Status: Convicted – Page 2 – Disability Day of Mourning

Ruth Brown

Name: Ruth Brown.
Died: April 11, 2020.
Age at death: 52.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Bognor, England, UK.
Disability: COPD, chronic back pain.

Details:
Ruth died after being bludgeoned with a plastic tray. Her partner sent a text message to his brother reading, in part, “…I’ve killed Ruth,” and told police that he didn’t remember killing her because he had been drunk, but that he must have killed her, because “nobody else could have done it.”

Ruth was “the centre of [her] family”, an outgoing woman who could talk on the phone for hours. She volunteered for MIND and other mental health charities. Her family is raising money for a memorial plaque.

Case Status:
Wayne Morris (Partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to 17 years to life.

Source:
Man given life imprisonment for murder of Ruth Brown in Bognor
‘S***, what have I done, I panicked’ claims man accused over lockdown murder
‘Man bludgeoned partner to death with plastic tray after lockdown row’
Man accused claims he ‘panicked’ when he found partner’s body
Scots woman ‘killed by partner’ as he ‘couldn’t storm out house’ due to lockdown
Memorial plaque fundraiser launched for much-loved mother killed in Bognor Regis
Memorial garden for my mum, organized by Lauren Brown

Shinobu, Yoshio, and Takio Kishimoto

No Photo Name: Shinobu Kishimoto.
Age at death: 95.
Disability: Unspecified disability requiring level-1 nursing care.

Name: Yoshio Kishimoto.
Age at death: 93.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Name: Takio Kishimoto.
Age at death: 70.
Disability: Stroke; used a cane.

Died: November 17, 2019.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Tsuruga, Fukui, Japan.

Details:
Shinobi and Yoshio lived with their son, Takio, and his wife. Takio’s wife killed them all by strangling them.

Takio was the CEO of a construction company, which he had inherited from Yoshio.

Case status:
Masako Kishimoto (Daughter-in-law of Shinobu and Yoshio; wife of Takio), convicted of murder, sentenced to 18 years.

Source:
72-year-old woman gets 18 years in prison for killing 3 family members
71-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of killing parents-in-law
Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after 3 bodies found in central Japan home

Martina Ávila

No Photo
Name: Martina Ávila.
Died: April 13, 2019.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Throat cut.
Location: Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Martina was stabbed to death by her father.

“If she were here, she would hug you. She would hug everyone,” Martina’s aunt told the court.

Case Status:
Manuel Ávila (Father), pled guilty to murder; faces a mandatory life sentence.

Source:
“I wanted the two of us to leave, but I had no luck”: the aberrant confession of the man who killed his 6-year-old daughter with a disability
Culpable: Manuel Ávila condenado por el asesinato de su hija de seis años
Declaró la vecina de Martina: «la nena era hermosa, un ángel», recordó

5-year-old girl

Name Unknown.
Died: March 10, 2019.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Kwadela, Davel, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
This five-year-old girl’s abusive parents claimed she had fallen out of bed; but her body showed signs that she had been severely abused, and her parents were convicted of her murder.

Case status:
Bheki Hlophe (Mother), convicted of murder.
Sibongile Shongwe (Father), convicted of murder.

Source:
They were arrested for the death of their five-year-old daughter at their home in Kwadela, Davel on 10 March
Father and girlfriend convicted of five-year-old’s murder
Ouers in hof oor dogter se dood

Lucinda Palma

Photo of an older woman in a flannel jacket; she is smiling. She has light skin and short, curly hair dyed red. Name: Lucinda Palma.
Died: November 20, 2018.
Age at death: 70.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Anaheim, California, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder.

Details:
Lucinda’s housemate stabbed her twelve times, killing her. He later told the police that he wanted to put Lucinda “out of her misery”.

Case Status:
Michael Hallgren (Housemate), convicted of second-degree murder.

Sources:
Man convicted of killing woman, 70, with butcher knife at Anaheim boarding home

Abel Leveque-Flett

Name: Abel Joseph Leveque-Flett.
Died: August 23, 2018.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Undetermined; after severe abuse.
Location: Little Grand Rapids, Manitoba, Canada.
Disability: Epilepsy, developmental disability, mobility impairment.

Details:
Abel was dead on arrival to a nursing station. He had seven broken bones, severe bruising, and burns. An autopsy was inconclusive because it could not be determined whether he had died from his disability or from the abuse he had endured, but his caregivers were both convicted of “failing to provide the necessaries of life”.

Case Status:
Houston Bushie (Temporary guardian), pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessaries of life, sentenced to 3 years.
Alayna Flett (Family member, temporary guardian), pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessaries of life.

