Category: Status: Sentenced

Suspect convicted and sentenced.

Edward Kessler

No PhotoName: Edward Kessler.
Died: February 7, 2022.
Age at death: 64.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Elizaville, New York, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; vulnerable elder.

Details:
Ed had been living with a couple for more than twenty years when he was found dead. Police suspect the couple of abusing him, stealing from him, and ultimately causing his death by strangulation.

Case Status:
Cassandra Fischer (Housemate), pleaded guilty to attempted murder and grand larceny; sentenced to 15 years.
Ryan Woods (Housemate), pleaded guilty to attempted murder, sentenced to 15 years.

Sources:
Two Columbia County residents admit to strangling man to steal his money
Elizaville couple charged in death of elderly housemate
2 Elizaville residents plead not guilty to murder charges
Edward Kessler’s mysterious death in Columbia County is a homicide, official says
State police continue investigating February Columbia County death

Brenda Raines

No PhotoName: Brenda Raines.
Died: January 29, 2022.
Age at death: 53.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Odessa, Texas, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Brenda’s family allegedly left her alone for days at a time without feeding her or keeping her clean. She was found dead, severely underweight, having died from starvation.

Case Status:
Christine Raines Claros (Sister, caregiver), charged with murder and injury to a disabled person.
Justin Raines (Family member, caregiver), pleaded guilty to injury to a disabled person, sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication and 600 hours of community service.
Elvira Luera (Family member, caregiver), pleaded guilty to injury to a disabled person, sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication and 600 hours of community service.

Sources:
Disabled woman’s death leads to guilty plea
Texas trio indicted in starvation death of woman with Down Syndrome, now charged with murder
3 arrested in January death of woman with Down Syndrome
3 suspected in starvation death of Odessan
3 arrested for their involvement in January death of woman with Down Syndrome

Karmity Hoeb

Photo of a small girl with pale skin and short, messy red hair, smiling. She has her hands clasped above her head and is wearing an orange tank top.Name: Karmity Faythe Hoeb.
Died: January 25, 2022.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Diabetic ketoacidosis.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Diabetes.

Details:
Karmity’s parents fed her mostly soda mixed with baby formula in a bottle. When she became sick, her parents didn’t seek medical care for several days, and Karmity died of a diabetes-related brain injury. She also had badly damaged teeth and had never seen a dentist.

Karmity loved racing toy cars and having her picture taken.

Case Status:
Tamara Banks (Mother), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 9 to 13 1/2 years.
Christopher Hoeb (Father), pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Sources:
US Woman Jailed For Killing Her Daughter, 4, By Feeding Her Diet Of Mountain Dew
‘Not an excuse’: Mom gets prison for death of diabetic 4-year-old fed mostly soda
Parents plead guilty in death of diabetic 4-year-old mostly fed soda through baby bottle
Obituary information for Karmity Faythe Hoeb

Sara McKeddie

Photo of a dark-haired, light-skinned woman wearing a red shirt, smiling for the camera.Name: Sara McKeddie.
Died: January 22, 2022.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Brain injury.
Location: Arnprior, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Injuries from car accident; required caregiver.

Details:
Sara was badly beaten by her husband, suffering broken ribs, internal injuries, and a brain injury that would lead to her death about a month later.

Her two boys, ages 5 and 3 when she died, are being raised by her sister.

Case Status:
David Michael Dubois (Husband), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to 12 years minus time served.

Sources:
David Dubois to serve almost 10 years for manslaughter near Arnprior
McNab/Braeside man charged with murder 9 months after woman’s death
Obituary of Sara Jean McKeddie

Ashton and Ethan Yap

Flowers left at a green railing in front of a shallow canal. There are three bouquets of yellow flowers and a line of white roses.Name: Ashton Yap Kai Shern.
Name: Ethan Yap E Chern.

Died: January 21, 2022.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Homicide.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: ADHD, autism.

Details:
Ashton and Ethan were twin brothers whose bodies were found in a canal near a playground. Their father was arrested on suspicion of having killed them.

Case Status:
Xavier Yap Jung Houn (Father), convicted of 2 counts of culpable homicide, sentenced to 14 years.

