Remembering the Disabled Murdered by Caregivers
Suspect convicted but not yet sentenced; or, sentencing information unknown.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
Name: Elizabeth “Esu” Lackey.
Age at death: 85.
Name: Frank Danby “Dan” Lackey III.
Age at death: 89.
Died: September 8, 2017.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Groton, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; required caregiver.
Details:
Esu and Dan were both beaten to death by their grandson, along with their home-health worker Bertha Mae Parker, and their daughter, Elizabeth “Buffy” Krause.
The Lackeys were active in the Chewonki Foundation, a charitable organization that holds summer camps to teach kids about the environment and sustainability.
Case status:
Orion Krause (Grandson), pleaded guilty to four counts of murder, sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Source:
Orion Krause pleads guilty to murdering kin, caretaker with baseball bat
Rockport man pleads guilty to 4 murders, including his mother and grandparents
Murder trial of Rockport man set for September
Orion Krause beat four people to death in Groton home
‘I murdered four people.’ A stranger at the door, a terrible crime
Mom slain in Groton described as ‘goodhearted person, always’
FRANK DANBY LACKEY III’s Obituary on Boston Globe
ELIZABETH CLEVELAND LACKEY’s Obituary on Boston Globe
Name: Avis “Mary” Addison.
Died: February 22, 2017.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: St. Merryn, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Avis, called Mary, was allegedly beaten and strangled by her husband, who, as her dementia worsened, refused help in caring for her and instead neglected and abused her.
Mary was a churchgoer who attended her village’s coffee mornings.
Case status:
Douglas Addison (Husband), charged with murder, declared guilty, ruled insane; hospitalized indefinitely.
Source:
89-year-old retired policeman murdered wife because he couldn’t cope with her dementia
Number of missed opportunities to help woman murdered by her husband
Apologies over ‘missed opportunities’ to help pensioner murdered by husband
Douglas Addison has been charged with the murder of his wife in quiet Cornish village of St Merryn
Man, 88, charged with murder of his 88-year-old wife
Pensioner murdered wife because of her Alzheimer’s, jury told
Sympathy for family of Alzheimer’s sufferer killed by husband with dementia
Retired policeman, 89, found guilty of murdering wife
Former police officer found guilty and sentenced for murder of wife in Cornwall
Retired policeman, 89, suffocated dementia-sufferer wife
Devoted husband battered and suffocated wife to death in truly tragic case
Name: Phyllis Baccus Mansfield.
Died: December 14, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia.
Details:
Phyllis’s husband killed her by shooting her in the head and chest. He told police he had done it because he didn’t want to put her in a nursing home. A grand jury refused to indict him for first-degree murder, but some time later another agreed to indict for second-degree murder instead.
Case status:
Samuel Frank Mansfield (Husband); charged with second-degree murder; pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Died before sentencing on December 17, 2019.
Source:
Mansfield released after grand jury fails to indict on murder charge
Phyllis Mansfield
Grand jury decides not to indict NC man in wife’s shooting death
Mansfield indicted in wife’s death
Elderly man pleads guilty to shooting wife of 53 years
74-year-old NC man guilty of killing wife to prevent life as ‘caged animal’ in nursing home
Name: Albert W. Weaver Sr.
Died: November 22, 2016.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Sepsis, malnutrition.
Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.
Details:
Albert was neglected by his family while they emptied his bank accounts and cashed his pension checks. He was taken to the hospital with a combination of malnutrition, septic shock, untended bedsores, and multiple infections, and survived for twelve days before dying from the effects of neglect.
Case status:
Albert W. Weaver Jr. (Son), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person, sentenced to 15-48 months.
Virginia Weaver (Daughter-in-law), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft, sentenced to 2-5 years.
Amanda Weaver (Granddaughter), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft.
Anthony James Dorney (Granddaughter’s boyfriend), pleaded guilty to neglect of a care-dependent person and theft, sentenced to 2-5 years.
Source:
Family Members Plead Guilty in Elderly Man’s Neglect Death
DA: Family left Bucks County man to starve while they spent his money on cars, firearms
4 Charged In Deadly Bucks Co. Neglect Case Appear In Court
Four Held for Trial in Deadly Neglect of Elderly Man