Status: Sentenced – Page 51 – Disability Day of Mourning

Elaine Latshaw

No Photo
Name: Elaine Latshaw.
Died: August 15, 2015.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Starvation, sepsis, pneumonia.
Location: Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Elderly; mobility impaired.

Details:
Elaine was neglected by her son and daughter-in-law. She died of a combination of starvation, systemic infection from untreated bedsores, and pneumonia.

Case status:
John F. Latshaw Jr. (Son), pled no contest to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 3-24 months in prison.
Dorothy Robinson (Daughter-in-law), pled no contest to involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to 3-24 months in prison.

Source:
Couple charged in woman’s death by neglect
Elder Abuse or Respecting Last Wishes?
Police Charge Couple in 2015 Death in Schuylkill County
2 from Mahanoy City to face homicide charges
2 sentenced for role in woman’s death

Melisha Mosier Ludwick

Name: Melisha K. Mosier Ludwick.
Died: August 11, 2015 (Body found); died July 2015.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Hilham, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; attended special education classes, received disability benefits; under the care of a psychiatrist.

Details:
Melisha was killed by her live-in boyfriend and Social Security payee. He strangled her and dismembered the body.

Case status:
Edward Walsh (Boyfriend), convicted of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, sentenced to life, died in prison.

Source:
Murderer Describes Killing In Own Words
State of Tennessee v. Edward Walsh | Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts
Eight testify in Celina murder trial
Brutal murder case goes to grand jury

Karen Passmore

Portrait photo of Karen Passmore. She is a young woman with straight light-brown hair. Name: Karen Passmore.
Died: August 6, 2015.
Age at death: 58.
Cause of death: Pneumonia, sepsis, heart failure.
Location: Milton, Florida, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Karen’s daughter didn’t feed or care for her. Weakened by starvation, Karen died from a combination of pneumonia, heart failure, and infected bedsores, weighing 58 pounds.

Case status:
Jackie Passmore (Daughter), convicted of aggravated manslaughter of a disabled adult, given non-custodial sentence.

Source:
Don’t treat her like that
Arrest Report–Passmore
22-year-old woman charged in the death of her disabled mother
Woman Charged In Her Mother’s Death
Milton woman charged in death of her disabled mother
Milton woman charged in mother’s death
Karen Passmore Obituary – Milton, Florida
Woman convicted in disabled mother’s death
Milton woman convicted in the death of her disabled mother

Mr. Sulpizio

No Photo Name: Unknown. Possibly surnamed Sulpizio, like his mother.
Died: August 6, 2015.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Neglect.
Location: Four Oaks, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Multiple disabilities; non-verbal, blind, brain injury.

Details:
This seven-year-old boy was neglected by his mother. She kept her own room air-conditioned, but the little boy had to live in a filthy room that reached 95 degrees in the summer heat. He died of neglect.

Case status:
Donna Mae Sulpizio (Mother), convicted of intentional child abuse resulting in severe bodily injury, sentenced to 8 years 9 months 24 days; minimum 6 years.

Source:
Mother indicted following death of handicapped child
NC DPS Offender Public Information

Chaitanya Balpande

Photo of Chaitanya Balpande, an adolescent boy wearing a blue polo shirt. He has short black hair and tan skin; there is a spot of red on his forehead. Name: Chaitanya Balpande.
Died: August 5, 2015.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Disability: Cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia).

Details:
Chaitanya’s mother abused him, beating him for limping when he walked, starving him, locking him up, and making him exercise for hours at a time. Chaitanya died of injuries received when his mother beat him with a cricket bat.

Case status:
Rakhi Balpande (Mother), convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, sentenced to 10 years.

Source:
Sessions Court in Pune sentences woman to 10 years in prison for murdering her differently-abled son
13-yr-old was beaten to death with cricket bat he considered lucky

Thandazile Mpunzi

No Photo Name: Thandazile Mpunzi.
Died: August 1, 2015.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Kwazulu-Natal (Manguzi), South Africa.
Disability: Albinism.

