When carers kill
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Almost one person with disabilities in Australia is killed by their carer every three months, but these acts of domestic violence are often excused by the media and judiciary. The focus is too often on the killer. Here, we recognise the victims.
Kayden Cockman
Age: 8
Likes: The Avengers movie
Disability: Autism
Died: 11/05/2018
Location: WA
Circumstances: Shooting
Alleged killer: Peter Miles
Relationship: Grandfather
Punishment: None (alleged killer deceased)
Ayre Cockman
Age: 10
Likes: The Avengers movie and watched it as a family
Disability: Autism
Died: 11/05/2018
Location: WA
Circumstances: Shooting
Alleged killer: Peter Miles
Relationship: Grandfather
Punishment: None (alleged killer deceased)
Rylan Cockman
Age: 12
Likes: The Avengers movie and watched it as a family
Disability: Autism
Died: 11/05/2018
Location: WA
Circumstances: Shooting
Alleged killer: Peter Miles
Relationship: Grandfather
Punishment: None (alleged killer deceased)
Taye Cockman
Age: 13
Likes: The Avengers movie and watched it as a family
Disability: Autism
Died: 11/05/2018
Location: WA
Circumstances: Shooting
Alleged killer: Peter Miles
Relationship: Grandfather
Punishment: None (alleged killer deceased)
Man A
Age: 62
Disability: Disability pensioner
Died: 20/02/2017
Location: Qld
Circumstances: Bound, gagged, and killed
Alleged killer: Cannot be named
Relationship: Live-in carer
Punishment: Charged with murder, case ongoing
Woman A
Age: 83
Disability: Alzheimer's disease
Died: 24/01/2018
Location: WA
Circumstances: Strangulation
Alleged killer: Cannot be named
Relationship: Husband
Punishment: Charged with murder, court case ongoing
Man B
Age: 26
Disability: Brain injuries arising from car accident
Died: 18/07/2017
Location: Qld
Circumstances: Forced drug overdose
Alleged killer: Cannot be named
Relationship: Mother
Punishment: Charged with murder, case is ongoing
Harold Nolan
Age: 73
Disability: Suffered a stroke and rarely left the house
Died: 24/10/2016
Location: Vic
Circumstances: Stabbing
Killer: Renee Noland
Relationship: Former wife
Punishment: Found not guilty by mental impairment and sent to a secure hospital for 25 years
In the wake of the worst mass shooting in Australia since Port Arthur, the public was as hungry for answers as the police.
A suspected murder-suicide on a hobby farm near Margaret River in Western Australia on Friday, May 11, left seven people dead and shocked the nation.
But it was not long before grief turned to sympathy for the alleged culprit.
Peter Miles is widely believed to have killed six people, including four children with autism, before taking his own life.
An investigation is ongoing and, because Peter Miles is dead, we may never know the full story.
But soon after the news broke, Miles was described in the media as a loving grandfather, a "good bloke" who wanted the best for his grandchildren and worried about their future.
Robyn Frescura
Age: 50
Disability: Intellectual disability and could not walk or talk after a stroke
Died: 02/11/2016
Location: Qld
Circumstances: Murder-suicide
Killer: John Frescura
Relationship: Father
Punishment: None (killer deceased)
Andreas Headland
Age: 3
Disability: Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia
Died: 20/10/2016
Location: Qld
Circumstances: Medical experts said his death was consistent with asphyxiation in children with drug effects
Killer: Jason Headland
Relationship: Father
Punishment: Sentenced to 31 years behind bars for murder
Digby Dowdle
Age: 26
Likes: Walking his greyhound, Lucy
Disability: Acquired brain injury from a car accident
Died: 22/01/2016
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Sedated and suffocated
Killer: Susan Dowdle
Relationship: Mother
Punishment: Convicted of manslaughter and jailed for two years but immediately released with time served
Samantha Kelly
Age: 39
Disability: Intellectual disability
Died: 21/01/2016
Location: Vic
Circumstances: Beaten to death with a hammer
Killer: Peter James Arthur, Christine Lyons
Relationship: Housemate
Punishment: Peter James Arthur was sentenced to at least 18 years in jail for murder, Christine Lyons was also found guilty of murder, but is yet to be sentenced
Elisa Manrique
Age: 11
Likes: Loved dancing, singing, and painting. Held her teachers' hands while leading them around the school oval
Disability: Autism
Died: 10/01/16
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Gassed to death
Killer: Fernando Manrique
Relationship: Father
Punishment: None (killer deceased)
Martin Manrique
Age: 10
Likes: Painting and animals
Disability: Autism
Died: 10/01/16
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Gassed to death
Killer: Fernando Manrique
Relationship: Father
Punishment: None (killer deceased)
Zvonimir Petrovski
Age: 67
Disability: Mobility impaired
Died: 21/11/2015
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Stabbed to death
Killer: Anna Horneshaw
Relationship: Housemate
Punishment: Sentenced to 17 years behind bars for murder
Gloria Reilly
Age: 69
Disability: Chronic heart and lung disease
Died: 13/11/2015
Location: WA
Circumstances: Bashed
Contributed to death: Damien Reilly
Relationship: Son
Punishment: Sentenced to 12 months' prison for endangering his mother's life
Around the same time, reports emerged that all four grandchildren had autism — and in some cases this was repeated.
"I mean, there was one article where that was mentioned five times," said Nina Funnell, an anti domestic violence advocate.
