Status: Sentenced – Page 33 – Disability Day of Mourning

Davarion Davis

Photo of Davarion Davis, a boy with brown skin and black hair in a buzz cut, photographed outdoors, smiling at the camera. He is wearing a pink sweatshirt with a logo printed on the front. Name: Davarion Davis.
Died: May 4, 2017.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Infection secondary to kidney disease.
Location: Gary, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Nephrotic syndrome.

Details:
Davarion’s nephrotic syndrome, a kidney disease, should have been easily treatable with medication; but his mother neglected his medical care, often forgetting to give him medication and eventually taking him off medication entirely. He died of an infection related to his untreated nephrotic syndrome.

Case status:
Teisha Ellis (Mother), pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent causing bodily injury, sentenced to 3 years on work release.

Source:
Gary mother faces felony neglect charges after son’s death due to kidney disorder complications
Support Lil D Homegoing Service organized by Stompdown Laydii
Mother sentenced to 3 years in work release for child’s death from chronic medical condition

Kari Whitley

Sepia-tone photo of a young woman with short hair and big earrings. Name: Kari Marann Whitley.
Died: May 3, 2017.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Gulfport, Mississippi, USA.
Disability: Brain cancer survivor, wheelchair user.

Details:
Kari survived brain cancer at age 19 and went on to get a degree in journalism. She worked at the VA as a public relations specialist until she retired due to medical problems.

Kari’s husband, who had in the past assaulted her, took her back to his home from her assisted living facility so that he could get her disability check. A month later, she was dead. He had beaten her to death with a hammer.

Case status:
William Bryant (Husband), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to life in prison.

Source:
Man admits to removing wife from facility to get her disability check, then killing her with a hammer
Kari Whitley’s Obituary

Kentae Williams

Name: Kentae Williams.
Died: April 28, 2017.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Decatur, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Kentae’s mother gave him up for adoption because she was only fourteen when she gave birth. The boy stayed with his grandparents until he was taken by children’s services and eventually adopted.

Kentae’s adoptive father beat him with a belt, burned his feet with boiling water, and finally drowned him in the bathtub.

Case status:
Leon Williams Sr. (Adoptive father), convicted of murder, sentenced to life plus 65 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Kentae Williams
Police: Man drowns autistic son in bathtub just months after he adopted him
Man Allegedly Drowned His Autistic Adopted Son In Bathtub
DFCS sued over homicide drowning of autistic boy, 10, in DeKalb
‘You’re going to die tonight’: He held autistic son under tub water to punish him, prosecutors say
DeKalb dad claims autistic son, 10, killed himself — then admits lie
‘Dad’ who drowned autistic son in bathtub had adopted the little boy just months before, to ‘fill a void’
Man gets life plus 65 years for killing adopted autistic son

Abbie Speir

Name: Abbie Diana Speir.
Died: April 20, 2017.
Age at death: 33.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Disability: Epilepsy.

Details:
Soon after she tried to leave him, Abbie’s partner stabbed her to death and set the house on fire.

Abbie was a playful lover of parties, especially community fundraisers, and was often seen wearing her trademark high heels and animal print.

Case Status:
Kevin Obinna Okafor (Partner), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 16 years to life.

Sources:
Abbie’s story: How intimate partner violence affects those left behind
Remembering the life of Abbie SPEIR 1983 – 2017
Yellow Grass, Sask. man sentenced to life in prison for killing of Abbie Speir | Globalnews.ca
Family still haunted by violent last moments of slain Yellow Grass mother as killer sentenced

Helen Dansie

Name: Helen Dansie.
Died: April 16, 2017.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Helen’s husband picked her up from her nursing home, went to a park, and pushed her into a pond, where she drowned. He believed she had become a burden to him, and had taken out a life insurance policy on her four days prior.

She was a retired microbiologist. At the nursing home, she liked playing chess and doing crossword puzzles.

Case status:
Peter Rex Dansie (Husband); charged with murder. First trial ended in mistrial; second trial ended in conviction for murder. Sentenced to 25 years. Died in prison in 2024.

Source:
Man who killed his disabled wife dies in prison
Life sentence stands for killer who pushed disabled wife into pond
Killer who pushed wife’s wheelchair into pond loses appeal
Real life: My dad staged my mum’s murder as an accident
Lawyer for wife-killer Peter Dansie compares his murder conviction to George Pell case
Man killed wheelchair-bound wife by pushing her into pond
Adelaide man guilty of murdering wife who drowned in pond
This is what accused Adelaide wife-killer Peter Rex Dansie told police on the day his wife died
‘Suitcase full of condoms’: Adelaide murder accused bought ticket to China
Alleged wife killer replied ‘no comment’ when son asked about her death
Dansie to face new murder trial in October
Disabled woman’s husband ‘carefully planned her murder’
Husband charged with murder of wheelchair-bound wife found in pond
Murder charge
Man charged with murder of wife who drowned in Adelaide pond
Wheelchair-bound wife drowned in ‘planned attack’
Husband charged with murder of wheelchair-bound wife
SA man charged over Adelaide pond death
Husband charged with his wheelchair-bound wife’s murder
Tiny pond where a wheelchair-bound woman was mysteriously found dead
Veale Gardens pond drained as police investigate Helen Dansie’s death
Wheelchair drowning death unexplained, despite autopsy, police say
Detectives return to scene of pond death
Pond death: ‘Of course it was an accident’
Twist in parklands pond death mystery
Man accused of drowning wife had allegedly searched internet for ‘cheap funerals’
Man accused of pushing disabled wife into pond pleads not guilty to murder
Man accused of drowning wheelchair-bound wife fronts court
Man charged with drowning wheelchair user wife in Adelaide pond to face trial by judge
Husband ‘pushed wife’s wheelchair into pond for insurance pay-out’
Man accused of drowning wife seemed ‘unfazed’ when paramedics arrived, court hears
Man, 70, accused of drowning disabled wife in pond after she ‘became a burden’
Man accused of drowning wife with disabilities saw her as a ‘cost burden’, court hears

Walter Brown Jr.

