Woman charged in husband's death

North Austin, Texas, USA - Katherine Yarbrough, 52, was charged last Thursday with murder for allegedly killing her husband, 62-year-old Lloyd Yarbrough, by injecting an overdose of prescription pills through his feeding tube. As reported in the Austin American-Statesman (May 29), it is believed that Ms Yarbrough killed her husband, who was unable to move or feed himself because of viral encephalitis, which involves swelling of the brain and nerve damage, because "she had grown exhausted from caring for him for years." Mr Yarbrough had been in that condition for two years. According to the article:

Although investigators initially believed that Lloyd Yarbrough's death was from natural causes and that Katherine Yarbrough tried to kill herself afterward out of grief, Katherine Yarbrough made comments to investigators that made them think a crime had been committed, the affidavit said.

Sgt. Joseph Chacon of the Austin Police Department said Katherine Yarbrough's goal was to kill her husband and herself with the pills.

According to the article, police found Ms Yarbrough and her husband in their home last Wednesday after a home-healthcare agency reported that they had not heard from the them. The couple were taken to a hospital, where Mr Yarbrough died. After she was revived, Ms Yarbrough began suggesting that she killed her husband, said a Travis County seriff's spokesman, who described Mr Yarbrough as requiring 24-hour care from his wife and the healthcare company.

Ms Yarbrough was in the Travis County Jail on Friday with bail set at $20,000. She faces life in prison if convicted.

Father charged with murder

Fayetteville, West Virginia, USA - The Sunday Gazette (May 28) reported the arrest of 35-year-old Henry Clay Jenkins on charges he killed his 14-year-old son, who had cystic fybrosis, at their home on November 14 last year. From the article:

Henry Clay Jenkins, 35, allegedly failed to seek timely aid for his 14-year-old son, who had cystic fibrosis, when the boy passed out with respiratory distress at the Mountainair Mobile Home Park in Hilltop on Nov. 14, the news release states.

The boy was put on life support at Charleston Area Medical Center, where he died five days later, according to the release.

According to the article, the results of an autospy showed "the use of illicit drugs" contributed to the boy's death. Authorities believe that Kessler gave the boy oxycodone. According to a sheriff's office news release:

"It was also determined through this investigation that prompt medical attention had not been sought for this child following the initial discovery of the child's respiratory distress," according to the release.

Jenkins was taken into police custody last Wednesday and has been charged with murder.

Elderly man killed and decapitated in Florida

Fort Myers, Florida, USA (May 31) - Authorities in South Florida say 55-year-old Robert Cope has been charged with killing and de-capitating 70-year-old Charles Roger's, who had given him a place to stay. As reported by the Associated Press:

Lee County Sheriff's deputies went to 70-year-old Charles Rogers' apartment Thursday and found his body still in his wheelchair. His head had been placed near the front door.

Police say a home health care provider identified 55-year-old Robert Cope as the man who had been staying with Rogers. Neighbors say Rogers was a good Samaritan-type who often helped people.

Mr Cope is charged with second-degree murder and being held without bond.

Katlin Cousineau case goes to trial

Barrie, Central Ontario, Canada (May 23) - According to the Edmonton Sun, the jury trial of Paul Bradey, who is accused of the torture killing of 23-year-old Katlin Cousineau, began last week. The charred body of Ms Cousineau, who was intellectually disabled was found on November 15, 2005, in what has been described as "dungeon-like basement," along with containers of gasoline, a blowtorch and a pair of handcuffs. From the article:

Now on trial for her murder is Paul Bradey, who owned the rural two-storey home in Midland, Ont., where he lived with his girlfriend and another tenant, along with Cousineau and 19 cats.

On the witness stand yesterday, a former resident whose parents sold the house to Bradey told the jury that she grew up in the house and was always afraid of the shallow, dirty basement.

"My sister and I hated to go down there," said Deborah Mink.

"It was dark, it was dank. It smelled. There were spiders and mice."

The Crown has told the jury that in November 2005 Bradey and his tenant, Mat Sitte, went down into that basement and tortured Cousineau with a propane blowtorch.

The Crown also alleges that Bradey left the house while Sitte burned the house to the ground to destroy evidence.

According to the Toronto Sun co-accused Mat Sitte and Bradey's girlfriend, Susanna Balogh, are also expected to testify during the trial.The full stories are here and here.

