Status – Page 181 – Disability Day of Mourning

Gloria Sam

Name: Gloria Thomas Sam.
Died: May 8, 2002.
Age at death: 9 months.
Cause of death: Infection.
Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Chronic eczema.

Details:
Gloria had eczema, a skin condition that needed treatment; but her father, a homeopath, refused to take her to the doctor. They took the sick little girl with them to India and delayed her treatment because they were jet-lagged. By the time she was finally taken to the hospital, her skin had deteriorated to the point that an infection had taken over her body, and she died three days later.

Case Status:
Thomas Sam (Father), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 6 to 8 years, banned from practicing homeopathy.
Majnu Sam (Mother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 4 years to 5 years 4 months.

Sources:
Parents put social life before baby
Parents jailed over baby’s death
Baby Gloria’s parents jailed

Unknown Man

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: March 12, 2002.
Age at death: 50s.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disability, fronto-temporal dementia.

Details:
This man, whose name was not released, had a life-long intellectual disability, but began needing full-time care in his fifties, so he moved in with his father, his niece, and her baby son. His dementia had become quite severe, resulting in behavioral disinhibition, when he became confused and masturbated in the presence of his niece’s baby. She reacted by beating and kicking him to death.

He was a Vietnam veteran who worked stocking shelves before the dementia forced him to retire.

Case Status:
KMB (Niece), sentenced to 3-7 years.

Sources:
R v KMB [2005] NSWCCA 185 (6 May 2005)

Olga Law

No Photo Name: Olga Law.
Died: March 6, 2002.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Thames, New Zealand.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Olga’s husband drugged her with sleeping pills, bludgeoned her with a hammer, and then smothered her.

Case status:
Rex Arthur Law (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 18 months in prison, with the possibility of applying for home confinement.

Source:
Wife killer sealed his deed with a kiss
The Queen v Rex Arthur Law
‘Honourable man’ faces 9 months’ jail

Lilian Gill

Photo of Lilian Gill, a toddler girl with light skin and dark hair. Name: Lilian Leilani Gill.
Died: March 1, 2002.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: San Bernardino, California, USA.
Disability: Mother claimed she was autistic.

Details:
Lillian was killed by her mother, who then claimed that Lilian had been sent to a special school to be treated for her autism. Lilian was later found buried in the backyard.

Case status:
Sharon Michelle Gill (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to “almost 14” years in prison and 5 years probation.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Lilian Leilani Gill
Lillian Leilani Gill
Woman gets prison for child’s killing in 2002
Remains found of missing girl

Irene Ritchie

No Photo Name: Irene Agnes Ritchie.
Died: February 14, 2002.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Mount Ousley, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Heart disease, blindness; frail elder.

Details:
Irene was smothered by her son, who initially hid her body and reported her missing. Once arrested by suspicious authorities, he confessed to the crime and told them where to find her body.

At trial, the judge commented that he did not believe the murder had been a mercy killing, and that Irene’s son simply “did not like living with an elderly woman in constant pain”.

Case Status:
Geoffrey Robert Ritchie (Adopted son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 11 years 9 months to 15 years.

Sources:
R v Ritchie [2003] NSWSC 864 (19 September 2003)
15 years jail for son who suffocated terminally ill mother

Michael Snyder

Name: Michael James “Mike” Snyder.
Died: January 11, 2002.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Mike was shot by his wife during an argument; he was unarmed. His body, buried under a concrete slab in his backyard, was not found for eight years.

Case Status:
Ellen Snyder (Wife), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a firearm, tax fraud, and tampering with evidence, sentenced to 11 years and released on parole after 8 years. Could not be charged with second-degree murder since the statute of limitations had run out.

Sources:
Mike Snyder Murder: Where is Ellen Snyder Now?

Shirley Harrison

No Photo Name: Shirley Harrison.
Died: December 31, 2001.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Shirley was hospitalized after a recent stroke; her husband shot her as she lay in the hospital bed.

Case status:
Thomas Harrison (Husband), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
From ‘mercy killing’ to ‘domestic violence’: Shirley Harrison, the Chicago Media and Not Dead Yet
Man, 77, sentenced for killing his wife

Reese Baulne

Black and white photo of a man with fair skin, dark hair, and a thick mustache. Name: Reese Darren Baulne.
Died: December 30, 2001.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Reese’s parents filled their motor home with carbon monoxide, killing themselves and Reese in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Maurice Baulne (Father) and Belva Baulne (Mother), deceased.

Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer
Couple’s suicide note reveals struggle to care for son
BC COUPLE MURDER DISABLED SON AND COMMIT SUICIDE
Reese Darren Baulne (1967-2001) – Find A Grave

Brahim Dukes

No Photo Name: Brahim Dukes.
Died: December 29, 2001.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
When Brahim’s father was jailed for unpaid traffic tickets, he was left with his stepmother, under whose care Brahim starved to death.

Case status:
Audrey McDaniels (Stepmother); convicted of third degree murder; conviction was later reversed due to violation of double jeopardy rule, and she was released.

Source:
COM. v. McDANIELS | 886 A.2d 682 (2005) | a2d68231489
Autism Memorial: Brahim Dukes
Audrey McDaniels v. Winstead, et al.

Johnny Churchi

No Photo Name: Johnny Churchi.
Died: October 10, 2001.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Johnny’s mother strangled him.

Case status:
Jadwiga Miskiewicz (Mother); charged with first-degree murder; sentenced to time in a psychiatric hospital.

Source:
Autism memorial: Johnny Churchi
School Struggles To Come To Grips With Johnny’s Death