Category: Status: Other

Patricia Gordon

No PhotoName: 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.

Source:
Calgary woman charged in death of special needs daughter
Police lay charges in death of disabled Calgary woman
Calgary woman charged with death of daughter released on bail
Senior charged in adult daughter’s death says she was mistreated by police
Calgary mom charged in disabled daughter’s death shocks neighbourhood
Deep bed sores would have been painful leading to disabled woman’s death, mother’s trial hears
Disabled woman weighed 51 pounds when she died, mother’s trial hears
Disabled woman went years without medical treatment: Court
Melissa Couture choked to death on substance consistent with meat, trial told
Melissa Couture went years without medical treatment, Calgary trial told
Trial begins for Calgary senior accused of negligence in death of daughter
Trial begins for Patricia Couture, Calgary mom accused in death of disabled daughter
Trial underway for Calgary mother charged in death of disabled daughter
Young disabled woman would have been in pain and discomfort prior to death, court hears
Trial begins for senior in death of daughter
Father of deceased disabled girl testifies at trial of ex-wife: ‘I’m shocked she died’
Father tells Calgary trial he wanted to get help for disabled daughter
Father testifies at trial for mother accused in death of disabled daughter
Mom blamed stench on demons: Trial
Mother accused in death of disabled daughter expected to take stand in own defence Friday
Mother of disabled daughter blamed overpowering smell of excrement on ‘demons,’ ex testifies
Mother on trial in disabled daughter’s death kept ‘immaculate’ care of her but believed in demons, court hears
Mom charged with negligence in disabled daughter’s death sent for psychiatric assessment mid-trial
Calgary mother found not criminally responsible in 2016 death of disabled daughter
Judge rules senior not criminally responsible in death of disabled daughter
Judge finds Calgary mother Patricia Couture not criminally responsible for death of disabled daughter
Calgary mother accused in daughter’s death found not criminally responsible

Inaya Ahmed

Photo of Inaya Ahmed. She is a toddler girl with light skin and dark brown hair and eyes. She is wearing a red and black checked headscarf.Name: Inaya Ahmed.
Died: April 20, 2016.
Age at death: 14 months.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Prematurity, feeding difficulties.

Details:
Inaya’s mother was accused of smothering her with a pillow.

Case status:
Sadia Ahmed (Mother), charged with murder; jury returned “not proven” verdict (insufficient evidence to convict; different from a “not guilty” verdict); acquitted.

Source:
Inaya Ahmed murder trial: Mother cleared of smothering toddler with pillow
Sadia Ahmed ‘murdered baby by placing a cushion over head’ | Daily Mail Online
Mother, 26, who suffered with post-natal depression ‘murdered toddler’
Toddler murder trial told of screams

Adrian Parmana

No Photo
Name: Adrian Parmana.
Died: April 12, 2016.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia.
Disability: “Mentally handicapped”.

Details:
Adrian was kept locked in his room by his family. When a short circuit caused a house fire, Adrian burned to death.

Case status:
H Dadang (Grandfather), grandmother, mother, and father, interviewed during inquest. No charges.

Case status:
Mentally handicapped teenager dies in fire because he was locked inside his room

Emily Perrin

Photo of Emily Perrin, a small blonde girl sitting on a bed. She is wearing a light blue dress and holding a doll wearing a matching blue dress.Name: Emily Rose Perrin.
Died: April 10, 2016.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Dupo, St. Louis, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Cystic fibrosis.

Details:
Emily was a pre-kindergarten student a day short of her fifth birthday when her mother smothered her.

She loved pretending to be a princess.

Case status:
Mary Lockett (Mother), charged with first degree murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Source:
Mother charged with murdering her cystic fibrosis-suffering daughter, 4, a day before her birthday
Mother charged in Dupo child’s death
Dupo mom accused of killing 4-year-old daughter found not guilty by reason of insanity
Ten reports of abuse weren’t enough to save ‘Princess’ Emily

Tamra Turpin

Photo of Tamra Turpin. She is a young woman with long brown hair and fair skin. She is wearing dark mascara and deep red lipstick.Name: Tamra Turpin.
Died: March 2, 2016.
Age at death: 36.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Disability: Unspecified; she “could not work because of a disability from a car accident in her teens”.

