Relationship: Partner – Page 51 – Disability Day of Mourning

Olla Mae Waller

Name: Olla Mae Waller.
Died: August 23, 1987.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Olla was strangled by her husband, who also killed her daughter Lucinda Joan Zupan, age 30, and her grandson Brandon Zupan, age 7, before killing himself. Apparently, he also intended to kill Lucinda’s estranged husband, having tried to lure him to their house; but the man went to work instead and survived. Police believe the killer was stressed by Lucinda’s marital problems, and by being the primary caregiver for Olla Mae, who used a wheelchair.

Case Status:
Henry “Hank” Waller (Husband), deceased.

Sources:
Olla Mae Lemons Waller
Four Dead in Murder-Suicide In Colorado Springs
Killer Triggers by Joe Kenda: New Excerpt
Killings of three or more people pepper Colorado Springs history

Anita Spearman

Photo of Anita Spearman's gravestone, which reads, "Anita J. Spearman, December 8, 1936 to November 15, 1985." There are flowers in an attached vase. Name: Anita Spearman.
Died: November 16, 1985.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Blunt force injury.
Location: Palm Beach, Florida, USA.
Disability: Breast cancer.

Details:
Anita’s husband was tired of being married to a woman who had cancer. He was worried she wouldn’t look good in a bathing suit, so he hired a hit man to kill her. The man bludgeoned her to death as she lay recovering from a recent mastectomy.

Case status:
Robert Spearman (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to life plus 20 years.
Sean Doutre (Hit man), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life plus 30 years.
Richard Savage (Hit man’s boss), convicted of second-degree murder and conspiracy, sentenced to 40 years.

Source:
Want Ads in Soldier of Fortune Magazine Led a Blundering Gang of Alleged Killers to Their Victims
Savage Found Guilty 3rd Man Convicted In Spearman Death
Spearman Found Guilty
Spearman Suspect Convicted
Murder Charges Detailed Witness: Spearman Said Death A Mercy Act
Motions Heard In Murder-for-hire Trial
‘Gun for Hire’ Had Many Clients : Bumbling Gang of Killers Left Trail of Death, Terror

John Muir

No Photo Name: John Muir.
Died: November 6, 1985.
Age at death: 65.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Aptos, California, USA.
Disability: Partial paralysis from polio.

Details:
John was stabbed to death. His wife, who had married him only three months before, most likely paid two men to kill him. She had been the caregiver for his deceased first wife, and the two had recently separated.

John was a retired IBM executive.

Case status:
Richard Vance Richardson (hired killer), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.
Clinton Lee Burns, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
Charlene Richardson (Stepdaughter), charged with accessory to murder, sentenced to 6 months in jail.
Barbara Muir (Wife), charged with accessory to murder, sentenced to 6 months in jail.

Source:
Man who killed IBM executive in Aptos in 1985 denied parole

Emily Gilbert

No Photo Name: Emily Gilbert.
Died: March 4, 1985.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis.

Details:
Emily’s husband killed her by shooting her in the head.

She loved tailored clothes and traveling, and was the mother of one daughter.

Case status:
Roswell Gilbert (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 25 years; granted clemency and released after 5 years. Received $50,000 for the rights to his story.

Source:
‘They adored each other’: Should court free caregiver who killed wife with dementia?
Shots in 1994 Fort Lauderdale death started mercy killing crusade
Roswell Gilbert, 85, Who Killed His Ill Wife and Went to Prison
Gilbert v. State
The Agony Did Not End for Roswell Gilbert, Who Killed His Wife to Give Her Peace – Vol. 27 No. 2

Ellen Wiggs

No Photo Name: Ellen Alice Wiggs.
Died: May 4, 2024.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Independence, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Kidney disease.

Details:
Ellen’s husband allegedly strangled her as she lay in her hospital bed, where she was staying because she needed a new dialysis port. A detective says he told them that he had done it because he was tired of taking care of his wife and he could not pay the medical bills they owed. He also allegedly confessed that he had already tried to kill his wife twice before.

Case Status:
Ronnie Wiggs (Husband), charged with second-degree murder.

Sources:
Ellen Alice Wiggs (Tippie) Obituary 2024
Missouri Man Allegedly Murders Wife In Hospital Over Depression, Cost Of Providing Care
Man Says He Killed His Wife Because He Couldn’t Pay Her Medical Bills
Husband Strangles Wife in Hospital Over Cost of Medical Bills: Police