Status: Sentenced – Page 95 – Disability Day of Mourning

Matthew Richmond

Name: Matthew Richmond.
Died: January 13, 1997.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Burns.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Developmental disability.

Details:
Matthew’s mother’s boyfriend held him in a tub of scalding water, and they did not seek medical treatment for twelve hours. He died of third-degree burns thirteen days later.

Case status:
Sharon Richmond (Mother), failing to seek medical care, 5 years.
Richard Joseph Klein (Mother’s boyfriend), child endangerment, 31 years.

Source:
Boy scalded in tub dies

Black and white photo of a teenage girl with fair skin and shaggy hair cut into bangs; her expression looks puzzled. Name: Casey Janine Huinui Albury.
Died: 1997.
Age at death: 17.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Feilding, New Zealand.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Casey was killed by her mother, who initially took her to a bridge in the hopes that Casey would climb onto it and fall off. When Casey refused, she took her daughter into an alley and strangled her.

Casey liked painting and composing music.

Case status:
Janine Albury-Thomson (Mother), convicted of manslaughter; sentenced to four years; served 15 months.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Casey Albury
Tragic end to life of beauty and misery
Woman who killed autistic daughter jailed for church fire

Christina Corrigan

Portrait photo of Christina Corrigan, a heavyset teenage girl with curly black hair and light-olive skin. Name: Christina Corrigan.
Died: November 19, 1996.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Heart failure.
Location: El Cerrito, California, USA.
Disability: Mobility impairment due to obesity; possible Prader-Willi syndrome.

Details:
Because Christina was gaining weight, her mother took her out of school. Her mother left her on the living room floor and did not take her to see a doctor. Christina gained so much weight that she could not walk, and died from heart failure. She had been badly neglected and was covered with bedsores.

Case status:
Marlene Corrigan (Mother), convicted of misdemeanor child abuse, sentenced to 3 years probation.

Source:
Christina Corrigan
Bedsores Covered 680-Pound Girl, Expert Says

Charles-Antoine Blais

No Photo Name: Charles-Antoine Blais.
Died: November 6, 1996.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Drowning.
Location: Montreal, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Charles-Antoine was drowned by his mother in her bathtub.

Case status:
Danielle Blais (Mother). Pled guilty to manslaughter, given a 23-month suspended sentence and offered a job at the Autism Society of Montreal. No jail time.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Charles-Antoine Blais
Solomon, A. (2014). Far from the tree: Parents, children and the search for identity. Scribner Classics.
Blais decision brings new concern to the disabled
People with Disabilities Outraged by Murders
History of euthanasia in Canada
Tracy Latimer is dead because her father is a murderer

Robin Appleby

Name: Robin Appleby.
Died: November 5, 1996.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability, epilepsy.

Details:
Robin’s parents kept her in a locked room without a toilet or sufficient food. There, she starved to death.

Case status:
Billy Appleby (Father), convicted of reckless homicide, sentenced to 5-20 years.
Alice Appleby (Mother), convicted of reckless homicide, sentenced to 5-20 years.
Billy Ray Appleby II (Brother), convicted of tampering with evidence, sentenced to 0-5 years.

Source:
Retarded Woman Dies Locked in Bedroom; Abused, Malnourished, Police Say
Robin Appleby’s Parents Deny Guilt; Lawyer says they were “overwhelmed” but cared for her

Gary Henderson

No Photo Name: Gary Henderson.
Died: August 28, 1996.
Age at death: 35.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury, asphyxia, possibly drowning.
Location: Lansvale, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Mobility impaired, intellectual disability.

Details:
Gary lived in a caravan with a couple who held his bank card and handled his finances; they were also intellectually disabled, but not as vulnerable as Gary. They were known to dislike him, and had been harassing him over his lack of hygiene and accusing him, sans evidence, of being a pedophile. When a friend of the family visited and beat Gary severely, no one called for help. Gary died either from the beating, from his injuries due to neglect, or from drowning when he was dumped at a boat dock.

Case Status:
Susan Hall (Household member), pleaded guilty to manslaughter, given suspended sentence.
Colin Simpson (Acquaintance), pleaded guilty to maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm, sentenced to time served.
Colin Hanslow (Household member), pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to the infliction of grievous bodily harm, released on good behavior bond.

Sources:
The Uncounted
Regina v Hall [1999] NSWSC 738 (23 July 1999)

Brenda Thomas

A gravestone reading, Brenda Kay Thomas. July 3, 1972 to April 9, 1996. Here lies an angel. Name: Brenda Kay Thomas.
Died: April 9, 1996.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Head injury, pneumonia.
Location: Sand Springs, Oklahoma, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Brenda’s mother abused and starved her; she died of a combination of head injury and pneumonia when her 36-pound body finally succumbed to her mother’s mistreatment.

Case status:
Eva Nell Thomas (Mother), convicted of second-degree manslaughter, sentenced to 2 years in prison.

Source:
Woman Held in Daughter’s Death

Justin and Sandra Blair

Photo of a gravestone. It reads: Blair, Sandi Kay, 1960-1996. Justin Michael, 1987-1996. Mother and son. Name: Sandra Blair.
Age at death: 36.
Disability: Injury from a car accident.

Name: Justin Blair.
Age at death: 8.
Disability: Cerebral palsy; blindness.

Died: March 11, 1996.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned with hammer.
Location: Concord, New Hampshire, USA.

Details:
Sandra and Justin, mother and son, were killed by Sandra’s husband, Justin’s father, who bludgeoned them with a hammer.

Case status:
Robert Blair (Father); convicted of murder; sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Source:
Man Convicted in Hammer Slayings of Wife, Son

Scott Dell

Name: Scott Dell.
Died: December 28, 1995.
Age at death: 44.
Cause of death: Antifreeze poisoning.
Location: Killaloe, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Cancer of the mouth/throat; in remission.

Details:
When Scott Dell was found dead, poisoned with antifreeze, his wife tried to call it a suicide. Scott was depressed, she claimed, because he was afraid of his cancer coming back. But her story fell apart. Witnesses testified that Scott had wanted to live and had hope for his future. The family cat had died from antifreeze poisoning. And Scott’s wife was the only person who could have given him the antifreeze-tainted wine that killed him.

Case status:
Cherrylle Dell (Wife; estranged), convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to 25 years to life.

Source:
How sex, lies and antifreeze convicted the `Angel’ of death, Cherrylle Dell

Danielle Tucker

Name: Danielle Tucker, born Danielle R. Dornan.
Died: December 10, 1995.
Age at death: 3.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Coldwater, Michigan, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, spina bifida.

Details:
Danielle died of head injuries after she was pushed down a flight of stairs by her adoptive mother, who claimed she had fallen. Danielle died on December 10, eight days short of her fourth birthday.

To avoid facing scrutiny for her death, the family moved, taking Danielle’s two siblings with them, but two years later Danielle’s sister was found locked in the basement, starving and neglected, and rescued. Danielle’s case was re-opened and her mother was charged.

Case status:
Becky Tucker (Adoptive mother), pleaded no contest to child abuse, sentenced to 8-15 years.
Christopher Tucker (Adoptive father), not charged but served 6 years, 2 months for abusing Danielle’s sister.

Source:
Tucker sentenced for Michagan death
Danielle and Brittany Tucker (Dornan)