Status: Arrested/Charged – Page 47 – Disability Day of Mourning

Umesh

No Photo
Name: Umesh.
Died: May 1, 2015.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Amatekoppa, Shikaripur, India.
Disability: Physical disability.

Details:
Police first categorized Umesh’s death as a hit-and-run, but they received tips that Umesh’s brother had taken out three life insurance policies on him and killed him to collect the money. They now suspect that Umesh’s brother rented a mini-truck, drove him out to the outskirts of a village, and ran him over.

Case status:
Kumar (Brother), arrested, charged with murder.

Source:
Man held on charge of murdering disabled brother

21-year-old man

No Photo Name Unknown.
Died: March 23, 2015.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Taipei, Taiwan.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, intellectual disability.

Details:
This young man’s father, claiming his family was tired of taking care of him, allegedly strangled him to death.

Case status:
Ho Chung-ming (Father); charged with homicide.

Source:
Man kills son with cerebral palsy out of exhaustion

8-year-old boy

Photo Unavailable Name Unknown.
Died: Approx. March 21, 2015.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Amman, Jordan.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
This anonymous 8-year-old boy was allegedly murdered by his father, who said he wanted to spare his family the expense and strain of raising an autistic child.

Case status:
The boy’s father was arrested.

Source:
8-year-old male, name unknown
هالي المرضى يروون لـ”الغد” معاناتهم مع ارتفاع كلف التدريس والتأهيل

Izaltina King

Photo Unavailable Name: Izaltina King.
Died: March 19, 2015.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; needed 24-hour care.

Details:
Izaltina died when she fell to the floor and was left there for nearly 24 hours. She also had bedsores and two toes that had become necrotic.

Case status:
Steven E. King (Son), charged with neglect.

Source:
New Bedford man charged with neglect in mother’s death

Wendy Blackstone

Photo of Wendy Blackstone, a middle-aged woman with fair skin and shoulder-length light-brown hair cut in a bob, wearing a blue sweater; she is leaning down towards her large gray-and-brown dog. Name: Wendy Blackstone.
Died: March 16, 2015.
Age at death: 49.
Cause of death: Smoke inhalation.
Location: Studio City, California, USA.
Disability: Deaf, visually impaired.

Details:
Wendy was found in her garage in what seemed to be set up to look like a double suicide with her sister. She and two of her three dogs were found dead of smoke inhalation in a burning garage. Upon investigation, the suicide note that Wendy was supposed to have written was in her sister’s handwriting. Eventually it became clear that her sister had killed Wendy because she was frustrated at having to care for her; she had forged the suicide note, and then lit the fire herself.

Case status:
Jill Blackstone (Sister); pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to 8 years.

Source:
TV ProducerJill Blackstone Sentenced To 8 Years For Death Of Her Sister
Producer Jill Blackstone arrives in a wheelchair for court appearance
TV Producer To Be Tried For Disabled Sister’s Murder
Contents of ‘suicide’ notes revealed as judge orders ex-‘Jerry Springer’ producer to answer murder, animal cruelty charges – NY Daily News
TV Producer Ordered to Stand Trial for Allegedly Killing Disabled Sister
Hollywood producer suspected of murdering her sister in failed suicide pact was drowning in $1.4million debt, owed her sibling $122,000, is about to lose her home and filed for bankruptcy
TV producer arrested in death of deaf sister in California
Ex-Jerry Springer producer ‘killed deaf sister out of frustration’
TV producer denies murder and animal cruelty charges in deaf sister’s death, attorney says
TV Producer’s Arraignment Postponed in Sister’s Mysterious 2015 Death
TV producer won’t enter plea in sister’s Studio City death for another week
Former ‘Jerry Springer’ producer charged with killing deaf, blind sister in 2015

Lee Del Ratez

Photo of Lee Del Ratez, a man with dark hair and light tan skin. He is holding his hands in fists just below his chin, and wearing a black and blue T-shirt. Name: Lee W. Del Ratez.
Died: January 8, 2015.
Age at death: 40.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: North Adams, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Lee died because of his siblings’ negligence when they did not take care of him properly.

