Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Criste Reimer.
Died: August 14, 2007.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Fall injury.
Location: Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Hydrocephalus, neurofibromatosis.
Details:
Criste’s husband threw her from a fourth-floor balcony to her death.
Case status:
Stanley Reimer (Husband), pled guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.
Source:
Sisters of woman thrown from balcony wanted to keep her away from husband
Name: Jesse Weaver.
Died: July 8, 2007.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Seroquel overdose.
Location: Lincoln County, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Mental illness.
Details:
Jesse’s mother abruptly withdrew his psychiatric medication. Jesse committed suicide about three weeks later.
Case status:
Traci Weaver (Mother); Wade Weaver (Father). Department of Social Services concluded that they were responsible for emotional abuse, medical neglect, and failure to protect Jesse.
Source:
Children lost in the system
Child Fatality Review: Jesse Weaver
Name: Kate Bugmy.
Died: June 28, 2007.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Sepsis, malnutition.
Location: Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, intellectual disability.
Details:
Kate’s father had been her primary caregiver. When he died suddenly, her mother and sister took over. They stopped bringing Kate to her day program, and her relatives noticed that she seemed sad. She died of malnutrition and systemic blood poisoning from infected bedsores.
Case status:
Daphne Hall (mother) and Jenna Bugmy (sister) were not charged.
Source:
FINDING AFTER AN INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF KATE THERESE BUGMY
NSW bed sore death could have been prevented: Coroner
System failed disabled woman who died at 26
Inquiry into services provided or funded by the department of Ageing, disability and home care
Name: Daniel Christopher Benoit.
Died: June 25, 2007.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Suffocated.
Location: Fayetteville, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Fragile X (Disputed).
Details:
Daniel’s father suffocated him in a murder-suicide. He also killed Daniel’s mother, Nancy.
Daniel might not have had Fragile X; a family member reported that he did not, but the media widely reported Daniel’s Fragile X as having been the stressor that drove his father to kill him.
Case status:
Chris Benoit (Father), deceased.
Source:
Christopher Michael BENOIT
Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide – Wikipedia
The tragic family secret Benoit kept from the world
Attorney: Couple argued over care of mentally retarded 7-year-old son
Sandra Toffoloni talks about her sister’s murder at the hands of Chris Benoit
SON’S DISABILITY SUGGESTED AS FACTOR IN BENOIT MURDER-SUICIDE
Chris Benoit Conspiracy Theories Debunked: What Really Happened?
Name: Raelynn Tiana Mascal.
Died: May 18, 2007.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma, shaken baby.
Location: Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Speech and motor skills delays.
Details:
Raelynn was beaten to death by her mother.
Case status:
Michelle Lepowski (Mother), involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 12 years.
Source:
Mom gets 12 years for killing child; Prosecutor sought longer sentence for ‘monster’ who beat 2-year-old
Case goes to jury in woman’s murder trial
Mom gets 12 years for killing child; Prosecutor sought longer sentence for ‘monster’ who beat 2-year-old
Name: Janine Penelope Brockie.
Died: May 10, 2007.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Ringwood, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Stroke, TBI.
Details:
Janine was likely being physically abused by her partner in the year before her death. After one beating, in which Janine was punched and kicked, and then left in her bed for most of the next day without medical care, Janine died from a severe head injury.
Case Status:
Brian Robert Andrew (Partner), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 7-10 years in prison.
Sources:
R v Andrew [2008] VSC 138 (1 May 2008)
Man faces court over partner’s death
Bash killer gets 10 years
Name: Baden Bond.
Died: May 1-16, 2007 (Approximate; body not found).
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Abandonment.
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
Baden’s father took him to a boat ramp and abandoned him there. His body was never found; it is likely he died of drowning or exposure. Authorities determined that his motive had been that he was “tired of looking after” the boy. Baden’s mother helped cover up the crime.
Case Status:
Shane Arthur Simpson (Father), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 9.6 to 12 years in prison.
Diane Colleen Simpson (Mother), pleaded guilty to accessory to manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years and released after almost 2 years.
Sources:
R v Simpson
Death by Neglect
‘Sorry’: Father says he patted toddler on the head then abandoned him without looking back
Drug-addicted father jailed for abandoning toddler at boat ramp to die
The Uncounted
Name: Janene Devine.
Died: April 16, 2007.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Infection, starvation.
Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.
Details:
Janene’s husband, a registered nurse, did not want anyone else to help his wife. He refused placement at a care home for her, and even rejected an offer of free installation of a wheelchair ramp so that she could get out of the house, preferring to carry her instead. Then he neglected her so badly that she died from infected bedsores and starvation.
Case status:
Andrew Devine (Husband), pled guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 6 months to 1 year.
Source:
Inquest into the death of Janene Devine
Dead Mother ‘Looked Like A Skeleton’
Andrew Devine jailed over death of wife Janene, who suffered multiple sclerosis and weighed 30kg at her death
“Filthy and infested with vermin”
Man refused help for wife with MS
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
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