Category: Status: Sentenced

Suspect convicted and sentenced.

Angela Tarver

Photo of an elderly woman with short white hair, brown eyes, and pale skin, wearing a green jacket.Name: Angela Tarver.
Died: December 19, 2019.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Stabbed in the heart.
Location: Woking, Surrey, England, UK.
Disability: Stroke; limited speech and mobility.

Details:
Angela’s son killed her by stabbing her through the heart with an ornamental sword.

Her husband remembers how she always found ways to carry on with her interests and activities as her disability advanced. He calls her “the light of my life”.

Case status:
Philip Tarver, convicted of murder, sentenced to 19 years to life.

Source:
Husband’s heartbreaking tribute to wife ‘cruelly’ murdered by son
‘Scrounger’ son who decapitated disabled mom, 86, with sword and dumped her head in freezer jailed for life

Patrick Callighan

No PhotoName: Patrick Callighan.
Died: December 15, 2019.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Knife wounds.
Location: Quinte West, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: ADHD, depression, anxiety.

Details:
Patrick’s father killed him; then he and his mother buried him in cement in their basement. Patrick’s father told the court that he had to kill Patrick because he was threatening his mother with a knife.

Case Status:
Brian David Callighan (Father), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 8 years.
Christine Callighan (Mother), pleaded guilty to improperly interfering with human remains, conditional sentence of 2 years minus 1 day. A conditional sentence is a jail sentence served in the community.

Sources:
Quinte West couple sentenced in death of their son
Father pleads guilty in death of son
Parents charged in their son’s murder to have case tried before jury next year
A Quinte West father pleads guilty in death of his son
Quinte West man facing second degree murder charges

Donna Harris

Photo of an older woman with short white hair and fair skin, wearing cat-eye glasses and a pink shirt.Name: Donna Harris.
Died: November 24, 2019.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Blunt head trauma.
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; on disability.

Details:
Donna’s boyfriend, who had apparently been maintaining a relationship for her because he wanted part of her disability claim, killed her by hitting her in the head.

Case Status:
Justin Eastman (Boyfriend), convicted of aggravated murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Sources:
Man who bludgeoned Columbus woman to death can’t crack murder conviction
Missing Columbus woman may be in danger; police say woman, person of interest are in Cincinnati area
Justin Eastman sentenced to life for murdering Donna Harris

Elmer Norris

No PhotoName: Elmer Norris.
Died: November 22, 2019.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, pressure sores.
Location: Pasadena, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; needed help with daily life activities.

Details:
Elmer lived with his son, who neglected him. When other family members tried to help him, his son refused to let them see Elmer and even changed the locks on the doors. Elmer died of pneumonia and pressure ulcers from being left alone on his bed with no care.

Case status:
Danny Norris (Son), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years, all but 12 years in prison and 5 years probation suspended.

Source:
Pasadena man pleads guilty to 91-year-old father’s murder
Man arrested on charges including second degree murder, adult abuse of family member

Sharon Theleman

No PhotoName: Sharon Theleman.
Died: November 19, 2019.
Age at death: 51.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Fenton, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability, visually impaired, mobility impaired.

Details:
Sharon lived at an assisted living facility. Her mother, who was worried about developing dementia, took her out of the facility and to a hotel, where she stabbed Sharon to death and attempted suicide. Police found a note that said she was doing it as a favor to Sharon’s brothers, so they would not be “burdened” with caring for her.

Case status:
Marjorie Theleman (Mother), pleaded guilty to second-degree murder; sentenced to 2-10 years.

Source:
St. Louis County woman sentenced in death of disabled daughter
Missouri woman who killed disabled daughter sentenced
Webster Groves woman gets 10-year term for fatally stabbing disabled daughter at hotel
Missouri woman who killed disabled daughter sentenced
Mother charged with stabbing daughter in attempted murder-suicide in Fenton hotel
Missouri woman, 78, accused of killing daughter in hotel in attempted murder-suicide
St. Louis Police: Mother took daughter from care facility, killed her
Police: Mother took daughter from care facility, killed her

Nicola Stevenson

Photo of a woman with pale skin, thin eyebrows, and a punk haircut that is dyed pink, shaved down on the left side, and straight and chin-length on the right.Name: Nicola Stevenson.
Died: November 13, 2019 (Body found, died approx. 2 weeks previously).
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK.
Disability: Russell-Silver syndrome, cancer survivor, mobility impaired.