Case status:
Heath Del Ratez (Brother), pleaded guilty to permitting abuse on a disabled person, sentenced to two years probation.
Jessica Kemp (Sister), charged with manslaughter by negligence and caretaker abuse of a disabled person.

Source:
North Adams pair charged with manslaughter in connection with death of disabled sibling
North Adams pair charged with manslaughter by negligence in death of disabled man
Lee W. Del Ratez, 40

Barbara Beam

No Photo Name: Barbara Anne Beam.
Died: January 2, 2015.
Age at death: 82.
Cause of death: Pulmonary embolism.
Location: Greeneville, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Mobility impairment.

Details:
Barbara’s caregivers allegedly left her sitting in her chair for six months, without moving her or cleaning her. Finally Barbara died from a blood clot, caused by sitting still for so long, that lodged in her lungs. She also had a severe untreated kidney infection.

Case status:
Carole Howell (Sister), charged with abuse and neglect resulting in the death of a vulnerable adult.
David Howell (Nephew), charged with abuse and neglect resulting in the death of a vulnerable adult.

Source:
Greenville mother, son indicted 2 years after elderly woman found dead
Woman charged in death of her sister who sat in chair for 6 months, warrants say

Charly L.

No Photo Name: Charly L.
Died: December 20, 2014.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Charly’s brother fed him fruit juice laced with drugs to sedate him, then set the apartment on fire. Charly died from a combination of poisoning and burns. The fire endangered all the other residents of the apartment complex, which had to be evacuated; but there were no other fatalities. Police say that Charly’s brother had been jealous of him for some time, and wanted inheritance money to start a business with his accomplice.

Case status:
Eric L. (Brother), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.
Alessandro S., convicted of being an accessory to murder; sentenced to 2 years and fined.

Source:
Lebenslang für Brudermord
Two years ago today: Case of fratricide coming before a Luxembourg court
Esch-sur-Alzette: Police treat flat fire as arson
Vorfall vor genau zwei Jahren: Brudermord kommt vor Gericht
Brand in Esch/Alzette: Feuerwehr findet Leiche in ausgebrannter Wohnung

Pendo Nundi

No Photo Name: Pendo Emmanuelle Nundi.
Died: Missing December 2014.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Unknown (Missing).
Location: Mwanza, Tanzania.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Because Pendo was an albino, her body parts were considered valuable for ritual magic. With the alleged consent of her father and other relatives, she was kidnapped from her home. Her body has not been found, but she was almost certainly murdered, dismembered, and her body parts sold.

Case status:
Police arrested 15 people, including her father and two uncles.

Source:
Tanzania police offer reward for missing albino girl
Kidnapped Tanzanian albino boy found dead with limbs hacked off
Another Albino Child Is Murdered and Mutilated in Tanzania
Tanzania: Kidnapping of albino boy raises witchcraft fears – BBC News
1-Year-Old Albino Yohana Bahati Killed for Limbs in Tanzania
Mutilated Tanzanian albino baby body found: police

Michaelina Simonetti

Old-fashioned portrait photo of Michaelina Simonetti, a young woman with fair skin, rosy cheeks, and curly dark hair. Name: Michaelina Simonetti.
Died: September 15, 2014.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Homicide by neglect.
Location: New Britain, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Blind; disabled.

Details:
Michaelina was discharged from a nursing home into her son’s care. She was found in poor condition by emergency services; she was lying on a mattress on the floor with severe bedsores, and police believe she had not been moved from the mattress or fed properly in five months. She died after two weeks at the hospital.

Case status:
Frank Simonetti (Son), charged with first-degree manslaughter.

Source:
New Britain Man Charged With Manslaughter In 93-Year-Old Mother’s Death
New Britain man arrested in connection to mother’s death