Status: Arrested/Charged – Page 3 – Disability Day of Mourning

Joyce Gaskins

a middle-aged dark skinned Black woman looks to the right, appearing to be mid-conversation Name: Joyce Elizabeth Gaskins.
Died: November 15, 2024.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Unspecified mental illness.

Details:
Joyce’s neighbor found her dead in her bedroom and called the police. Her son was arrested on suspicion of strangling her and then putting some of her mental health medication in her mouth to try to pass it off as an overdose.

Joyce was a devout Christian who liked sewing, debate, and watching horror and mystery movies. She was the oldest of seven children and had five children of her own.

Case Status:
Ajay Wiggins (Son) was charged with murder. He has been hospitalized for a psychological evaluation and treatment.

Sources:
Joyce Elizabeth Gaskins – View Obituary & Service Information
FOX45: Police say son tried to stage overdose in mother’s death on Druid Hill Avenue
Baltimore man charged with murder of his mother, police say – CBS Baltimore
Baltimore man charged with first-degree murder of his 64-year-old mother in West Baltimore

Selena Kellum

Name: Selena Kellum.
Died: November 15, 2024.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Unspecified abuse and neglect.
Location: Sebring, Florida, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Selena was found dead in her mother’s garage, wearing only a diaper. She was extremely malnourished and covered in injuries in multiple stages of healing, and had been tied to the garage door.

Case Status:
Diana Natasha Mack (Adoptive Mother), charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and destroying evidence.

Sources:
Hernando mother remains worried about 12-year-old daughter’s whereabouts after other daughter’s murder
Former DCF employee accused of abusing, killing adopted daughter in Sebring: ‘Horrific crime’
Birth mother of 13-year-old believed to be murdered shares concern for other child adopted by suspect
Woman charged with abuse and first-degree murder of adopted daughter

Louise Lewallen

Name: Louise Wilda Greenway Lewallen.
Died: November 10, 2024.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Lula, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Wheelchair user.

Details:
After police arrested Louise’s son on unrelated charges, they decided to check on Louise, since her son was her caregiver; but they found Louise’s body, sitting in her wheelchair, in the yard of her home. She had been fatally shot.

Case Status:
Wesley Lamar Lewallen (Son) is charged with malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault.

Sources:
Louise Wilda Greenway Lewallen’s Obituary
Elderly woman in wheelchair found dead outside home, son charged with murder
Suspect charged with murder after shooting death in Banks County

Esther Nakakande

No Photo Name: Esther Nakakande.
Died: November 9, 2024.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Starvation, torture.
Location: Mairye Village, Wakiso District, Central Region, Uganda.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
When one of Esther’s relatives came to visit her, he was horrified to find her dead. Esther’s relatives found that her body was covered in wounds, and she was emaciated. They believe her father and stepmother, who have been arrested, tortured Esther and did not feed her enough in the four months she stayed with them before she died.

Case Status:
Elemiya Kibirige (Father), arrested on suspicion of murder.
Justine Zalwango (Stepmother), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sources:
Wakiso Couple Netted for Starving Disabled Daughter to Death
Couple Held Over Death of Disabled Girl

Phyllis Walburn

Name: Phyllis Walburn.
Died: October 31, 2024.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Oxygen disconnected.
Location: Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Bedridden, chronic illness.

Details:
Phyllis’s son allegedly removed her oxygen tube and dumped large amounts of water on her. Police responded to the home and found Phyllis unconscious, with bruises on her neck. She was taken to the hospital, where she spent a week in a coma before dying. Police say that Phyllis’s son confessed to his actions, saying that she “needed to die”.

Phyllis was a country music fan who loved cooking for her family.

Case Status:
Chad Walburn (Son), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Son ‘murdered his bedridden mom by ripping out oxygen tube’
Son wanted bedridden mother to die so he yanked oxygen tube and doused her with water: Cops
Erie man faces 1st-degree murder after police say he admits to removing mom’s oxygen
Coroner rules Erie woman’s death a homicide after a week in a coma
Phyllis Elaine Walburn Obituary 2024
Erie woman dies week after son accused of removing her oxygen, dumping water on her

Malka Semenduyeva

Name: Malka Semenduyeva.
Died: October 25, 2024.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.
Disability: Deaf.

Details:
Police responded to a 911 call to find Malka and her son with multiple stab wounds. Malka was dead; her son, who was badly wounded, was able to tell the police that his brother had stabbed them both.

