Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Matthew Graville.
Died: July 1, 2012.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Fatal abuse.
Location: Mazomanie, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Matthew was tortured and beaten to death by his half-brother.
Case status:
Jeffrey Vogelsberg (half-brother); pled no contest to reckless homicide; sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Source:
Jeffrey Vogelsberg gets 15 years for death of autistic half-brother
Autism Memorial: Matthew Graville
Name: Alayah-Rose Savarese .
Died: June 25, 2012.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Ruptured stomach.
Location: New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Alayah died from a ruptured stomach. Her case was known to social services, and there had been multiple complaints of neglect and reports of bruises on Alayah’s body.
Case status:
Nicole Diggs (Mother) and Oscar Thomas (mother’s boyfriend); charged with neglect, but the charges were dropped. They later inherited $2.1 million that had been placed in trust for Alayah’s care.
Source:
Alayah-Rose Savarese
Name: Markea Blakely-Berry.
Died: June 15, 2012.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Markea was starved to death by her mother.
Case status:
Ebony Berry (Mother), pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 30 years.
Source:
Girl, 16, dies weighing just 40lb after being ‘starved by her food-obsessed mother’
Name: James Thompson.
Died: June 12, 2012.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Starvation, medical neglect.
Location: The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism, intellectual disability.
Details:
James was starved to death by his niece. He died with a fractured arm and leg, weighing less than half of the 142 pounds he had weighed two years earlier.
Case status:
Naisia Norman (Niece), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 2-6 years in prison.
Source:
Inmate Lookup » NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
Prosecutors: Woman let uncle starve
Autism Memorial: James Thompson
Niece Accused of Starving Autistic Uncle Worked as Home Health Aide
Bronx Woman Held in the Death of Her Uncle
AUtism Memorial: James Thompson
Name: Howard E. Spracher.
Died: June 5, 2012.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, trauma.
Location: St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Visually impaired, physical/mental ill health.
Details:
Howard’s girlfriend locked him into a bare room, starved him, and beat him. He died of his injuries.
Howard worked for sixteen years for the city of Omaha as a public events worker.
Case status:
Darlene Coulibaly (Girlfriend/Housemate), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, domestic assault, and elder abuse; sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Source:
Caretaker charged after elderly St. Louis man’s death
St. Louis woman pleads guilty in death of housemate
Name: James Moore.
Died: June 1, 2012.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
James’s sister and her husband beat him, starved him, and neglected his injuries until he died.
Case status:
Carlena Pinkerton (Sister), pleaded guilty to murder and abuse, sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Joshua Pinkerton (Brother-in-law), pleaded guilty to murder and abuse, sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Source:
Phoenix couple sentenced in abuse, death of brother
2 caregivers arrested, charged with murder
Name: Ruben Johnson.
Died: May 30, 2012.
Age at death: 56.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: San Carlos, California, USA.
Disability: Prostate cancer.
Details:
Soon after his diagnosis of prostate cancer, Ruben Johnson was shot to death by his wife. She also shot their daughter, fourteen-year-old Aaliyah.
Case status:
Regina Renee Johnson (Wife), convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, sentenced to 80 years to life.
Source:
Woman sentenced for murdering her daughter, husband
DA: San Carlos mother ‘ambushed’ and ‘executed’ husband, teenage daughter
Woman Accused of Ambushing Husband and Teen Daughter in Fatal Slayings — Though Defense Says It’s More Complicated
Woman Accused of Fatally Shooting Teen Daughter, Husband, to Stand Trial
Mom: I killed husband after he shot daughter
Woman ordered tried in death of husband, daughter
San Carlos Woman Convicted of Murder for Shooting Daughter, Husband
Mom Convicted of Slaying Daughter, Husband in Double Killing
Name: Perry Edward Jones.
Died: April 19, 2012.
Age at death: 51.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Matoaca, Chesterfield County, Virginia, USA.
Disability: “Severely disabled”.
Details:
Perry was strangled by his mother, who also killed his father.
Case status:
Estelle Virginia Jones (Mother); sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Source:
Estelle Virginia JONES
Name: Beth Marie Spaulding.
Died: April 2, 2012.
Age at death: 31.
Cause of death: Methadone poisoning.
Location: Fremont, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness, ovarian tumor.
Details:
Beth’s husband poisoned her with methadone.
Beth was talented at photography and make-up, and used these skills to help others develop their confidence. She was a Humane Society volunteer who fostered a dog named Sweetie Pie, a poodle/schnauzer mix rescued from a puppy mill. When Sweetie Pie needed a $1500 cancer surgery from having been forced to have litter after litter for years, Beth raised the money and saved the dog’s life. After Beth was murdered, her mother adopted Sweetie Pie.
Case status:
Jason Risenburg (Husband), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 11 years.
Source:
Husband enters plea to reduced charge
Beth Spaulding Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Beth Spaulding?
Mother of woman killed in her sleep by husband ‘outraged’ at plea deal
Photos of Beth Marie “Beffy” Spaulding
Mother demands justice after daughter’s husband pleads not guilty to murder
Name: Daniel Corby.
Died: March 31, 2012.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: San Diego, California, USA.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Daniel’s mother drowned him in the bathtub. She said she had killed him because he was autistic, she was sick of taking care of him, and she had gone $70,000 into debt for autism treatment.
Daniel learned all of the letters of the alphabet when he was three.
Case status:
Patricia Corby (mother) pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life.
Source:
Autism Memorial: Daniel Corby
Woman sentenced in tub drowning of autistic son, 4
Murder of Daniel Corby
Mom gets 15 years in autistic son’s tub drowning
Mother admits she drowned autistic son, 4, in bathtub because ‘she was sick of taking care of him’ and was $70,000 in debt after paying for his care
‘She felt like she had no life’: Mother drowns autistic four-year-old
Mother who drowned 4-year-old autistic son sentenced to life term