Details:
Tamra, a Missouri native, enjoyed traveling with her boyfriend; she was visiting Mexico when she died. At first her boyfriend said she had died of a seizure, then he claimed she had committed suicide. But medical examiners concluded that she had been strangled.

Case status:
John Loveless (Boyfriend), acquitted of criminal homicide. Civil lawsuit brought and settlement reached.

Source:
Settlement Reached In Civil Lawsuit — Mother Files Petition in Daughter’s Death
U.S. man held in girlfriend’s asphyxiation death at Mexico resort
Boyfriend arrested after Missouri woman found dead in Mexico
Did John Loveless lawyer kill disabled girlfriend Tamra Turpin?
John Loveless & Tamra Turpin: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
John Loveless arrested after disabled girlfriend Tamra Turpin is strangled to death

Eunice Phiri

No PhotoName: Eunice Phiri.
Died: January 28, 2016.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Kasungu National Park, Malawi.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Eunice’s brother lured her and her 8-year-old son, who also has albinism, out of her home and into a nearby national park. There, they killed her by cutting off her arms. Her 8-year-old son escaped and found his way back home.

Case status:
Msasauko Phiri (Brother), and two others, under investigation.

Source:
Woman with albinism killed in Malawi: no isolated incident
Albino woman murdered in Kasungu: Malawi Police hunt for killers
Malawi: Ritual murders of people with albinism must end

Dwight Ridley

Photo of Dwight Ridley, a man with dark-brown skin and a salt-and-pepper beard, wearing a baseball cap and polo shirt, photographed outdoors.Name: Dwight Carrington Ridley Sr.
Died: January 11, 2016.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Carson, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Dwight was stabbed to death by his nephew over a property dispute about the family farm.

He was an Army veteran who had three children and twelve grandchildren.

Case status:
Daryl Ridley (Nephew), charged with second-degree murder, found incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
Mental Health and Murder: Why man with ’emotional demons’ walked free
Obituary for Dwight Carrington Ridley, Sr. – PETERSBURG, VA
Why man accused of killing uncle over family farm won’t stand trial
Stabbing victim arrives at hospital, later deemed homicide suspect in Dinwiddie County
Arrest made in fatal Dinwiddie homicide, stabbing

Baby Boy

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: Undated; article published January 6, 2016.
Age at death: Newborn, less than 6 days old.
Cause of death: Burned alive, following Yanomami tradition.
Location: Caracaraí, Brazil.
Disability: “a malformation in his leg”.

Details:
Quote: When a 21-year-old indigenous woman gave birth to her fourth son in this small settlement in northern Brazil, she noticed that the newborn was suffering from a malformation in his leg. She knew what that meant, but still consulted with the leaders of her Yanomami tribe in a desperate hope for an exception.

It was not to be: the baby was burned alive as part of a ritual, and the ashes were used to prepare a sort of gruel that was offered to all members of the tribe. Though the mother shared her grief with her immediate family, she said she understood that this was the tradition.

Case status:
His mother and tribe were not prosecuted.

Source:
In Brazil, Activists Defend Infanticide Among Indigenous Tribes

Evelyn Harvey

Columbarium niche plaque reading, "Harvey, Evelyn G. 1922-2015. Together again." Another name on the plaque has been blurred out.Name: Evelyn Harvey.
Died: December 6, 2015.
Age at death: 93.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: El Paso, Texas, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; nursing home resident.

Details:
Evelyn was shot in her bed, in the back of her head. Her body was discovered in the morning and when he was woken, her husband allegedly confessed to killing her.

Case status:
Nelson Harvey (Husband), charged with murder; died in 2021.

Source:
Husband kills terminally ill wife to end her ‘suffering’
91yo Texas man charged with murder for ending terminally ill wife’s ‘suffering’
Man ‘tired of her suffering’ kills 93-year-old wife