necktie. The killer claimed that there was a suicide pact, but there is no evidence of this save for his claim, and Jean, impaired by dementia, would not have been able to consent to an assisted suicide.

Case Status:
John Alfred Salter (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder.

Sources:
Wife’s last words as husband of 60 years strangled her with a tie
‘Smell of an oily rag’: Murder of wife with Alzheimer’s shows need for more dementia support

Thérèse Brassard-Lévesque

No PhotoName: Thérèse Brassard-Lévesque.
Died: September 30, 2023.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Thérèse and her partner were found unconscious in her room at her senior living home. Thérèse was declared dead at the scene, but her partner was taken to the hospital, where his condition improved. Police believe that Thérèse’s partner killed her and then tried to kill himself, but survived the attempt.

Case Status:
Gilles Brassard (Partner), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Police investigate homicide at Terrebonne, Que., seniors’ residence | CBC News
Man, 81, charged in wife’s murder at Quebec seniors’ home
Woman, 79, killed at Quebec seniors residence; suspect, 81, under watch in hospital

Philista St. John

Name: Philista Mae St. John.
Died: September 7, 2023.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Polson, Montana, USA.
Disability: Dementia, diabetes.

Details:
When police were called to do a welfare check on Philista, they found that she had been stabbed to death and her body hidden. They arrested her son, since he had an outstanding warrant, and later charged him with the stabbing that had caused Philista’s death when they found a note which they believe was written by Philista’s son, in which he stated that he “couldn’t do it anymore” and admitted that he had killed her.

Case Status:
Garrett Edward Vaska (Son), charged with deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence.

Sources:
Polson man charged with stabbing his mother with dementia to death
Polson man charged with killing mother who had dementia
Man accused of killing mother in Polson pleads not guilty
Philista Mae St. John Obituary 2023

JMGC

No PhotoName: “JMGC”.
Died: September 1, 2023.
Age at death: 25.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Valencia, Spain.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
This young man’s mother took him to a hotel room, where she poisoned him and then herself. Police say she had become ill and was convinced no one would be able to take care of her son like she could.

Case Status:
LMC (Mother), deceased.

Sources:
Woman takes her life after killing her disabled son
Una mujer mata a su hijo discapacitado y después se quita la vida en un hotel de València

10-month-old girl

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: August 21, 2023.
Age at death: 10 months.
Cause of death: Unspecified; homicide.
Location: Giyani, Limpopo, South Africa.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
This baby’s mother claimed that she had died of natural causes; but neighbors became suspicious, the child’s body was found buried in a shallow grave, and her mother was arrested for murder.

Case Status:
Her mother, charged with murder and obstruction of justice.

Sources:
Mother arrested after death of disabled baby
Heartless mother in the dock for murder of 10-month-old baby
Limpopo woman arrested for allegedly murdering her disabled daughter

Martha Rutledge

No PhotoName: Martha Rutledge.
Died: August 14, 2023.
Age at death: 99.
Cause of death: Starvation, untended bedsores.
Location: Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired.

Details:
Martha was found dead at home. Her body was very thin, and she was covered in multiple severe bedsores. Her daughters, with whom she lived, are accused of not providing any medical care to their mother. Martha also had a lot of alcohol and THC in her system when she died; unable to move from her bed, she would not have been able to ingest these on her own. She had not seen a doctor in ten years.

Case Status:
Martha Carroll Rutledge (Daughter), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable person resulting in death.
and Nancy Rutledge (Daughter), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable person resulting in death.

Sources:
Rock Hill sisters granted bond for mother’s death whose body has ‘chronic open wound’
Police: Rock Hill woman died from lack of medical care, 2 daughters charged
Martha Rutledge Obituary (2023) – Rock Hill, SC – The Herald

Connie Smith

No PhotoName: Connie Smith.
Died: August 13, 2023.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Frail elder.

Details:
Connie was fatally shot in her own home. Police say her son, who lived with her, confessed to killing her.

Case Status:
Shane Smith (Son), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Update: Oklahoma City man charged with first-degree murder in mother’s shooting death
Man arrested after shooting, killing elderly mother in NW OKC, police say
OKC man booked for murder of elder mother
Man Arrested, Accused Of Shooting Mother To Death In NW Oklahoma City

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

Lech

No PhotoName: Lech (Family name unknown).
Died: June 29, 2023.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Baltic Sea.
Disability: Unspecified; used adapted stroller.

Details:
Lech’s mother threw him into the Baltic Sea and then jumped in herself. A rescue operation recovered both within an hour and sent them to Karlskrona, Sweden, by helicopter; but it was too late, and both were declared dead on arrival.

Case Status:
Paulina (Mother), deceased.

Sources:
“Miraculous” Double Rescue Turns Into Homicide Investigation
Probe into death of mum and boy falling off Stena Line ferry takes chilling turn
Child who died with Polish mother when they plunged from ferry ‘was in a wheelchair’, say witnesses
Śmierć Pauliny i jej synka. Poruszające słowa szefa ratowników morskich. Mówi o cudzie podczas poszukiwań
Nowa relacja pasażerki promu. Widziała Paulinę przed tragedią. “On się nie ruszał, było widać nóżki”