Status: Sentenced – Page 95 – Disability Day of Mourning

Irene Ritchie

No Photo Name: Irene Agnes Ritchie.
Died: February 14, 2002.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Mount Ousley, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Heart disease, blindness; frail elder.

Details:
Irene was smothered by her son, who initially hid her body and reported her missing. Once arrested by suspicious authorities, he confessed to the crime and told them where to find her body.

At trial, the judge commented that he did not believe the murder had been a mercy killing, and that Irene’s son simply “did not like living with an elderly woman in constant pain”.

Case Status:
Geoffrey Robert Ritchie (Adopted son), convicted of murder, sentenced to 11 years 9 months to 15 years.

Sources:
R v Ritchie [2003] NSWSC 864 (19 September 2003)
15 years jail for son who suffocated terminally ill mother

Michael Snyder

Name: Michael James “Mike” Snyder.
Died: January 11, 2002.
Age at death: 43.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Disability: Multiple sclerosis.

Details:
Mike was shot by his wife during an argument; he was unarmed. His body, buried under a concrete slab in his backyard, was not found for eight years.

Case Status:
Ellen Snyder (Wife), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a firearm, tax fraud, and tampering with evidence, sentenced to 11 years and released on parole after 8 years. Could not be charged with second-degree murder since the statute of limitations had run out.

Sources:
Mike Snyder Murder: Where is Ellen Snyder Now?

Shirley Harrison

No Photo Name: Shirley Harrison.
Died: December 31, 2001.
Age at death: 74.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Stroke.

Details:
Shirley was hospitalized after a recent stroke; her husband shot her as she lay in the hospital bed.

Case status:
Thomas Harrison (Husband), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, sentenced to 20 years.

Source:
From ‘mercy killing’ to ‘domestic violence’: Shirley Harrison, the Chicago Media and Not Dead Yet
Man, 77, sentenced for killing his wife

Johnny Churchi

No Photo Name: Johnny Churchi.
Died: October 10, 2001.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Johnny’s mother strangled him.

Case status:
Jadwiga Miskiewicz (Mother); charged with first-degree murder; sentenced to time in a psychiatric hospital.

Source:
Autism memorial: Johnny Churchi
School Struggles To Come To Grips With Johnny’s Death

Pamela King

Name: Pamela King.
Died: October 10, 2001.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Campbell, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Disability: Arthritis, mobility impaired.

Details:
Pamela was found dead in her home, and her husband was arrested on suspicion of having beaten her to death with an iron bar. Family told police about a long history of controlling and abusive behavior by her husband. When interviewed, her husband said he had “had an argument” with her because she wanted to leave him.

When she died, Pamela had a suitcase packed and hidden in her closet, implying she was planning to escape her abusive husband.

Case Status:
Maurice Dixon King (Husband), charged with murder. Attempted suicide; declared unfit for trial and given a hearing before a judge, who declared him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and issued a mental health order of 12 years 10 months. Died by suicide while in detention.

Sources:
R v King
Court told murderer had spoken of suicide
Daughters remember Pamela King murdered by her husband in Campbell in 2001

Sean Hurtt

No Photo Name: Sean Hurtt.
Died: June 13, 2001.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Garfield, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Sean and his mother, Kathy Hairston, were both bludgeoned to death with a hammer by Sean’s stepfather. His stepfather was facing imprisonment for rape, and claimed that he had killed them because no one could take care of them the way he could.

Case status:
Kenneth Hairston (Stepfather). Sentenced to death.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Sean Hurtt
Husband killed wife, son to spare them ordeal of his trial for rape, detective says
Kenneth Hairston Pennsylvania Death Row | My Crime Library
COMMONWEALTH v. HAIRSTON

Matthew Sutton

No Photo Name: Matthew Sutton.
Died: April 22, 2001.
Age at death: 28.
Cause of death: Sedative overdose, smothered.
Location: Leonay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Trisomy 13

Details:
Matthew was given a fatal dose of sedative before he was smothered by his parents, who claimed it was “euthanasia”.

Case status:
Margaret Sutton and Raymond Sutton (Parents). Convicted of manslaughter; served no jail time.

Source:
Double death of parents who killed their son Matthew Sutton
Regina v Raymond Douglas Sutton; Regina v Margaret Ellen Sutton [2007] NSWSC 295 (4 April 2007)

Gabriel Britt

Name: Gabriel Britt.
Died: March 3, 2001.
Age at death: 6.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: St. George, South Carolina, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Gabriel was suffocated by his father, who put his body in a pond and tried to pretend that Gabriel had accidentally drowned.

Case status:
Terrence Britt (Father); convicted of unlawful conduct toward a child, sentenced to 10 years with all but 4 years suspended.
Renee Britt (Mother); mistrial, no conviction.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Gabriel Britt
Terrence Britt pleads guilty to reduced charge, sentenced to 10 years in prison, mistrial declared in mother’s case
Gabriel Britt’s death now ruled a homicide
Mother, Father charged in death of boy
Judge rules SC no longer has to monitor how Renee Britt cares for her children

Amanda Bates

A temporary plaque marking a grave: "Amanda Lois Bates, 1987-2001." Name: Amanda Bates.
Died: February 5, 2001.
Age at death: 13.
Cause of death: Diabetic ketoacidosis, gangrene.
Location: Grand Junction, Colorado, USA.
Disability: Juvenile diabetes.

Details:
Amanda’s juvenile diabetes was left untreated. She died of a combination of diabetic ketoacidosis and a gangrenous infection.

Case status:
Colleen Bates (Mother), pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, given 20 years of probation.
Randy Bates (Father), pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, given 20 years of probation.

Source:
Amanda Bates
Colo. Girl’s Diabetes Death Ruled Homicide
Parents May Be Charged in Girl’s Death | WWRN – World-wide Religious News
No jail for parents in daughter’s death
Faith-healing: No defense against child abuse

Logan Marr

Photo of Logan Marr, a small girl with fair skin and light brown hair, wearing a pink T-shirt; she is licking her lower lip and looking off to the side. Name: Logan Marr.
Died: January 31, 2001.
Age at death: 5.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Chelsea, Maine, USA.
Disability: Reactive attachment disorder.

Details:
Logan’s mother taped her into a high chair with duct tape, wrapping her in tape and putting the chair in the basement. There, Logan died of suffocation from the duct tape across her mouth.

Case status:
Sally Schofield (Foster mother), convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to 17 years, released on probation after 15 years.

Source:
AT Victim — Logan Marr
Logan Marr – Police Interviews With Sally Schofield
Release of central Maine woman convicted in child’s death stirs painful memories