Status: Other – Page 6 – Disability Day of Mourning

2-month-old girl

No Photo Name Unknown
Died: August 24, 2016.
Age at death: 2 months.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Koratagere, Karnataka, India.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
This two-month-old girl’s mother had taken her to a hospital for treatment. She exited the hospital, came back without the baby, and told police that she had been kidnapped. However, the baby’s body was found in the river, and her cause of death was determined to be drowning. It was alleged that her mother had drowned her because she could not produce milk to feed her.

Case Status:
Kavitha (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to life; however, since several witnesses refused to testify, the judge ruled that the case had insufficient evidence and released her after 6 years in jail.

Sources:
Mother jailed for baby’s murder to walk free
Karnataka HC acquits woman found guilty of killing her two-month-old baby
Woman gets life term for throwing daughter into river

Stella Hamilton

No Photo Name: Stella Hamilton.
Died: July 31, 2016.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Undetermined.
Location: Malanda, Queensland, Australia.
Disability: Dementia, terminally ill.

Details:
Stella’s family talked to staff at her nursing home, asking whether she could be euthanized, and were told that this was illegal. They also requested that 24 hours’ worth of morphine be left in her room, and were refused. One of her children said another had told them that if they covered her face, she would “go quicker”. Shortly after the family’s request for euthanasia, Stella was found dead with a blanket over her face. She could not have pulled the blanket up herself, but other residents theoretically had access to her room. Her family was seen celebrating that she had died, though this could have been relief that she was no longer in pain.

Case status:
Inquest determined that, despite the troubling factors in Stella’s death, her cause of death could not be determined because she was already terminally ill.

Source:
Inquest into the death of Stella Hamilton
Mystery surrounds aged care resident found dead with blanket over head
Daughter asked doctor to euthanase terminally ill mother, inquest hears

Lydia Whitford

Photo of Lydia Whitford. She is a young woman with fair skin and dark brown hair; she is wearing a turquoise jacket and pink baseball cap. Her mouth is open and her face relaxed in a neutral expression. Name: Lydia Whitford.
Died: July 14, 2016.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Possible homicide; possible natural death after abuse.
Location: Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada.
Disability: Autism, epilepsy.

Details:
Lydia’s death was originally ruled natural, but her mother and sister saw bruises on her body and pushed for an investigation. More than a year later later, Lydia’s foster mother was charged with manslaughter. Exactly how Lydia died has not been released.

Her sister told reporters that “I want people to remember her as the kind and loving person she was.”

Case status:
Lisa Marie Campbell (Foster mother), charged with manslaughter, charges stayed.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Lydia Whitford
Vigil marks birthday of woman with autism who died in CFS care
Family wants answers in homicide of teen living in licensed foster home
Family of woman with autism found dead in foster home seeks answers
Family plans birthday vigil for Manitoba teen with autism killed in foster care
Family seeks answers after teen’s death in foster care deemed a homicide
Homicide victim’s family asks how woman with autism died in CFS care
Killing of teen with autism in foster care to be investigated by Manitoba’s children’s advocate
Foster mother charged in death of autistic woman, 18
Woman charged with manslaughter in death of disabled woman
Winnipeg woman charged in death of teen with autism
Foster mom charged in 2016 homicide of teen with autism, family says
Winnipeg woman arrested following homicide in July 2016: RCMP
Family of teen with autism looking for closure after Crown stays manslaughter charge against foster mother

Patricia Kearney

Photo of Patricia Kearney, a woman with tanned skin and short dark-blonde hair. She is wearing glasses and a tank top. She is looking off to the left of the photo. Name: Patricia Kearney.
Died: July 6, 2016.
Age at death: 56.
Cause of death: Blunt-force injury, head trauma.
Location: Tonga.
Disability: An “incurable nerve disorder”.

Details:
Patricia died from multiple blunt-force injuries to her head and body, including a blow to the head that caused bleeding in the brain. Her husband said she fell down the stairs, but witnesses reported seeing Patricia’s husband beating her to death.

Case status:
Dean Fletcher (Husband), arrested for murder; escaped from Tonga police, arrested by US police. US refused extradition and released him in Hawaii without charges.

Source:
A death in paradise
Man who won’t be extradited to Tonga for wife’s murder says he’s innocent
Tonga disappointed with US denial of extradition for murder accused

Janelle Johnson

Name: Janelle Abriana Johnson.
Died: July 2, 2016.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Port Arthur, Texas, USA.
Disability: Paralyzed; wheelchair user.

Details:
Janelle’s father put her in the tub for a bath; then he allegedly left the room. Janelle, who could not hold her head out of the water, drowned.

Case status:
Jermaine Johnson (Father), under investigation.