Homicide suspected in the disappearance of Jason Holley

Colorado Springs, Colorado - A body suspected to be that of 22-year-old Jason Holley, who had Klinefelter's syndrome and intellectual disabilities, and who has been missing since January 5, was found Friday in a ravine in Cheyenne Canyon, west of Colorado Springs. According to The Gazette, Kyle Stott, 18, and Derek Hernandez, 21, one of whom led police to his body, have been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in his disappearance. According to the theory of Dale Kelley, a private investigator who has been working with Jason's family, the men may have killed Jason for his Xbox:

He said the suspects befriended Holley through acquaintances at school and picked him up the morning he went missing, telling him to bring his Xbox.

Kelley said the mother of one of the suspects told investigators she saw the Xbox that night.

Jason Holley was studying to be a car mechanic at Pikes Peak Community College, according to his mother, Jan Holley. He had been receiving help with his classes from a learning specialist and took just one class at a time because of problems with writing and memory. “I have never seen him so happy as when he comes home from school,” his mother wrote on a Web site, http://www.findjasonholley.com/.


Stott and Hernandez are being held without bond and are scheduled to appear in court on Monday May 11 at 1:30 p.m.

Alexis Glover: an update

As reported by FRIDA yesterday, Alexis's mother, Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, has been arrested and charged with felony child neglect and filing a false police report in connection with her daughter's death. According to the Washington Post this morning, Ms Gregg-Glover is alleged to have placed her daughter in the creek bed on January 7, shortly before reporting her missing.

Glover positioned her daughter's locator bracelet -- a device that enables deputies to find endangered missing people -- near a Manassas library to make it appear that Lexie had removed it and run away, they said. Gregg-Glover then appealed through the media for help in finding her daughter.

It is not known whether Alexis was dead when she was placed in the creek or whether she died in the water, but police said they are investigating her death as a murder. They are waiting for a medical examiner's report to explain how she died.

Alfreedia Gregg-Glover has not been charged with Alexis' death. Police are also looking into allegations that Alexis was abused.

As noted earlier, Alexis, a 13-year-old African-American girl who had developmental disabilities, was last seen last Wednesday with her mother at a local library. Sadly, her body was found in a creek eight miles away.

The story in full is here ...

Alexis Glover's death has been ruled a homicide

The death on Friday of thirteen-year-old Alexis Glover in Manassas, Virginia, has been ruled a homicide, according to MSNBC. As reported in earlier posts by FRIDA, Alexis, who was also known as "Lexie," was last seen last Wednesday at the Central Library in Manassas. Her body was found on Friday afternoon in a creek bed eight miles away.

Alexis' family has said in recent day that Alexis was autistic and suffered from sickle cell anemia as well. Her mother, Freedia Glover, who adopted Alexis when she was six-years-old, said that she had run away before and that she liked to hide from the people searching for her. Because Alexis had a history of running away, she was fitted with a GPS tracking bracelet. But apparently, she would slip it off; on Wednesday, sheriff's deputies found Lexie's bracelet on the ground not far from the library within 20 minutes of receiving word that she was missing. Her body was found on Friday about 12:30 p.m. by a man who was out for a walk. She was submerged in about 2 feet of water.

According to WJLA News this morning, police say there are no suspects in the disappearance and killing of Alexis and it's still not known how she died.

For further details in the press, see here and here.

Update on Alexis Glover

Sadly, 13-year-old Alexis "Lexie" Glover was found dead yesterday afternoon in a creek bed about 8 miles from where she was last seen. It is believed she was murdered. As reported by the Washington Post,

Police said last night that they are treating Alexis "Lexie" Glover's death as a homicide but declined to provide details about the condition of the body for fear of jeopardizing the investigation. Police said that it is unclear how Lexie ended up in the creek or how long she had been in the water but that it is highly unlikely she found her own way there.

Our deepest sympathies to Alexis' family and to all who loved her for their tragic loss.

Rest in peace, Alexis.

Murder sentence

Denver, Colorado - 48-year-old Gerald Cooper was sentenced to 48 years in prison yesterday in the July 2005 beating and stabbing death of Carol Colaiano, who was disabled, in her downtown apartment. As reported in yesterday's Rocky Mountain News:

Denver police discovered the victim dead in her apartment in the 1200 block of Galapago Street after an aide found her and called for help.

