Short sentence – Page 4 – Disability Day of Mourning

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

Ronald Williams

Name: Ronald Williams.
Died: March 14, 2019.
Age at death: 49.
Cause of death: Shot.
Location: Morrisdale, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Ronald was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head. His wife claimed that he had killed himself; but police investigators found that the weapon had been fired from too far away to be a suicide. Ronald’s wife was arrested and charged with murder; the prosecution argued that she had killed him because she was due to receive $1 million in inheritance. In the end, she was convicted only of manslaughter and walked free from court.

Case Status:
Kimberly Sue Williams (Wife), convicted of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment, sentenced to time served.

Source:
Was a Quadriplegic’s Death Murder or Suicide? “If Something Happens to Me …”
Wife convicted in husband’s death denied new trial
Williams sentenced to time served for involuntary manslaughter
Morrisdale Woman Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter in Husband’s Death Sentenced
GANT: Morrisdale Woman Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter in Husband’s Death Sentenced
Murder trial of Morrisdale woman underway
Physician, financial advisor testify on second day of Williams murder trial
Jury delivers split verdict in murder trial of Morrisdale woman
Wife not guilty of husband’s murder

Mia Edmundson

Photo of a girl in a polka-dot skirt and gold plastic crown, sitting in a green play tunnel; she has short strawberry-blond hair and fair skin. Name: Mia Edmundson.
Died: February 27, 2019.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Pneumonia.
Location: Avon Park, Florida, USA.
Disability: Congenital heart disease; no spleen.

Details:
Mia loved life and loved to have her nails painted pink. She also loved to swim and pull pranks on people.

Police investigation revealed that Mia’s mother had not filled her prescriptions or taken her to cardiology appointments. When Mia became seriously ill with pneumonia, her mother waited several days to take her to the hospital. Lacking the medication she needed to support her weakened immune system, Mia died from sepsis.

Case status:
Elizabeth Danielle Markley (Mother), convicted of child neglect with great bodily harm, sentenced to 15 years probation.

Source:
Disabled girl died ‘because mother couldn’t be bothered to collect live-saving prescriptions’
Obituary

Julie Burdett

No Photo Name: Julie Burdett.
Died: January 15, 2019.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Pressure ulcers, malnutrition.
Location: Leicester, England, UK.
Disability: “A disease similar to multiple sclerosis”; wheelchair user.

Details:
Julie died from extreme pressure sores. Allegedly, she was not moved or fed properly, and before she died, was left alone in her bedroom for two weeks.

Case Status:
Philip Burdett (Brother), convicted of gross negligence manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years.
Ralph Burdett (Father), convicted of allowing death, sentenced to 2 years, suspended for 2 years.

Sources:
‘Extreme hoarder’ Philip Burdett jailed for gross negligence manslaughter after death of vulnerable sister
Brother of vulnerable woman jailed for gross negligence manslaughter
Julie Burdett: Woman left to die ‘surrounded by filth’ after her father and brother failed to care for her, court told
Immobile woman ‘left to die alone in agony by extreme hoarder father’

Delanie Manning

No Photo Name: Delanie Manning.
Died: December 19, 2018.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness; bedbound.

Details:
In the six months she had had to stay in bed, Delanie was only moved three times. She developed severe pressure sores and lost more than a third of her body weight. When she died from neglect, she weighed 90 pounds and had a broken femur and multiple pressure sores.

Case status:
Serviano Ruiz (Husband), convicted of abuse of a vulnerable adult, sentenced to 2 years; died while incarcerated.

Source:
Man charged with neglect in death of bedridden wife
Lincoln man charged with abuse after bedridden wife found with skin peeling, bone exposed
Nebraska Man Charged With Abuse After Bedridden Wife Dies

June Knight

No Photo Name: June Knight.
Died: December 10, 2018.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Head injury from fall.
Location: Westcliff, England, UK.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
June’s son went to the care home where she lived, picked her up, and threw her off her third-story balcony. She died from massive brain injuries.

Case status:
Robert Knight (Son), charged with murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years, suspended for 2 years.

Source:
Son who threw his terminally ill 79-year-old mother to her death spared jail
Suspended term for son who threw mum off balcony
Son ‘threw mum, 79, over balcony to her death after carrying her from care home
Son carried mum to balcony, put her on railing and pushed her to her death
No verdict in balcony fall murder trial
Care home woman died from head injury
Photos show forensics outside care home after woman ‘murdered’
Man, 52, appears in court accused of killing his mum, 79, at care home
Son appears in court on mum murder charge after 79-year-old ‘falls from care home balcony’
Man in court over relative’s death
Son denies mother’s balcony fall murder

Desiree Tan

No Photo Name: Desiree Jiaping Tan.
Died: November 19, 2018.
Age at death: 36.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Anxiety disorder (Agoraphobia, health anxiety, panic attacks).

