Status: Sentenced – Page 10 – Disability Day of Mourning

Sarah Curran

Name: Sarah Curran.
Died: July 23, 2020.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Choked, drowned, stabbed, and bludgeoned.
Location: Winchester, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Asperger syndrome.

Details:
Sarah’s ex-boyfriend killed her by choking, drowning, stabbing, and bludgeoning. They had recently broken up.

At ten years old, Sarah gave out Pop-Tarts to people waiting at a local bus stop. As a teen, she was a Special Olympics swimmer, bowler, and roller-skater and rode on a float in the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. She volunteered at a local food and clothing pantry. She loved animals, so she volunteered at the animal shelter. As an adult, she used to spend her Social Security check on buying people steak dinners at a restaurant.

When she moved out, her family worried that she would be taken advantage of because of her kind and trusting nature. Sarah was living in a homeless encampment when she died. She had strong political opinions, backing the Affordable Care Act on social media.

Case status:
Larry Lee Mullenax III (Ex-boyfriend), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 40 years.
Clara Ann Perdue, convicted of concealment of a body, sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.

Source:
Woman gets 5 years for body concealment
Man gets 40 years for killing ex-girlfriend
Sentencing delayed for convicted killer
Autism Memorial: Sarah Curran
Man facing up to 50 years for homeless woman’s murder
BREAKING NEWS: Man enters plea deal in homeless encampment murder
Judge orders second evaluation of body concealment suspect’s mental status
Man indicted for first-degree murder in woman’s death
Woman slain in Frederick Couty; ex-boyfriend charged
Missing Winchester woman found dead, suspect charged in her murder
Homicide victim identified as missing Winchester woman
Homicide victim fondly remembered
Homicide suspect planned killing for weeks, court documents indicate

Lola James

Photo of a pale-skinned toddler girl with pale-blond hair in two ribbons. She is smiling, and wearing a pink coat. Name: Lola James.
Died: July 21, 2020.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK.
Disability: ADHD (Suspected).

Details:
Lola’s mother’s boyfriend suspected her of having ADHD and called her “a crazy kid”. She died from a head injury after being severely beaten.

Case Status:
Kyle Bevan (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to 28 years to life.
Sinead James (Mother), convicted of causing or allowing death, sentenced to 6 years.

Sources:
Lola James murder: The timeline that led to the death of a two-year-old
Lola James: Mum and her boyfriend jailed over girl’s brutal murder

Ryu Sakayama

No Photo
Name: Ryu Sakayama.
Died: July 17, 2020.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Strangulation.
Location: Kyoto, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified mental disability.

Details:
Ryu’s mother strangled him as he slept. She told police she was tired of caring for him.

Case status:
Ayano Sakayama (Mother), convicted and sentenced to 2 years, suspended for 3 years.

Source:
Woman gets suspended sentence for killing mentally disabled son
Mom arrested for allegedly choking disabled son to death in west Japan
Woman arrested over death of mentally disabled son

Eileen Myers

No Photo
Name: Eileen Myers.
Died: July 16, 2020.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Bacteremia, malnutrition, dehydration.
Location: Pittsylvania County, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Eileen lived with her daughters in a filthy house. They neglected her, and she died of blood poisoning, hunger, and thirst. Her body was covered in pressure sores from having been left in her bed.

Case Status:
Shannon Myers Tipton (Daughter), convicted of felony homicide and elder abuse and neglect, sentenced to 30 years.
Brianna Tipton (Daughter), convicted of felony homicide and elder abuse and neglect, sentenced to 18 years.

Source:
County woman convicted of abusing daughter in nightmare home
Daughter convicted of felony homicide, elder abuse and neglect in Pittsylvania County

Klara Wright

Name: Klara Eugenie Wright.
Died: July 10, 2020.
Age at death: 72.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Dakota, Minnesota, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Klara’s husband called emergency services and told them that he had stabbed her to death. He claimed he “could not watch her suffer”.

Klara liked computer games and Bingo.

Case status:
Joseph Bailly Wright (Husband), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 10 years 8 months.

Source:
80-year-old man sentenced for killing his wife in Winona County
Dakota man faces 2nd Degree murder charge
Dakota man charged with wife’s murder could “not watch her suffer,” complaint reveals
Dakota man accused of wife’s murder extradited back to Winona County
Criminal Complaint: Dakota man facing 40 years in prison for reportedly killing wife with dementia
Klara E. Wright Obituary, August 6, 1947 – July 10, 2020

Eduardo José

Name: Eduardo José.
Died: July 6, 2020.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Cabanelas, Mirandela, Portugal.
Disability: Autism, epilepsy.