Sources:
Father gets 14 years in jail for killing autistic twin sons
Greenridge Cres killings: Father of twin boys to plead guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder
Man, 49, to plead guilty to culpable homicide for strangling twin sons, 11, in Upper Bukit Timah
Death of Upper Bukit Timah twins: Father to plead guilty to culpable homicide
Dad Accused of Killing His 2 Sons at Greenridge Playground Has Murder Charges Reduced to Culpable Homicide
Dad accused of strangling Singapore twin sons no longer facing the death penalty | Coconuts
Man who allegedly strangled twin sons gets murder charges reduced to culpable homicide » Borneo Bulletin Online
Twins found dead in Upper Bukit Timah canal: Father handed second murder charge
Autism Memorial: Ashton and Ethan Yap
Twins found dead in Upper Bukit Timah canal: Father accused of murder hires new lawyers
More Details Have Emerged About the Murder of the 2 Greenridge Crescent Boys
Greenridge Crescent boys’ deaths: 48-year-old father faces second murder charge
Twins found dead: SG Enable urges stressed caregivers of children with special needs to seek help | The Straits Times
Bodies of 11-year-old twins found in canal near Upper Bukit Timah playground | The Straits Times
Caregivers of children with special needs ‘may face burnout or feel emotionally burdened’: SG Enable
Father arrested after twin boys found dead in Upper Bukit Timah canal, to be charged with murder | The Straits Times
Twin Boys With Special Needs Found Dead In Canal, Father Charged With Murder
9 New Facts About the Twin Boys Murder Found in Upper Bukit Timah Canal

Lacey Fletcher

Black and white photo of a young woman with fair skin and long dark hair, smiling.Name: Lacey Fletcher.
Died: January 3, 2022.
Age at death: 36.
Cause of death: Medical neglect; pressure sores.
Location: Slaughter, Louisiana, USA.
Disability: Autism; catatonia or locked-in syndrome.

Details:
Lacey’s body was found sitting on a filthy couch at home. She had multiple pressure sores and infections, and was underweight. According to the coroner who ruled her death a homicide, she had suffered “at least a decade of neglect”.

Case Status:
Sheila Fletcher (Mother), pleaded no contest to manslaughter, sentenced to 40 years with 20 years suspended.
Clay Fletcher (Father), pleaded no contest to manslaughter, sentenced to 40 years with 20 years suspended.

Sources:
Parents of Woman With Autism Found Dead and ‘Melted’ Into Sofa Sentenced
Parents of autistic woman found dead in own waste, sentenced to 20 years
Louisiana parents accused of letting autistic daughter die plead no contest to manslaughter
Parents expected to plea to manslaughter after daughter died on couch
Parents re-indicted for murder of daughter found ‘melted’ to couch.
Charges against parents accused of letting daughter die on fetid couch thrown out — for now
Photos expose Lacey Ellen Fletcher’s AGONY, despite parents’ home stocked with cleaning products
Pictured: Parents of neglected daughter found dead and fused to family sofa
Parents to be hit with murder charges after daughter ‘melted into couch’
Grand jury to decide parents’ fate after coroner finds daughter’s body sitting on couch with feces around it
After ‘horrific’ death at home, parents of Louisiana woman may soon face murder charges
‘Worst case of neglect’: Parents face murder charges after neglect of disabled child
‘Something you make HORROR movies about’: Parents face murder charges after disabled daughter’s gruesome death
Autism Memorial: Lacey Fletcher
Woman, 36, with Locked-in Syndrome was found dead FUSED to a living room couch | Daily Mail Online
Neglected woman who died on parents’ sofa starved to death, had not seen doctor in 20 years

Natalie Ryan-Fraser

Photo of a middle-aged woman with fair skin, blue eyes, and pale-blonde hair; she is wearing dark mascara and smiling for the camera.Name: Natalie Ryan-Fraser.
Died: December 30, 2021.
Age at death: 55.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Caledonia, Mississippi, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Natalie’s husband fatally shot her.

Natalie was a senior instructor in English and Modern Languages at Angelo State University.

Case Status:
Wayne Fraser (Husband), found guilty of culpable negligent manslaughter, sentenced to 20 years.

