Short sentence – Page 3 – Disability Day of Mourning

Hector Pizarro

Name: Hector J. Pizarro.
Died: September 4, 2019.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Congenital disability, autism, epilepsy, mobility impaired.

Details:
Hector had been known to child protective services for some time. At one point, he was found to weigh only 60 pounds and monitored by child welfare until he gained weight to 68-70 pounds. But once watchful eyes were averted, Hector was once again neglected.

Hector’s mother brought him to the emergency room, weighing 42 pounds. He died shortly thereafter from malnutrition, with a bedsore covering one side of his body, making it clear that he was neglected to death. Her neighbors had been completely unaware that Hector even lived there.

Case status:
Iraida M. Pizarro-Osorio (Mother), convicted of chronic child neglect resulting in great bodily harm, sentenced to 4 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Hector Pizarro
Milwaukee woman sentenced to 4 years’ probation in death of son
Autism Memorial: Hector Pizarro
16-year-old Milwaukee boy weighed 42 lbs.; mother charged with his death
Mom charged in death of 16-year-old son who weighed just 42 pounds
Milwaukee mom charged with starving her son to death
16-year-old boy weighs 42 pounds at death, mother charged
Milwaukee mom charged with neglect of teenage son, weighed just 42 pounds at time of death
Mother charged in death of disabled, 42-pound teen

Barbara Walsh

No Photo Name: Barbara Walsh.
Died: August 31, 2019.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Sepsis, pressure sores, bone fractures.
Location: Clinton Township, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Details:
Barbara was found on the floor of her apartment by paramedics, where she had been for two days, and died a few weeks later in the hospital. She had been abused and neglected by her daughter, leaving her with multiple bone fractures, many bruises, and a large untreated bedsore, and was bleeding into her brain; the medical examiner concluded that blunt trauma had contributed to her death.

Case Status:
Ann Marie Walsh (Daughter), convicted of first-degree vulnerable-adult abuse; sentenced to 4 years 9 months to 15 years.
Acquitted of murder because the jury could not determine whether she intended to “commit great bodily harm” when she abused her mother.

Sources:
Walsh acquitted in mom murder trial
Experts disagree on what contributed to death of eldelry Clinton Township woman
Clinton Township woman acquitted of murder, convicted of elder abuse in death of mother
Clinton Township woman denies she abused mother in two police interviews
Clinton Township woman bound over on felony murder charge in mother’s death

Kayla Kunkel

No Photo Name: Kayla Kunkel.
Died: June 29, 2019.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Infection from bowel obstruction.
Location: Chenango, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Kayla was found not breathing and could not be revived; she had been left without medical care when her bowel became obstructed. Her death was determined to be the result of “inadequate guardianship” and her parents charged with manslaughter.

Case status:
Renee Kunkel, pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter, sentenced to 5 years probation.
Edward Kunkel (Father), pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person.

Source:
Mom of 23-year-old woman with autism sentenced for negligent homicide in daughter’s death
Mom of woman with autism, 23, pleads guilty to negligent homicide in her daughter’s death
Town of Chenango residents charged with manslaughter in death of woman with autism
Woman with autism dies, 2 indicted for ‘inadequate guardianship’
Kayla Kunkel Obituary – Port Dickinson, New York
Parents Charged in Death of Chenango Bridge Woman

Mavis Long

Name: Mavis Long.
Died: May 10, 2019.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Pennant, Ceredigion, Wales, UK.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Mavis lived with her husband. After an argument, her husband grabbed and strangled her to death.

Case status:
Frank Long (Husband), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years, 4 months, to be served in care.

Source:
Husband Charged And Sentenced For Killing His Alzheimer’s Suffering Wife
Man, 80, jailed for strangling wife after row
Husband in court on wife murder charge
Husband jailed for more than three years for manslaughter of his wife

Binh La

Photo of an Asian man with light skin, black hair in a buzz cut, and a thin black mustache, wearing a brown jacket over a red shirt. Name: Binh La.
Died: May 5, 2019.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Untreated seizure.
Location: Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Binh La died from a seizure with no trace of his prescribed epilepsy medication in his body and the prescription unfilled for 11 months. His malnourished body weighed only 85 pounds.

Case Status:
Dat V. La (Father), pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and negligent cruelty to a person, sentenced to 2 years probation.

Source:
East Hartford accountant admits to lesser charges in autistic son’s death
East Hartford man charged with manslaughter, cruelty in autistic son’s death
Man charged in autistic son’s death

Robbie Ballenger

Name: Robbie Ballenger, also called Robert Williams.
Died: April 15, 2019.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, malnutrition.
Location: Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, epilepsy.

Details:
Robbie lived, along with his twin brother and six other children, with his grandmother and five other adults. The children didn’t go to school or get medical care.

Robbie’s grandmother neglected him. He was not fed enough, and at the age of 8, he died of pneumonia secondary to starvation, weighing only 18 pounds.

Case status:
Geneen Romalia Ballenger (Grandmother), pleaded guilty to child abuse and reckless disregard for human life, sentenced to 10-21 months in prison, suspended, and 18 months probation.

