Status: Arrested/Charged – Page 18 – Disability Day of Mourning

Steven Earle

No Photo Name: Steven Earle.
Died: April 27, 2022.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: South Bend Township, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Unspecified disability.

Details:
Steven called police, asking for help because his son had a knife and was becoming violent. When police arrived, they found that he had been stabbed multiple times, but was still conscious and able to tell them that his son had stabbed him. He was rushed to the hospital, but died during surgery. The morning before the attack, he had texted a friend, saying that his son was becoming more controlling and was taking his phones away.

Case Status:
Travis R. Earle (Son), charged with second-degree murder; declared incompetent to stand trial, hospitalized (civil commitment). Can be tried if competency is restored.

Sources:
Man charged with murder after fatally stabbing father making 911 call
Mankato Stabbing Victim Died During Surgery in Rochester
UPDATE: Civil commitment ordered for son accused of murdering father

Tiffani Scholten

Name: Tiffani Scholten.
Died: April 18, 2022.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Rett syndrome.

Details:
Tiffani was found dead in her home, her body “extremely emaciated”. Child protection detectives said that “the care for [Tiffani] was insufficient and directly related to her death”. Because of Tiffani’s multiple medical conditions, it took more than two years of investigation before her parents were charged with murder.

Case Status:
Carrissa Scholten (Mother), charged with murder.
Aaron Paul Richardson (Mother’s partner), charged with murder.

Sources:
How a glamorous mum was charged with her ’emaciated’ child’s murder
Gold Coast mother, stepfather charged with murder of 12-year-old daughter
‘Heart-wrenching’: Man, woman charged with 2022 murder of 12-year-old Gold Coast girl
Care of 12yo ‘insufficient’ before death: cops

Cameron Forrest

Photo of a young man with pale skin and dark-brown hair, a wispy mustache on his upper lip, smiling. He is wearing a flannel shirt over a black T-shirt. Name: Cameron Paul Forrest.
Died: April 16, 2022.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Gladstone, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Autism, OCD.

Details:
Cameron’s mother and brother allegedly conspired to kill him–first by medication overdose, then by stabbing him with a knife. Cameron died from his injuries. After being treated for self-inflicted injuries and discharged from the hospital, Cameron’s mother and brother were arrested. Police say Cameron’s brother said Cameron would be better off dead because the family’s financial hardships were insurmountable.

Case Status:
Lee-Ann Rae Forrest (Mother), charged with murder.
Alex William Forrest (Brother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Disturbing details emerge of ‘horrific’ Gladstone death after murder charges laid against mother and son
Mother and brother charged over man’s stabbing murder

Richard Rutherford

Name: Richard Judson Rutherford.
Died: April 15, 2022.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Unspecified homicide.
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Mobility impaired, cognitive decline.

Details:
Richard died the victim of homicide; his husband was arrested and charged with his murder, which is being called a “mercy killing”.

Richard was a former principal dancer in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet who worked with the Canada Council for the Arts after he retired as a dancer. In his elder years, he tended his garden and watched the birds and chipmunks that came to his feeder.

Case Status:
Philippe Hébert (Husband), charged with second-degree murder.

Sources:
The ‘tragic and profoundly human’ story of Richard Rutherford and Philippe Hébert
Bail granted to Ottawa man charged with second-degree murder in the death of his spouse
Ottawa man charged with murder after elderly man found dead on Good Friday
Richard RUTHERFORD Obituary (1935 – 2022)

Mr. Chen

No Photo Name: Chen (Surname); given name unknown.
Died: April 15, 2022.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Ershui, Changhua County, Taiwan.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Mr. Chen was strangled, and his brother was arrested for the crime. Police say he had killed Mr. Chen and attempted to kill himself because he was tired of caring for his brother.

Case Status:
Mr. Chen (Brother), arrested.

Sources:
Changhua man found dead, brother injured – Taipei Times
彰化二水凶殺案老翁疑勒斃弟弟再割腕1死1傷
 彰化命案！哥哥勒斃中風弟　兄弟檔1死1命危｜蘋果新聞網｜蘋果日報

Nellie Sullivan

No Photo Name: Nellie Sullivan.
Died: April 14, 2022 (Body found).
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Unknown homicide.
Location: Candler, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia; frail elder.

