Status: Sentenced – Page 99 – Disability Day of Mourning

Basma Rafay

Name: Basma Rafay
Died: July 13, 1994.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Bludgeoned.
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Basma was bludgeoned to death by her brother and his friend. They also killed her parents, Tariq and Sultana Rafay.

Case status:
Atif Rafay (Brother), convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.
Sebastian Burns (Brother’s friend), convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Basma Rafay
The Rafay Family Murders

Randy Busby and Elwin Caler

Family portrait photo of Twila, Elwin, and Randy, two young men flanking their mother. Name: Elwin F. “Scooter” Caler.
Age at death: 22.

Name: Melvin Randolf “Randy” Busby.
Age at death: 20.

Died: December 31, 1993.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Gray County, Texas, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Randy and Elwin were stabbed to death by their mother’s live-in boyfriend. He also killed Twila Busby, their mother.

Case status:
Henry Skinner (Mother’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to death.

Source:
Henry Watkins SKINNER

Tracy Latimer

Name: Tracy Latimer.
Died: October 24, 1993.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Location: Wilkie, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Tracy’s father put her in his truck, connected the exhaust to the cab, and poisoned her with carbon monoxide.

Media coverage of Tracy’s death, which tended to support her killer, may have sparked several copycat crimes.

Case status:
Robert Latimer (Father), convicted of second degree murder, sentenced to life; paroled after 9 years, 11 months.

Source:
25 years after conviction, Robert Latimer still believes he was right to kill his daughter
Wikipedia: Robert Latimer
Right or wrong, Latimer’s actions touched off national debate on euthanasia
The Latimer Case: The Reflections of People with Disabilities
Robert Latimer seeking pardon for killing of severely disabled daughter
Community Living urges no pardon for murderer Robert Latimer
Trudeau asked to consider pardon or retrial for Saskatchewan man convicted of killing his daughter who suffered from cerebral palsy
Robert Latimer seeking pardon for killing of severely disabled daughter
Tracy Latimer’s killer does not deserve a pardon
Pardoning Robert Latimer is not justified
Lakritz: Pardoning Latimer would reduce Tracy’s value to the level of a dog
Robert Latimer’s request for clemency is a slam-dunk ‘no.’ Does Ottawa get that?

Layton Myers

No Photo Name: Layton Myers.
Died: May 15, 1993.
Age at death: 67.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Disability: Terminal cancer.

Details:
Layton Myers was killed by his daughter and her husband, who put a pillow over his face and smothered him.

Case status:
Michael Power (Daughter’s common-law husband), pled guilty to manslaughter and were given suspended sentences, three years’ probation, and 150 hours of community service.
Cheryl Myers (Daughter), pled guilty to manslaughter and were given suspended sentences, three years’ probation, and 150 hours of community service.

Source:
No jail for N.S. “mercy-killers”
Of Life and Death – Appendices D-L
Robert Latimer: Justice gone awry

Diana Robles

Name: Diana Maureen Weiland Robles.
Died: April 18, 1993.
Age at death: 44.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Bartlett, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Mobility impaired due to polio; used crutches.

Details:
Diana’s son offered his classmate $100 to kill her and her husband Peter. Her son held her down while the other man stabbed her to death.

Case status:
Eric Robles (Son), sentenced to 1oo years.
Sean Helgesen (hired killer), sentenced to 90 years.

Source:
ROBLES SENTENCED TO LIFE
Appellate court upholds 90-year sentence for Bartlett double murder by teen
Diana M. Robles (1948-1993) – Find A Grave
People v. Helgeson, 2020 IL

Trevor Horn

Name: Trevor Horn.
Died: March 3, 1993.
Age at death: 8.
Cause of death: Hypoxia; ventilator disconnected.
Location: Montgomery County, Maryland, USA.
Disability: Quadriplegic, intellectually disabled.

Details:
In an attempt to collect the money that was going toward Trevor’s care, Trevor’s father hired a hit man to kill him. The hit man disconnected Trevor’s respirator, and then shot his mother, Mildred Horn, and his overnight nurse, Janice Saunders. Trevor’s two sisters, who had been out of the house that night, survived.

Case status:
Lawrence Horn (Father), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole, died in prison.
James Edward Perry (Hit man); convicted of murder, sentenced to death, died in prison.

Source:
Lawrence T. HORN
Father arrested in 3 murders
The chilling story of how a book by a cash-strapped mum from Florida is behind a triple murder

Joan Vollmer

Name: Joan Vollmer.
Died: January 30, 1993.
Age at death: 49.
Cause of death: Asphyxia, heart attack.
Location: Antwerp, Victoria, Australia.
Disability: Schizophrenia, depression/anxiety.

Details:
When Joan had an episode of psychosis, her husband decided that she was possessed. He and three others tied Joan to her bed and then to a chair, refusing her food and water and beating her to try to exorcise the demons. Joan died after four days of torture.

Case status:
Ralph Vollmer (Husband), suspended sentence.
Leanne Reichenbach, sentenced to 4 months in prison.
David Klinger, sentenced to 3 months in prison.
Matthew Nuske, suspended sentence.

Source:
The people who own it don’t want to live there House abandoned after bizarre exorcism
The Exorcism of Joan Vollmer
A Terrible Exorcism
AUSTRALIAN WOMAN DIES AFTER 4-DAY EXORCISM
Exorcism Goes Wrong in Victoria

Brandon Sims

Name: Brandon Lamarr Sims.
Died: 1992 (Body never found).
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Missing, presumed dead.
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Disability: Gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty.

Details:
Brandon was beaten to death by his mother, who said she “did not want to raise a freak”.

Case status:
Michelle Jones (Mother), convicted of murder, sentenced to 50 years; released after 20 years.

Source:
We Need to Forgive the College-Bound Mother Who Killed Her Child
From Prison to Ph.D.: The Redemption and Rejection of Michelle Jones
Michelle Jones v. State

Noah Simpson

Name: Noah Simpson.
Died: December 10, 1991.
Age at death: 2.
Cause of death: Suffocation.
Location: Eastlake, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Noah’s mother suffocated him by placing him face-down on a waterbed.

Case status:
Elayna Simpson (Mother); convicted of murder, sentenced to 15 years to life.

Source:
State of Ohio vs. Elayna Simpson. Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eleventh Appellate District, Lake County. 30 Sept. 1994. LexisNexus. Web. 30 May 2015.

Jeni Cazares

No Photo Name: Jeni Cazares, also called Yeni Lezama, Jenny, or Yeni Cazares.
Died: May 19, 1991.
Age at death: 3 months.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Santa Ana, California, USA.
Disability: Down syndrome.

Details:
Jeny’s mother smashed her head; then her parents both helped hide her body.

Case status:
Oscar Lezama, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, sentenced to 11 years.
Rocio Cazares (Mother), pleaded guilty to being an accessory, sentenced to 5 years probation.

Source:
Mother Charged With Murdering Infant Daughter in Her Apartment