Sources:
Scots killer who shot dead wheelchair-bound wife ‘appeals conviction’ in US
Exclusive: US court begins murder trial of Mintlaw man accused of shooting disabled wife dead
Scot goes on trial accused of murdering wheelchair bound wife in US
Wayne Fraser trial: Scottish man accused of murdering wife in the US
Bryan Rutherford: We’ll have no women left if men keep getting away with murder
Brother of disabled uni prof killed by ex-pat Scot reveals his anguish
Scot who moved to US for new life ‘murders disabled wife in horror shooting’
Scot ‘shoots wife dead’ in Mississippi after moving to US to start new life
Scots man accused of shooting wife dead in USA faces life in Mississippi jail

Terrance Adams

Photo of a young boy with pale skin and fine blond hair, wearing blue-rimmed glasses. His face is somewhat asymmetrical and his mouth pulls to one side; his ears stick out below the earpieces of his glasses.Name: Terrance “Terry” Adams.
Died: December 28, 2021.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Clinton township, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Charge syndrome.

Details:
Left alone to babysit, Terry’s mother’s boyfriend filled the bathtub with water and drowned him in it.

Case Status:
Hunter Locke-Huges (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of first-degree child abuse and involuntary manslaughter; sentenced to 90 months to 30 years.

Sources:
Mich. man sentenced in bathtub drowning death of girlfriend’s disabled son
Man charged with drowning 6-year-old disabled child he was babysitting
Man accused of holding child underwater in Clinton Township death investigation
Terrance Adams “Terry” Obituary – Warren, MI
Fraser man convicted in 2021 drowning death of 6-year-old special needs boy
Mich. man convicted of drowning girlfriend’s special-needs 6-year-old son in bathtub
Mich. Man Convicted of Manslaughter in Drowning Death of Girlfriend’s 6-Year-Old Son with Special Needs

Janice Hunter

Photo of a fair-skinned woman with dark-brown hair cut in bangs and curled at the tip. She is smiling for the camera. She is wearing a white tank top.Name: Janice Hunter.
Died: December 18, 2021.
Age at death: 75.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Paphos, Cyprus.
Disability: Leukemia.

Details:
Janice’s husband allegedly suffocated her. He claimed he had been assisting suicide, but as there was no evidence that Janet had wanted to die other than his assertion that she did, the court rejected that charge and charged him with murder, though he was convicted only of manslaughter after the court could not prove premeditation.

Case Status:
David Hunter (Husband), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years and released on time served.

Sources:
British man convicted of killing his ailing wife “out of love” is freed from prison in Cyprus
Expat whose wife ‘begged him’ to kill her found guilty of manslaughter in Cyprus
Birthday cards sent to Northumberland miner facing murder trial in Cyprus
Friend of man accused of killing terminally ill wife visits him in Cyprus prison
Former Northumberland miner denies murdering wife in Cyprus
Janice Hunter case: Cyprus murder-accused ‘was devoted husband’
Retired coal miner accused of killing wife is not a murderer, says ex-cellmate

Elizabeth Vamplew

Photo. An older woman with short, permed blond hair and fair skin, wearing glasses, pearl earrings and necklace, and a blue top. She is smiling for the camera.Name: Elizabeth Vamplew.
Died: December 15, 2021.
Age at death: 77.
Cause of death: Burns, smoke inhalation.
Location: Newark, Nottinghamshire, England, UK.
Disability: Mobility impaired, deaf.

Details:
Elizabeth’s daughter-in-law, who had already drained her bank account and stood to gain half the estate when Elizabeth died, set Elizabeth’s bed on fire. She died from burns and smoke inhalation.

Elizabeth received an award for Best Kept Garden. She went on cruises twice a year, traveled with her family in her caravan, and was extremely proud of her three granddaughters.

Case Status:
Karen Vamplew (Daughter-in-law), convicted of murder, sentenced to 32 years to life.

Sources:
Killer set fire to her disabled mother-in-law’s bed to collect inheritance money
‘Greedy’ woman murdered deaf mother-in-law by setting fire to her bed
‘Wicked’ woman who set fire to mother-in-law’s bed as she slept jailed for life
Woman jailed for murdering mother-in-law in fire for inheritance