Short sentence – Disability Day of Mourning

Ayla Mangan

No Photo Name: Ayla Mangan.
Died: July 10, 2025.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Canton, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
After an argument with her mother, Ayla was stabbed in the back with an ornamental sword belonging to her stepfather. Police say her mother stabbed her after an argument, and her stepfather tried to help her cover up the crime by claiming that Ayla had done it to herself because she was autistic.

Case Status:
Terri Niner (mother) pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and negligent assault and was sentenced to three years.
Francis “Jay” Niner (stepfather) is charged with obstruction of justice.

Sources:
Autism Memorial: Ayla Mangan
Canton mother to face lesser charges tied to stabbing death of autistic daughter
Canton woman charged with murder, accused of fatally stabbing daughter in back
Canton Woman Remains Jailed on Murder Charge
Mom plunges ‘short sword’ into daughter’s back during ‘dumb’ argument: Cops
Canton woman charged with murder, accused of fatally stabbing daughter in back
US Shocker: Woman Stabs 32-Year-Old Autistic Daughter to Death With Husband’s Decorative Sword During Fight in Ohio, Arrested
‘Over dumb stuff’: Ohio mom allegedly fatally stabbed daughter with ‘short sword’

Amy Modrow

Name: Amy Lynn Modrow.
Died: February 17, 2024.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Asthma.
Location: Hopkins, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Asthma.

Details:
Amy was at a sleepover at a friend’s house when she had an asthma attack. She used her inhaler, but the one she had hadn’t been prescribed for her; it was her grandmother’s, and her own inhaler prescription hadn’t been filled. Her friend’s mother called Amy’s mother and offered her to take her to the doctor, but her mother refused and took Amy home.

Amy’s asthma worsened, with her mother refusing to take her to the hospital, until she was blue from lack of air and Amy’s aunt called a family friend, who carried the girl to the parking lot and called 911. When medics arrived, Amy’s heart had stopped, and although they managed to resuscitate her, she was declared brain dead and taken off life support a week later.

Case Status:
Rachel Modrow (Mother) pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, sentenced to 41 months in prison.

Sources:
Mother pleads guilty to manslaughter in daughter’s asthma death – CBS Minnesota
Mom let 9-year-old daughter die from asthma attack after refusing to take her to hospital
Case Search – Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO)
Amy Lynn Modrow (2014-2024) – Find a Grave Memorial

39-year-old man

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: October 24, 2023.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Daegu, South Korea.
Disability: Intellectual disability, mobility impairment, depression.

Details:
This man’s father stabbed his son to death, but survived his own suicide attempt and was arrested.

Case Status:
His father was convicted of murder and sentenced to 3 years.

Sources:
Father gets 3 years for killing son with disability after 39 years of care
Father’s 3-year sentence upheld for killing disabled 39-year-old son

Jean Salter

Name: Jean Ann Salter.
Died: October 8, 2023.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Mount Maunganui, North Island, New Zealand.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Jean’s dementia was progressing, and it had been suggested that Jean should be moved to a residential facility; her husband, upset that they might be separated, strangled her with a necktie. The killer claimed that there was a suicide pact, but there is no evidence of this save for his claim, and Jean, impaired by dementia, would not have been able to consent to an assisted suicide.

Case Status:
John Alfred Salter (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to up to four years in prison.

Sources:
Man jailed for killing elderly wife in failed suicide pact
Wife’s last words as husband of 60 years strangled her with a tie
‘Smell of an oily rag’: Murder of wife with Alzheimer’s shows need for more dementia support

Martha Rutledge

Name: Martha Rutledge.
Died: August 14, 2023.
Age at death: 99.
Cause of death: Starvation, untended bedsores.
Location: Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired.

Details:
Martha was found dead at home. Her body was very thin, and she was covered in multiple severe bedsores. Her daughters, with whom she lived, provided no medical care to their mother. Martha also had a lot of alcohol and THC in her system when she died; unable to move from her bed, she would not have been able to ingest these on her own. She had not seen a doctor in ten years.

Case Status:
Martha Carroll Rutledge (Daughter), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable person resulting in death; pleaded guilty to neglect of a vulnerable adult, sentenced to 1 year probation.
and Nancy Rutledge (Daughter), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable person resulting in death; pleaded guilty to neglect of a vulnerable adult, sentenced to 1 year probation.

Sources:
No prison for 2 Rock Hill sisters after their 99-year-old mother died in ‘horrific’ state
Rock Hill sisters granted bond for mother’s death whose body has ‘chronic open wound’
Police: Rock Hill woman died from lack of medical care, 2 daughters charged
Martha Rutledge Obituary (2023) – Rock Hill, SC – The Herald

Juneanne Fannell

Name: Juneanne Fannell.
Died: April 5, 2023.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden; hospice patient.