Details:
Believing that albino body parts would make them rich, Thandazile’s boyfriend, a local healer, and two other men decided to kill her. Her boyfriend lured her out to a remote spot, where she was strangled and dismembered.

Case status:
Mandla Mabuza, pleaded guilty to murder, 20 years.
Lindokuhle Khumalo, pleaded guilty to murder, 20 years.
Bhekukufa Gumede (healer), convicted of murder, sentenced to life.
Siyabonga Gwala (Boyfriend), sentenced to 18 years.

Source:
KZN witchdoctor gets life for murder of woman with albinism
Boyfriend jailed for albino muti murder
KZN albino murder: 2 suspects plead guilty
Commission outraged at killing of albino woman

Luc Baeyens

Photo of a middle-aged, balding man with lightly tanned skin, wearing glasses.. Name: Luc Baeyens.
Died: July 29, 2015.
Age at death: 48.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Tremelo, Flanders, Belgium.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Luc was smothered by his stepfather.

Case status:
Aloïs De Smedt (Stepfather), convicted of murder, sentenced to 12 years; eligible for release in 3 years.

Source:
Twaalf jaar voor moord op gehandicapte stiefzoon
Tranen maken even Plaats voor Lach op Afscheid Luc Baeyens (48)

Meredith Jessie

Name: Meredith Jessie.
Died: July 18, 2015.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Lakeland, Florida, USA.
Disability: Diagnosed (possibly incorrectly) with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Details:
Meredith’s mother was afraid that her fiancé was going to leave her. She saw Meredith as an impediment to her relationship with her fiance. Twice she had Meredith hospitalized for psychiatric issues, though it’s unknown whether Meredith actually had a mental illness or whether her mother was just obsessed with the idea that she did.

Meredith’s mother stabbed Meredith to death; she also killed her father.

Case status:
Cheyanne Jessie (Mother), convicted of two counts of murder, sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Source:
Cheyanne Jessie sentenced to life in prison for murder of father and daughter
Polk jury begins deliberations in murder trial of Cheyanne Jessie, Lakeland woman accused of killing her daughter, 6, and dad
Family wants death penalty for Lakeland woman accused of…

Jessie McCrimmon

No Photo Name: Jessie McCrimmon.
Died: July 15, 2015.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Septic shock, multiple organ failure.
Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.

Details:
Jessie’s girfriend neglected him so badly that when he was rushed to the hospital, he needed immediate amputation of both legs because of infected pressure sores. But the amputations failed to save his life, and he died of multiple organ failure and septic shock.

Case status:
Stacey Ann Cunnius (Girlfriend, paid caregiver), pleaded no contest to third-degree murder and neglect of care for a dependent person; sentenced to 4-10 years in prison and ten years of probation.

Source:
Caregiver charged with homicide in death of man with maggot-filled foot wounds
Woman charged after man with maggot-filled foot wounds dies
Reading woman charged in death of man in her care
Pennsylvania woman charged after man with maggot-filled foot wounds dies
Reading woman pleads no contest in death of her boyfriend
Woman gets prison in death of man with maggot-filled wound
Woman sentenced in death of man with maggot-filled wounds

Baby Boy

No Photo Name: Never named.
Died: July 15, 2015.
Age at death: 3 days.
Cause of death: Potassium chloride poisoning.
Location: Chongming, Shanghai, China.
Disability: Cleft lip.

Details:
This newborn boy, who may not have been given a name, was killed by his grandfather because he had a cleft lip. His grandfather went to a doctor to get potassium chloride and instructions on how to use it, and then injected the substance into the newborn boy’s head, killing him.

Case status:
The baby’s grandfather, surnamed Peng, sentenced to seven years.
A doctor surnamed Zhu, who supplied the potassium chloride, sentenced to five years.

Source:
Chinese man kills grandson for being born with a cleft lip
Cleft Lip Stigma Cost Infant His Life