Category: Status: Sentenced

Suspect convicted and sentenced.

Edna Berry

No PhotoName: Edna Berry.
Died: February 21, 2023.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned with hammer and chisel.
Location: Clacton, Essex, England, UK.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
When Edna kicked and scratched her husband, he lost his temper and attacked her with a hammer and chisel, causing major head injuries. He called emergency services and confessed to the crime. He was arrested; she died at the hospital.

Case Status:
John Berry (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 10 years to life.

Sources:
Husband, 85, used hammer and chisel to murder wife with Alzheimer’s

Cora Laszkiewicz

Photo of a teenage girl with pale skin and brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She is wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt. She is smiling for the camera, mouth open in amusement. Name: Cora Laszkiewicz.
Died: January 4, 2023.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Cora died of malnutrition under the care of her mother.

Case Status:
Amy Laszkiewicz (Mother), pleaded no contest to recklessly subjecting an at-risk individual to abuse causing death; sentenced to 20 years in prison and 15 years probation.

Sources:
Autistic daughter starved to death, Pewaukee woman sentenced
Pewaukee woman sentenced after autistic daughter starved to death
Pewaukee mom sentenced to 20 years for death of autistic daughter
Judge throws book at mom who starved 70-pound adult daughter with ‘severe autism’ to death
Mother enters plea in malnutrition death of autistic daughter
Mom pleads guilty for allowing adult daughter with ‘severe autism’ to starve to death
Pewaukee mother accused of killing autistic daughter enters plea, avoids trial
Mother charged in malnutrition death of autistic daughter
Mother allegedly allowed her daughter with “severe autism” to starve herself to death
Pewaukee woman charged in death of malnourished autistic adult daughter
Autism Memorial: Cora Laszkiewicz

Edwin Colleson

No PhotoName: Edwin Colleson.
Died: December 4, 2022.
Age at death: 45.
Cause of death: Undetermined.
Location: Hitchcock, Texas, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Edwin was admitted to the hospital in critical condition, covered in scars and bedsores and with multiple injuries as well as evidence of having been tied up. He weighed 70 pounds, and died six days later. His parents claimed they had been trying to cure his disability with “holistic treatment” that, police say, amounted to torture.

Case Status:
Billie Jean Barnes (Mother), found guilty of injury to a disabled person, sentenced to 5-10 years.
Timothy Ray Ellis (Stepfather), found guilty of murder, sentenced to 30-60 years.

Sources:
HORRIFYING DETAILS: Texas man sentenced for murdering special needs stepson, left him hogtied in trailer
A 45-year-old man police say was abused by his mother and step-father died on Sunday
45-year-old with intellectual disability dies 5 days after Hitchcock police find him disfigured
Disabled man dies from injuries after subjected to torturous ‘holistic’ procedures by mother, stepfather, Hitchcock police say

Teruko Fujiwara

Concrete bridge and white railing above water. A bunch of yellow flowers has been left at the curb.
Flowers left for Teruko Fujiwara at the scene of her death.

Name: Teruko Fujiwara.
Died: November 2, 2022.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Ms. Fujiwara’s husband had been her caregiver for 40 years since she was injured and started using a wheelchair. The two were planning to enter an assisted-living facility, and Ms. Fujiwara was looking forward to it. But her husband did not want to accept help; he took her to the pier and pushed her out of her wheelchair and into the ocean, where she drowned. Police say he admitted to the murder, saying he was “worn out” from looking after her.

Ms. Fujiwara leaves behind two grown sons.

Case Status:
Hiroshi Fujiwara (Husband), convicted of murder, sentenced to 3 years.

Sources:
Obsession to care for disabled wife by himself led man to kill her
Husband, 82, gets 3 years in drowning death of paralyzed wife
81-year-old Japanese man arrested for murder after pushing wife’s wheelchair into sea
81-yr-old man in Japan arrested for allegedly killing wife he took care of for 40 yrs
Man accused of pushing wife in wheelchair into sea, killing her
Man, 81, pushes wheelchair-bound wife, 79, into the sea as he was ‘too tired of taking care of her’

Eda Karr

No PhotoName: Eda Lyn Karr.
Died: October 18, 2022.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Unspecified neglect.
Location: Stevensville, Montana, USA.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease.

Details:
Eda’s son took his mother out of her nursing home, neglected her until she died, and then hid her body while he continued to collect her retirement checks.

Case Status:
Ronan Sterling-Shanahan, aka Justin Whitfield (Son), convicted of negligent homicide and tampering with evidence, sentenced to 30 years.

Sources:
Stevi man sentenced to 30 years in mother’s death

Mae Brown

No PhotoName: Mae Brown.
Died: October 15, 2022.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Beating.
Location: Bronzeville, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Disabled elder, wheelchair user.

Details:
Mae was found beaten to death in her apartment. Earlier the same day, police had been called to her apartment twice, first by her daughter who accused her of stealing her disability payments, and then by Mae, who told police her daughter would not leave her apartment. Police arrested Mae’s daughter, who had returned after being forced to leave and beat her mother to death.

Case Status:
Shearly Gaines (Daughter), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years and must serve 100% of that sentence.