Source:
Police investigating drowning death of 5-year-old Port Arthur girl
4-year-old drowns in bathtub in Port Arthur apartment
Special needs girl, 5, drowns in bathtub
Port Arthur child dies due to apparent drowning
Janelle Abriana Johnson

Kathryn Ashe

Photo of Kathryn Ashe. She is a middle-aged African-American woman with dark brown skin and frizzy, graying black hair. She is wearing a bright orange T-shirt and looks like she was photographed while she was talking. Name: Kathryn Ashe.
Died: June 24, 2016.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Tampa Bay, Florida, USA.
Disability: Physical disability.

Details:
Kathryn, frail and not able to take care of herself, was abandoned by her roommates, who had been acting as caregivers to some extent. They moved out of the house they all lived in, leaving her behind. The house had no air conditioning and was uninhabitably filthy. Though the former roommates stopped in to “check on” her, they never called for medical help even though Kathryn’s condition was visibly getting worse. They never helped her or even gave her food or water. Eight to ten days after she was abandoned, Kathryn was dead.

Case status:
Jennifer Susan Poulos and Debra Germain Poulos were both charged with neglect of an elderly or disabled adult. The charges were dropped because the two women were determined not to have been legally responsible for Kathryn’s care.

Source:
Pinellas woman starves to death among roaches, rotting garbage
Gulfport Woman’s Death Under Investigation
2 arrested for elderly neglect resulting in death
Gulfport police: 66-year-old woman left to die in squalor and heat
Death of 66-year-old Gulfport woman highlights risks of senior citizens who choose to live alone

Charlene Norris

Photo of Charlene Norris. She is a middle-aged woman with short permed blond hair and fair skin, wearing a black and white track suit. Name: Charlene Norris.
Died: June 9, 2016.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia, rectal cancer, chronic pain due to hip replacement.

Details:
Charlene was shot by her husband.

She was a retired special education teacher.

Case status:
Jim Norris (Husband), charged with murder; diagnosed with dementia while awaiting trial, declared incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
84-year-old North Carolina man cleared in wife’s death
Two suicide notes, one body. Now an elderly Charlotte man is charged with murder.
They had a suicide pact, he said. But he wasn’t ready to die. He murdered her, prosecutors say

Leslie Denn

No Photo Name: Leslie John Denn.
Died: May 9, 2016.
Age at death: Adult.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Borrowdale, Zimbabwe.
Disability: Depression.

Details:
Leslie was shot in the back of the head. His fiance claimed he had been suicidal, and he had indeed been under treatment for depression, but police ruled it a murder. Leslie’s fiance was charged with murder, having been with him when he died, having burned the mattress on which he was lying, and having reported his death as a suicide; however, she was acquitted at trial due to an inability of the prosecution to bring sufficient evidence to convict her.

Leslie was a businessman who had been the board chairman of CMED and managing director of Nemchen.

Case status:
Pilary Ashton (Fiance), acquitted of murder. The judge’s statement in the case berated the police, prosecution, and forensics department for failure to follow protocol, including failure to analyze crucial gunshot residue samples, which may have led to a “serious miscarriage of justice”.

Source:
CMED Boss Found Dead, Girlfriend Accused Of Murdering Him Set Free As Judge Yet Again Blasts The Police And NPA For A Shoddy Job
‘CMED boss murdered’
Zimbabwe: Fiancee in the Line of Fire… Inquest Into Cmed Boss’ Death Opens
Zimbabwe: CMED Chairman Commits Suicide
Zimbabwe: CMED Boss Was ‘Suffering From Depression’
Leslie John Denn CMED boss shot dead not suicide
Shock twist to death of CMED Official who allegedly committed suicide
CMED boss commits suicide

Patricia Gordon

No Photo Name: Patricia Gordon.
Died: April 28, 2016.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Troon, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Health anxiety, depression, lung cancer.

Details:
Patricia hated doctors and didn’t want to go to see one, but was worried that she had lung cancer. One day when she was in pain, instead of taking her to a doctor, her husband smothered her to death with a pillow.

Although he admitted to killing her, the murder charge was dropped after a family member explained to the court how sick Patricia had been and how hard it had been for her husband to care for her.

Case status:
Ian Gordon (Husband), convicted of culpable homicide, sentenced to 3 years, 4 months; sentence overturned, released.

Source:
Pensioner cleared of murder after smothering his wife
Husband who smothered wife to death with pillow cleared of murder
Troon pillow killer Ian Gordon jailed for three years
Judges overturn sentence for man who killed his wife
Husband jailed for culpable homicide over ‘mercy killing’ of terminally wife admonished following appeal

Melissa Couture

Photo of Melissa Couture, a young woman with fair skin and brown hair. She is wearing glasses and a striped sweater. She is smiling broadly and looking down at some candles. Name: Melissa Couture.
Died: April 26, 2016.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Choking, starvation, pressure sores.
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
For four years before her death, Melissa’s mother did not provide medical care for her, even though she was having trouble swallowing and rapidly losing weight. Melissa died from choking, starvation, dehydration, and severe pressure sores, weighing only fifty pounds.

Case status:
Patricia Couture (Mother), charged with criminal negligence resulting in death, ruled not criminally responsible.