Status: Arrested/Charged – Page 33 – Disability Day of Mourning

Ja’hir Gibbons

Photo of a small African-American boy, grinning with his teeth clenched. The photo is taken at an angle. Name: Ja’hir Gibbons.
Died: March 18, 2019.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; received speech and developmental therapy.

Details:
Ja’hir was allegedly beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend, whom his mother had allegedly left to babysit him despite knowing he was abusing the boy. His body showed signs of chronic child abuse.

Ja’Hir was given the nickname “Tuga” by his big brother. His favorite superhero was The Hulk.

Case status:
Dejon Waters (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with first-degree murder.
Brittany Hyc (Mother), charged with child endangerment resulting in death.

Source:
Ja’hir Gibbons, Age 2, March 18, 2019, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Boy, 5, found covered in bruises in same apartment 2-year-old died from child abuse
Boy, 5, found ‘covered in bruises’ in home where 2-year-old boy was discovered dead from child abuse
Another 2-year-old’s death connected to DCFS, Gov. Pritzker weighs in
2 in custody in connection to death of 2-year-old boy on South Side
After toddler killed, DCFS investigating worker that said boy was ‘safe’ at home

Kazuno Soeda

Photo Unavailable Name: Kazuno Soeda.
Died: March 13, 2019.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, Japan.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Kazuno was allegedly strangled by her mother. Tokyo Reporter quotes her as having said, “My daughter had an intellectual disability, which caused unbearable trouble on a daily basis.”

Case status:
Mitsue Soeda (Mother), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
6-year-old girl strangled to death by mother
Tokyo: Woman accused of fatally strangling disabled 6-year-old daughter

Kiyoshi Suzukawa

No Photo Name: Kiyoshi Suzukawa.
Died: March 2, 2019.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; disabled elder.

Details:
Police suspect Kiyoshi’s son of strangling him to death. They say he told them that he had done it because caring for his father was stressful and he wanted to put his father out of his misery.

Case status:
Koji Suzukawa (Son), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
46-year-old man kills bedridden father, then tries to kill himself

Mary Fitzgerald

Name: Mary E. Fitzgerald.
Died: February 17, 2019.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Malnutrition, pressure sores.
Location: Rutland City, New York, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Mary had been living under the care of her daughter and grandson. When she was brought to the hospital, she was very thin and badly injured, already dying. To make things even worse, she had to die without pain medication, allegedly because a nurse at the nursing home where she spent her last days stole her morphine.

Mary had worked at a delicatessen and bakery. She had three grandchildren.

Case status:
Marie E. Fitzgerald (Daughter), charged with murder and neglect of a vulnerable adult.
Christopher Preedom (Grandson), charged with murder and neglect of a vulnerable adult.
Dermot J. Hanna (Nurse), charged for fraud and exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

Source:
Daughter and grandson charged with second-degree murder in death of 85-year-old
Mother and son charged with murder of grandmother
Woman and son may face homicide charge for grandmother’s death
Mary E. Fitzgerald

Chun Li

No Photo Name: Chun Li.
Died: February 4, 2019.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Yulin, Shaanxi Province, China.
Disability: Polio; intellectual disability, mobility impaired.

Details:
Chun Li lived with her father until a woman approached them, saying her 65-year-old father wanted to marry Ms. Li, because of burial customs in Shaanxi Province, where they lived.

Tradition says that a person cannot rest in peace unless they are buried with a spouse. People who die single may be buried with paper dolls; the wealthy can afford to buy the body of an unidentified person in order to bury their relatives with a posthumously-married “spouse.”

The man’s daughter decided against purchasing someone’s bones because that was a crime and decided to approach Chun Li’s father instead. When Chun Li’s father agreed to marry her to a 65-year-old man, the agreement was that her husband would care for her, and after he died, her daughter-in-law and grandson would care for her. When she died a natural death, she would be buried next to him as his spouse, to allow him to rest in peace. They agreed to pay a bride price, and Chun Li was forced to marry him.

Four years later, Chun Li’s husband had grown worried that if he died first, she might not be buried with him because she was disabled. Allegedly, he decided that Chun Li should die first and set his house on fire, killing Ms. Li.

Case status:
Liantang Zhu (Husband), arrested; confessed to murder.