Details:
Eduardo was found dead in a well, where he had drowned after his mother drugged him with antipsychotics, pushed him in, and then held him under to ensure he drowned.

Though there was talk of lack of support, Eduardo’s mother had in fact refused to admit her son to an institution that specialized in autism a few years previously. According to the court, Eduardo’s mother never accepted that he was autistic, and would not give him medication that he had been prescribed.

The coronavirus pandemic left Eduardo alone at home with his mother, who claimed that she could not stand his behavior. But Eduardo’s teacher remembers him as “a very sweet child. He never gave us any problems over the 11 years he was here; he never had any episode of violence.”

Case Status:
Fátima Martinho (Mother), also called Fátima da Conceição, convicted of homicide and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Sources:
Autism Memorial: Eduardo Jose
Mulher que matou filho autista condenada a 10 anos de prisão
Mãe que afogou filho autista em Mirandela fica em silêncio em frente ao júri
Jovem que sofria de autismo encontrado morto num poço. Mãe é a principal suspeita
Mãe atirou o filho autista a um poço. O que se sabe do crime de Cabanelas?
Julgamento com júri da mulher acusada de matar o filho autista em Mirandela arrancou esta terça-feira

Nicole Jakubek

Photo of a white woman with blonde hair, sitting in front of a field of sunflowers. She is wearing a pink swimsuit and purple wrap and smiling for the camera. Name: Nicole Gayle Durham Jakubek.
Died: July 5, 2020.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Redmond, Oregon, USA.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Nicole was a widow when she met her new boyfriend, but they broke up because he would not go to rehab. Her ex-boyfriend was arrested after a car accident while driving Nicole’s car, which he had stolen. Nicole herself was found stabbed to death at her house, and her ex-boyfriend admitted to killing her.

Case Status:
Clinton Kevin Holland (Ex-boyfriend), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
Obituary: Nicole Durham Jakubek
Redmond man gets life in prison for killing ex-girlfriend
Redmond murder victim wanted restraining order against accused killer
Redmond-area man arrested on murder charge in woman’s killing

Isaac Guillen

No Photo Name: Isaac Guillén.
Died: June 18, 2020 (Body found; died December 1, 2019).
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Drugged and strangled.
Location: Godelleta, Valencia, Spain.
Disability: Unspecified degenerative disease.

Details:
Isaac’s wife allegedly convinced her 17-year-old son that Isaac wanted to die due to his disability. Together, they drugged and strangled Isaac. Authorities say that her actual motive for killing Isaac was economic greed.

Isaac was a former police officer.

Case Status:
Biatriu (Wife), accused of murder.
Unnamed stepson, sentenced to 2 years for assisting suicide (court chose this charge because he believed he was assisting suicide rather than committing murder).

Source:
GODELLETA CRIME: Mother and son on trial over killing of disabled former police officer in Spain’s Valencia
They judge the minor accused of murdering her husband with his mother in Valencia – Digis Mak

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes

Name: Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
Died: June 16, 2020.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Traumatic brain injury.
Location: Solihull, West Midlands, England, UK.
Disability: Father told neighbors he was autistic or had ADHD.

Details:
Arthur died of a brain injury received while he was at home with his stepmother. His father and stepmother were arrested and charged with murder. Prosecutors say that Arthur was subjected to constant abuse; he was being denied food, made to sleep on the floor, exiled to the apartment hallway, and beaten. Two weeks before his death, a neighbor reports, Arthur’s father came to them and said that if the neighbors heard Arthur saying, “Please don’t kill me,” they should ignore him because Arthur “[had] issues; he suffers from ADHD or autism.”

Case Status:
Emma Tustin (Stepmother), convicted of murder, sentenced to 26 years to life in prison.
Thomas Hughes (Father), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 21 years.

Sources:
Murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes
Autism Memorial: Arthur Labinjo-Hughes
Dad accused of killing son told neighbour to ignore ‘please don’t kill me’ cries
Boy, 6, ‘murdered’ by parents cried ‘no one loves me’ as he begged for mercy
Family sent photos of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’ injuries to police, court told
What happened to Arthur Labinjo-Hughes?
Sentencing Remarks

April Zavala

No Photo Name: April Heather Zavala.
Died: June 14, 2020.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Elko, Nevada, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
April’s mother strangled her because she wanted to dress herself instead of letting her mother dress her. She said that caring for April during the COVID pandemic had become too stressful. At the time of her death, April had not seen a doctor in several years.

Case status:
Judith I. Zavala (Mother), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 10-25 years in prison.

Source:
Autism Memorial: April Zavala
Elko woman convicted of 2nd degree-murder in 24-year-old daughter’s death
Mom bound over to district court in daughter’s death
Mom says stress led to daughter’s strangulation