“I think we just lost an angel,” said one of Malka’s neighbors, who remembers her as one of the kindest women she had ever met.

Malka’s wounded son is expected to recover.

Case Status:
Vadim Semenduyev (Son), charged with murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Sources:
Brooklyn man nabbed in stabbing death of 72-year-old deaf mom
Deaf woman fatally stabbed by relative in Brooklyn was ‘an angel,’ neighbor says

Lalita Dubey

No Photo Name: Lalita Dubey.
Died: October 19, 2024.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Malnutrition/dehydration.
Location: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Disability: Disabled elder; bedridden.

Details:
Lalita lived with her son, who cared for her; but when her son left for vacation, he allegedly left her behind. Her other son, who went to her house to check on her when he learned what had happened, found her dead of hunger and thirst. She had been unable to get out of her bed to get water, food, or medication.

Case Status:
Arun (Son) was charged with unintentional murder and violation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act.

Sources:
Bhopal Shocker: Son Goes Out of City, Leaving Bedridden Mother Locked Inside House, She Dies Due to Hunger and Thirst
Elderly woman dies in Bhopal after son locks her inside home, goes out of city
MP: Man Locks Elderly Mother Inside Room Of House In Nishatpura To Head Outstation, Woman Dies

7-day-old girl

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: October 10, 2024.
Age at death: 7 days.
Cause of death: Asphyxiation.
Location: Cheongju-si, South Korea.
Disability: Congenital disorder of the arms.

Details:
In the hospital where she was born, and only a week after her birth, this baby girl was found dead from suffocation with her face down. Her parents said they had put her to bed face-up, but woken to discover her face-down. Since she was too young to have rolled over by herself, investigators were suspicious.

The baby’s parents were initially charged with manslaughter, but police say that evidence found on the parents’ phones proves that they had deliberately planned to kill the child, upgrading the charge to murder. They also say that the couple complained to their gynecologist that they should have had a prenatal diagnosis by ultrasound, and that the gynecologist responded by telling them where the care home had no CCTV cameras and offered to issue the infant’s death certificate.

Case Status:
Her parents and their gynecologist are all charged with murder.

Sources:
In connection with the mysterious death of a one-week-old disabled infant at a postpartum care center
Infants in postpartum care center died. Mother in her 30s arrested
Cheongju disabled child murder case
A biological mother in her 30s accused of killing a baby born with an arm disability has been arrested

Carmel McDougall

Name: Carmel McDougall.
Died: September 18, 2024.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Brain trauma.
Location: Roosevelt, New York, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Carmel died from head injuries sustained after a fall. According to video recordings from their home security system, the fall happened because Carmel’s son put her in a headlock and swung her around, causing her to lose her balance; police say he was “frustrated with [her] declining health”. Videos from two weeks before show her daughter “constrict[ing] her mother’s ability to move and breathe”.

Carmel was born in Jamaica and had lived in Canada before moving to New York. Her passion for cooking invigorated her career as a hospital dietician. Along with her own four children, she fed and cared for many children in her community. She was a devoted Christian who spent much of her time after retirement doing volunteer work for the Most Holy Rosary Church.

Case Status:
Michael Rainford McDougall (Son), charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree endangerment of a vulnerable person, and criminally negligent homicide.
Nichole McDougall Mullings (Daughter), charged with first-degree endangerment of a vulnerable person.

Sources:
LI Son Charged After Abuse Of Mother Leads To Her Death: DA
Roosevelt siblings indicted in elder abuse case, mother dead.
Obituary of Carmel McDougall

Elijah Hale

Name: Elijah Anthony Hale.
Died: September 5, 2024.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Hot water burns.
Location: Walkertown, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Elijah suffered severe burns, believed to have been inflicted when he was put into a bathtub full of scalding hot water. Elijah’s stepfather was arrested for child abuse, and Elijah was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with third-degree burns. He lived for 46 days before dying from his injuries.

Elijah loved animals and loved his family. An active, energetic child, he spent his days singing, running, and playing ball.

Case Status:
James Wilford Huff (Stepfather), charged with first-degree murder.

Sources:
Prosecutors to seek death penalty against man charged with killing 5-year-old autistic stepson
Autism Memorial: Elijah Hale
Stepfather charged with first-degree murder in death of 5-year-old autistic boy in Walkertown
Autistic boy, 4, dies after being severely burned in bathtub
Walkertown man charged with murder after death of child, Forsyth County deputies say