Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Spouse or romantic partner.
Name: Pamela Gordon.
Died: July 4, 2022.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Lionel Town, Clarendon, Jamaica.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.
Details:
Pamela’s grandson found her with her throat cut. She was taken to the hospital, but pronounced dead on arrival.
Case Status:
Her husband, arrested.
Name: Pamelia Gregory.
Died: July 4, 2022.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Clarendon, Jamaica.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.
Details:
Pamelia’s grandson found her dead with a knife wound to her neck. Pamelia’s husband, who allegedly also attacked her grandson when he found her, was arrested and charged with her murder.
Case Status:
Thadius Gregory (Husband), charged with murder.
Sources:
Husband charged with murder after 67-y-o bedridden wife found dead
Husband charged for murder of bedridden wife in Clarendon
Clarendon man charged after confessing to murdering bedridden wife
Name: Donna Mayfield.
Died: June 23, 2022.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Shooting.
Location: Overland Park, Kansas, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder; bedridden.
Details:
Donna was shot by her husband, who then killed himself.
Case Status:
Frank Mayfield (Husband).
Sources:
87-Year-Old Man Emailed His Children His Plans Before Killing Wife and Himself: Authorities
Neighborhood in shock after suspected murder-suicide of elderly couple
Overland Park police identify elderly couple killed in suspected murder-suicide
‘This is a tragedy’: Elderly Overland Park couple dies in possible murder-suicide
Two people killed in Overland Park murder-suicide
Name: Leela Gopalan.
Died: June 6, 2022.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Vatakara, Kerala, India.
Disability: Cancer.
Details:
Leela’s husband strangled her and then hanged himself.
Case Status:
Mithal Gopalan (Husband), deceased.
Name: Jo Ann Henry Harris.
Died: June 1, 2022.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Trussville, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Jo Ann’s husband reportedly called his son and said that he was going to kill his wife and himself. The son called the police, and after a standoff that lasted a few hours, Jo Ann’s husband shot himself in the face, though superficially enough that he was able to walk out of the house, and was then hospitalized. Police found Jo Ann’s body in the house.
Case Status:
John B. Harris (Husband), charged with murder.
Sources:
81-year-old Trussville man indicted in wife’s strangulation/suffocation death
UPDATED: Trussville PD identifies 80-year-old man charged in killing of his wife
80-year-old Trussville man kills wife, shoots himself in face during standoff, police say
UPDATE: John B. Harris is charged with murder in the slaying of of wife Jo Ann Henry Harris, 82. Authorities believe both the victim and the suspect suffered from dementia. https://t.co/0sGtGDFgxK
82-year-old woman dead, 80-year-old husband hospitalized after Trussville incident
Name: Hena.
Died: May 26, 2022.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Strangulation, head injury.
Location: Alappuzha, Kerala, India.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.
Details:
Hena had recently married, and her husband, a traditional healer, was angry that her family was not providing him more dowry payments. During an argument, he became violent and choked her, slamming her head against a wall and killing her. Investigators discovered that her husband had been harassing her family for money because she had been mentally ill from childhood and he believed he deserved a higher dowry.
Demanding dowries for marriage is illegal in India, and doing so is often associated with domestic abuse, suicide, and sometimes, as in this case, murder.
Case Status:
Appukuttan (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder.
Sources:
Man arrested in suspected dowry killing in Kerala
Kollam woman’s death a case of murder, husband nabbed
Death of newly-wed in Cherthala; police says its murder, dowry abuse, husband arrested
Hena was not released, and neighbors only learned of the death shortly after the funeral
Name: Kimberly Bridges.
Died: May 25, 2022 (Body found).
Age at death: 65.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.
Disability: Depression.
Details:
When Kimberly went missing, her husband told police she had left him. Months later, when her body was found in the wilderness, having been shot in the head, her husband told police that she had depression and had asked him to kill her.
Case Status:
Robert Bridges (Husband), charged with murder.
Sources:
Man charged in wife’s death after body is found by tour group north of Fairbanks
Husband Arrested for Murder in Death of Kimberly Bridges of Fox
Tour group finds missing woman’s body in Alaska, officials say. Husband is charged
Name: Jamie Ward.
Died: May 18, 2022.
Age at death: 50.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Greenfield, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Chronic pain; degenerative disk disease.
Details:
Jamie’s body was found in her home, with her husband. He reportedly told police that he had killed Jamie because she asked him to kill her; but news articles make no mention of a suicide note or any indication that she had wanted to die. Police describe the incident as a “domestic violence homicide”.
Case Status:
Braeden Ward (Husband), pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide, sentenced to 12 years in prison and eight years on extended supervision.
Sources:
The medical examiner said Jamie Ward was dead for two weeks before her decomposing body was found.
A Greenfield man pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in the stabbing death of his wife
Greenfield Man Pleads Guilty To New Charge After Wife’s Stabbing Death
Husband says he killed wife to end suffering, drained blood from body
Milwaukee Co. man stabbed wife to death because she wanted to die, complaint states
A Greenfield man has been charged in the stabbing death of his wife. He says she lived with chronic pain and asked him to help her die.
Greenfield Man Charged With Homicide After Wife Found Stabbed To Death
Greenfield homicide: Braeden Ward accused of fatally stabbing wife
Husband ‘stabbed wife & left body to rot – but WASHED corpse to hide smell’
Woman dead 2 weeks found in home, husband to face homicide charge
Police ID woman killed in Greenfield homicide
Name: Sharon Mook.
Died: May 15, 2022.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; nursing home resident.
Details:
Sharon’s husband stabbed her to death in her nursing home.
Case Status:
Dan Mook (Husband), charged with first-degree murder, third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and fourth-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Sources:
Mercy Killing? 84-year-old Mt. Laurel, NJ, Husband Charged With Wife’s Death
Mount Laurel man charged in wife’s death in nursing home, claims mercy killing
Name: Kalayikkal Ranjini.
Died: May 12, 2022.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
Disability: Paralysis.
Details:
When Ranjini’s husband told police that she had died, her neighbors urged police to investigate. When they found marks on her neck, they questioned her husband; police say he confessed to strangling her because he “could not bear her suffering”.
Case Status:
Muniswami (Husband), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Sources:
Idukki: Bedridden woman killed by husband
Man held for strangling bedridden wife in Idukki