08 – Disability Day of Mourning

Nicholas Wallwork

No Photo Name: Nicholas James Wallwork.
Died: December 27, 2023.
Age at death: 66.
Cause of death: Heroin overdose.
Location: Taylorsville, Utah, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Medics found Nicholas on the floor, not breathing, and could not revive him. Nicholas’s niece allegedly poisoned him with heroin; police say she told them that she was trying to “ease the pain”.

Case Status:
Kimberly Wallwork (Niece), charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Sources:
Woman accused of killing uncle who had dementia in Taylorsville
Utah woman admits to giving uncle multiple doses of heroin before his death, police say

Abraham Cardenas

Photo of Abraham Cardenas, a little boy with olive skin and dark hair, smiling for the camera. He is wearing a red striped shirt and red pants, and is sitting on a scooter board. Name: Abraham E. “Abe” Cardenas.
Died: April 5, 2018.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Sweden, New York, USA.
Disability: Learning disability.

Details:
Abraham was stabbed and decapitated by his mother.

He was a first-grader whose teachers remember his enthusiasm for school. He especially loved drawing.

Case status:
Hanane Mouhib (Mother), charged with murder, found not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect; in state custody.

Source:
Friends and loved ones of murdered Sweden boy speaking up
Hanane Mouhib indicted in brutal killing of 7-year-old son in Brockport
Sweden mom charged in brutal slaying of her 7-year-old son
N.Y. mom arrested for decapitating 7-year-old son with knife
Abraham E. “Abe” Cardenas (2011-2018)

Antonio Di Stasio

Photo of Antonio di Stasio, a young boy with brown skin and very short brown hair. He is smiling at the camera, and wearing a black jacket with bright yellow stripes. Name: Antonio Di Stasio.
Died: September 28, 2017.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Murder.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Neighbors remember Antonio as a little boy who made a racket when he jumped up and down. He had a pet guinea pig.

One day the neighbors heard the little boy saying, “‘Please mommy. OK, mommy. I ain’t going to do it no more.'” Antonio’s mother tied him up with belts, put him in the bathtub, doused him in cooking oil, and set him on fire. The fire endangered the other residents of his apartment complex. Antonio’s pet guinea pig was found dead nearby.

Case status:
Amelia Di Stasio (Mother), charged with first-degree intentional homicide, found mentally unfit for trial, committed for life.

Source:
Woman charged with killing 4-year-old son to spend life in mental institution
Autism Memorial: Antonio Di Stasio
“I’ve been crying all night:” Family and neighbors mourn death of 4-year-old found dead in home
For funeral expenses and the burial organized by Ralph Di Stasio
Police ID child found dead, partially burned in home on Milwaukee’s south side
Milwaukee police identify boy, 4, found partially burned in homicide case
Source: Mom arrested after 4-year-old son found dead, partially burned
Mother faces life in prison after 4-year-old with autism bound with 7 belts, set on fire in bathtub
Wisconsin Mom Amelia Di Stasio Faces Life In Prison For Allegedly Lighting 4-Year-Old Autistic Son On Fire
Mom charged in son’s arson death ordered to mental treatment

Kathy Smith

Name: Kathy Smith.
Died: May 13, 2017.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Olean, New York, USA.
Disability: Arthritis, emphysema.

Details:
Kathy’s husband stabbed her to death.

Case status:
Edward J. Smith Jr. (Husband), charged with second-degree murder, declared not guilty by reason of insanity, committed indefinitely to a state psychiatric institution.

Source:
Smith not guilty of murdering wife by reason of insanity
Edward Smith’s daughter says mental illness led to murder
911 call played at Olean man’s hearing: ‘I murdered my wife’
Man charged with murdering wife in Olean House released from hospital, held without bail
Olean man accused of stabbing wife to death indicted on multiple counts
Olean man accused of murdering his wife
Police – Husband in Olean calls 911 after murdering his wife
Kathy Smith Obituary
Olean Man Accused of Murdering Wife Appears in City Court

Natasha Wild

Name: Natasha Wild
Died: November 28, 2016.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Syke, Rochdale, Manchester, England, UK.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Natasha’s boyfriend was possessive and abusive. He hit her and accused her of faking her cerebral palsy. Convinced that she was sleeping with someone else, he stabbed her in the neck, killing her.

She was a third-year student at Liverpool Hope University, working her way through university as a cafeteria worker at the local high school.

Case status:
Lloyd Brackenbury (Boyfriend), convicted of manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility and detained in a psychiatric hospital.

Source:
Mum’s agony over student stabbed to death by paranoid boyfriend
Student stabbed to death by paranoid boyfriend who thought she was having affair

Carol Simon and Brayden Otto

Name: Carol Simon.
Age at death: 48.
Disability: Unspecified skin condition.

