Status: Sentenced – Page 47 – Disability Day of Mourning

Violet Barker

No Photo Name: Violet Barker.
Died: December 9, 2015.
Age at death: 92.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Boynton Beach, Florida, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired; used walker.

Details:
Violet’s son left her alone in her room. She usually used a walker to get around her home, but her son didn’t check on her when she didn’t come out to eat. Only weeks later did he report her death, which medical examiners determined had been from starvation.

Case status:
Robert C. Hart (Son), convicted of aggravated manslaughter of an elderly person or disabled adult, sentenced to 3-5 years; paroled after 3 years.

Source:
Man accused of starving mother to death
Partially mummified woman seen as spry, solitary, struggling
Cops: Florida man let elderly mother starve to death, body decomposed in home
PBSO: Mom, 92, found ‘mummified’ in mobile home; son arrested
Man let 92-year-old mother starve, decompose in her room, investigators say

Bruce Rangitutia

Name: Bruce Tau Rangitutia.
Died: December 8, 2015.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Head injury, pneumonia, starvation.
Location: Tokoroa, North Island, New Zealand.
Disability: Cerebral palsy, intellectual disability.

Details:
When Bruce’s mother died, he went to live with his brother and sister-in-law, who abused and neglected him. He shrank to 45.7 kilos and was hospitalized after entering a coma. After being stabilized, he was supposed to go to a rehabilitation facility; but his brother and sister-in-law refused this once they realized they would no longer receive money for caring for him; so he went back to live with them. They went right back to neglecting him, including denying him his regular medication. Confined to bed because of malnutrition and unexplained injuries from blunt-force trauma that were likely caused by abuse, he was unable to get food for himself, and his caregivers ignored his cries for food and water. He died of a combination of head injury, pneumonia, bedsores, and starvation.

Case status:
Jovander Raymond Terry (Adoptive brother), pleaded guilty to ill treatment of a vulnerable adult, sentenced to 6 years 7 months.
Annie Mathews (Sister-in-law), pleaded guilty to ill treatment of a vulnerable adult and failing to seek medical care, sentenced to 4 years 10 1/2 months.

Source:
A Tokoroa couple have been jailed after starving a man with cerebral palsy to death – 23-Sep-2019 – NZ Law and Order news
Vulnerable man who drank own urine spends last hours ‘constantly moaning and calling for food and water’
Vulnerable man starved by carers died weighing 6st after begging for food
Tokoroa couple admit starving man with cerebral palsy before he died
View Bruce RANGITUTIA’s Notice on nzherald.co.nz and share memories

Antonio Tucci

Photo of a balding man wearing a turquoise shirt. He has a wide grin on his face and his eyes are squeezed nearly shut with amusement. Name: Antonio Tucci.
Died: December 7, 2015.
Age at death: 71.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Castel del Piano, Italy.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Antonio was beaten to death, dying of head trauma after what looked like a robbery gone wrong. However, two days later, Antonio’s nephew was arrested. They had lived together in the past, and now Antonio’s nephew was demanding his pension money. When he would not give him the money, Antonio’s nephew killed him.

Antonio Tucci was a retired baker.

Case status:
Claudio Orlando (Nephew), convicted of murder, sentenced to 30 years.

Source:
Antonio Tucci: il caso dell’omicidio del pensionato ucciso a bastonate in casa sua
Wheelchair-bound pensioner murdered
Anziano trovato morto, fermato un nipote

Malik Drummond

Photo: Toddler boy with light-brown skin, wearing a T-shirt printed with a dancing skeleton; his hair is dark-brown and curly. He is smiling. He is sitting on a brown dog. Name: Malik Drummond.
Died: Reported missing November 23, 2014; body found December 2, 2015.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Searcy, Arkansas, USA.
Disability: Family claimed he was autistic.

Details:
Two-year-old Malik’s family claimed that he was autistic and had wandered away from their home, leaving behind his twin sister. Searches were conducted to no avail; five days after he went missing, police became suspicious when it was revealed that Malik had never actually been tested for autism.

Over a year later, Malik’s father turned himself in, and Malik’s remains were discovered in a field near the house.

Case status:
Jeffery Leroy Clifton (Father), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, sentenced to 40 years, with parole eligibility in 10 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Malik Drummond
Father gets 40 years after pleading no contest in death of toddler Malik Drummond
Father arrested for murder of missing Searcy toddler

Payal Sawant

No Photo Name: Payal Sawant.
Died: November 30, 2015.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Disability: Paraplegic, intellectually disabled.

Details:
Payal and her 8-year-old sister were tortured by their stepmother when their father was away at work. Payal’s stepmother tried to pass off her death as a natural one, but police saw the marks of abuse on her body. Payal may have died when she was strangled, or when she had her head slammed into a wall.

Case status:
Pratibha Sawant (Stepmother); convicted of torture and murder, sentenced to life in prison.

Source:
Bhandup woman held for torturing, killing stepdaughter
Mumbai: Stepmother booked for killing 6-year-old mentally unstable girl
Woman gets life for torture, murder of six-year-old stepdaughter

Vincent Apilado

Photograph of Vincent Apilado, an older man in a suit and tie. He has dark brown, graying hair and olive-toned skin. Name: Vincent Apilado.
Died: November 28, 2015.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: El Paso, Texas, USA.
Disability: Parkinson’s disease, dementia.

