Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Jonathan Runion.
Died: September 12, 2022.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Boone County, West Virginia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.
Details:
Jonathan was shot by his mother in a murder-suicide.
Case Status:
Tammy Runion (Mother), deceased.
Sources:
West Virginia mother allegedly fatally shoots 48-year-old bedridden son and self
Victims identified in Boone County murder-suicide
Deputies | Mother kills son in apparent murder-suicide
Name: Louise Nash.
Died: September 8, 2022.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Great Waldingfield, Suffolk, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.
Details:
Louise and her mother Jillu lived in Suffolk, where Louise attended a special-needs school. Louise’s parents lived in India, and the mother and daughter sometimes went to visit them. They were well-known to neighbors, who remember them always waving from their car when they drove past.
Someone called the authorities, worried about Louise and Jillu, and police went to check on them. They found Louise and Jillu dead, a gas leak in the home, and Louise’s father, badly injured and immediately taken to the hospital, who they suspect is responsible for the killings. The neighborhood had to be evacuated while the gas leak was repaired, but no one else was hurt.
Case Status:
Peter Nash (Father), convicted of murder; sentenced to 40 years to life.
Sources:
Man handed life prison sentence for murders of wife and daughter, 12
Suffolk double murder: Man called wife ‘validated cheater’
Ipswich Crown Court shown footage of Great Waldingfield family murder accused, Peter Nash, referring to 12-year-old daughter as his ‘property’ in video recorded by wife before her death
After Neely homicide, mental health workers explain what to do if someone is in crisis on the subway
Murder trial set to enter closing stages
Husband who murdered wife and daughter thought they were his ‘property’
Man faces mandatory life sentence for murder of wife and daughter
Autism Memorial: Louise Nash
Tributes paid to ‘devoted’ mum and her daughter, 12, found at home dead
Council chair speaks of shock after suspected double murder
Injured man arrested over deaths of a mother and her 12-year-old daughter
Family of ‘murdered’ mother and daughter, 12, tell of ‘utter despair’
Dad ‘stabbed severely disabled daughter, 12, to death and strangled wife’
Father in court after being charged with murder of wife and kid
Man ‘killed wife and autistic daughter’
Husband ‘stabbed autistic daughter & strangled his wife who was leaving him’
Man accused of double murder ‘confessed to psychiatrist’, court told
Unnamed Baby Girl.
Died: September 6, 2022.
Age at death: 1 day.
Cause of death: Abandonment.
Location: Mandya, Karnataka, India.
Disability: Unspecified congenital disability.
Details:
This baby girl, never named, was abandoned by her parents. A pack of wild dogs found her and dragged her onto the grounds of a hospital, where staff rescued her; but she died of her injuries not long after. It is believed that she was abandoned because of her visible disability, because she was born a girl, or both.
Case Status:
Unsolved. Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage and searching for her parents.
Name: Ernest Sena Sr.
Died: September 4, 2022.
Age at death: 62.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired; one arm paralyzed.
Details:
Ernest’s son allegedly shot him in the chest while visiting him to help him shop for groceries. Police say Ernest’s son, after he was arrested, admitted that this wasn’t the first time he had pointed a gun at his father.
Case Status:
Ernest A. Sena, Jr. (Son), charged with murder.
Sources:
Man charged in shooting death of disabled father in South Valley
Man arrested for shooting his own father
Name: Patricia Bitters.
Died: September 3, 2022.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Forres, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Mobility impaired.
Details:
Patricia lived with her grandson for the last five years of her life because she had trouble getting around and needed help. One night, her grandson came home drunk and beat her severely. She was taken to the hospital, but lived only six days before dying from her injuries.
Patricia had 13 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.
Case Status:
Scott McCulloch (Grandson), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.
Sources:
Killer beat his own gran to death when he was supposed to be looking after her
‘Please stay with me while I die’: Granny’s plea to nurse after killer grandson ‘lost it’
Man pleads guilty to murder of his 84-year-old grandmother
Man sentenced to life in prison for murdering grandmother
Sick brute jailed for life after brutally murdering frail grandmother
Name: Yat-ming Lai.
Died: September 2, 2022.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Beating.
Location: Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Disability: Developmental disability.
Details:
Yat-ming was found dead, his body covered in bruises.
Case Status:
Shing-tai Lai (Mother), charged with murder.
His aunt, charged with child neglect.
Sources:
Mother of murdered 5 year old boy was remanded in a mental health facility in Hong Kong
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), charged with involuntary manslaughter, dependent abuse, and neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.
Sources:
Davenport man charged with neglecting bedridden mother causing death
Mary Kelting Obituary – Davenport, IA
Name Unknown.
Died: September 1, 2022.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Ratmalana, Western Province, Sri Lanka.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.
Details:
This man’s son was arrested after having allegedly beaten him to death and injured his wife.
Case Status:
His son has been arrested.
Name: Leon Apler.
Died: August 29, 2022.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Drowning, head injury.
Location: St. Johann, Tirol, Austria.
Disability: SYNGAP1.
Details:
Leon’s father claimed that he had been mugged, and that Leon had fallen into the River Ache, where he was found dead from drowning and a head injury. However, investigators believe Leon’s father faked the mugging in order to cover up Leon’s murder.
Leon’s favorite toy was a huge stuffed lion. He loved bubbles and “everything that spins”.
Case Status:
Florian Apler (Father), charged with murder.
Sources:
Drowned in Ache – Leon (6) begins his last journey
Dad who claims he was mugged has been arrested for murder of his disabled son
Austria tragedy as disabled boy, 6, drowns after his father was ‘knocked unconscious’
Name: Amora Lou Milbourne.
Died: August 27, 2022.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Heat stroke.
Location: Cary, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Chromosome deletion; prematurity, developmental delay, congenital heart disease, feeding difficulty, stroke.
Details:
Amora’s mother allegedly left her and her little sister Trinity in her car parked outside a gambling establishment, while she spent six hours gaming inside. The sisters died from hyperthermia; when their mother returned to find them unresponsive, she reportedly took 30-45 minutes to get them to the hospital, where they were declared dead. Their mother had been previously investigated by child protective services, who sent social workers to make sure that Amora and Trinity were being taken to medical appointments and properly supervised. The family was getting 40 hours of home health services per week for Amora.
Case Status:
Launice Shanique Battle (Mother), charged with two counts of murder.
Sources:
Cary mom admitted to leaving girls in hot car while gambling; autopsy reveals death by hyperthermia with decaying present
Cary mother charged with murdering 2 children had multiple previous reports of neglect
NC mother charged with murder after children die in hot car, police say
North Carolina mom admitted to leaving girls in hot car at play; Autopsy shows death from hyperthermia with decomposing gift – North Carolina News
Autopsies released on two Cary toddlers found in hot car. Mother charged with murder.
‘Something ain’t right’: Family of mother accused of killing daughters hadn’t heard from her in weeks