Status: Sentenced – Page 59 – Disability Day of Mourning

Linda Kelley

Name: Linda Kelley.
Died: August 4, 2014.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Acute and chronic bedsores.
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Spina bifida.

Details:
Linda died after she was left without care on her kitchen floor for long periods of time. She developed bedsores which worsened and eventually killed her.

Case status:
John Kelley (Father), charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.
Lavonne Kelley (Mother), pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, sentenced to 1 year in prison and 5 years in community corrections.

Source:
Mother sentenced in death of her paralyzed daughter
Indianapolis couple charged with neglect in death of paralyzed daughter

Jarrod Tutko, Jr.

Name: Jarrod Tutko, Jr.
Died: July 29, 2014.
Age at death: 9.
Cause of death: Starvation, dehydration.
Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Fragile X, autism.

Details:
Jarrod’s parents locked him into a bare attic, where Jarrod died of starvation and thirst. He weighed less than 17 pounds at his death.

Case status:
Jarrod Tutko Sr. (Father), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 21-42 years.
Kimberly Tutko (Mother), pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, sentenced to 20 to 40 years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Jarrod Tutko, Jr.
Police report and charges
Harrisburg mother said she didn’t know son was dead upstairs in her house
Inside the Harrisburg home where child died: ‘They were a fighting family’
Cause of death undetermined for 9-year-old Harrisburg boy Jarrod Tutko Jr.
Authority on Fragile X: Child with this syndrome belonged in school
Coroner: Starvation contributed to death of Harrisburg boy, 9
Parents of autistic Pennsylvania boy charged in starvation death
Court refuses to cut Kimberly Tutko’s prison term for starving death of her 9-year-old son

Albert Franklin

No Photo Name: Albert Franklin.
Died: Sometime after July 28, 2014.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Sepsis and malnutrition.
Location: Flint, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Albert had a feeding tube because of an obstruction in his throat, but his caregivers refused to use it, so Albert starved until he weighed only 52 pounds. He was hospitalized in July 2014, in septic shock from untreated bedsores, and died there.

Case status:
Alice Bitters (Girlfriend), ruled not competent to stand trial and institutionalized.
Melissa Bardoni (Girlfriend’s niece), pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, sentenced to 15-30 years.

Source:
Bardoni v. Howard, Case No. 20-11861 | Casetext Search + Citator
Woman pleads guilty to murder in elder abuse case
2 Flint women charged with abusing emaciated man
Caregivers arrested after emaciated man found with infected bed sores in Flint
Girlfriend, niece charged with elder abuse after police find 52 pound man
Woman Pleads Guilty In Flint Elder Abuse Case, Second Woman May Have Been Involved
Woman pleads guilty to murder in elder abuse case

Cecily Kurtz

No Photo Name: Cecily Kurtz.
Died: July 2, 2014.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Pulmonary embolism.
Location: Didcot, England, UK.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, OCD.

Details:
Cecily was unable to care for her own needs because of her mental illness, but her daughter left her on the couch and did not care for her. Having been neglected for years, she died of a pulmonary embolism in a filthy room, weighing 85 pounds.

Case status:
Emma-Jane Kurtz (Daughter), convicted of willful neglect, sentenced to serve at least half of a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence; sentence overturned when judge determined that the court had not proved that Cecily lacked the ability to make her own decisions.

Source:
Daughter left mum to die in own faeces
Emma-Jane Kurtz jailed after mum is found dead due to neglect
Daughter jailed for leaving mother to die in her own feces
Neglected mum’s body ‘looked like photograph from WW2 concentration camp’
Doctor who cared for ‘neglected’ mother ‘blocked by family’
Daughter cleared of neglect after mum, 79, died in ‘pool of urine and diarrhoea’

Theodore Meyer

Photo of Theodore Meyer, an elderly white man in a suit and black tie, wearing glasses. Name: Theodore Meyer.
Died: June 28, 2014.
Age at death: 91.
Cause of death: Blunt force chest trauma.
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Dementia, heart disease.

Details:
Theodore’s son beat him to death with his own cane.

Case status:
Donald Ray Meyer (Son), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 12 years.