Details:
Nicola’s partner, who was habitually abusive, hit her in the head with a hammer until she died of massive head injuries; then he stuffed her body into a trash bin, where it was found by a dog.

Nicola was recovering from cancer and had needed to re-learn walking; at the time of her death, she could walk short distances but still used a mobility scooter.

Case status:
Richard Canlin (Partner), convicted of murder, sentenced to 22 years to life.

Source:
Lewes landlady murder: Lodger Richard Canlin jailed
Man guilty of murdering Scots mum with hammer & dumping her body in wheelie bin
Arrests after body of Edinburgh woman found in wheelie bin in Sussex
Mum found dead in wheelie bin suffered horrific past abuse at the hands of ex
This is the wheelie bin a dog walker opened to find A WOMAN’S BODY stuffed inside

Kyrell Matthews

Photo of a toddler with his hair in small braids; he has light-brown skin and he is wearing a red and white sports jersey. His expression is thoughtful and somewhat puzzled.Name: Kyrell Matthews.
Died: October 20, 2019.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Abdominal trauma, torn liver.
Location: Thornton Heath, London, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Kyrell was regularly beaten by his mother and her boyfriend. After a particularly severe beating, emergency services found him dying from internal injuries.

Kyrell’s grandmother remembers him as “the most loving little boy, always smiling”.

Case Status:
Kemar Brown (Mother’s partner), found guilty of murder, sentenced to 25 years.
Phylesia Shirley (Mother), found guilty of manslaughter, sentenced to 13 years.

Sources:
Mum and partner jailed for killing autistic toddler son
Kyrell Matthews: Man found guilty of murdering partner’s two-year-old son who died with 41 rib fractures
Kyrell Matthews: Man jailed for 25 years for murdering partner’s two-year-old son, who was treated ‘like a punchbag’
Mum’s partner jailed for 25 years for horrific killing of her autistic son

Terri-Lynn Thompson

Close-up photo of a heavyset woman with short strawberry-blonde hair, fair skin, glasses, neat makeup, and a slight smile.Name: Terri-Lynn Thompson.
Died: October 14, 2019.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Belleville, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Unspecified disability; unable to work.

Details:
Terri-Lynn, whose family remembers her as a “loving grandmother” who “was amazing to everyone around her,” was allegedly murdered by her husband.

Case status:
Dewayne Jerome Vacciana (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 12 1/2 years.

Source:
Man sentenced for killing his wife in Belleville, Ont. over work visa
Belleville man, 38, charged in death of ‘loving grandmother’
INQUINTE.CA | Pre-trial date set for man accused of murder

Ana Vasquez-Rodriguez

Photo of a middle-aged woman with light-brown skin and straight, brown, shoulder-length hair. Her skin is wrinkled and freckled. The straps of her light-blue top are visible.Name: Ana Vasquez-Rodriguez.
Died: October 6, 2019.
Age at death: 68.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Fall River, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Ana was stabbed in her bed by a teenage relative she was living with. Her disability made it difficult for her to fight back, and she died.

Case Status:
Heavenly Arroyo (Daughter’s boyfriend’s great-niece; household member), sentenced to 19 years to life.

Sources:
Fall River woman, 18, gets life in prison for 2019 killing
Fall River teen sentenced to life for brutal murder

Mildred Costanza

No PhotoName: Mildred Costanza.
Died: October 4, 2019.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Painkiller overdose in the setting of chronic neglect.
Location: Wausau, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Frail elder.

Details:
Mildred’s daughter, who ostensibly cared for her, kept her in deplorable conditions and did not take her to the doctor even when she developed a serious infection. Weakened by hunger and neglect, Mildred died of a Tramadol overdose. She weighed only 75 pounds.

Case status:
Mary Tessmer (Daughter), pleaded guilty to recklessly subjecting an individual at risk to abuse, causing death; sentenced to 2 years in prison and 2 years parole.

Source:
Ringle woman pleads guilty to neglecting 78-year-old mother, causing her death
Woman charged in death of elderly mother who overdosed
Ringle woman accused of chronic neglect in mother’s death
Marathon County woman sentenced in mother’s death