Details:
Nellie’s granddaughter and her boyfriend took her out of the nursing home where she was living and brought her to live with them at their trailer. Shortly afterward, Nellie disappeared, though her caregivers continued cashing her social security checks and filling her prescriptions. Suspicious police arrested and charged the couple with fraud, animal cruelty, and concealing a death; but Nellie’s body was not found for two years, until a neighbor’s pet duck ran under the trailer and led police to the shallow grave where Nellie was buried.

A neighbor remembers Nellie as a kind woman who once made her daughter a Halloween costume out of a shower curtain.

Case Status:
Angela Wamsley (Granddaughter), charged with first-degree murder.
Mark Barnes (Granddaughter’s boyfriend), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Couple arrested for murdering grandmother after the elderly woman’s pet duck led police to her body | Daily Mail Online
Pet duck leads to discovery of woman’s body under home; suspects charged with murder
Sheriff’s Office Says N.C. Couple Charged with Killing Grandmother Sent Deputies on a ‘Wild Goose Chase’ That Was Solved by a Pet Duck
Couple charged in 2020 concealing death case lived at home where human remains found
‘I just hope this is her’: Woman hopeful human remains confirmed to be missing neighbor

Megumi Yamada

No Photo Name: Megumi Yamada.
Died: April 13, 2022.
Age at death: 46.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; bedridden.

Details:
Megumi’s mother turned up at the police station and allegedly confessed to killing her, saying that she was “tired of taking care of” Megumi. Police investigated and found Megumi dead in her home; she had been strangled and smothered with plastic wrap.

Case Status:
Fumiko Yamada (Mother), charged with murder.

Sources:
Japan woman arrested for allegedly attempting to kill ‘bedridden’ daughter who later died
‘I’m tired of taking care of her’: Japanese woman, 68, surrenders after suffocating bedridden daughter

Zada Johnson

Photo of a girl with her head wrapped in striped bedclothes. She has pale skin and curly dark-blonde hair, and is sticking her tongue out slightly. Name: Zada Faith Johnson.
Died: April 10, 2022.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Suffocation; blocked tracheotomy tube.
Location: Lykens, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Details:
Zada needed a tracheotomy tube to breathe and had an oxygen monitor set up, with an alarm that sounded if she didn’t get enough air. According to police, her baby monitor cameras recorded that Zada’s alarm had been ignored for hours the night she died, despite being clearly audible to everyone in the house. Police also say that Zada’s parents regularly left her alone at home with her teenage brother and spent money meant for her medical care on themselves.

Case Status:
Kimberly A. Johnson (Mother), charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.
Jacob K. Snyder (Mother’s partner), charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.

Sources:
Police: Couple’s negligence caused 10-year-old girl’s death in 2022
Couple charged for death of disabled 10-year-old girl in Lykens, police say
Zada Faith Johnson Obituary (2022) – Klingerstown, PA – Minnich Family Funeral Homes, Inc. – Williamstown

Rosemary Webster

Photo Unavailable Name: Rosemary Webster.
Died: March 16, 2022.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: La Quinta, California, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Rosemary died from a severe beating. Police say her daughter called them and reported that Rosemary had wanted to go visit a relative, though it was no longer safe for her to drive, and that she had “snapped” and beaten Rosemary severely, tied her up, left her, and found her dead in the morning.

Case Status:
Sally Martha Webster (Daughter), charged with murder.

Sources:
La Quinta Woman Accused Of Killing Elderly Mom Ordered To Stand Trial
Prosecutors say La Quinta woman, overwhelmed and angry over mother’s dementia, killed her

Gopichand

Photo Unavailable Name: Gopichand.
Died: February 26, 2022.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead; drowning.
Location: Nalgonda, Telangana, India.
Disability: Blind, mentally ill.

Details:
Witnesses who were part of a “huge crowd” of bystanders report seeing Gopichand’s mother push him into a canal because “he was troubling her too much”. Several people tried to rescue the boy, but he was swept away by the strong current and is presumed dead.

Case Status:
N Shailaja (Mother), charged with attempted murder.

Sources:
Boy dies as mom pushes him into canal
Telangana: Mother pushes blind teenage son into canal
Mother took a dreadful step in Telangana, pushed the minor son into the canal, know what was the reason