Status – Page 172 – Disability Day of Mourning

Samantha Collins

Name: Samantha Collins.
Died: March 22, 2007.
Age at death: 29.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
Samantha’s boyfriend hit her in the head and killed her; then he dismembered and hid her body.

She was the mother of a toddler son.

Case status:
Ian Charles Borbely (Boyfriend), convicted of second-degree murder and indignity to a body; sentenced to 17 years to life.

Source:
MANDEL: Muskoka murderer who cut up spouse’s body loses appeal
Borbely found guilty in Samantha Collins murder
Argument before eviction led to murder: Crown

Brandon Williams

Name: Brandon Williams.
Died: March 22, 2007.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Pima County, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Brandon died after regular abuse by his mother and two of her housemates. He had been beaten and poisoned with overdoses of Tylenol.

Brandon loved watching the Disney Channel, especially “Lilo & Stitch”.

Case status:
Diane Marsh (Mother), convicted of child abuse and negligent homicide; sentenced to 10 years; paroled after 3.8 years.
Mark Moss (Housemate), failing to report child abuse, charges dropped.
Flower Thompson (Housemate), convicted of murder, sentenced to 10 years.

Source:
People You’ll See in Hell: Diane Marsh, Flower Tompson And Mark Lee Moss
Murderpedia: Diane Marsh
Brandon Williams
Autism memorial: Brandon Williams

Summer Phelps

Photo of Summer Phelps, a small girl with red hair, wearing a fancy yellow dress. Name: Summer Phelps.
Died: March 10, 2007.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Drowned.
Location: Spokane, Washington, USA.
Disability: Developmentally disabled.

Details:
Summer was made to clean her soiled clothing for ten hours, then drowned by her stepmother in the dirty water.

Case status:
Adriana Lytle (Stepmother), plead guilty to homicide by abuse, sentenced to 65 1/2 years.
Jonathan Lytle (Father), found guilty of homicide by abuse, sentenced to 75 years in prison.

Source:
Angelizd’s Place: Summer Phelps
Abuse Angels: Summer Phelps

Elsie Crutchley

No Photo Name: Elsie Patricia Crutchley.
Died: February 5, 2007.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Poisoning.
Location: Taumarunui, New Zealand.
Disability: Terminal stomach cancer.

Details:
Elsie was poisoned by her son, with an overdose of painkillers and anxiolytics. She was dead within hours.

Case status:
Ian Crutchley (Son); convicted of attempted murder, sentenced to 6 months probation and 150 hours of community service.

Source:
Man who tried to kill mother avoids jail term
Man guilty of mother’s attempted murder
Man on trial for terminally ill mother’s death

Kawliga Potts

No Photo Name: Kawliga Potts.
Died: January 27, 2007.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Developmental delay, possible fetal alcohol syndrome.

Details:
Kawliga was deprived of food and clothing by his foster parent. He died of injuries from being hit in the head.

Case status:
Lily Choy (Foster mother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 8 years.

Source:
Alberta foster boy’s death a direct result of child welfare failure: judge
New sentence for woman in death of foster child
Report to the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General – Public fatality inquiry into the death of Kawliga Potts

Richard Fowler

Name: Richard Fowler.
Died: December 13, 2006.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Back injury.

Details:
Richard, disabled by a back injury and having received a worker’s comp payout, was divorced but still lived with his wife. His wife, who wanted the money, plotted with her partner to beat Richard to death.

Case Status:
Angela Dawn Fowler (Ex-wife), pled guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy, sentenced to 13 years in prison and 5 years probation.
Robert Lee Heydman (Wife’s partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Sources:
Who is Angela Dawn Fowler and what did she do?
Deadly Duo: Angela Dawn Fowler got Robert Heydman to kill her husband, Richard Fowler

Rebecca Riley

Portrait photo of Rebecca Riley, a girl with long wavy brown hair and an uncertain smile. Name: Rebecca Riley.
Died: December 13, 2006.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Drug overdose.
Location: Hull, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: ADHD, bipolar disorder.

Details:
Rebecca died of a drug overdose. Her psychiatrist had prescribed high doses of medication to begin with, but her parents gave her even more, and eventually she died of poisoning.

Case status:
Michael Riley (Father), first degree murder, life without parole.
Carolyn Riley (Mother), second degree murder, fifteen years to life.
Kayoko Kifuji (Doctor), no charges.

Source:
Rebecca Riley

Ulysses Stable

No Photo Name: Ulysses Stable.
Died: November 22, 2006.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Ulysses’s father cut his throat and left him in the bathtub to bleed out.

Case status:
Jose Stable (Father), convicted, sentenced to three-and-a-half years.

Source:
Solomon, A. (2014). Far from the tree: Parents, children and the search for identity. Scribner Classics.
Autism Memorial: Ulysses Stable
Autistic Boy Is Slashed to Death and His Father Is Charged

M.E.

No Photo Name: M.E., possibly Michael Egan.
Died: November 22 (?), 2006.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Unknown; possibly Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unknown.

Details:
M. E. was “starved and deprived [of] medical care by his parents”.

Case status:
Unknown.

Source:
Day of Mourning: The List
SSDI: Michael Egan

Sherry Lavery

Name: Sherry Lavery.
Died: September 27, 2006.
Age at death: 50.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Depression, alcoholism.

Details:
Sherry’s husband smothered her with a pillow after she told him she believed she would not recover from her alcoholism.

Sherry, a mother and grandmother, had been a political activist and a campaign manager for an MP, and regularly contributed to her local newspaper’s letters page. She loved the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.

Case Status:
Noel Lavery (Husband), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years house arrest, 3 years probation, and community service.

Sources:
Edmonton senior who smothered wife avoids jail | CBC News
Dead woman had alcohol, anti-depressants, in blood | CBC News
Killer of alcoholic wife guilty of manslaughter
Sherry Lavery Obituary (2006) – Edmonton Journal
Trial delayed by technical glitch to resume Friday | CTV News
Mental-health system needs fix