Noe Valencia-Hernandez

No PhotoName: Noe Valencia-Hernandez.
Died: December 8, 2017.
Age at death: Adult.
Cause of death: Hypothermia.
Location: Radium Springs, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Schizophrenia.

Details:
Noe’s brother and sister-in-law allegedly kept him in an unheated shed in their backyard. One night, with the temperature below freezing, they found him dead from hypothermia.

Case Status:
Cecelia Hernandez (Sister-in-law), charged with abuse of a resident resulting in death; hung jury, mistrial. New trial likely.

Source:
Jury deadlocks in case of woman allegedly locking up disabled relative

Mariah Woods

Photo of Mariah Woods, a toddler girl with fair skin and blonde hair in two ponytails. She is wearing a pink formal dress and has a big pink gift ribbon glued to her hair; she is pretending to feed a baby doll.Name: Mariah Kay Woods.
Died: December 2, 2017.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Chloroform poisoning.
Location: Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired; wore leg braces.

Details:
When Mariah disappeared from her bed, her community searched for her for six days before her body was found. Authorities suspect that she was kidnapped, probably sexually assaulted, and murdered by her mother’s boyfriend.

Case status:
Earl Kimrey (Mother’s boyfriend), charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.

Source:
Date set in 3-year-old Mariah Woods murder trial
Earl Kimrey arrested in case of missing 3-year-old Mariah Woods
Where is Mariah Woods? FBI joins hunt for missing 3-year-old North Carolina girl
Officials say body of 3-year-old Mariah Woods recovered in Pender County
Warrants explain charges against Kimrey in Mariah Woods case
Toddler Mariah Woods’ Body Found at the Bottom of a Creek!
Explosive documents detail 3-year-old Mariah Woods alleged sex abuse before tot found dead in creek, CLAIMS mommy knew
Child’s remains found in creek probably those of 3-year-old who vanished in the night, feds say

Katie Kearns

Close-up photo of a blonde woman with fair skin; her hair is tied back, her eyes lined with eyeliner. She is wearing a pendant on a thin chain and smiling, mouth closed.Name: Katie Kearns.
Died: November 17, 2017.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Coal City, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
Katie was a bartender who “lived every day like it was her last”. When Katie turned up missing, friends worried it had something to do with her work, because the bar where she worked was in a high-crime area. When her phone was traced, it led police to her body; she had been shot. Katie’s boyfriend was arrested, at first for concealing her death, and then for first-degree murder.

She was one of four children.

Case Status:
Jeremy Boshears (Boyfriend), charged with first-degree murder and concealing a homicide.

Source:
Jury trial begins in Joliet Outlaws murder case
Will County Murder Trial Postponed
Outlaws Murder Defendant Shouldn’t Call Expert Witness: Glasgow
Joliet Outlaw Jeremy Boshears Charged In Bartender’s Death
Katie Kearns Memorial Fund, organized by Lou Panos
Katie Kearns May Have Killed Herself: Bretz Law Firm

James Chewning

Photo of an elderly man with neat gray hair and fair skin, wearing glasses and Methodist religious vestments.Name: James Chewning.
Died: November 1, 2017.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Blunt force trauma, sepsis.
Location: Saluda, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
James’s stepson, who had financial power of attorney over him, took him out of the retirement home where he had lived since his stroke. To access his money, his stepson tied him to the bed and gagged him, refusing him medical care and beating him while he drained James’s bank account. James died from abuse and neglect.

James was a retired Methodist minister. He is remembered as “a man of God”, mentor to his community, kind and caring.

Case status:
Donald Chewning (Stepson), pleaded guilty to abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death, sentenced to 22 years.
Kathy Laine Chewning (Daughter-in-law), convicted of neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death, sentenced to 14 years.
Amber Nicole Trent (Granddaughter), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.
Nicole Krystyn Chewning (Granddaughter), charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.

Source:
Man gets 22 years for abusing elderly SC Methodist minister to death
Saluda man handed 22-year sentence after stepfather died of neglect
Fourth arrest made in case of former reverend found dead and bound to bed

Sana Iqbal

Photo of Sana Iqbal, a young woman with light skin and wavy dark-brown hair. She is wearing a big pair of sunglasses, a colorful blue and yellow scarf, and a jacket. The photo is taken outdoors.Name: Sana Iqbal.
Died: October 24, 2017.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Narsingi, Hyderabad, India.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
Sana and her husband were involved in a car accident, in which she died. Her death was initially categorized as accidental, but her family demanded that the authorities investigate further. They said that Sana had told them about her abusive husband, that she feared for her life, and that if she died, it would be murder. Repeated complaints of domestic abuse had been filed without much action.

