Tag: 27

Melissa Couture

Photo of Melissa Couture, a young woman with fair skin and brown hair. She is wearing glasses and a striped sweater. She is smiling broadly and looking down at some candles.Name: Melissa Couture.
Died: April 26, 2016.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Choking, starvation, pressure sores.
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
For four years before her death, Melissa’s mother did not provide medical care for her, even though she was having trouble swallowing and rapidly losing weight. Melissa died from choking, starvation, dehydration, and severe pressure sores, weighing only fifty pounds.

Case status:
Patricia Couture (Mother), charged with criminal negligence resulting in death, ruled not criminally responsible.

Source:
Calgary woman charged in death of special needs daughter
Police lay charges in death of disabled Calgary woman
Calgary woman charged with death of daughter released on bail
Senior charged in adult daughter’s death says she was mistreated by police
Calgary mom charged in disabled daughter’s death shocks neighbourhood
Deep bed sores would have been painful leading to disabled woman’s death, mother’s trial hears
Disabled woman weighed 51 pounds when she died, mother’s trial hears
Disabled woman went years without medical treatment: Court
Melissa Couture choked to death on substance consistent with meat, trial told
Melissa Couture went years without medical treatment, Calgary trial told
Trial begins for Calgary senior accused of negligence in death of daughter
Trial begins for Patricia Couture, Calgary mom accused in death of disabled daughter
Trial underway for Calgary mother charged in death of disabled daughter
Young disabled woman would have been in pain and discomfort prior to death, court hears
Trial begins for senior in death of daughter
Father of deceased disabled girl testifies at trial of ex-wife: ‘I’m shocked she died’
Father tells Calgary trial he wanted to get help for disabled daughter
Father testifies at trial for mother accused in death of disabled daughter
Mom blamed stench on demons: Trial
Mother accused in death of disabled daughter expected to take stand in own defence Friday
Mother of disabled daughter blamed overpowering smell of excrement on ‘demons,’ ex testifies
Mother on trial in disabled daughter’s death kept ‘immaculate’ care of her but believed in demons, court hears
Mom charged with negligence in disabled daughter’s death sent for psychiatric assessment mid-trial
Calgary mother found not criminally responsible in 2016 death of disabled daughter
Judge rules senior not criminally responsible in death of disabled daughter
Judge finds Calgary mother Patricia Couture not criminally responsible for death of disabled daughter
Calgary mother accused in daughter’s death found not criminally responsible

Emily Perrin

Photo of Emily Perrin, a small blonde girl sitting on a bed. She is wearing a light blue dress and holding a doll wearing a matching blue dress.Name: Emily Rose Perrin.
Died: April 10, 2016.
Age at death: 4.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Dupo, St. Louis, Illinois, USA.
Disability: Cystic fibrosis.

Details:
Emily was a pre-kindergarten student a day short of her fifth birthday when her mother smothered her.

She loved pretending to be a princess.

Case status:
Mary Lockett (Mother), charged with first degree murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Source:
Mother charged with murdering her cystic fibrosis-suffering daughter, 4, a day before her birthday
Mother charged in Dupo child’s death
Dupo mom accused of killing 4-year-old daughter found not guilty by reason of insanity
Ten reports of abuse weren’t enough to save ‘Princess’ Emily

20-year-old man

No PhotoName Unknown.
Died: April 26, 2015.
Age at death: 20.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
This young man was fatally stabbed in the neck by his younger sister. She told police, “I’ve just always hated him because he has ruined my life.”

Case status:
His 15-year-old sister. Ruled not guilty because of mental illness; sent to a psychiatric ward for treatment and eventual release.

Source:
15-årig pige erkender at have stukket sin bror ihjel
15-årig pige erkender: Jeg slog min storebror ihjel
15-årig pige stak sin bror ihjel: Moderen skrev lang artikel om deres problemer
15-årig pige stak storebror ihjel: ‘Nu har de mistet begge børn’
15-årig pige tilstår knivdrab: Stak storebror i halsen
16-årig pige hadede sin storebror og dræbte ham med kniv
Danish girl killed disabled brother who ‘ruined life’

Krystyna Waszynski

No PhotoName: 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

Jori Lirette

Photo of Jori Lirette, a young boy with fair skin and short blond hair in a buzz cut, wearing an orange striped polo shirt.Name: Jori Lirette .
Died: August 15, 2011.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Decapitation.
Location: Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Jori Lirette was killed and decapitated by his father, who had been talking about killing him to “put him out of his misery” since Jori was born.

