Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Name: Leela Gopalan.
Died: June 6, 2022.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Vatakara, Kerala, India.
Disability: Cancer.
Details:
Leela’s husband strangled her and then hanged himself.
Case Status:
Mithal Gopalan (Husband), deceased.
Name: Jo Ann Henry Harris.
Died: June 1, 2022.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Beaten.
Location: Trussville, Alabama, USA.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Jo Ann’s husband reportedly called his son and said that he was going to kill his wife and himself. The son called the police, and after a standoff that lasted a few hours, Jo Ann’s husband shot himself in the face, though superficially enough that he was able to walk out of the house, and was then hospitalized. Police found Jo Ann’s body in the house.
Case Status:
John B. Harris (Husband), charged with murder.
Sources:
81-year-old Trussville man indicted in wife’s strangulation/suffocation death
UPDATED: Trussville PD identifies 80-year-old man charged in killing of his wife
80-year-old Trussville man kills wife, shoots himself in face during standoff, police say
UPDATE: John B. Harris is charged with murder in the slaying of of wife Jo Ann Henry Harris, 82. Authorities believe both the victim and the suspect suffered from dementia. https://t.co/0sGtGDFgxK
82-year-old woman dead, 80-year-old husband hospitalized after Trussville incident
Name: King Dewey.
Died: May 31, 2022.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Port Arthur, Texas, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome, suspected autism.
Details:
King was found dead in his home, weighing only 19 pounds. Police say he had been locked in a closet for some time.
Case Status:
Tina Louis (Mother), charged with injury to a child.
Kristen Louis (Sister), pleaded guilty to two counts of injury to a child, sentenced to 30 years.
Jaylin Jevon Lewis, found guilty on two counts of injury to a child.
Sources:
Third suspect arrested in connection with death of 4-year-old boy found in Port Arthur home
Mom and Aunt Charged in Death of Disabled Toddler Boy Found Emaciated
Mother, daughter charged in handicapped child’s death
Police release new details about death of 3-year-old emaciated special needs child
Police: Emaciated 3-year-old special needs child weighed 19 pounds at time of death
Third suspect sought in ’emaciated’ toddler’s death
Name: Joan Patricia Ffolkes.
Died: May 30, 2022.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Joan was allegedly stabbed by her daughter. She died after three days in the hospital. Police say that Joan’s daughter told them that she found it difficult to care for Joan and had been planning her murder for several months.
Joan was a legal secretary. After retirement, she grew a rose garden.
Case Status:
Brigette Ffolkes (Daughter), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life.
Sources:
Tallahassee woman gets life sentence for killing mother with dementia
Tallahassee woman indicted for murder in death of her elderly mother
Woman stabbed by daughter dies from injuries on Memorial Day, charges upgraded to 1st degree murder
Joan Patricia Ffolkes Obituary (2022)
Correction: Mother of administrative law judge stabbed in her home, daughter arrested
Mother of Administrative Judge Killed by Daughter
Name: Hena.
Died: May 26, 2022.
Age at death: 42.
Cause of death: Strangulation, head injury.
Location: Alappuzha, Kerala, India.
Disability: Bipolar disorder.
Details:
Hena had recently married, and her husband, a traditional healer, was angry that her family was not providing him more dowry payments. During an argument, he became violent and choked her, slamming her head against a wall and killing her. Investigators discovered that her husband had been harassing her family for money because she had been mentally ill from childhood and he believed he deserved a higher dowry.
Demanding dowries for marriage is illegal in India, and doing so is often associated with domestic abuse, suicide, and sometimes, as in this case, murder.
Case Status:
Appukuttan (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder.
Sources:
Man arrested in suspected dowry killing in Kerala
Kollam woman’s death a case of murder, husband nabbed
Death of newly-wed in Cherthala; police says its murder, dowry abuse, husband arrested
Hena was not released, and neighbors only learned of the death shortly after the funeral
Name: Kimberly Bridges.
