Death Type – Disability Day of Mourning

Velma Koontz

Photo Unavailable Name: Velma Koontz.
Died: January 20, 2026.
Age at death: 87.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.
Disability: Cancer; hospice patient.

Details:
Police say Velma’s grandson stole his grandfather’s handgun and fatally shot her, and that when they asked him what he had done, he admitted to the act and said he had wanted his grandmother to “go peacefully” and compared it to “pulling the plug.”

Case Status:
Brian Davenport (Grandson) is charged with murder.

Sources:
Fairbanks father speaks out after son pleads not guilty in grandmother’s killing
Man charged with murder after grandmother found shot to death in her wheelchair, police say
Man charged with murder after grandmother found shot to death in her wheelchair, police say
Fairbanks man charged with murder after shooting his grandmother, police say

Unknown Man

Photo Unavailable Name Unknown.
Died: January 19, 2026.
Age at death: 50s.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
Disability: Mental illness.

Details:
This man’s brother allegedly stabbed him with a knife and attempted to kill his mother, who had dementia. His mother was able to escape and find help at a nearby convenience store; police entered her home to find the man dead and their suspect hurt. After his arrest, the man’s brother reportedly said, “I made an extreme choice after suffering from financial hardship.”

Case Status:
His brother is charged with murder and attempted parricide.

Sources:
Man in South Korea kills mentally ill brother, attacks mother with dementia ‘due to financial hardship’
50-Year-Old Kills Brother, Attacks Mother With Deadly Weapon

Patricia Hocking

Name: Patricia “Patty” Hocking.
Died: January 3, 2026.
Age at death: 86.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Fremont, California, USA.
Disability: Diabetes, chronic pain.

Details:
Patty’s husband called police and allegedly admitted to fatally shooting her; she had been struggling with health issues, he said, and killing her was “necessary.”

Patty was a retired preschool teacher and a member of the Red Hat Society, a social group for women over 50 dedicated to “growing older in a playful manner.”

Case Status:
Richard Hocking (Husband) is charged with murder.

Sources:
Fremont man, 93, remains jailed for now in wife’s killing
‘He broke’: 93-year-old Fremont man told police he spent month planning to kill wife, docs say

Cindy Brill

Name: Cindy Jean Brill.
Died: January 2, 2026.
Age at death: Adult/Elder.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Radcliff, Kentucky, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; nursing home resident.

Details:
Cindy’s son walked into the nursing home where she lived and allegedly fatally stabbed her. He was immediately arrested.

Case Status:
Joseph Michael Garland Curtis (Son) is charged with murder (domestic violence).

Sources:
Man accused of stabbing, killing his mother in nursing home

Dominick Cuvillier

Photo of a man with fair skin and brown hair. He has a receding hairline and a short mustache and chin beard. His mouth is open, caught in mid-speech. His features show the flat forehead, wide mouth, and pointed chin characteristic of Angelman syndrome. He is wearing a black sweater. Name: Dominick “Nick” Cuvillier.
Died: December 30, 2025.
Age at death: 34.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Issaquah, Washington, USA.
Disability: Angelman syndrome.

Details:
Nick’s mother and brother had been involved in a legal battle over who would have guardianship over him. His brother had been demanding custody, had called Adult Protective Services to report his mother, and had taken Nick to his own home without permission. Nick’s mother was worried about his brother’s gun collection, and had petitioned for a protective order.

The court awarded full custody to Nick’s mother and visitation rights to his brother in November 2025.

Toward the end of December, while Nick was visiting his brother as part of a court-ordered visitation, Nick’s brother fatally shot Nick, killed his own wife, and then drove to his mother’s house, where he killed her and died by suicide.

Nick used to walk the trails at a local park with his mother, where the neighbors would hide small toys in the trees for Nick to find and retrieve with a net. Over the years, as he played this game with his neighbors, he became a fixture whose neighbors remember him for his warmth and joy. “He would light up your life,” said a friend who met him at a community center.

After the homicide, the community turned out one last time to hold a vigil for Nick and his mother.

Case Status:
Mackenzie “Mack” Williams (Brother) is deceased.

Sources:
Hundreds gather to remember Mercer Island mother and son
Artist, two sons among four dead in triple murder-suicide in Seattle
Court records: Family legal battle preceded 4 deaths in Issaquah, Mercer Island
Police say murder-suicide in Mercer Island linked to double homicide in Issaquah
Artist, 80, murdered at $2m home in family squabble that killed four
Police identify mother, son as 2 killed in Mercer Island murder-suicide investigation
KIRO 7 Exclusive: Video shows Nick Cuvillier saying he did not want to return to his mother’s home
Legal battle over disabled son preceded Mercer Island, WA, murder-suicide
Timeline shows family court battle before Seattle-area double murder-suicide
Authorities identify 4 victims in Mercer Island, Issaquah murder-suicide

Volodymyr

A framed photo of a child sits half-covered with yellow flowers. The boy in the picture is fair-skinned, with short blond hair. Name: Volodymyr; family name unknown.
Died: December 16, 2025.
Age at death: 10.
Cause of death: Starvation.
Location: Serebria, Vinnytsia, Ukraine.
Disability: Unspecified; high support needs, wheelchair user, required pureed-food diet.

Details:
Volodymyr, called Vova, was born with a congenital condition and needed to have his food pureed before he could swallow it. Initially, his grandparents cared for him; but then he moved into the care of his mother, and his health began to suffer.

In May 2025, he was no longer attending school. By September, his mother had allegedly stopped feeding him anything but water. Social Services was involved with his family, who received repeated visits from a social worker; but the social worker merely told his mother to feed the child.

