Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Timothy Ellis Jr.
Died: June 8, 1994.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Skull fracture.
Location: Jacksonville, Mississippi, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Timothy was in the care of his father when he suffered abuse-related injuries, including a skull fracture that resulted in his death.
Case status:
Timothy Ellis, Sr. (Father); charges dropped because a judge ruled his confession had been coerced.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Timothy Ellis Jr.
State asks Navy to hear murder case
Name: Michael Messenger.
Died: February 8, 1994.
Age at death: Newborn.
Cause of death: Withdrawal of life support.
Location: Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Prematurity with a risk of disability.
Details:
When Michael was born at 25 weeks gestation, he had a roughly 50% chance of survival. However, when their doctor told Michael’s parents that if he survived, he would probably be disabled, Michael’s father asked the doctor to leave and shut off the newborn’s ventilator, killing him.
Case status:
Gregory Messenger (Father); tried for manslaughter and admitted to disconnecting Michael’s life support; acquitted.
Name: Layton Myers.
Died: May 15, 1993.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Disability: Terminal cancer.
Details:
Layton Myers was killed by his daughter and her husband, who put a pillow over his face and smothered him.
Case status:
Michael Power (Daughter’s common-law husband), pled guilty to manslaughter and were given suspended sentences, three years’ probation, and 150 hours of community service.
Cheryl Myers (Daughter), pled guilty to manslaughter and were given suspended sentences, three years’ probation, and 150 hours of community service.
Source:
No jail for N.S. “mercy-killers”
Of Life and Death – Appendices D-L
Robert Latimer: Justice gone awry
Name: Janet Cunningham.
Disability: Head injury from car accident.
Age at death: 43.
Name: Dorothy Cunningham.
Disability: Osteoporosis.
Age at death: 62.
Died: September 8, 1992.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Farmingham, Utah, USA.
Details:
Dorothy and Janet were hacked to death with a hatchet.
Dorothy, a homemaker, taught piano lessons. Janet loved skiing and was a former member of the National Ski Patrol.
Case status:
Ronald Cunningham (Janet’s father and Dorothy’s husband). Incompetent to stand trial; charges dropped.
Source:
Davis to drop murder counts against man in mental facility
MURDER SUSPECT TO REMAIN IN HOSPITAL
Name: Mark Lee Dowell.
Died: January 27, 1992.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Drug overdose.
Location: San Diego, California, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Mark’s mother allegedly poisoned him with a drug overdose.
Case status:
Josephine Dowell (Mother), status unknown.
Source:
(Untitled newspaper article)
Mark Lee Dowell: Find A Grave
Name: James Nazar.
Died: January 23, 1992.
Age at death: 44-45.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada.
Disability: Quadriplegic.
Details:
James was shot to death by his father in a murder-suicide.
Case status:
John Nazar (Father), deceased.
Source:
People with Disabilities Outraged by Murders
Remembering…
In Memory
Find a Grave: John Nazar
Name: Carrie Day.
Died: January 9, 1992.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Ironwood, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Carrie’s mother starved her, often punishing her by forcing her to watch the family eat while Carrie went hungry. She died of pneumonia, her 65-pound body unable to fight the infection.
Case status:
Urselyne Day (Adoptive mother), charged with involuntary manslaughter. Died Jan. 17, 2014 in a nursing home, of pneumonia; outcome of case unknown.
Source:
Woman accused of starving mentally retarded daughter to death
Name: Brandon Lamarr Sims.
Died: 1992 (Body never found).
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty.
Details:
Brandon was beaten to death by his mother, who said she “did not want to raise a freak”.
Case status:
Michelle Jones (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to 50 years; released after 20 years.
Source:
We Need to Forgive the College-Bound Mother Who Killed Her Child
From Prison to Ph.D.: The Redemption and Rejection of Michelle Jones
Michelle Jones v. State
Name: Louisa Maier.
Died: November 12, 1991.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Dunkirk, New York, USA.
Disability: Elder assisted-living home resident.
Details:
Louisa’s son went to her assisted living facility on the pretense that they were going out for a day’s visit. He put her in his car and strangled her to death; then he went home and hung himself.
Case status:
Joseph A. Maier (Son), deceased.
Source:
Triple deaths stun campus in Fredonia Professor kills mother, self; another dies of heart attack
Deaths being probed as murder-suicide; Fredonia professor, mother die
Name: Susan Shea.
Died: October 26, 1991.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lincoln Park, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Susan and her mother, Eileen Shea, were allegedly shot by Susan’s father.
Case status:
Michael Edward Shea (Father); charged with first-degree murder.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Susan Shea
Man Held in Killings in His Home