Case status:
Jeremiah Wright (Father); not guilty by reason of insanity.

Source:
Hundreds mourn murdered boy, 7
Court: Dad threatened to kill slain son as baby
Man Who Decapitated 7-Year-Old Son, Left His Head In Driveway Learns His Fate

Zain and Faryaal Akhter

No PhotoName: Zain Syed Akhter.
Died: July 19, 2010.
Age at death: 5.
Disability: Autism.

Name: Faryaal Rashid Akhter.
Died: July 20, 2010.
Age at death: 2.
Disability: Developmental delay; her mother thought she also had autism.

Cause of death: Strangled.
Location: Dallas, Texas, USA.

Details:
Zain and Faryaal’s mother tried to make them drink bathroom cleaner; when they wouldn’t do it, she strangled them.

Case status:
Saiqa Akhter (Mother), found not guilty by reason of insanity; hospitalized.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Zain and Faryaal Akhter
Dallas mom, Saiqa Akhter, killed her two children because they were autistic: 911 recording
Mother cites kids’ autism as motive for their slayings in call to 911 operator
Texas Mom Says She Killed Kids Because They Were Austistic

Rylan Rochester

Photo of Rylan Rochester, an infant.Name: Rylan Rochester.
Died: June 1, 2010.
Age at death: 6 months.
Cause of death: Smothered.
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA.
Disability: None, but Rylan’s mother believed he was autistic.

Details:
Rylan’s mother, convinced he was autistic, smothered him to death.

Case status:
Stephanie Rochester (Mother); ruled not guilty by reason of insanity.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Rylan Rochester

Ian Carmichael

Photo of Ian Carmichael, a boy with fair skin and short brown hair. He is wearing a red sweater with a sports logo on it, and a necklace of steel-gray beads. He is smiling for the camera.Name: Ian Carmichael.
Died: July 31, 2004.
Age at death: 11.
Cause of death: Poisoned, strangled.
Location: London, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Epilepsy, dyslexia, developmental delay.

Details:
Convinced that he was ridding his family of an “intolerable burden”, Ian’s father took him to a hotel room, where he poisoned and then strangled him to death.

Ian competed in BMX bike racing. He left behind his older sister Gillian.

The crime was initially presented by the media as a “mercy killing”. Later on, Ian’s father blamed the antidepressants he was taking.

Case status:
David Carmichael (Father), charged with first-degree murder, ruled not guilty by reason of mental disorder; hospitalized for four years; absolute discharge in December 2009.

Source:
Accused David Carmichael remains silent while media puts defense forward
Carmichael murder case put off
Man not criminally responsible in son’s death
‘Loving’ father opens up over murder of son during psychotic episode
Can pills for depression turn you into a killer?
Canadian man who killed son while taking anti-depressants lobbies for freedom of U.S. dad who killed twins

Chelsea Craig

Photo of a teenage girl with tan skin and brown curly hair, wearing a white sweater with pastel stripes. She has her hand ot her chest; her expression is neutral and she is looking off to the side.Name: Chelsea Craig.
Died: March 19, 2001.
Age at death: 14.
Cause of death: Prescription drug overdose.
Location: Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada.
Disability: Rett syndrome.

Details:
Chelsea was poisoned by her mother with a mix of prescription drugs. At trial, The judge ruled that she was not at fault for Chelsea’s death because of her own history of abuse and because of the “stress caused by Chelsea’s disability”.

Chelsea had a pet bulldog named Penny. She was a freshman in high school.

Case status:
Rachel Capra Craig (Mother). Found not guilty because of a mental disorder; hospitalized; died July 2002.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Chelsea Craig
Mother found not responsible in death of disabled daughter
Murderpedia: Rachel Capra Craig
Inclusion Daily Express: Mother Charged With Poisoning Teenage Daughter

Julie Kirisits

No PhotoName: Julie Kirisits.
Died: October 21, 1990.
Age at death: 23.
Cause of death: Homicidal violence.
Location: Tonawanda, New York, USA.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Julie was beaten, strangled, and stabbed to death by her mother.

Case status:
Patricia Kirisits (Mother); pleaded not responsible due to insanity. Four years later she was “legally discharged from supervision”.

Source:
Court Discharges Mother in Child’s Killing
MOTHER FACING MURDER CHARGE WAIVES HEARING