Details:
Juneanne’s caregiver called police to report that she was “out of control” and needed to be removed from her own home. Juneanne, for her part, told police that she felt she was in danger and needed help because there were firearms in the home. Police responded to her address, but they only complimented Juneanne’s caregiver’s “nice guns” and made no attempt to help Juneanne.

On the recording of the visit, officers start to leave, and Juneanne begs them to stay because she is afraid. Her caregiver comments, “You’re fine until I kill you.” Juneanne points this threat out to the police, but her caregiver tells the police to leave, and they do, evidently dismissing her complaints.

Juneanne was fatally shot hours after police left her home.

Case Status:
Henry Cardana (Caretaker), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years prison, 2 years parole, 2 years probation.

Sources:
Cardana sentenced to six years for voluntary manslaughter, memorandum details months before incident
82-year-old killed hours after cops ignored cries for help
Rio Rancho woman killed after police respond to her home
Rio Rancho woman killed after police respond to her home

Titus Davenport

Name: Titus Davenport.
Died: January 20, 2023.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Salem, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Titus’s stepmother beat him so badly that he died from a brain bleed. She tried to claim the injuries were self-inflicted, but the autopsy report disagreed with her claims.

Case Status:
Cierra Wiedner (Stepmother) pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and was sentenced to 5 years.

Sources:
Autism Memorial: Titus Davenport
Salem woman sentenced to 5 years for fatal abuse of 6-year-old stepson
Woman charged months after Salem 6-year-old’s death
Salem woman indicted in death of domestic partner’s 6-year-old son: Court documents
Dad, domestic partner booked, released in death of Salem child

Teruko Fujiwara

Concrete bridge and white railing above water. A bunch of yellow flowers has been left at the curb. — Flowers left for Teruko Fujiwara at the scene of her death.

Name: Teruko Fujiwara.
Died: November 2, 2022.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Ms. Fujiwara’s husband had been her caregiver for 40 years since she was injured and started using a wheelchair. The two were planning to enter an assisted-living facility, and Ms. Fujiwara was looking forward to it. But her husband did not want to accept help; he took her to the pier and pushed her out of her wheelchair and into the ocean, where she drowned. Police say he admitted to the murder, saying he was “worn out” from looking after her.

Ms. Fujiwara leaves behind two grown sons.

Case Status:
Hiroshi Fujiwara (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 3 years.

Sources:
Obsession to care for disabled wife by himself led man to kill her
Husband, 82, gets 3 years in drowning death of paralyzed wife
81-year-old Japanese man arrested for murder after pushing wife’s wheelchair into sea
81-yr-old man in Japan arrested for allegedly killing wife he took care of for 40 yrs
Man accused of pushing wife in wheelchair into sea, killing her
Man, 81, pushes wheelchair-bound wife, 79, into the sea as he was ‘too tired of taking care of her’

Mary Kelting

Black and white photo of a smiling, light-skinned woman with her dark hair in a bob, held back by a hair band. Name: Mary Kathryn Kelting.
Died: September 1, 2022 (Declared dead; died approx. August 28-29).
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, malnutrition, heart disease.
Location: Davenport, Iowa, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Mary died from neglect.

She enjoyed scrapbooking and painting ceramics. Her favorite movie was “Guardians of the Galaxy” and she loved Groot. She was a retired medical transcriber who had also worked as a dental hygienist and X-ray tech.

Case Status:
Jason B. Kelting (Son), pleaded guilty to felony neglect or abandonment of a dependent person, given a deferred judgment and three years of probation.

Sources:
Davenport man charged with neglecting bedridden mother causing death
Davenport man gets 3 years probation for neglecting bedridden mother who died
Davenport man charged with neglecting bedridden mother causing death
Mary Kelting Obituary – Davenport, IA

Katherine Sokolich

No Photo Name: Katherine Sokolich.
Died: July 3, 2022.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Ballwin, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Katherine’s brother, who was her court-appointed guardian and responsible for taking care of her, beat her because he was frustrated with taking care of her. After he called 911 and reported that she was injured, Katherine was hospitalized, but later died of a brain bleed due to head trauma.

Case Status:
Anthony Sokolich (Brother, guardian), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to probation.

Sources:
Police say 70-year-old Missouri man killed disabled sister
Man accused of beating disabled sister to death
70-Year-Old Missouri Man Beat His Disabled Sister to Death: Authorities
Disabled woman dies after attack by ‘frustrated’ caretaker brother near Ballwin, police say