Details:
Vincent was shot and killed by his son, who had a history of violence against both his parents.

Vincent loved music and was a talented violinist; he played racquetball and was a devout Catholic. He worked as a college professor at Arizona State and chair of finance and real estate at the University of Texas.

Case status:
Steven Apilado (Son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 80 years.

Source:
Man sentenced to 80 years for the murder of his father
Dr. Vincent Paul Apilado’s Obituary
Documents: Killing suspect had attacked parents
Mother asks not to ‘make her son out to be monster’ after allegedly killing father
Neighbors shocked after alleged murder in east El Paso
Father murdered in Far East El Paso

Adrian Jones

Photo of Adrian Jones, a small boy with dark hair in a buzz cut, light-brown skin, and dark eyes. His left eyelid droops slightly; his expression is neutral. He is wearing a red, gray, and and white T-shirt. Name: Adrian Jones.
Died: September or October 2015; body found November 26, 2015.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Kansas City, Kansas, USA.
Disability: “Special needs”; PTSD and reactive attachment disorder.

Details:
Adrian was confined to a bedroom, where he was beaten by his father and starved by his parents. When he died of starvation after having been confined to a shower for the last month of his life, his father fed his body to his pigs.

Case status:
Heather Jones (Stepmother), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse, sentenced to 25 years to life.
Michael Jones (Father), pleaded guilty to child abuse, aggravated battery and aggravated assault, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:

Kansas will pay $1 million over the murder of torture victim whose body was fed to pigs
Prosecutor: Abuse charges just ‘tip of the iceberg’ in Michael Jones case
Stepmom enters plea in death of Kan. boy; remains found in pig pen
US stepmother pleads guilty to murder of boy fed to pigs
Kansas woman gets life term in 7-year-old stepson’s death
Life sentence expected for father who confessed to killing son, feeding body to pigs
Father to be sentenced after abusing, killing, feeding son to pigs
‘Daddy keeps hitting me’: Boy who was killed, fed to pigs told authorities about abuse
Father who tortured, killed 7-year-old Adrian Jones sentenced to life in prison
A life of torture: Kansas boy was starved, beaten for years until he died and parents fed him to pigs
Social worker knew 7-year-old was killed and fed to pigs was being tortured

David Fuhrman

No Photo Name: David Fuhrman.
Died: November 24, 2015.
Age at death: 54.
Cause of death: Sepsis, pneumonia, malnutrition.
Location: Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Mental illness; intellectual disability.

Details:
David was starved and neglected by his unpaid caregivers, who claimed they had “essentially adopted” him. He died of a combination of blood poisoning from untended bedsores, pneumonia, and malnutrition.

David worked at Goodwill.

Case status:
Adam Haynes, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, neglect, conspiracy, and reckless endangerment, sentenced to 7-14 years.
Pamela McNeal, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, neglect, conspiracy, and reckless endangerment, sentenced to 7-14 years.

Source:
Couple jailed in death of 76-pound disabled man covered with bed sores
Couple held in alleged neglect death of 76 lb. disabled man
Couple held in death of 76-pound disabled man with bed sores
Penn Hills couple charged in man’s death once contracted with county as caregivers
Penn Hills caregivers face trial in death of man with disabilities
Caregivers plead guilty in 2015 death of Penn Hills man
Penn Hills caregivers plead guilty in 2015 death of disabled man

Yoki Fujita

No Photo Name: Yoki Fujita.
Died: November 23, 2015.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Saitama, Japan.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Ms. Fujita’s husband was scheduled for surgery on his neck, and was worried that he would no longer be able to care for her. He had been approved for public assistance, but rejected elderly-care services.

Just before he was due for the surgery, Ms. Fujita’s husband talked to her daughter, explained that he wanted to kill his wife and commit suicide, and asked her to help him. She agreed, drove them both to the river, and drowned them.

Case status:
Atsuko Namikata (Daughter), pleaded guilty to murder, sentenced to 4 years.
Yoshihide Fujita (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Woman pleads guilty to murder, assisted suicide of parents
Father’s scheduled surgery possibly linked to suicide assisted by daughter
Woman jailed for 4 years for murder, assisted suicide of parents

Josephine Williamson

No Photo Name: Josephine Anne Williamson.
Died: November 21, 2015.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Earley, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Josephine’s husband, having been recently diagnosed with cancer and not wanting her to become an “old hag”, pushed her down the stairs and then strangled her.

Josephine was a retired physical education teacher.

Case status:
Philip Williamson (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility; given a 2-year suspended sentence.

Source:
Victim of Lower Earley murder investigation named
Earley pensioner who killed wife reached ‘crisis point’ after being diagnosed with cancer
Dying pensioner spared jail after killing dementia-suffering wife in Reading
Philip Williamson, 88, charged with murdering his wife at their Elm Lane home
Elderly man from Earley sentenced for killing his wife
Murder charge over elderly woman’s death in Earley
Dying OAP escapes jail after killing dementia-suffering wife