Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Romana Bones.
Died: June 30, 2011.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Sepsis.
Location: Duval County, Florida, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Romana was starved and neglected by her mother. She died of septic shock.
Case status:
Jessica Rivera (Mother), convicted of child neglect, sentenced to 12-18 years in prison.
Source:
Romana Bones, 13
DCF releases child neglect case documents
Woman Gets 18 Years for Daughter’s Death
Name: Jonathan Singer.
Died: Approx. April 11, 2011.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Houston, Texas, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Jonathan was being neglected; he wasn’t getting enough to eat. His father reported his death, claiming he had drowned in the bathtub, but coroners determined that Jonathan had been badly malnourished.
Case status:
Tina Louise Madrid (Mother), pled guilty to injury to a child, sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Jeffrey Singer (Father), pled guilty to injury to a child, sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Source:
Mom charged in death of son whose body was found in a box
Texas mom charged in death of son whose body was found in a box
Parents Gone Wild! Tina Louise Madrid and Jeffrey Singer charged with the murder of their 10-year-old son, Jonathan Singer
Name: Kyla Puhle.
Died: March 19, 2011.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: North Brighton, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Six months before Kyla died, her parents stopped taking her to her day program and instead left her lying, alone, on a bean bag while they went to work. Gradually they fed Kyla less and less, until Kyla died of malnutrition and pneumonia, weighing only 12 kilos.
Case status:
Harry Puhle (Father), died by suicide before he could be tried.
Angela Puhle (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, freed with five-year suspended sentence.
Source:
Disability is no justification for murder
Mercy urged for mum who starved daughter
Angela Puhle, Former Principal, Admits To Starving Disabled Daughter To Death: A Burden Too Great?
Adelaide mother spared jail over malnutrition manslaughter of disabled daughter
Former school principal Angela Puhle receives suspended sentence for manslaughter of disabled daughter
Name: Brandy Ardon.
Died: March 6, 2011.
Age at death: 2 months.
Cause of death: Morphine poisoning, fire.
Location: Reno, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.
Details:
Brandy’s mother drugged her with morphine; then she put the baby in a bag, took her to a field, doused her with gasoline, and burned her. The coroner confirmed that there was smoke in the baby’s lungs; she had been alive when she was set on fire.
Case status:
Suceli Ardon (Mother), pleaded guilty to arson, given time served and ordered to get 5 years of mental health counseling.
Source:
GUILTY NV – Randi Ardon, 2 mos, body found burned, Sparks, 6 March 2011
Police: Baby burned alive by mother in Nevada
Name: Yasushi Yamamoto.
Died: March 5, 2011.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Tokyo, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified mental illness.
Details:
Mr. Yamamoto’s family took him out of the hospital where he was being treated. His son, a doctor, killed him later that day. Prosecutors say that they considered Mr. Yamamoto to be “burdensome” because of his illness.
Case Status:
Junko Yamamoto (Wife), convicted of conspiracy to murder, sentenced to 11 years.
Naoki Yamamoto (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 13 years.
Yoshikazu Okubo (Doctor; acquaintance), charged with murder.
Sources:
Woman gets 11 yrs for murder of mentally ill husband with son’s help in Japan
Woman denies killing mentally ill husband with help of doctor son
Kyoto court hands ex-doctor 13 yrs in prison for murdering father
Doctors held over ‘mercy killing’ accused in another death
Name: Rene Vera.
Died: March 2, 2011.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Flushing, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Rene was stabbed and smothered by his mother.
Case status:
Migdalia Vera (Mother), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 7 years.
Source:
A Queens Woman Is Accused of Murdering Her Ailing Son
Mom allegedly kills wheelchair-bound son
Sentenced to 7 years
Name: Christine Anthony.
Died: February 15, 2011.
Age at death: 50.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Narromine, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Spastic paraplegia.
Details:
On Valentine’s Day, Christine’s boyfriend poured alcohol over her and set it on fire. Christine managed to call for help and identified her boyfriend as the attacker before dying of a heart attack on the way to the burn unit.
Case Status:
David Allan Harding (Boyfriend), sentenced to 20 years 3 months to 27 years.
