Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Leon Perkins.
Died: December 1, 2023.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness, wheelchair user.
Details:
Leon was found dead at his home, sitting in his wheelchair. His death was ruled a homicide, and a relative who lived with him to care for him was arrested as the primary suspect.
Case Status:
Charles Parker (Relative), arrested.
Sources:
Silver Spring man charged in death of disabled relative
Name: Sreenivasan.
Died: November 29, 2023.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Kollam, Kerala, India.
Disability: Heart disease, kidney disease.
Details:
Sreenivasan’s son allegedly doused him in gasoline and set him on fire. His wife, who is also disabled, was unable to help him; but a home nurse ran for help. Unfortunately, Sreenivasan was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. The motive reportedly involved Sreenivasan refusing to give his son money.
Case Status:
Anilkumar (Son), charged with murder and using gasoline to cause grievous harm.
Sources:
Man sets bedridden father ablaze in front of mother in Kerala’s Kollam
Name: Mahadev.
Died: November 25, 2023 (Body Found).
Age at death: Unknown.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Disability: Unspecified disability.
Also Killed: Gangarani Das, age 65, Mahadev’s grandmother.
Details:
Mahadev and his grandmother Gangarani Das lived in the same house; her granddaughter and her husband moved in to take care of them. Six months later, the two were nowhere to be found and the couple was questioned. Soon two skeletons, matching Mahadev and Gangarani, were found in the house’s septic tank. Police think that the couple who ostensibly moved in to care for Mahadev and his grandmother were actually planning to claim the house for themselves.
Case Status:
Priyanka Das and Shantanu (Relatives), charged with murder.
Sources:
Skeletons of sr citizen, disabled cousin found
Couple confesses to murders
Name: Aremean Mayo.
Age at death: 93.
Disability: Unspecified/Frail elder.
Name: Michael Willett.
Age at death: 69.
Disability: Wheelchair user, Stroke survivor
Died: November 25, 2023 (Bodies Found).
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Denmark, Maine, USA.
Details:
Michael, his partner, and his partner’s grandmother Aremean shared a household, where Michael’s partner cared for them both. Another of Aremean’s grandchildren grew worried when she couldn’t contact them and their caregiver told her she was “tired of taking care of them both”; so she asked for a welfare check. When police knocked on her door, their caregiver told police that Aremean was in the hospital and Michael was in the woods, hunting. But Michael couldn’t have pushed his wheelchair through the woods, and police quickly determined that Aremean was not in the hospital; so they forced their way into the house, where they found that both of them had been stabbed to death.
Case Status:
Tzara Jones (Michael’s partner, Aremean’s granddaughter), charged with murder.
Sources:
Maine woman accused of killing her partner, elderly grandmother to be arraigned
‘Tired of taking care of them’: Maine caretaker accused of killing her partner, grandmother appears in court
‘Took me by surprise:’ Neighbors shocked as Denmark woman charged with killing 2 people in her care
Name: Henri Diarnac.
Died: November 24, 2023.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Albaret-Sainte-Marie, Lozère, France.
Disability: Unspecified; brain-related (“psychologically fragile”).
Details:
Henri’s body was found with a piece of paper with his half-sister’s phone number on it. Since his half-sister couldn’t be found, they questioned his half-brother, who initially claimed he didn’t even know Henri. But investigators established that their car had been present in the small town where Henri lived on the day of his murder, and had been washed afterward. Henri’s half-brother was arrested; when his sister returned from abroad, she was also arrested.
Case Status:
His half-sister is charged with voluntary manslaughter.
His half-brother is charged with murder.
Sources:
Habitant de Béziers handicapé retrouvé mort en Lozère : une ex-avocate parisienne mise en examen pour le meurtre de son demi-frère
Une ex-avocate parisienne mise en examen pour un meurtre en Lozère – France Bleu
En souvenir de Monsieur Henri DIARNAC
Name Unknown.
Died: November 22, 2023.
Age at death: 18 months.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Horton, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Multiple congenital conditions.
Details:
Since he was three months old, this child had been living with foster parents. He did well there until he was taken to a children’s hospital for tests, where he was diagnosed with “multiple congenital conditions”. His foster parents, who had been asked to take him to a follow-up appointment in a month’s time, did not appear for the appointment or return phone calls.
Two months later, they appeared at the hospital, carrying the child’s body. In those two months, he had lost a third of his body weight and ultimately died from malnutrition. His foster parents stand accused of deliberately denying him medical care and nourishment, resulting in his death from willful abuse.
Case Status:
Mason Grimes (Foster parent), charged with capital murder of a child under 15, intentional murder, felony murder, and aggravated child abuse.
Brooklyn Grimes (Foster parent), charged with capital murder of a child under 15, intentional murder, murder, and aggravated child abuse.
Sources:
Blount County foster parents charged with capital murder of emaciated 18-month-old: ‘This child deserved to be loved’
2 charged with abuse, murder of 18-month-old foster child in Blount County
Court documents reveal severe neglect and abuse led to child’s death under couple’s care
Name: Nur Fatin Mohd Sani.
Died: November 20, 2023.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Abuse-related injuries.
Location: Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
When her father died, Nur moved in with her sister. After about a year, her sister claimed she had simply found her dead; but medical examiners sounded the alarm when they saw her battered body. Prosecutors say Nur’s sister physically abused her, causing injuries that eventually proved fatal.
Case Status:
Nur Syuhaidah Mohd Sani (Sister), charged with murder.
Sources:
Pharmacy assistant charged with causing death of disabled sister
Pharmacy assistant charged with murder of disabled sister
36yo M’sian Woman Charged For Allegedly Murdering OKU Sister
Name: 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
Name: Charrie Lea Watkins.
Died: November 8, 2023.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.
Details:
Charrie was strangled to death, allegedly by her longtime boyfriend.
Case Status:
Robert Edward Green II (Boyfriend), charged with second-degree murder and strangulation of a household member.
Sources:
Cheyenne man charged with killing girlfriend, who had Alzheimer’s
Cheyenne Man Accused of Strangling Woman to Death
Cheyenne Man Accused Of Killing Girlfriend Over $36,000
Name: 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