Category: Relationship: Partner

Spouse or romantic partner.

Yoki Fujita

No PhotoName: Yoki Fujita.
Died: November 23, 2015.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Saitama, Japan.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Ms. Fujita’s husband was scheduled for surgery on his neck, and was worried that he would no longer be able to care for her. He had been approved for public assistance, but rejected elderly-care services.

Just before he was due for the surgery, Ms. Fujita’s husband talked to her daughter, explained that he wanted to kill his wife and commit suicide, and asked her to help him. She agreed, drove them both to the river, and drowned them.

Case status:
Atsuko Namikata (Daughter), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 4 years.
Yoshihide Fujita (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Woman pleads guilty to murder, assisted suicide of parents
Father’s scheduled surgery possibly linked to suicide assisted by daughter
Woman jailed for 4 years for murder, assisted suicide of parents

Josephine Williamson

No PhotoName: Josephine Anne Williamson.
Died: November 21, 2015.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Earley, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Josephine’s husband, having been recently diagnosed with cancer and not wanting her to become an “old hag”, pushed her down the stairs and then strangled her.

Josephine was a retired physical education teacher.

Case status:
Philip Williamson (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility; given a 2-year suspended sentence.

Source:
Victim of Lower Earley murder investigation named
Earley pensioner who killed wife reached ‘crisis point’ after being diagnosed with cancer
Dying pensioner spared jail after killing dementia-suffering wife in Reading
Philip Williamson, 88, charged with murdering his wife at their Elm Lane home
Elderly man from Earley sentenced for killing his wife
Murder charge over elderly woman’s death in Earley
Dying OAP escapes jail after killing dementia-suffering wife

Lia Cotroneo

No PhotoName: Lia Cotroneo.
Died: November 19, 2015.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Turin, Italy.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Lia was allegedly smothered by her husband.

Case status:
Angiolo Zanasi (Husband); committed suicide about 6 months later.

Source:
Pensioner commits suicide
Uccise moglie malata, suicida anziano

Maureen Boyce

Photo of Maureen Boyce, a middle-aged woman with fair skin and straight blonde chin-length hair. She is wearing a fancy sequined dress and silver necklace.Name: Maureen Boyce.
Died: October 22, 2015.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, depression.

Details:
Maureen was a socialite and former model who struggled with depression.

She was stabbed to death by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who claimed it was suicide even though she had been stabbed so hard that the knife pinned her body to the bed where she was found.

Case status:
Thomas Chris Lang (Former partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to 20 years to life; conviction overturned on appeal; convicted of murder on retrial, sentenced to life.

Source:
Doctor jailed over socialite’s murder
Doctor jailed over the stabbing death of his Brisbane socialite lover has the conviction overturned
Brisbane socialite murder conviction quashed
Accused killer ‘depressed’ in weeks before Brisbane socialite’s death, court told
Tensions before socialite’s death, court hears
Son of man accused of murdering Maureen Boyce speaks out
Tensions before Qld socialite death: court
Accused killer close to tears in court
Former lover accused of jealousy killing – 9News
Sarina Russo expected to testify at trial
Socialite Maureen Boyce ‘wanted alleged killer to leave’
Strange coincidence in socialite murder trial
NZ doctor on trial for murder of Australian socialite
Businesswoman Sarina Russo tells court her friend was ‘very happy’ before her death
Socialite ‘happy’ before alleged murder – 9News
Qld jurors quiz socialite’s fatal wounds – 9News
Murder or suicide in society love triangle: Son speaks out to back murder-accused
Knife handle buried in body: murder trial
Lawyers for NZ doctor on murder charge discredit dead woman: ‘How can you rely on anything she says when she is capable of such blatant lies?’
Thomas Lang sentenced to life for murder of socialite Maureen Boyce
‘Maureen suffered all over again’
New Zealand-based doctor Thomas Lang’s chilling call to cops after murder: ‘There’s a knife in her abdomen – it looks self-inflicted’

James Wilkerson

Photo of a gravestone. It reads: EE3. James Ray Wilkerson. PRC US Navy. Vietnam. Oct 13 1948. Oct 18 2015. We love you Chief Dad.Name: James Ray Wilkerson.
Died: October 18, 2015.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: The Dalles, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Dementia; paraplegic.

Details:
James’s wife went to the veterans’ home where he lived, and stabbed him to death.

James served more than 20 years in the US Navy and was a Vietnam veteran.

Case status:
Esther Wilkerson (Wife), charged with murder, domestic violence, and unlawful use of a weapon; pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 10 years.