Vova’s mother allegedly knew that he needed a doctor, but she did not take him to the hospital, nor did she ask for help. On December 15th, she went to the social services office to pick up a wheelchair for Vova, and when asked how he was doing, said that he was well. The next day, he was dead from starvation, weighing 10 kg.

Case Status:
Svitlana (Mother) is charged with malicious negligence and child neglect.
A family doctor is charged with medical malpractice and falsification of records.
A social services worker is charged with improper performance of duties.

Sources:
In Vinnytsia region, a child with a disability died of starvation, the mother and two officials received suspicions
Neglect Charges Filed in Vinnytsia After Starvation Death of Disabled Boy
A 10-year-old boy with a disability died in Vinnytsia region
Boy dies of hunger after not receiving food for almost two months in Vinnytsia region
In Vinnytsia Region, a Boy Died Due to Adult Inaction
Investigation of Social Services Following Death of Disabled Boy in Vinnytsia Region
The death of a 10-year-old boy from starvation is under investigation in Vinnytsia
Boy dies of hunger after not receiving food for almost two months in Vinnytsia region
10-РІЧНИЙ ХЛОПЧИК ПОМЕР ВІД ТРИВАЛОГО ГОЛОДУВАННЯ: слідчі зʼясовують, хто винен у смерті дитини
НЕ ГОДУВАЛА СИНА 2 МІСЯЦІ: моторошні деталі смерті 10-річного хлопчика з інвалідністю на Вінниччині
Смерть 10-річного хлопчика від голоду: подробиці з села Серебрія на Вінниччині
На Вінниччині від голоду помер 10-річний хлопчик з інвалідністю. Деталі справи
«Не навчили її жити в соціумі». Односельчанка розповіла про маму 10-річного хлопчика, який помер від голоду

80-year-old woman

Photo Unavailable Name Unknown.
Died: December 14, 2025.
Age at death: 80.
Cause of death: Blunt trauma.
Location: Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
Disability: Dementia.

Details:
This 80-year-old’s son is suspected of assaulting and battering her for the last six weeks of her life, causing her death. Police say he admitted to hitting her for refusing to eat or take her medication.

Case Status:
Her son was arrested on charges of filicide and elder abuse.

Sources:
Son in 50s arrested for killing dementia-stricken mother in Yongin
Man in 50s Arrested for Fatal Assault on 80-Year-Old Dementia Mother
A son in his 50s, who is accused of continuously assaulting and killing a mother in her 80s with dementia

Anitha

Photo Unavailable Name: Anitha.
Died: December 2, 2025.
Age at death: 38.
Cause of death: Traumatic injury, internal bleeding.
Location: Nedumbassery, Kerala, India.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Three months before her death, her son had taken Anitha out of the institution where she lived. When authorities examined her body after her death, they found multiple wounds, bruises, and internal bleeding. Police say that when they questioned Anitha’s son, he confessed to killing her because he wanted to inherit a piece of property she owned.

Case Status:
Binu (Son) was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sources:
Man arrested for murdering intellectually disabled mother in Kochi
Kerala: Man arrested for allegedly killing intellectually disabled mother in Nedumbassery
Son arrested for murder of mother in Aluva amid property dispute
Man arrested for murdering intellectually disabled mother in Kerala

Anita Leal

Photo of an older woman with permed white hair and fair skin, smiling for the camera. She is wearing an aqua print blouse. Name: Anita “Annie” Leal.
Died: November 17, 2025.
Age at death: 89.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Galveston, Texas, USA.
Disability: Unspecified terminal illness.

Details:
Paramedics responded to Annie’s house because her heart monitor had sent out an alarm; but when they arrived at her house, no one came to the door. When they finally forced their way in, they found Annie’s husband, who reportedly confessed to having fatally shot her as she lay in bed.

Annie was a devoted mother who also worked as a nurse’s aide and then a social worker. She was a member of a line dance group and liked showing off her moves at Salsa’s on mariachi night.

Case Status:
Ernest Leal (Husband) is charged with murder.

Sources:
Galveston man, 88, accused of shooting 89-year-old wife to death
88-year-old man who shot his terminally ill wife to death unable to care for himself without assistance while in jail
Obituary information for Anita “Annie” Leal
Husband allegedly confessed to shooting, killing his 89-year-old wife
Bond lowered for 88-year-old man accused of fatally shooting his terminally ill wife in Galveston

Archana Mallesham

Photo of a teenage girl, smiling for the camera. She has long black hair and light-brown skin; she is wearing a blue dress. She has a dark-red bindi on her forehead. Name: Archana Mallesham.
Died: November 15, 2025.
Age at death: 15.
Cause of death: Poisoned, strangled.
Location: Karimnagar, Telangana, India.
Disability: Mental and physical disabilities.

Details:
While their mother was away, Archana’s father allegedly strangled her and tried to kill her 17-year-old big brother, who is also disabled. Their mother returned home to find them and rushed them to the hospital, where Archana was declared dead. At last report, the day after the incident, her brother was still hospitalized in critical condition.

The family told police that Archana’s father believed disability to be a curse and treatment to be pointless. They suspect that he tried to poison the siblings, and when that didn’t work, strangled them.

Case Status:
Anaveni Mallesham (Father) is on the run and wanted for murder.

Sources:
Father Tries To Murder Disabled Kids, Teen Daughter Dies
Karimnagar: Father allegedly tries to kill two challenged children; daughter dies, son hospitalized
Man kills daughter, tries to strangle differently-abled son in Telangana’s Karimnagar
Shocking Incident in Karimnagar, Father Attempts to Kill Children, Daughter Dies