Source:
Oklahoma City man gets 12 years in prison for fatal beating of father, 91
Oklahoma City Man Charged With Murder In Father’s Death

Shirley Beck

Photo of Shirley Beck. She is a woman with long blonde hair and pale skin; she is wearing a colorful sweater. Name: Shirley Beck.
Died: June 26, 2014.
Age at death: 39.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Clarksville, Tennessee, USA.
Disability: Unspecified mental disability (received disability payments); abuse survivor.

Details:
Shirley lived in a non-traditional relationship, as a “house slave” to her BDSM mistress and their housemates. Her mistress helped her manage her finances, which she could not do on her own, but Shirley was the one who did the chores.

Typically, such relationships involve a lot of trust on both sides; crucially, the “slave” role is voluntary, and any injury is superficial. However, Shirley’s mistress betrayed her trust. Instead of pretending to hold Shirley captive, she actually imprisoned Shirley; rather than staging a “safe, sane, consensual” BDSM scene, she and her housemates inflicted a severe, hours-long beating with a metal rod. Shirley died of her injuries.

Shirley loved feeding birds.

Case status:
Cynthia Dianne Skipper (Partner), negligent homicide and kidnapping, 25 years.
Derek M. Vicchitto (Housemate), facilitation of second-degree murder and kidnapping, 25 years.
Matthew Lee Reynolds (Housemate), first-degree murder and kidnapping, 59 years to life.
Alphonso Richardson (Housemate), first-degree murder and kidnapping, life plus 25 years.

Source:
Jury to get ‘house slave’ slaying case Thursday
Defense: Slain ‘house slave’ wanted beatings
Four on trial in ‘house slave’ slaying
From wife and mother to ‘slave’ to murder victim
The Last Four Hours of Shirley Beck’s Life – Kate Kinsey (NSFW)
3 sentenced in BDSM slaying

On-Yu Choy

No Photo Name: On-Yu Choy.
Died: June 25, 2014.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Hong Kong, China.
Disability: Autism, ADHD.

Details:
On-yu’s father killed him by stabbing him more than 100 times with a pair of kitchen knives, reasoning that “if he is gone, the whole family will have peace”.

Case status:
Sin-hung Choy (Father), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, sentenced to four years.

Source:
Autism Memorial: On-Yu Choy
Man, 61, kills autistic teenage son because he felt burden was ‘tough for the whole family’
A martyr for his family? Hong Kong court jails father four years for killing autistic son

Sayane Kishimoto

Name: Sayane Kishimoto.
Died: June 15, 2014.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Malnutrition.
Location: Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan.
Disability: Congenital myopathy.

Details:
Sayane died from malnutrition. On autopsy, non-food items were found in her stomach, and she weighed half of what she should have.

Case status:
Yuki Kishimoto (Father), convicted of negligence, 18-month suspended sentence.
Her mother, arrested; charges unknown.

Source:
Parents arrested for starving 3-year-old daughter to death
High court overturns ruling on death of disabled child

David Alan

No Photo Name: David Alan.
Died: June 14, 2014.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Blood loss.
Location: Rutland, Massachusetts, USA.
Disability: Bipolar disorder, anxiety.

Details:
David’s brother went to David’s home, killed him with pliers and a knife, then dismembered his body. David had a restraining order against his brother.

Case status:
Michael S. Dowjat (Brother), convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.

Source:
Rutland Murder Victim Described As A Recluse
Self-defense, says Holden man charged in brother’s death
Fate of Michael Dowjat, Holden man charged in brother’s slaying, headed to jury
Dowjat trial jurors get look at sawed bones
Michael Dowjat found guilty of stabbing estranged brother 70 times and then cutting off his head
Man Pleads Not Guilty to Murder of Brother
Holden man convicted of killing younger brother whose body was dismembered

Samantha Marcus

Black and white school photo of Samantha Marcus, a girl with light skin and long, dark hair, smiling for the camera. Name: Samantha Marcus.
Died: June 8, 2014.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Waukegan, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Muscular dystrophy.

Details:
Samantha and her mother, Sun Marcus, were both strangled to death by her father.

Samantha’s favorite subject in school was graphic arts. She played video games in her free time, and had two dogs named Snickers and Penny.

Case status:
Anthony Marcus (Father), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 45 years.

Source:
Waukegan Man Charged With Killing Wife, Disabled Daughter
SAMANTHA MARCUS Obituary (1997 – 2014)