Name: Walter L. Brown Jr.
Died: April 12, 2017.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Sepsis, pneumonia.
Location: Bridgeton, New Jersey, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, epilepsy.

Details:
Walter died from a combination of malnutrition, pneumonia, and sepsis from pressure sores. He weighed 73 pounds when he died.

Case status:
Cinnamon A. Corley (Mother), convicted of reckless manslaughter, sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Source:
Plea deal in disabled man’s murder not likely, defense says
Millville mother charged with murder in disabled son’s death
Disabled man died emaciated and covered in bed sores. Now his mother is charged with murder
Woman charged in death of disabled, adult son gets closer to trial
Offender Details

Tyson Clark-Robertson

Name: Tyson Timothy Clark-Robertson.
Died: July 20, 2016; body found April 11, 2017.
Age at death: 24.
Cause of death: Head trauma.
Location: Mayfield, Tasmania, Australia.
Disability: Unspecified; received disability pension.

Details:
Tyson lived with his ex-girlfriend, who had recently started dating their housemate. The housemate became angry and hit him in the head with a hammer, killing him. They buried him in a shallow grave. For the next seven months, they pretended Tyson was still alive by impersonating him on social media and stole his disability pension from his bank account.

Case Status:
Ian Rosewall, pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 12.5 to 22 years.
Renae Lorraine Donald (Ex-girlfriend), pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder, sentenced to 3-6 years.

Source:
STATE OF TASMANIA v RENEE LORRAINE DONALD, COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE
Murderer ‘lost it’ after victim’s ‘paedo dog’ comment, court hears
Human remains found at Launceston house, three charged

Radhamani

No Photo Name: Radhamani.
Died: April 9, 2017.
Age at death: 47.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
Disability: Mental illness.

Details:
Radhamani’s son killed her by hitting her in the head.

Case Status:
Peringanath Prajith Kumar (Son), convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, sentenced to 10 years and a fine of 1 lakh Rupees (about $13,500 or €11,500).

Source:
Kerala: Son gets 10-year rigorous imprisonment for mother’s …

Charles Singer

Name: Charles William “Butch” Singer.
Died: April 7, 2017 (Body found); missing since February 8, 2017.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Bunnell, Florida, USA.
Disability: Legally blind.

Details:
When Charles’s sister began receiving text messages from him that included misspelled words, she became suspicious: Charles, who was blind, normally used speech-recognition to send text messages.

When his body was found, it became clear that Charles had been shot to death by his wife. She had sent the text messages to make it seem like he was still alive.

Case status:
Dorothy Singer (Wife), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life without parole; new trial ordered on appeal; pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 25 to 32.5 years in prison.

Source:
Eligible for Re-Trial, Dorothy Singer Pleads in 2017 Murder of Her Husband and Is Sentenced to 32 Years
Retrial date set for Bunnell woman accused of murdering husband
New trial ordered for Flagler woman convicted of killing husband, hiding body
Missing Bunnell man found shot to death
Charles Singer, previously reported missing, was shot to death
Wife arrested in death of disabled, blind Flagler County man, deputies say
Florida woman accused of murdering husband in ‘Dateline’-type case
JUST IN: Florida woman arrested in death of blind husband
Wife arrested in death of blind Flagler County man, deputies say
Wife arrested in murder of Charles William Singer
Bunnell woman charged with husband’s death months after his disappearance
Wife Arrested on 1st Degree Murder Charge In West-Flagler Killing of Charles Singer
Woman, 52, ‘killed her blind husband’ and planned to fake own death
Woman Killed Husband, Used Moth Balls to Mask Odor: Police
Sheriff: Wife killed man, covered up death
Bunnell woman found guilty of murdering husband
Dorothy Singer convicted of first-degree murder in February 2017 killing of her husband, Charles Singer

Samantha Link

Name: Samantha J. Link.
Died: March 31, 2017.
Age at death: 21.
Cause of death: Stabbing.
Location: Peosta, Iowa, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression.

Details:
Samantha was stabbed to death, and her boyfriend was charged with murder. Convicted at his first trial, he was granted a new trial because he had not been allowed to produce evidence of Samantha’s mental illness as a way to argue that she had stabbed herself. “Everything points to him as a murderer, not a suicide,” her father says, “so they’re just dragging my daughter’s name through the mud.”

Samantha owned dogs named Winnie, Bear, Stewie and Duke.

Case Status:
Fontae C. Buelow (Boyfriend), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 34-50 years; new trial granted, convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 34-50 years.

Source:
Man sentenced for second time in death of girlfriend in Iowa
Dubuque County woman’s mental health in spotlight during man’s murder trial
Samantha Link murder: Iowa Supreme Court orders new trial in 2017 case
Iowa Supreme Court orders new trial for Dubuque man convicted of killing his girlfriend