Sources:
Guardian sentenced to 3 years for death of toddler who had ‘profoundly disturbing’ injuries
Mar 2021: First Nation demands justice in boy’s death
Manitoba’s families minister calls for review of boy’s death after caregivers charged
Temporary guardians charged in connection with death of 3-year-old in Little Grand Rapids, Man.

Ronald Blankenship

No Photo Name: Ronald Blankenship.
Died: August 20, 2018.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Bronchopneumonia.
Location: Monticello, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; diabetes, mobility impaired.

Details:
Ronald lived with his sister and nephew, who were supposed to care for him. He died of severe, untreated bronchopneumonia and was found in filthy surroundings.

When Ronald was found dead, police also found a young woman with Down syndrome, who had been adopted by one of Ronald’s relatives; she was taken into adult protective services. Three dogs and three cats, also neglected, were taken by animal control; two of the dogs, Cocker Spaniels named Chance and Puddy, were too sick to survive and had to be euthanized.

Case status:
Christie Brown (Sister), convicted of criminal abuse or neglect of a disabled person and aggravated cruelty to a companion animal.
Mason Brown (Nephew), convicted of criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly person, sentenced to 5 years in prison and 1 year on parole.
Justin Tatman (Power of Attorney), charged with criminal neglect, charges dropped.

Source:
Neglect charges on one defendant dropped
Monticello man found guilty of neglect after death of uncle
Bond set for three in neglect case | Piatt County Journal-Republican
3 arrested in connection with death of Monticello man

Melvin Maki

Name: Melvin N. Maki.
Died: June 4, 2018.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Blunt head trauma.
Location: Rock Creek, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Melvin was hospitalized after his son beat him with a shovel; he lived three months before dying of his injuries.

Melvin worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and NOAA, and loved spending time out on the ocean.

Case Status:
Shaun Edwin Maki (Son), convicted of murder, assault, criminal mistreatment, and unlawful use of a weapon.

Sources:
Oregon man found guilty of murder in brutal beating of elderly father who died months late
Man found guilty of killing his 77-year-old father
Melvin N. Maki Obituary 2018

Denise Rosser

Photo of a young woman with curly blonde hair and fair skin, wearing a white blouse. Name: Michelle “Denise” Rosser.
Died: May 29, 2018.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Fractures and internal injuries.
Location: Bedlinog, Wales, UK.
Disability: Blind in one eye.

Details:
Denise was beaten to death by her boyfriend.

Case status:
Simon Winstone (Partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to 18 years to life.

Source:
Police ‘did nothing wrong’ in case of murdered domestic abuse victim
Blind woman found beaten to death after telling friends ‘I’m living in fear’
Woman allegedly murdered was blinded in attack nine years ago
Dead woman’s friction burns ‘from sex’
Boyfriend claims murder victim’s injuries were carpet burns from sex

Kathleen White-Grangruth

No Photo Name: Kathleen A. White-Grangruth.
Died: April 17, 2018.
Age at death: 61.
Cause of death: Burns; smoke inhalation.
Location: Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Dementia, schizophrenia, mobility impaired (wheelchair user after hip injury).

Details:
Kathleen’s husband had been charged with assaulting her three times over twelve years. Tired of caring for her and having had a fight with her, he killed her by dousing her in gasoline and setting her on fire.

She was a retired Army nurse who spent her career at at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii.

Case status:
Delano Grangruth (Husband), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, arson of an occupied dwelling and arson of real personal property; sentenced to 60 to 130 years in prison.

Source:
To ensure his wife would die, a Norfolk man disconnected the phone and smoke detector. Then he set her on fire.
Man admitted pouring gasoline on his disabled wife and burning her alive, Norfolk police say
Delano Grangruth Virginia husband sets Kathleen White-Grangruth on fire after huge fight
Man tells police he set his disabled wife ablaze in Virginia
Elderly woman found dead inside her Norfolk home, husband charged with murder
Husband charged with murder after wife found dead in Norfolk house fire
Husband charged with murder, arson after wife dies in Norfolk house fire
Norfolk man charged with killing his wife after her body was found in house fire
Kathleen White-Grangruth’s Obituary on The Virginian Pilot
‘I’m not a monster’: Man charged in wife’s death speaks from jail
Police: Man admitted pouring gasoline on disabled wife, burning her alive
Man Admits To Pouring Gasoline On Disabled Wife And Burning Her Alive, Police Say
Man set disabled wife on fire in drunken rage: Cop | Canoe
Man pleads guilty to first-degree murder, arson in wife’s April 2018 death
Man sentenced to 60 years for murdering wife, setting her on fire