Source:
Fayetteville grandmother pleads guilty in death of disabled 8-year-old grandson
DA: Fayetteville grandma faces 2 years max after child starved to death
Fayetteville boy who starved to death in grandmother’s care had cerebral palsy, weighed 18 pounds :
Fayetteville grandmother faces 2 years max for starving disabled child to death
Disabled boy, 8, ‘was so badly starved by granny his corpse looked like a baby’

Stephen Ihrig

No Photo Name: Stephen Ihrig.
Died: April 12, 2019.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Dehydration, malnutrition, pneumonia.
Location: Martinsville, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; incapacitated adult.

Details:
Stephen died from starvation, thirst, and pneumonia due to being neglected by his son and his son’s girlfriend.

Case Status:
Jeffrey Louis Ihrig (Son), convicted of neglect, sentenced to 3 months.
Crystal Rae Painter, convicted of neglect, sentenced to 3 months.

Sources:
Martinsville couple sentenced in father’s death
Martinsville couple found guilty of causing man’s father’s death

Dhunalutchmee Naidoo

Name: Dhunalutchmee Naidoo.
Died: April 8, 2019.
Age at death: 69.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Durban, South Africa.
Disability: “An unknown disease”; bedbound.

Details:
When Dhunalutchmee’s husband failed to suffocate her with a pillow, he slit her throat with a kitchen knife instead. He said he had done it because she was a large woman and he had difficulty picking her up to give her a bath.

Case status:
Dickson Naidoo (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder, given a 5-year suspended sentence.

Source:
WATCH: Phoenix man who slit bedridden’s wife throat escapes jail time | The Post
Man kills ‘large’, bedridden wife as he’s unable to care for her anymore
Why I slit my bedridden wife’s throat
Durban man confesses to murdering his bedridden wife
Phoenix man due in court for allegedly slitting woman’s throat
Wife murderer confesses he was ‘fed up’
‘My bedridden wife pleaded with me to kill her’

Unknown Elder Man

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: April 6, 2019.
Age at death: 70s.
Cause of death: Wrist cut.
Location: Lysekil, Lysekil Municipality, Sweden.
Disability: Dementia, wheelchair user.

Details:
This man lived with his wife in a supported living center. Believing that he would be better off dead, she killed her husband by slitting his wrist. At trial, she claimed it had been a mercy killing, but the prosecution noted that her husband could not competently have made a decision to die, and that there were indications that he wanted to live.

Case Status:
His wife. Initially convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 2 years; on appeal, convicted of murder and sentenced to 4 years.

Source:
The High Court tightens the punishment for the “mercy murder” in Lysekil | tellerreport.com
72-åringen dödade sin man: ”Vill lägga det bakom mig”
72-åriga kvinnan dödade maken – straffet skärps

Sam Koets

Name: Sam Koets.
Died: March 28, 2019.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Drowning, hypothermia.
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Sam was made to live in the family’s unfinished basement, in horrible conditions. He died when his father left him alone, hands tied, near the family’s pool on a cold spring day. A little while later, he texted Sam’s thirteen-year-old sister, asking her to check on Sam. She sent back a photo of Sam, wading chest-deep in the pool, which was so cold it had ice floating on top. Sam’s father, however, did nothing to help Sam; he did not call emergency services, attempt to return home, or contact anyone but Sam’s thirteen-year-old sister who was watching Sam die in front of her eyes. Sam’s body was found floating in the icy pool; he had been dead at least an hour.

Case status:
Timothy Koets (Father), charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree child abuse, second-degree child abuse committed in the presence of another child and fourth-degree child abuse, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 2-15 years in prison.
Michelle Koets (Mother), sentenced to 21 days in jail for refilling Sam’s Ritalin prescriptions after he died.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Sam Koets
‘Sam had value’: Judge sentences father, former GRCC professor to 2-15 years for disabled son’s drowning
Father pleads guilty in drowning death of disabled son
GRCC fires man accused of manslaughter in son’s death
Mother enters plea for refilling dead son’s prescriptions
Michigan man charged with involuntary manslaughter in autistic son’s drowning death now accused of illegally filling teen’s prescriptions
GRCC professor headed to trial in son’s death
Haunting final photo shows disabled boy moments before he drowned in icy pool
Michigan dad charged after bound autistic son drowns in pool
‘It’s a nightmare:’ Professor’s arrest in death of son with severe autism rocks family
Former student shocked after professor charged in son’s death
Dad Charged in Death of Teen Son Who Has Autism
Local professor faces manslaughter charges in autistic son’s death
Michigan Professor Arraigned in Drowning Death of Autistic Teen Son Found in Icy Pool With Arms Bound
Father didn’t alert rescuers when son with autism waded into deep, cold pool, police report says
Father charged with manslaughter in son’s death
Teen with severe autism found dead in icy pool with arms bound; Michigan professor father charged
Professor facing charges in drowning death of son with special needs
Father charged with manslaughter in son’s death
Georgetown Township Father Arrested After Son’s Death
Professor facing charges in connection with drowning death of son with special needs