Sources:
CHRISTINE ANTHONY (#2-2011)
‘Defenceless woman’ murdered
Harding v R [2013] NSWSC 513 (16 May 2013)
Name: Maurice Vanhaverbeke.
Died: 1978.
Age at death: 79.
Name: Leo Vanhaverbeke.
Died: May 17, 1986.
Age at death: 81.
Name: Gerard Vercamer.
Died: 2004.
Age at death: 80.
Name: Ivonna Vanhaverbeke.
Died: January 27, 2011.
Age at death: 90.
Cause of death: Air embolism.
Location: Menen, Belgium.
Disability: Unspecified; frail elders.
Details:
Maurice, Leo, Gerard, and Ivonna were family members of a serial killer who worked as a nurse and killed patients who were elderly or had terminal illnesses, usually by smothering them or injecting air bubbles into their bloodstreams. He is thought to have committed at least ten murders, including those of four family members. He called them “mercy killings”, but there is no evidence any of his victims wanted to die.
Case status:
Ivo Poppe (Family member). Ivonna was his mother; Leo and Gerard were great-uncles; Maurice was his father-in-law. Convicted of 5 counts of murder, sentenced to 9-27 years.
Source:
17 // Deacon of Death // Ivo Poppe // ANGEL OF DEATH • Talk Murder To Me – via Podcast Addict
‘Deacon of death’ accused of Belgium serial killings
Frank Verbruggen over anonieme slachtoffers Ivo Poppe
Aartsbisschop De Kesel getuige op assisenproces
‘Ik ben geen seriemoordenaar, maar een verlosser’
Le procès d’Ivo Poppe, « le diacre de la mort », s’ouvre en Belgique
Diaken Ivo Poppe naar assisen voor minstens tien moorden
‘Diaken des doods’ staat terecht voor oudermoord en minstens tien andere moorden
Le «diacre de la mort» admet avoir euthanasié 20 personnes au maximum: «Je n’ai jamais voulu tuer»
Le “diacre de la mort”, pire tueur en série belge?
Ivo Poppe trial: ‘Deacon of death’ accused of killing 10 people – including own mother – by injection
Belgium: ‘Deacon of death’ goes on trial on serial murder charges
‘Deacon of Death’ accused of using air injections to kill in Belgium
Name: Marcus Hill.
Died: December 2, 2010.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Bessemer, Alabama, USA.
Disability: “Special Needs”.
Details:
Marcus was severely beaten by his stepfather and died of head injuries.
Case status:
Jeremy Coleman (Stepfather), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Tynecia Stewart (Mother), charged with failure to protect Marcus from child abuse.
Source:
Detective testifies timeline makes Bessemer man only one who could have beaten 4-year-old to death
Bessemer man on trial for capital murder in 2010 death of 4-year-old stepson
Bessemer man sentenced for murder conviction in death of 4-year-old step son
Name Unknown.
Died: November 18, 2010.
Age at death: 6 months.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: Sydney, Australia.
Disability: None; mother believed she had dwarfism.
Details:
This baby girl was born without any congenital conditions, but because she had skin tags on her ears, her mother believed her daughter had a disability. She had doctors test her over and over, each time with negative results, but became fixed on the idea that the baby had dwarfism. When a friend told her to stop worrying because it wasn’t cancer, she replied that it would be “better to deal with a terminal illness than to spend a lifetime with a dwarf”.
Her mother drowned the six-month-old girl in the bathtub.
Case status:
Her mother, sentenced to up to 20 years in a mental health institution; found fit to stand trial in August 2016, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Source:
Australian mother sentenced to 20 years jail for drowning 6-month-old child
Mother who killed baby believing she was a dwarf should not be jailed, court told
Mother who drowned her baby after worrying she had dwarfism sentenced to 20 years
NSW mother to face baby’s murder trial
Sydney mother who drowned her baby in the bath found guilty of murder
Sydney woman who drowned her daughter convicted of murder
Mother accused of drowning her baby in a bath
Mother found guilty of murdering baby she believed had a genetic defect
Mother fit to stand trial over baby death
Mother drowned her girl because she thought she had dwarfism