Source:
Murder at veterans’ home
Find a Grave: James Ray Wilkerson
Fatal stabbing in TD leads to arrest
Woman who killed disabled husband at veterans’ home gets 10 years in prison

Johanna Hove-Becker

Black and white photo of Johanna Becker. She has light skin and neat, blond shoulder-length hair and is wearing a suit jacket and pearl necklace.Name: Johanna Hove-Becker.
Died: October 8, 2015.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Fall injury.
Location: Mons, Belgium.
Disability: History of mental illness.

Details:
Johanna had had bulimia as a teenager, but recovered and went on to become a psychologist. When she was 32 years old, her husband drugged her, pushed her out of a window, and tried to pass it off as suicide due to mental illness.

Johanna was a triathlete. She was an especially good swimmer–her father said she was “like a seal” in the water. She had a master’s degree in psychology.

Case status:
Craig R. Becker (Husband), convicted of premeditated murder, assault and battery, and conduct unbecoming an officer; sentenced to life with the possibility of parole and dismissed from the military.

Source:
Did she jump or was she pushed? ‘Dateline’ NBC profiles death of former Jacksonville resident
Did she jump or was she pushed? ‘Dateline’ NBC profiles death of former Jacksonville resident
Navy officer sentenced to life for murdering his wife in Belgium
Navy Officer’s Years-Long Murder Case Gets Another Twist with Court Ruling
War Hero Claims Navy Abandoned Him, Others Cry Murder
Johanna Hove-Becker Obituary

John Craig

Photo of Jack Craig, a middle-aged man in a dress shirt, with the bark of a large tree in the background. Jack has brown hair and light skin, large ears and a large nose, and a mustache above a wide smile.Name: John “Jack” Craig.
Died: October 4, 2015.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Portsmouth, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified mobility impairment.

Details:
Jack Craig’s boyfriend tied his hands, strangled him, and put a plastic bag over his head, suffocating him. Wanted for an unrelated robbery, the killer confessed but told the police that Jack’s murder had been an “assisted suicide”.

Case status:
Wayne McClellan (Boyfriend/Housemate), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 40 years in prison with 23 years suspended.

Source:
Portsmouth man gets 17 years in prison for killing boyfriend
Neighbors: Accused killer had party in home while body was there

Justin Kirby

Photo of Justin Kirby. He is a man with ruddy skin and light brown hair, wearing a white sweatshirt. His hair is cut short; his expression is neutral.Name: Justin Kirby.
Died: September 26, 2015.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Rod-cone dystrophy; visual impairment.

Details:
Justin was shot by his wife. She claimed self-defense, but the placement of the bullet wounds proved he had been shot while trying to run away.

He was a stay-at-home dad for his three children; he loved the outdoors and riding his horse.

Case status:
Taylor Roxann Kirby (Wife), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to 15-22 years.

Source:
Justin Wayne Kirby – View Obituary & Service Information
Woman who killed husband sentenced to 22 years
Neighbor says children played 20 feet away from dying father

John Pehota

Photo of John Pehota, a fair-skinned, balding man in a sports-themed sleeveless shirt and glasses.Name: John “Jack” Pehota.
Died: September 23, 2015.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: The Hammock, Florida, USA.
Disability: Heart condition, mobility impairment.

Details:
John was shot by his wife.

He loved the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing, and collected guns. In 2005, a local newspaper published a letter to the editor that John had written, in which he complained about a recent ban on beach-going vehicles. The ban on vehicles extended to John’s mobility scooter, and because he could not walk to the beach while carrying his fishing tackle, the ban prevented him from going fishing.

John owned a small dog and was often seen walking the dog around his neighborhood.

Case status:
Anna Pehota (Wife), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years.

Source: Anna Pehota, 75, Charged With 2nd-Degree Murder for Shooting Husband in Hammock
“He Kept Pushing Me Mentally”: Anna and John Pehota’s Life Before She Shot Him

Julie Collier

Photo of Julie Collier, a woman with straight blond hair, wearing a floppy hat. She is smiling.Name: Julie Anne Collier.
Died: September 5, 2015.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, UK.
Disability: Mobility impairment (wheelchair user), possibly due to alcoholic neuropathy and a bad fall.

Details:
Julie’s husband killed her by beating her in the head and face.

Julie was an outgoing woman whose favorite band was the Manchester pop group “Take That”.

Case status:
Christopher Collier (Husband), charged with murder; pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 4 years.

Source:
Man charged with murder in Chippenham
Police launch investigation into Chippenham woman’s death
Neighbours tell of their shock as husband faces murder charge
Family tribute to Julie Collier after murder charge
Man who killed disabled wife in drink-fuelled row jailed
Man who beat disabled wife to death during argument at Chippenham home is jailed for four years
Alcoholic husband jailed for four years for bludgeoning disabled wife to death in Chippenham