Died: May 25, 2022 (Body found).
Age at death: 65.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.
Disability: Depression.
Details:
When Kimberly went missing, her husband told police she had left him. Months later, when her body was found in the wilderness, having been shot in the head, her husband told police that she had depression and had asked him to kill her.
Case Status:
Robert Bridges (Husband), charged with murder.
Sources:
Man charged in wife’s death after body is found by tour group north of Fairbanks
Husband Arrested for Murder in Death of Kimberly Bridges of Fox
Tour group finds missing woman’s body in Alaska, officials say. Husband is charged
Name: Pankaj.
Died: May 23, 2022.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Disability: Intellectual disability.
Details:
Pankaj’s brother allegedly cut his throat and tried to burn his body. Police say he confessed to the crime during interrogation.
Case Status:
Ashok (Brother), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Sources:
Man Kills Mentally Challenged Brother In Uttar Pradesh; Arrested: Police
Name Unknown.
Died: May 23, 2022.
Age at death: 30s.
Cause of death: Sleeping pill overdose.
Location: Incheon, South Korea.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.
Details:
This woman’s mother allegedly poisoned her with sleeping pills.
Case Status:
Her mother, charged with murder.
Sources:
Mother arrested on charge of killing disabled daughter
Mother charged with killing disabled daughter
Name: Eli Hart.
Died: May 20, 2022.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Mound, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Townes-Brock syndrome.
Details:
Eli was found dead in the trunk of his mother’s car after she shot him dead with a shotgun.
Eli liked to play with matchbox cars and wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up. He had recently learned how to fish, and had such a talent for it that he caught more fish on his first day than his father, who owns a bait shop and had been fishing all his life.
Case Status:
Julissa Thaler (Mother), convicted of first- and second-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole.
Sources:
Julissa Thaler sentenced to life in prison for murdering 6-year-old son, Eli Hart
Father of slain 6-year-old takes stand in mom’s trial: ‘He was everything to me’
Mental health records sought by lawyer representing woman accused of killing 6-year-old son
Woman charged with shooting 6-year-old son whose body was found in trunk during traffic stop
Father was trying to reclaim custody of boy found slain in trunk in Mound
Family of boy killed in Mound says state didn’t do enough to protect him ‘They ignored us’
Funeral and Headstone, organized by Nikita K
Family remember the boy found dead in Mound, ‘Eli was the sweetest kid’
2 Arrested After Boy’s Body Found In Trunk; Victim Identified As Eli Hart
Mother, 28, is arrested after son, 6, is found in car trunk
Name: Jack McKenzie Ross.
Died: May 18, 2022.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Arson fire.
Location: Tyler, Texas, USA.
Disability: Mental and physical disability.
Details:
When Jack’s home caught on fire, he was trapped inside and died. Fire investigators believe Jack’s brother deliberately set the fire, knowing that Jack’s physical and mental disabilities might keep him from escaping.
Jack loved to cook, clean, and help others, and did his share of the chores at home. Jack was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, watched wrestling every Friday, and is remembered for his loving personality.
In his obituary, Jack’s family says:
The news media referred to him a ‘man with special needs’. His ‘special needs’ were to always seek out those who needed a helping hand. They did not know our Jack. He never had a need, special or otherwise. His desire was to help others. He was an “extraordinarily special person”, but not for the reasons they gave.
Case Status:
Robert Harrison Johnson IV (Half-brother), charged with murder.
Sources:
Tyler man accused of causing house fire that killed half-brother with special needs indicted on arson
Man charged with starting Smith County house fire that killed his half-brother
Man arrested for murder after allegedly starting fatal fire that killed half-brother
OFFICIALS: East Texas man arrested for murder after setting house fire that killed half-brother with special needs
Smith County man accused of starting fire which killed disabled half-brother
Police: East Texas man blames ‘spirits’ for causing fire that killed his half-brother with special needs