Status – Page 14 – Disability Day of Mourning

Madelin Day

Photo of a pale-skinned girl with curly blond hair, lying in a big yellow head-support pillow, fists bunched up next to her face. She has strabismus in one eye. She is smiling. Name: Madelin Anika Day.
Died: November 16, 2022.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Cocaine overdose.
Location: Mattoon, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; mobility impaired.

Details:
Madelin died from a cocaine overdose while in the care of her mother and her boyfriend. It is unknown whether she got into the cocaine on her own, or whether it was deliberately administered.

Madeline liked being outdoors, floating in the pool or soaking up the sun. She had a collection of stuffed animals, and loved her grandma’s dog Milo. Her favorite color was blue.

Case Status:
Taylor West (Mother), charged with first-degree murder and drug-induced homicide.
Maverick Bowman (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with first-degree murder and drug-induced homicide.

Sources:
Police: Disabled child dies of cocaine overdose; two individuals arrested
Two Mattoon people arrested for drug-induced homicide, murder of child
Two arrested in connection with 4-year-old’s cocaine overdose death, police say
Madelin Day Obituary (2017 – 2022)

Vincent Roebuck

No Photo Name: Vincent Roebuck.
Died: November 16, 2022.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Mt. Washington, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user.

Details:
Vincent’s son allegedly broke into his house and stabbed him to death. Vincent’s other son was also stabbed, but survived.

Case Status:
Javon Taylor (Son), charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and burglary.

Sources:
Police: Man fatally stabbed father in Mt. Washington because he ‘wanted a cigarette’
Pennsylvania man allegedly killed father and stabbed brother because he was ‘frustrated, cold, and wanted a cigarette’

Alice Matheny

Name: Alice Matheny.
Died: November 15, 2022.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Eaton, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Details:
Alice’s granddaughter, who had just found out that Alice needed a nursing home and her insurance wouldn’t cover it, allegedly drowned her grandmother in the kitchen sink.

Case Status:
Heidi Matheny (Granddaughter), pleaded guilty to murder.

Sources:
Ohio woman drowns 93-year-old grandmother in sink
Ohio woman pleads guilty to drowning 93-year-old ‘perfect’ grandmother in kitchen sink
Ohio woman confesses to drowning grandmother who needed nursing home: reports
Ohio Woman Allegedly Drowned Her Grandmother In Kitchen Sink Over Cost Of Nursing Home Care
Woman charged with murder accused of drowning grandmother, 93, in Eaton
Eaton woman admits to killing grandma

5-year-old boy

Name Unknown.
Died: November 8, 2022.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Hat Yai, Songkhla Province, Thailand.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This five-year-old boy was found dead in his apartment. Police believe that his mother, who had to be hospitalized after a suicide attempt, smothered him with a pillow.

Case Status:
Thitirat Kongkerd (Mother), hospitalized and under investigation.

Sources:
Teacher murders her 5 year old autistic son in southern Thailand
Teacher kills autistic son before consuming toilet cleaner

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’

11-year-old boy

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: October 29, 2022.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Stab wounds, head injury.
Location: Marseille, France.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This 11-year-old boy’s mother told police she had lost sight of him and he had gotten lost; but the next day, his body was found on the banks of a river; he had been murdered. Police, who suspected his mother of killing him, arrested her and soon reported that she had admitted to killing her son because she “couldn’t deal with him anymore”.

Case Status:
His mother, age 39 (Arrested).

Sources:
11-year-old boy
Mum ‘admits killing’ autistic son, 11, after dad found his body on riverbank
12-year-old autistic child found dead in Marseille: mother admits killing him
Enfant autiste de 11 ans tué à Marseille : la mère mise en examen pour “meurtre sur mineur”
Enfant autiste tué à Marseille: la mère mise en examen pour meurtre
Infanticide à Marseille : la mère du garçon de 11 ans mise en examen

Hayden Garreffa

Name: Hayden Robert Garreffa.
Died: October 22, 2022.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Hayden went missing and, two days later, was found dead in a wooded area near his home. Court documents state that he had gotten into a fight with his cousin over his cousin’s girlfriend, and his cousin told his sister that Hayden would be dead by the end of the day. Then, his cousin and eight other people allegedly kidnapped Hayden, took him to the woods, and beat and stabbed him to death.

Case Status:
Isaac Joel Buchkoski (Cousin), charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and first-degree kidnapping.
Summer Isabella Settlemyer, charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and first-degree kidnapping.
Mia Shai Catalfano, charged with first-degree kidnapping.
Taylyn Nashell Edwards, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to first-degree kidnapping.
Thomas Alan Rivera, charged with first-degree kidnapping.
Jesse Lee Wadsworth, charged with first-degree kidnapping.
Desean Garcia Alvarez, charged with first-degree kidnapping.
Unnamed 14-year-old girl, charged with first-degree kidnapping.

Sources:
Woman Pleads ‘Guilty But Mentally Ill’ To Kidnapping, Killing Autistic Teen
Defendant Pleads Guilty but Mentally Ill for Murder, Kidnapping in Indiana County
Eight individuals – 7 from Johnstown – to stand trial in Indiana County killing of teen
8 People Facing Homicide Charges
Eight people – 7 from Johnstown – accused of kidnapping, killing teenager over ‘personal grievance,’ police say
Eight charged in teenager’s killing
Police: 7 adults, 1 youth arrested in connection with Indiana County teen’s kidnapping, homicide
Missing 19-year-old man killed and left in woods, Pennsylvania cops say. Seven charged
Investigators working to sort out what happened before Ebensburg man’s stabbing death; 8 facing charges
8 charged in kidnapping of Pa. man found dead: ‘You won’t have to worry about him again’ – pennlive.com
Eight charged in teenager’s killing
Autism Memorial: Hayden Garreffa
Fundraiser for a memorial and funeral, organized by Helen Reed

Kannan Kutty

Name: Kannan Mukundan Kutty.
Died: October 21, 2022.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Palakkad, Kerala, India.
Disability: Diabetes, leg ulcers.

Details:
Kannan’s father killed Kannan, then himself. Neighbors said that Kannan’s health had been deteriorating; they believe that Kannan’s father was tired from taking care of him.

Case Status:
Balakrishnan (Father), deceased.

Sources:
Palakkad man murders diabetic son, kills self
Murder-suicide in Palakkad: Man kills unwell son, then hangs

Hunter Drew

Name: Hunter Drew.
Died: October 20, 2022.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Mount Auburn, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Developmental delay, chronic illness.

Details:
Hunter had gotten into a scuffle with a sibling when his father’s girlfriend allegedly grabbed him, threw him so that his head hit a hard object, and then drove him around in her car for three hours while he died of a head injury.

Hunter loved motorcycles, trains, race cars, and big loud trucks.

Case Status:
Ashley N. Bottoms (Father’s girlfriend), charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment causing death.

Sources:
Did custody change cause Hunter’s death?
Charges filed in death of 3-year-old
Family and friends gather for Hunter Drew’s visitation
The short life of a 3-year-old boy taken too soon
DCFS facilitates 3-year-old downstate boy’s move in with his father, and now the boy is dead

Eda Karr

No Photo Name: Eda Lyn Karr.
Died: October 18, 2022.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Unspecified neglect.
Location: Stevensville, Montana, USA.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease.

Details:
Eda’s son took his mother out of her nursing home, neglected her until she died, and then hid her body while he continued to collect her retirement checks.

Case Status:
Ronan Sterling-Shanahan, aka Justin Whitfield (Son), convicted of negligent homicide and tampering with evidence, sentenced to 30 years.

Sources:
Stevi man sentenced to 30 years in mother’s death