Seven months later, detectives investigated another attack in the same apartment building. The victim, who was sexually assaulted, survived the attack and later identified Cooper, who lived in the building, as her assailant.

Cooper pleaded guilty to assault in that case and was sentenced to prison, where he was required to provide a DNA sample for the national Combined DNA Index System.

With Cooper's DNA in their possession, authorities were able to match his DNA with a blood mixture that he left behind at Colaiano's apartment, as well a blood mixture belonging to the victim, prosecutors said.

Murder indictment

Lebanon, Indianna - Elizabeth A. Fairfield, 38, was indicted on Friday for the alleged murder of her 14-year-old daughter, Brittany, who had Down syndrome and died last year from a drug overdose. The manner of Brittany's death, according to the Indy Star, is yet to be determined. A grand jury deliberated for more than three hours before handing down the murder indictment. Ms. Fairfield is being held without bail in the Boone County Jail and faces up to 65 years in prison if convicted.

Just sadness

The Wisconsin State Journal reported yesterday about the shooting death on Tuesday of 12-year-old Kyle Dutter by his father, Ryan Dutter, who then shot and killed himself. In August, Ryan Dutter created a website about his son, in which he updated family and friends about him. It is reported that last fall, Ryan Rutter had filed for bankruptcy. Kyle, who had developmental disabilities, is described as a good kid trying really hard. He was in the the sixth grade at Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains, Wisconsin.

h/t to Autism Vox

Judilianna Lawrence update

Denver, Colorado - A Fort Carson soldier has been formally charged in connection with the killing of 19-year-old Judilianna Lawrence, according to The Denver Channel news. As reported by FRIDA in an earlier post, the body of Ms Lawrence, an African American teenager with a learning disability, was found in early October after she had been missing for three days. 21-year-old Robert Marko, a mortarman with the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division who served in Iraq from January 2007 to February 2008, is charged, amongst other things, with sexual assault and first-degree murder. According to The Denver Channel, Ms Lawrence, who was known as "Judi" to her friends and family, had been exchanging emails with Marko for several months after meeting him on MySpace. She went missing on the day they had arranged to meet in person for the first time.

It is reported, but only in passing, that Marko is the eighth soldier from the 4th Brigade Combat Team suspected in a local homicide.

Joanna Hill sentenced to life in prison

London, UK - On September 9, FRIDA reported on the death by drowning of 4-year-old Naomi Hill, who had cerebral palsy, by her mother, Joanna Hill. Yesterday, Reuters reported that Joanna Hill, 32, has been convicted of murdering her daughter and sentenced to life in prison. Ms Hill admitted drowning her daughter in the bath last November because she was ashamed of her disability, but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. However, this plea was rejected by the jury, who found her guilty of murder. She will not be eligible for parole for at least 15 years. Addressing the court after it handed down its verdict, Judge Elgan Edwards told Ms Hill :

You could not cope with the child’s disability such as it was. You had other pressures upon you such as a disintegrating marriage and you decided to kill your own daughter by drowning.

There can be no excuse for what you did. I’m afraid you must now pay the penalty.

Following the sentence, the disability rights organization Scope, which focuses on people with cerebral palsy, warned that negative portrayals of disability were creating "shame and stigma." Chair Alice Maynard said:

"Naomi's death is a tragedy."

"However, this case raises the wider issue of how many disabled parents still don't get the support they need in bringing up children and how society continues to portray disability in a negative light, creating shame and stigma around impairment.

Tragically, in this instance, this combination of factors proved lethal."

Community Care.co.uk reports that the case prompted North Wales NHS Trust to carry out an interim review of the care and treatment Joanne Hill received prior to the incident. A spokesperson for the trust said that a “number of recommendations” had already been implemented to improve operational policies, adding that a full review of the case would be carried out by the Flintshire Safeguarding Children Board.

