Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Spouse or romantic partner.
Name: Mitsuo Oshima.
Died: March 7, 2020.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Saitama, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; required caregiver.
Details:
Mitsuo’s wife was arrested on suspicion of killing him. Reportedly, she was tired of being his caregiver.
Case status:
Hitomi Oshima (Wife), arrested.
Source:
71-year-old woman arrested over murder of ailing husband
Name: Marvat Gerges.
Died: February 22, 2020.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Merrick, New York, USA.
Disability: Rheumatoid arthritis.
Details:
Marvat and her husband got into an argument over sink repairs, which her husband escalated by strangling her to death.
Case status:
John Gerges (Husband), pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter; sentenced to 21 years and five years post-release supervision.
Source:
Merrick man sentenced to 21 years for wife’s strangulation
Police: Man arrested for allegedly strangling his wife to death in their Merrick home
Merrick man charged in wife’s killing pleads not guilty
Name: Chhaba Kuri.
Died: February 18, 2020.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Disability: Partial paralysis.
Details:
Chhaba was allegedly stabbed to death by her husband. He told police that he had a dream that no one would take care of her after his death.
Case status:
Gopal Kuri (Husband), arrested.
Source:
Elderly man kills paralysed wife in Dhaka
Elderly woman killed by husband
Elderly woman hacked to death in Dhaka
Name: Cherith Van Der Ploeg.
Died: February 15, 2020.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Costessey, Norwich, England, UK.
Disability: Terminal lung cancer.
Details:
Cherith was dying of cancer when her ex-husband smothered her to death. His actions, Cherith’s daughter told the court, had robbed her of precious time with her mother; instead of grieving normally after her mother’s natural death on hospice care, she had to come to terms with her mother’s death while giving evidence to police about her murder.
Cherith was an introverted, family-oriented woman who always waved and greeted her neighbors when she saw them.
Case status:
Cornelius Van Der Ploeg (Ex-husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to six years to life.
Source:
It was not his decision to make – children devastated by murder of mum
Tributes paid to Cherith Van Der Ploeg who was found dead at Costessey home
Jailed: Telford father killed terminally ill ex-wife
Name: Tracy Hamby.
Died: February 13, 2020.
Age at death: 37.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Tavares, Florida, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; receiving disability payments.
Details:
Tracy’s boyfriend, a military police officer, fatally shot her. He claimed that he had shot her because she startled him, but the prosecution pointed out that he and Tracy had been arguing that day because Tracy’s boyfriend had been taking her disability payments. The gun, which her boyfriend said had gone off accidentally, had a trigger that was very hard to pull. The jury agreed and convicted Tracy’s boyfriend.
Case Status:
Renee Aviles (Boyfriend), convicted of domestic manslaughter with a firearm, sentenced to 20 years.
Sources:
Lake County man found guilty of killing girlfriend in 2020
Name: Masatoshi Chiba.
Died: February 2, 2020.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified chronic disease.
Details:
Masatoshi was allegedly strangled by his wife, who said she was “worn out from looking after him”.
Case status:
Mitsuko Chiba (Wife), arrested and confessed to murder.
Source:
69-year-old woman arrested over death of ailing husband
Name: Rosalia Garofalo.
Died: January 29, 2020.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Trauma-related pneumothorax and respiratory failure.
Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy.
Disability: Stroke.
Details:
Rosalia’s husband allegedly beat her to death over the course of three days. She had been abused by her husband many times over the years of her marriage.
Case status:
Vincenzo Frasillo (Husband), charged with voluntary homicide, domestic abuse, and assault.
Source:
Omicidio Rosalia Garofalo. Rinviato a giudizio il marito Vincenzo Frasillo
Processo femminicidio Mazara del Vallo, sentiti investigatori della Polizia
Man indicted for beating to death disabled wife
Al via processo per l’omicidio della mazarese Rosalia Garofalo uccisa un anno fa dal marito
Name: Megan Todt.
Died: January 13, 2020.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Celebration, Florida, USA.
Disability: Lyme disease, depression.
Details:
Megan was found dead in her home, along with the bodies of her three children, Alek, 13; Tyler, 11; Zoe, 4; and her dog Breezy. Her husband was arrested and charged with murder. During trial, his defense was that Megan had committed the murders and then killed herself because she was tired of having chronic illness.
Case Status:
Anthony Todt (Husband), convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of animal cruelty; sentenced to life without parole.
Sources:
Florida father Anthony Todt convicted of killing his wife and 3 kids
Florida Dad Convicted of Apocalypse-Fueled Murder Spree
Celebration man accused of killing family found guilty, sentenced to life in prison without parole
Father accused of killing his kids blames wife for their deaths
‘I came home and my kids were dead’: Celebration man accused of killing family testifies
Anthony Todt Claimed He and Wife Had Murder-Suicide Pact: Prosecutor
Trial begins for Florida man accused of killing wife, 3 children
Jury sees Anthony Todt’s confession in family’s killings: ‘I needed to save her soul’ – Orlando Sentinel
Anthony Todt trial: Celebration man accused of killing wife, 3 kids testifies
Dad Accused of Murdering Family, Dog in Florida Home Thought Apocalypse Was Coming: Prosecutors
Name: Anthony Franklin Mitchell.
Died: December 30, 2019 (Body found; missing August 22, 2018).
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma, asphyxia.
Location: Lake Panasoffkee, Florida, USA.
Disability: Physical disability.
Details:
Anthony’s girlfriend strangled and bludgeoned him to death, then tried to conceal his body as she stole his Social Security payments.
Case Status:
Penny Rebecca Pospisil (Girlfriend), pled guilty to second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and theft; sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.
Sources:
Florida woman sentenced for murder and ‘workman-like dismemberment’ of boyfriend, whose remains she lived with for months
Woman murdered and dismembered physically disabled boyfriend, lived in RV with his decaying remains for months before arrest – TheBlaze
Woman arrested after boyfriend’s dismembered body found in her camper
Media Release-Arrest-Murder Investigation
Name: Masako Ikawa.
Died: December 28, 2019.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Ms. Ikawa was strangled by her husband, who then killed himself.
Case status:
Tamotsu Ikawa (Husband), deceased.
Source:
Elderly couple found dead in apparent murder-suicide