Source:
Man who wed disabled woman for ritual admits burning her to death
Chinese man, 69, married disabled woman, 35, for burial ritual. Then he burned her to death
Chinese Man Who Wed Disabled Woman Half His Age for Folk Burial Ritual Burns Her Alive

Donna Featherstone

Name: Donna Featherstone.
Died: January 25, 2019.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Septic shock, pneumonia.
Location: Pleasant Grove, Utah, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired.

Details:
Donna was found on her couch, in very poor condition, and the paramedic who took her to the hospital reported that she said had been forced to sit in her own waste and not been moved from the couch for the past two weeks. She was taken to the hospital in poor condition and died the next day from pneumonia and sepsis due to infected pressure sores.

She and her husband had worked as owners and administrators of a nursing home. Her cousin remembers her infectious smile and bubbly personality; getting a hug from her was, she says, “like a huge pillow just enveloping you.” Her hobby was researching her family’s genealogy.

Case status:
Mackey Featherstone (Son), charged with aggravated abuse of an elder adult.

Source:
Donna Jeanne Austin Featherstone (1940-2019)
Police: Pleasant Grove man arrested after leaving mother in deplorable conditions
Donna Jeanne Featherstone – View Obituary & Service Information
Pleasant Grove woman dies after living two weeks in ‘horrendous’ conditions

Anita Arias

No Photo Name: Anita Arias.
Died: January 21, 2019.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Dehydration, starvation, hyperglycemia.
Location: Melbourne, Florida, USA.
Disability: Dementia, diabetes.

Details:
When Anita’s grandson brought her to the hospital, she was unresponsive. Doctors reported her poor condition and many infected bedsores to police. Investigators described her house, where she had been living with her grandson and his wife, as filthy and cluttered, with evidence of severe neglect. Anita died of dehydration and starvation with severe bedsores and a blood sugar that was as high as the test could measure.

Case status:
Allen Arias (Grandson), charged with aggravated manslaughter of an elderly person.

Source:
Melbourne man arrested after grandmother, 87, died from lack of medication and care, police say
Florida man charged with grandmother’s death; deputies say her bed was filled with maggots
Melbourne man charged after grandmother’s death
Melbourne man arrested after grandmother, 87, died from lack of medication and care, police say
Affidavit for Arrest Warrant (Allen Glenn Arias)

Sudesh Gupta

No Photo Name: Sudesh Gupta.
Died: January 9, 2019.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Disability: Paralysis.

Details:
Sudesh’s wife told police that masked assailants had killed her husband. However, police say that when they questioned her further, she told them she had been frustrated at the expense of medical treatment and the effort of caring for him and strangled him.

Case status:
Subash Kumari (Wife), charged with murder.

Source:
Murder Mystery solved in Jammu : Wife killed Bed-ridden Husband
Elderly woman strangulates bedridden husband to death: Police
Gandhi Nagar police solved murder case; accused apprehended

George Rusnack

No Photo Name: George Rusnack.
Died: January 9, 2019.
Age at death: 73.
Cause of death: Necrotic pressure ulcers.
Location: Collier County, Florida, USA.
Disability: Dementia, stroke, mobility impaired.

Details:
George lived with two family friends who served as his caregivers. A home-care agency reported that George was poorly cared for, but when George was finally taken to the hospital, he was too sick to recover. After he died from severe, untreated bedsores, his caregivers came under scrutiny. They are now accused of neglect, allegedly having left him dirty, let pressure sores develop, and denied him his medication while they took money out of his bank account.

Case status:
Ronald Everwine, convicted of aggravated manslaughter with culpable negligence of an elderly or disabled person and exploitation of the elderly for less than $10,000; sentenced to 4 years and due to be released after 1 year.
Jennifer Everwine, charged with aggravated manslaughter with culpable negligence of an elderly or disabled person and exploitation of the elderly for less than $10,000.

Source:
Collier County caretaker couple arrested for negligent death of bedridden man
CCSO: Caretaker couple charged in January death of bedridden Golden Gate Estates man
Caretaker couple arrested for negligent death of bedridden Golden Gate Estates man
Couple charged with neglect in elderly man’s death

Willie Moore

Name: Willie Frank Moore.
Died: January 8, 2019.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
A neighbor had not seen Willie for some time and called the police to check on him. The welfare check triggered a five-hour standoff, after which police found Willie dead.

Neighbors remember him as a kind man who used to help his neighbor move her trash cans.

Case status:
Chivalery Alexander Moore (Son), charged with murder.

Source:
Man shot by deputy during Durham standoff charged in father’s death
WARRANT: Kinston man texted about killing dad, sent photos
Obituary for Willie Frank Moore