Sources:
Woman pleads guilty to killing 87-year-old mother found dead in wheelchair in Bronzeville apartment
Woman pleads guilty to killing 87-year-old mother found dead in wheelchair in Bronzeville apartment
Death investigation: 87-year-old woman found dead in Bronzeville apartment ruled homicide, ME says
87-year-old woman beaten to death at senior living apartment building on South Side
‘It’s scary’: Woman, 87, found beaten to death in wheelchair at senior home complex, officials say
Woman Charged In Murder Of 87-Year-Old Woman In Douglas Apartment Complex
Garfield Park woman charged with murder of 87-year-old in Bronzeville senior complex
Woman charged with killing 87-year-old mother in CHA senior apartment on South Side
Bond denied for woman charged with killing 87-year-old mother on Chicago’s South Side
No bail for 69-year-old woman accused of murdering her 87-year-old mother at South Side senior apartments
Woman accused mom of stealing disability money before 87-year-old was found beaten to death: court

Michael Bruno

No PhotoName: Michael John Bruno.
Died: September 17, 2022.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Boardman, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Depression, PTSD, frail elder.

Details:
Michael’s son fatally shot him as he lay in bed; he was angry that Michael had decided to sell his home.

He was a Vietnam veteran who had served in the Air Force.

Case Status:
Michael N. Bruno (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 18 years to life.

Sources:
Man who killed his father gets 18 to life
Man sentenced in shooting death of father in Boardman
Obituary for Michael John Bruno | Funeral Services by Gary Silvat
Former Sheriff’s Deputy sentenced to 18 years to life in shooting death of father

Stephen Kershaw

Photo of an older man with short graying hair, glasses, fair skin, and a scruffy beard and mustache; he is wearing a white collared shirt and red-and-black jacket.Name: Stephen Kershaw.
Died: September 16, 2022.
Age at death: 65.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Bradford, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Stephen lived with his stepson and his stepson’s girlfriend. The two regularly abused and harassed him for money. Stephen’s stepson eventually smothered him, and the pair tried to hide his body for a few days before they were found out.

Case Status:
Ian Mitchell (Stepson), pleaded guilty to murder and fraud, sentenced to 22 years to life.
Sarah Pearson (Stepson’s girlfriend), pleaded guilty to murder and fraud, sentenced to 19 years to life.

Sources:
Woman handed prison sentence after making confession to stranger on one night stand
Woman and her fiance who murdered his vulnerable stepfather, 65…

Louise Nash

Somewhat blurred photo of a teenage girl with a round face, tan skin, and frizzy black hair tied back in a ponytail. She is wearing a dark zip-up sweater and a seat belt stretches across her chest. Her expression is neutral and relaxed, eyes half-closed.Name: Louise Nash.
Died: September 8, 2022.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Great Waldingfield, Suffolk, England, UK.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Louise and her mother Jillu lived in Suffolk, where Louise attended a special-needs school. Louise’s parents lived in India, and the mother and daughter sometimes went to visit them. They were well-known to neighbors, who remember them always waving from their car when they drove past.

Someone called the authorities, worried about Louise and Jillu, and police went to check on them. They found Louise and Jillu dead, a gas leak in the home, and Louise’s father, badly injured and immediately taken to the hospital, who they suspect is responsible for the killings. The neighborhood had to be evacuated while the gas leak was repaired, but no one else was hurt.

Case Status:
Peter Nash (Father), convicted of murder; sentenced to 40 years to life.

Sources:
Man handed life prison sentence for murders of wife and daughter, 12
Suffolk double murder: Man called wife ‘validated cheater’
Ipswich Crown Court shown footage of Great Waldingfield family murder accused, Peter Nash, referring to 12-year-old daughter as his ‘property’ in video recorded by wife before her death
After Neely homicide, mental health workers explain what to do if someone is in crisis on the subway
Murder trial set to enter closing stages
Husband who murdered wife and daughter thought they were his ‘property’
Man faces mandatory life sentence for murder of wife and daughter
Autism Memorial: Louise Nash
Tributes paid to ‘devoted’ mum and her daughter, 12, found at home dead
Council chair speaks of shock after suspected double murder
Injured man arrested over deaths of a mother and her 12-year-old daughter
Family of ‘murdered’ mother and daughter, 12, tell of ‘utter despair’
Dad ‘stabbed severely disabled daughter, 12, to death and strangled wife’
Father in court after being charged with murder of wife and kid
Man ‘killed wife and autistic daughter’
Husband ‘stabbed autistic daughter & strangled his wife who was leaving him’
Man accused of double murder ‘confessed to psychiatrist’, court told

Patricia Bitters

No PhotoName: Patricia Bitters.
Died: September 3, 2022.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Forres, Scotland, UK.
Disability: Mobility impaired.

Details:
Patricia lived with her grandson for the last five years of her life because she had trouble getting around and needed help. One night, her grandson came home drunk and beat her severely. She was taken to the hospital, but lived only six days before dying from her injuries.

Patricia had 13 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

Case Status:
Scott McCulloch (Grandson), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.

Sources:
Killer beat his own gran to death when he was supposed to be looking after her
‘Please stay with me while I die’: Granny’s plea to nurse after killer grandson ‘lost it’

Man pleads guilty to murder of his 84-year-old grandmother

Man sentenced to life in prison for murdering grandmother

Sick brute jailed for life after brutally murdering frail grandmother