Details:
Desiree’s father beat her with a metal pole, then strangled her. The court decided that he had done so due to caregiver stress, and allowed a defense of diminished responsibility.

Desiree was a university graduate. Due to her mental illness, she was unable to leave home by herself and could not find a job.

Case status:
Tian Chye Tan (Father), convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder; sentenced to two years and nine months in jail, released on time served.

Source:
Father gets jail for killing mentally ill daughter in ‘tragic case’
Man charged with murder of daughter in Bedok flat
33 months jail for S’pore man, 66, who killed mentally ill daughter due to depression, caregiver stress
Man jailed 2 years and 9 months for killing ‘overbearing’ daughter who almost drove him, wife to suicide

Gabrielle Michaelis

Name: Gabrielle Michaelis-Cifoni.
Died: October 31, 2018.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Stomach cancer.
Location: Sarasota, Florida, USA.
Disability: Stomach cancer.

Details:
When she became disabled, Gabrielle’s daughter allegedly kept Gabrielle sedated with high doses of sedatives and painkillers, which were found in dangerous levels in a blood sample drawn from her body after death.

Gabrielle was an altruistic woman, mother of two children and grandmother to seven. She was a well-loved professor of mathematics, repeatedly named Professor of the Year. She was a devout Catholic with a good sense of humor.

Case status:
Josephine Scheid (Daughter), charged with murder; pleaded guilty to stealing a valuable family Bible and sentenced to a year’s probation. Murder charges dropped; sufficient evidence could not be gathered because the body was immediately cremated without autopsy.

Source:
Woman gets probation after charges she killed her Cape mom are dropped
Murder charges dropped against Florida woman accused of killing her mother in 2018 in Dennis Township
Investigation Reveals Daughter Murdered Her Own Disabled Mother For $9000 Using Painkillers And Sedatives For Financial Gain
A year later, investigators charge daughter with using drug cocktail to kill her mother
A Sarasota Woman Arrested For Killing Her Disabled Mother By Using Combination Of Painkillers And Sedatives
Florida woman accused of using sedatives to kill disabled mother
Gabrielle Michaelis-Cifoni Obituary

Christiane Belzile

No Photo
Name: Christiane Belzile.
Died: October 14, 2018.
Age at death: 69.
Cause of death: Insulin poisoning.
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Dementia, stroke, diabetes.

Details:
Christiane’s husband gave her a fatal overdose of insulin.

At trial, he called himself “Latimer Two”, in reference to the death of Tracy Latimer, a disabled teenage girl who was killed by her father.

Case Status:
Francois Belzile (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter; sentenced to 2 years house arrest.

Source:
Edmonton man, 75, who killed severely disabled wife on ‘compassionate’ grounds sentenced to house arrest
‘Latimer Two’: Former Montreal man admits to manslaughter for killing disabled wife
Man, 73, charged with murder in 2018 death of wife
Woman found dead in Edmonton apartment suffered from dementia for a decade
Suspicious death of elderly woman at downtown Edmonton apartment
Senior woman dead, husband injured under suspicious circumstances
Police waiting for toxicology results in 69-year-old woman’s death
Autopsy conducted on woman, 69, found dead in Edmonton apartment suite

Florence Girard

Name: Florence Girard. Photo of an older woman with short gray hair, wearing a blue sweater and smiling for the camera.
Died: October 13, 2018.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
In the care of a woman who neglected her, Florence grew steadily thinner until she finally starved to death, weighing only 56 pounds.

Florence was silly, boy-crazy, and liked having her picture taken. She competed in the 1993 Special Olympics. She was one of 14 siblings.

Case status:
Astrid Charlotte Dahl (Paid caregiver with Kinsight), convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life, sentenced to 100 hours of community service and 12 months of probation. Sentence later increased to 15 months in jail, after Dahl had served 10 months of her conditional sentence and would have been released on good behavior anyway.

Source:
‘We failed her’: CEO apologizes as B.C. starvation inquest seeks pay boost for carers
High court replaces conditional sentence with jail term for B.C. caregiver in disabled woman’s death
Caregiver convicted in starving death of woman with Down syndrome avoids jail
Trial underway for B.C. caregiver charged with criminal negligence in woman’s death
Charge stayed against Coquitlam non-profit in starving death of disabled woman
UPDATE: Coquitlam non-profit, caregiver charged in starvation death of disabled woman
Charges laid after woman with disability found dead in B.C. caregiver’s home
Criminal neglect alleged after B.C. woman with developmental disability dies in care
Three charges, including criminal negligence causing death, laid in 2018 alleged starvation of Florence Girard
‘Unforgiveable’: Caregiver charged with criminal negligence, accused of starving woman to death
B.C. caregiver charged with criminal negligence has history of financial troubles