02 – Disability Day of Mourning

Sonto Khoza

Photo Unavailable Name: Sonto Khoza.
Died: October 12, 2024.
Age at death: 60.
Cause of death: Stabbed.
Location: Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Disability: Unspecified.

Details:
Sonto and four of her family members were killed when one of their relatives allegedly attacked them with a knife. Also killed were Bheki Hadebe (62), Thulisile Hadebe (37), Andile Khoza (8), and Esihle Khoza (2). Two others, a woman and a four-year-old girl, survived with serious injuries. The family says the suspect had already attacked them once, the year before; but that time, no one had been killed.

Case Status:
Mlamuli Khoza (Relative), charged with five counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Sources:
Five stabbed to death at Bergville, KZN – SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader.
“Motive is unknown”: Police arrest man, 33, after stabbing 7, killing 5 in KZN
Man arrested after stabbing five family members to death
Mass stabbing: Family speaks!

Ernest Starry

Photo of Ernest Starry, an elderly man wearing a peach dress shirt and suspenders. He has white hair, bushy eyebrows, and pale skin. Name: Ernest Starry.
Died: July 28, 2018.
Age at death: 85.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Robstown, Texas, USA.
Disability: Unspecified; elder nursing home resident.

Other victims: Roel Mireles (41), Thelma Montalvo (60), and Isaiah Starry (13).

Details:
Ernest Starry was the oldest of four people killed by his son in a shooting spree that took the lives of his wife Thelma, his stepson Roel, and his grandson Isaiah. After fatally shooting Ernest and his wife, who was visiting him at his nursing home, the killer committed suicide. His motive is still unknown.

Ernest owned a pawn shop.

Case status:
Richard Starry (Son), deceased.

Source:
5 members of same family dead in Texas shootings at home, nursing home in murder-suicide, police say
Teen Boy Among 5 Relatives Killed in Apparent Murder-Suicide That Ended in Nursing Home
Texas Nursing Home Shooting That Left 5 Dead Was Likely Murder-Suicide, Police Say
Family, friends, Scouts, police pay respects to Robstown shooting victims

Sharon McCleary

Sepia portrait photo of Sharon McCleary as a young woman. She has fair skin and hair cut in a bob; she is wearing old-fashioned glasses and a black sleeveless top. Name: Sharon Lynn McCleary.
Died: June 13, 2018.
Age at death: 63.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Trenton, Ohio, USA.
Disability: Blind.

Details:
Sharon lived with her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend, and another daughter was visiting. Her daughter’s boyfriend was under investigation for the murder of Maegan Motter (age 27, unrelated) when police came to knock on her door. The man took her and her daughters hostage. A standoff between him and SWAT ensued; he was eventually persuaded to release Sharon’s daughters. However, he fatally shot Sharon, and when the police tried to get in he attempted suicide and was arrested.

Sharon was a religious woman who loved game shows.

Case status:
James Edward Geran (Daughter’s boyfriend), convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole.

Source:
Double murder charge for man accused of killing girlfriend’s mom
Sheriff: Double murder suspect in standoff will face several charges
Sharon Lynn McCLEARY’s Obituary on Dayton Daily News
Court docs: Middletown man told girlfriend about first homicide
‘I do not want this monster to get out’: Families emotional as Middletown man sentenced to life for killing 2 women
Middletown murder victim’s sister: ‘She couldn’t defend herself if she wanted to’
Life in prison for man who murdered two women in Butler County
She was blind and couldn’t feed herself. Her daughter’s boyfriend shot her in the head.