Related stories:
Mother drowned disabled daughter in bath

British mom sentenced for drowning disabled daughter out of shame

Debrya Lynn Glumm homicide

Boise, Idaho - KTVB News reports that an Idaho man has been sentenced to life in prison for the beating death of his girlfried last summer. Mark Peacock, 39, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 52-year-old Debrya Lynn Glumm in August 2007. Ms Glumm, who used a wheelchair, died after she was hit in the face, head and stomach by Peacock. According to USA Today, Peacock is an alcoholic and had been drinking heavily at the time. Peacock, who has been arrested many times in the past for violence against women, was originally charged with first degree murder but made a plea-deal with prosecutors for a lesser charge. He must spend at least 15 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Another murder of a child with autism

Grand Junction, Colorado - KRDO News Radio reports that a Grand Junction man has been charged with first degree murder and fatal child abuse of his 13-year-old son, who had Aspergers Syndrome. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Allen Lee Grabe, 51, shot and killed Jacob Allen Grabe on September 11, 2008. His father is reported to have shot him multiple times and is quoted as telling his wife, Jacquette Grabe, that "I had to kill him because you were ruining him.” Jacob Grabe was an eighth-grade at Grand Mesa Middle School. Allen Grabe is being held under a $1 million bond.

Shirley Meade update

Burnett County, Minnesota - In early September FRIDA reported on the death of 49-year-old Shirley Meade, a Minnesota woman with developmental disabilities, after a Trade Lake Camp worker had given her the wrong medication and allowed her to die. According to WEAU News, the camp worker, Marjorie Ann Hjelseth, is now charged with second degree reckless homicide and recklessly subjecting an individual at risk to abuse causing death. The criminal complaint shows that Ms Hjelseth gave Shirley Meade the wrong medication, and when she realized it, she allowed Meade to "sleep it off." It also shows that Ms Hjelseth then tried to cover up the mistake to investigators. If convicted on all charges, Ms Hjelseth faces up to 65 years in prison. Trade Lake Camp voluntarily shut down, and the state recently revoked its license.

Brandon Williams update

Tuscon, Arizona - Diane Marsh, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted last month of negligent homicide and child abuse in the killing of her 5-year-old son Brandon Williams in March 2007, the Arizona Daily Star reports. Although Ms Marsh could have received probation, Pima County Superior Judge Hector Campoy told her that it clearly wasn't appropriate in this case, indicating that Ms Marsh had totally abdicated her parental responsibilities during the last months of Brandon's life. The fact that Brandon had autism made her abdication that much worse, he said.

For me to think probation is appropriate would be to totally overlook the loss of your son's life and to pretend you didn't have an active role in what I describe as the torture of your child.

full story here ....

see also:
Mom gets prison term in son's death
Tuscon mom found guilty in son's death gets 10 years

Brandon Williams update

Tucson, Arizona - Earlier this year FRIDA posted on the homicide of Brandon Williams, a five-year-old boy with autism. Yesterday, Flower Tompson, 28, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on one count of felony child abuse for failing to intervene in the abuse of Brandon, KSWT News reports. Ms Flower's had been living with the boy, his mother and another man. Diane Marsh, Brandon's mother, has already been convicted of negligent manslaughter and four counts of child abuse, and is due to be sentenced today. Brandon died as a result of multiple skull fractures.

See also:

Housemate gets 10 years in fatal abuse of autistic boy

Caregiver murder convinction

Smyrna, Ga. - A former live-in caregiver, Madonna Whitus, 43, has been convicted on two counts of murder for the killing in December 2007 of 63-year-old Kathie Durant, a disabled Smyra woman, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. According to prosecutors, Ms Durant died on the floor of her bedroom after Ms Whitus fed her only Slimfast and Coke as well as giving her anti-depressant medication that had been prescribed to Ms Whitus. During the week that Ms Durant lay dying, Ms Whitus went on a shopping spree with money that she had stolen from Ms Whitus. Ms Durant, who lived in Ms Durant's townhouse, faces life in prison and will be sentenced on September 19.

See also: Jury convicts Cobb Co. caregiver in woman's death

Naomi Hill: Death by Embarrassment

Via ICAD: A Chester (England) woman has drowned her four-year-old daughter because she was "embarrassed' by her disablity, the Sun newspaper reports. The trial of advertising salesperson Joanne Hill, 32, for the murder of her daughter, Naomi, is currently underway in Chester Crown Court. Mrs Hill denies she murdered Naomi but admits to manslaughter. Naomi had mild cerebral palsy and wore bracers; she also had a hearing impairment.

See also:

Disability behind girl's death
Mother drowned disabled baby because she was embarrassed, court hears