Name: Brayden Robert-Emil Otto.
Age at death: 7.
Disability: Unspecified disability.

Died: November 20, 2016.
Cause of death: Strangled, throat cut.
Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.

Details:
Carol and her grandson Brayden were killed by her son, who strangled them and then slit their throats to make sure they were dead. Later, the killer claimed that he had done it as a “mercy killing”, because Carol was ill and wasn’t getting better and because Brayden was disabled.

Carol was an outgoing nurse who liked learning. Brayden was an elementary school student remembered for his big smile.

Case status:
Heath Allen Otto (Carol’s son, Brayden’s uncle), charged with first-degree murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity; committed to a mental institution.

Source:
Man who killed mother, nephew in 2016 not guilty by reason of insanity
Man told police he wanted to put mother, nephew out of their misery
7-year-old homicide victim was South Dakota suspect’s nephew
Name released of 7-year-old killed in double homicide
Accused killer makes amazing claim
Child in double killing also related to suspect
Child’s name released in double homicide
Brayden Otto, 7
Guestbook for Brayden Robert-Emil Otto
Brayden Otto’s Obituary
Carol L. Simon, 48
Monsters Among Us: Heath Otto charged with killing his mother, Carol Simon and a his 7-year-old nephew, Brayden Robert-Emil Otto
Trial on pause to evaluate competency of man charged with murder of mother, nephew

Priscilla Edwards

No Photo Name: Priscilla Edwards.
Died: February 21, 2016.
Age at death: 78.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: London, England, UK.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease, partial deafness.

Details:
Priscilla tried to make a cup of tea for her daughter, but she was too frail. Her daughter said she didn’t want the tea; then she strangled Priscilla with a scarf.

Priscilla’s daughter had a history of violence against her and against her own daughter.

Priscilla was a retired midwife.

Case status:
Regina Edwards (Daughter), found guilty of manslaughter by diminished responsibility, sentenced to 10 years to life, to be served at a secure mental institution.

Source:
Woman who killed mother with scarf ‘was failed by health trust’
Mentally ill woman killed her elderly mother because she thought she looked like a WITCH
London woman who killed mother because she thought she was a ‘witch’ jailed for life
Woman jailed for life after strangling her elderly mother with silk scarf because she ‘looked like a witch’

Dwight Ridley

Name: Dwight Carrington Ridley Sr.
Died: January 11, 2016.
Age at death: 59.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Carson, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; wheelchair user.

Details:
Dwight was stabbed to death by his nephew over a property dispute about the family farm.

He was an Army veteran who had three children and twelve grandchildren.

Case status:
Daryl Ridley (Nephew), charged with second-degree murder, found incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
Mental Health and Murder: Why man with ’emotional demons’ walked free
Obituary for Dwight Carrington Ridley, Sr. – PETERSBURG, VA
Why man accused of killing uncle over family farm won’t stand trial
Stabbing victim arrives at hospital, later deemed homicide suspect in Dinwiddie County
Arrest made in fatal Dinwiddie homicide, stabbing

Marcia Clark

Photo of Marcia Clark. She is a thin elderly woman with pale skin and gray hair, wearing glasses and a purple long-sleeved shirt. Name: Marcia Clark.
Died: July 20, 2014.
Age at death: 83.
Cause of death: Starvation and infection.
Location: Taree, New South Wales, Australia.
Disability: Frail elder; caregiver claimed dementia and Parkinson’s.

Details:
Marcia died of infected bed sores and starvation after being neglected by her daughter.

The death was ruled as having been of “natural causes… the combined effects of severe malnutrition and infection… after a period of being neglected by her carer.”

Case status:
Nardia Clark (Daughter), no charges; went missing, found dead in 2016.

Source:
How the system failed this elderly mother and her daughter who couldn’t cope
Death of Marcia Clark: Coroner finds daughter struggled to care for elderly mother
Findings Marcia Clark.pdf

Krystyna Waszynski

No Photo Name: Krystyna Waszynski.
Died: December 2013; body found May 14, 2014.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Elderly disabled, “mostly bedridden”.

Details:
Krystyna Wasynski was strangled to death by her son. He did not report the death for several months, afraid of being charged with murder.

Krystyna was the widow of Julian Waszynski, an Auschwitz survivor who died in 2005. She left behind three grandchildren.

Case status:
John Waszynski (Son), charged with murder; found not guilty by reason of insanity, committed to a mental institution.

Source:
Connecticut man not guilty of mother’s murder by reason of insanity
Court Document: Wethersfield Man Confessed To Killing 86-Year-Old Mom
John Waszynski charged with mother’s murder after her body is found in their home
Man charged with murdering mother, living with body
Waszynski, Julian