31 – Disability Day of Mourning

Patricia Way

Name: Patricia Way.
Died: November 25, 2018.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: Waterbury, Connecticut, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; nursing home resident.

Details:
Patricia was allegedly strangled by her boyfriend.

She liked sewing and going to the beach, and was a New York Yankees fan. She was a retired unit clerk.

Case status:
John Jensen (Boyfriend), charged with murder; developed vascular dementia and became incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
81-year-old man charged with murder at Waterbury nursing home ruled incompetent
Man, 81, charged in nursing home death of girlfriend, 76
81-year-old man accused of strangling 76-year-old woman to death at nursing home
Police: 81-year-old man charged with strangling girlfriend, 76, in nursing home
Waterbury nursing home resident strangled to death in domestic attack, warrant shows
Waterbury nursing home homicide suspect said girlfriend ‘had to die because she was evil’
Patricia Way
Lawsuit Against Waterbury Nursing Home After 81-Year-Old Allegedly Kills Girlfriend

No Photo Name: Liese Colleen Sparks.
Died: February 23, 2018.
Age at death: 57.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Disability: Chronic illness; mobility impaired, unable to walk.

Details:
Liese’s son had a history of threatening and mistreating her, but she depended on him to care for her because of her limited mobility.

While she was in the hospital, Liese’s son allegedly entered her room and stabbed her to death.

Case status:
Alexander Sparks (Son), charged with premeditated murder, found incompetent to stand trial, committed.

Source:
Son who stabbed mother at hospital found incompetent for trial
He apparently did it right after a nurse had checked on her
Son charged with stabbing mom to death in her hospital room told cops she ‘was a bad influence’
Son Charged with Stabbing Mother to Death in Tallahassee Hospital
Support My Moving Fund organized by Liese Sparks
Man who killed mom in hospital battled mental illness

Irene Strandt

No Photo Name: Irene Strandt.
Died: December 17, 2017.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Infection.
Location: Everett, Washington, USA.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Irene, who had advanced dementia, had outlived all of her children but one–the son she lived with. When she fell and broke her hip, he left her on the floor for five days with her ankles tied with a purple sweater. When she was finally taken to the hospital, she was in bad shape, and died of an infection seventeen days later.

Case status:
Kenneth Strandt (Son), charged with first-degree manslaughter. Case could not be brought to trial because Kenneth was not able to care for himself; charges dismissed.

Source:
Manslaughter charges dismissed in 2017 elder abuse case
Man charged with manslaughter in binding death of mother, 81
Neglected elderly woman discovered at home in filth dies
‘Infectious Complications’ Of Elder Abuse Killed Everett Woman

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

Herlene Narosa

No Photo Name: Herlene Narosa.
Died: May 4, 2017.
Age at death: 22.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury.
Location: Banga, Aklan, Philippines.
Disability: Depression (Rape survivor).

Details:
Herlene was beaten to death by her younger brother.

She left behind a 6-month-old baby.

Case status:
“Laboy”, her 14-year-old brother; exempt from criminal liability due to his age.

Source:
Shocking: 14-year-old boy beats 22-year-old sister to death
Banga boy ‘slays’ 22-year-old sister
14-year-old boy beats elder sister to death in Aklan

Avis Addison

Name: Avis “Mary” Addison.
Died: February 22, 2017.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Asphyxia.
Location: St. Merryn, England, UK.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
Avis, called Mary, was allegedly beaten and strangled by her husband, who, as her dementia worsened, refused help in caring for her and instead neglected and abused her.

Mary was a churchgoer who attended her village’s coffee mornings.

Case status:
Douglas Addison (Husband), charged with murder, declared guilty, ruled insane; hospitalized indefinitely.

Source:
89-year-old retired policeman murdered wife because he couldn’t cope with her dementia
Number of missed opportunities to help woman murdered by her husband
Apologies over ‘missed opportunities’ to help pensioner murdered by husband
Douglas Addison has been charged with the murder of his wife in quiet Cornish village of St Merryn
Man, 88, charged with murder of his 88-year-old wife
Pensioner murdered wife because of her Alzheimer’s, jury told
Sympathy for family of Alzheimer’s sufferer killed by husband with dementia
Retired policeman, 89, found guilty of murdering wife
Former police officer found guilty and sentenced for murder of wife in Cornwall
Retired policeman, 89, suffocated dementia-sufferer wife
Devoted husband battered and suffocated wife to death in truly tragic case

Charlene Norris

Photo of Charlene Norris. She is a middle-aged woman with short permed blond hair and fair skin, wearing a black and white track suit. Name: Charlene Norris.
Died: June 9, 2016.
Age at death: 79.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
Disability: Dementia, rectal cancer, chronic pain due to hip replacement.

Details:
Charlene was shot by her husband.

She was a retired special education teacher.

Case status:
Jim Norris (Husband), charged with murder; diagnosed with dementia while awaiting trial, declared incompetent to stand trial.

Source:
84-year-old North Carolina man cleared in wife’s death
Two suicide notes, one body. Now an elderly Charlotte man is charged with murder.
They had a suicide pact, he said. But he wasn’t ready to die. He murdered her, prosecutors say

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

Yana Voronova

Photo of Yana Voronova, a teenage girl with pale skin and brown hair, holding a large white stuffed animal. Her eyes have a censor blur over them. Name: Yana Voronova.
Died: Approx. December 19, 2014.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Decapitation.
Location: Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Disability: Cerebral palsy.

Details:
Yana’s mother decapitated her.

Case status:
Nadejda Voronova (Mother), held in a psychiatric ward.

Source:
Mother decapitates her disabled seven-year-old daughter

Peter Eitzen

No Photo Name: Peter Eitzen.
Died: July 26, 2009.
Age at death: 16.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Mount Barker, Australia.
Disability: Intellectual disabilty.

Details:
Peter was drugged and stabbed to death by his mother. She told the court that she had intended to kill them both with carbon monoxide in the car, but after she sedated her son, he woke up and struggled, so she stabbed him instead.

Case status:
Beverley Eitzen (Mother); ruled mentally unfit to stand trial due to depression, and released on mental health supervision.

Source:
Mother freed over disabled son’s killing