Finally the authorities arrested Sana’s husband. Authorities suspect him of hitting her on the head with something heavy before ramming the car into a concrete divider.

Sana was a biker who made a cross-country journey to raise awareness about depression and suicide.

Case status:
Abdul Nadeem (Husband), charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Source:
Who was Sana Iqbal, the girl biker who died recently?
Famous Biker Sana Iqbal, Who Fought Depression With Speed, Tragically Dies In A Car Crash
Woman who campaigned against depression, suicide dies in accident
Husband, in-laws, planned her death, alleges Sana Iqbal’s mother
Biker Sana Iqbal death: Husband Nadeem says he’s innocent, denies allegations of murder
biker: What killed Hyderabad’s most loved bikerni?
Sana Iqbal’s accident ‘pre-planned murder by her husband’, says mother of cross-country biker
Hyderabad rider Sana Iqbal’s husband arrested in accident case, gets bail

Masako Kumada

No PhotoName: Masako Kumada.
Died: October 16, 2017.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Otawara City, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified chronic illness.

Details:
Ms. Kumada’s husband allegedly slit her throat with a knife because he was “worried about their future as a married couple”.

Case status:
Masao Kumada (Husband), arrested on suspicion of murder.

Source:
Tochigi man stabs bedridden wife to death

William Dubois

No PhotoName: William Dubois.
Died: October 14, 2017.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Blunt force trauma.
Location: Sun City West, Arizona, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
When William died from blunt-force trauma, he had twenty-six broken ribs in different stages of healing. His daughter was arrested on suspicion of beating him to death.

William was a retired accountant who had served in the US Navy during World War II. He lived to see ten great-grandchildren born.

Case status:
Susan Marcinko (Daughter), charged with manslaughter.

Source:
MCSO: Woman arrested in connection to death of her father in Sun City after fight
Find a Grave: William Melvin DuBois
Woman says 91-year-old father attacked her; his autopsy shows 26 broken ribs
Woman arrested in death of 91-year-old father at Sun City West home
Maricopa County Woman Charged In Father’s Death
Daughter charged with the murder of nonagenarian father claims he made sexual advances towards her

Yuk-Kwai Liu

No PhotoName: Yuk-Kwai Liu.
Died: October 8, 2017.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Knife wounds.
Location: Kwai Chung, Hong Kong.
Disability: Chronic illness (heart and kidney disease; arthritis), wheelchair user.

Details:
Ms. Liu’s son decided it was “too tough” to take care of her, so he allegedly stabbed her to death.

Case status:
Mr. Lee (Son), charged with murder.

Source:
Woman, 77, found dead at home after son jumps from window
Suicide bid of son fails as mom found hacked dead
Man, 34, arrested in killing of ill mother

Leon Hignite

Photo of a man with brown hair and fair skin, wearing a brown shirt, squinting slightly into the sun. He has  the beginnings of a receding hairline, and he is smiling in a friendly manner.Name: Leon Dewayne Hignite.
Died: October 4, 2017.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Blunt head trauma; neglect.
Location: Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Blind, hearing impaired.

Details:
Leon’s wife is accused of fatally assaulting him, then leaving him to die for several days before setting the house on fire.

Leon liked karate, drag racing, hunting, and fishing. He was a retired tool-and-die maker.

Case Status:
Carol Hignite (Wife), charged with murder, knowingly neglecting an elderly person, and third-degree arson. First trial ended with a deadlocked jury; second trial underway.

Sources:
74-year-old Lexington woman charged with murdering her husband will not get bond reduction
Obituary for Leon Dewayne Hignite
Carol Ann Hignite trial: What’s happened so far

Swarna Kapoor

Photo of Swarna Kapoor. She has fair skin, a round face, and dark brown hair neatly pulled back. She is wearing glasses and has a dark-red bindi on her forehead. Her dress is red with a wide yellow collar.Name: Swarna Kapoor.
Died: September 26, 2017.
Age at death: 62.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: New Delhi, India.
Disability: Mobility impaired.

Details:
When Swarna saw her daughter-in-law hitting her grandchildren, she stepped in and tried to protect the children. Her daughter-in-law grew angry and allegedly bludgeoned her to death with her own walker.

Case status:
Kanchan Kapoor (Daughter-in-law), charged with murder.

Source:
Woman bludgeons handicapped mother-in-law to death, burns body
Delhi woman kills 62-year-old handicapped mother-in-law
Woman bumps off her disabled mother-in-law
Woman beats disabled mother-in-law to death, burns body