She told Background Briefing emphasising the children had autism was shorthand for a lot more.
"Now, when you place undue emphasis on the fact the victims had a disability, it leaves the reader with the impression that the disability was somehow a causative trigger to the violence that has subsequently followed," she said.
"Readers walk away thinking, 'Well, this is the fault of autism'."
Samantha Connor, a disability advocate from WA, agreed.
"There's this constant narrative in media when we're murdered by parents and by family members," she said.
"People talk about those parents and family members as being devoted carers, and the blame is firmly placed on the disabled person.
"There are assumptions that are leapt to about the burden, and lack of services, and those sort of issues aren't necessarily the case when there is no evidence about that."
Maureen Boyce
Age: 68
Disability: Bipolar disorder and depression
Died: 22/10/2015
Location: Qld
Circumstances: Stabbed to death
Killer: Thomas Chris Lang
Relationship: Boyfriend
Punishment: Convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in jail
Boy A
Age: 7.
Disability: Diabetes.
Died: 27/04/2015.
Location: NSW
Alleged killers: Parents and therapist.
Circumstances: Insulin deprivation after failed "self-healing" therapy.
Punishment: Parents charged with manslaughter, extradition sought for therapist
Liam Milne
Age: 11
Disability: Autism
Died: 01/02/2015
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Crashed car into tree
Killer: Darren Milne
Relationship: Father
Punishment: None (killer deceased)
Robert Wright
Age: 36
Disability: Deaf, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and reduced functionality in left leg
Died: 15/01/2015
Location: Vic
Circumstances: Died three days after being thrown from a second-floor balcony
Killers: Jake Fairest, Warwick Toohey, and Georgia Fields
Relationship: Housemates
Punishment: Jake Fairest and Warwick Toohey each convicted of murder and received a 25-year custodial supervision order
Kim Hunt
Age: 41
Disability: Traumatic brain injury from car accident causing hemiplegia and personality changes
Died: 09/09/14
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Murder suicide
Killer: Geoff Hunt
Relationship: Husband
Punishment: None (killer deceased)
Fletcher Hunt
Age: 10
Disability: ADHD
Died: 09/09/2014
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Murder suicide
Killer: Geoff Hunt
Relationship: Father
Punishment: None (killer deceased)
Jody Meyers
Age: 20
Disability: Partially deaf
Died: 08/01/2015
Location: SA
Circumstances: Strangled
Killer: Neil Archer
Relationship: Boyfriend
Punishment: Sentenced to 22 years behind bars
Boy B
Age: 5
Disability: Epilepsy
Died: 03/01/2015
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Diazepam, morphine, opiates, and possibly heroin
Killer: Unknown
Relationship: Unknown
Punishment: Unknown
When something terrible happens, it is normal to wonder why, and to seek reasons.
But there is a big difference between asking why and excusing a killer.
When people with disabilities are killed by their carer, advocates said the media all too often cites the carer's struggles, focusing on the burden that the victim placed on the killer — and accepting disability as a reason for murder.
Background Briefing has now collated media coverage, court judgements, and independent reports to determine how often in the past 15 years people with disabilities have been killed by an intimate carer.
An intimate carer is a family member or friend with responsibilities of care. The program has excluded paid disability support workers.
Background Briefing defines a person with a disability in accordance with the Australian Disability Discrimination Act.
The results from the analysis are shocking: almost one person with disabilities in Australia is killed by their carer every three months.
We do not have access to information troves like police databases, so we suspect this is almost certainly an underestimate.
Another problem with sympathising with a killer at length is that victims remain names only — they vanish from their own story.
Here, Background Briefing has sought to put faces to the names, and where possible include details of the lives of people killed by their carers.
Tyron Paul Honeywood
Age: 25
Disability: Paraplegic
Died: 20/03/2014
Location: WA
Circumstances: Shot and bashed with wheelchair
Killer: Brian Honeywood
Relationship: Father
Punishment: Brian Honeywood committed suicide in prison before sentencing
Woman B
Age: 83
Disability: Dementia, epilepsy, and mental illness
Died: 10/01/2013
Location: Vic
Circumstances: Pneumonia and malnourishment
Killers: Unknown
Relationship: Son and stepdaughter
Punishment: Unknown
Levai Bonnar
Age: 7
Disability: Intellectual disability
Died: 21/05/2013
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Beaten and starved
Killer: Kayla James and Kodi James Maybir
Relationship: Mother and mother's boyfriend
Punishment: Mother sentenced to 10-and-a-half years for manslaughter. Mother's boyfriend convicted of murder and jailed for 31-and-a-half years
Woman C
Age: 18
Disability: Developmental disability, autism
Died: 04/09/2012
Location: Qld
Circumstances: Forced drug overdose
Killer: Cannot be named
Relationship: Mother
Punishment: Mother charged with murder, case is ongoing
Boy C
Age: 11
Disability: Autism
Died: 01/10/2011
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Hypothermia and torture
Killer: Names withheld
Relationship: Mother and stepfather
Punishment: Mother pleaded guilty to manslaughter but the verdict is unknown due to non-publication order
Kyla Puhle
Age: 27
Disability: Intellectual, quadriplegia, cerebral palsy and scoliosis of the spine
Died: 03/01/2011
Location: SA
Circumstances: Severely malnourished, chest infection
Killer: Angela Puhle
Relationship: Mother
Punishment: Immediately released after receiving a suspended sentence for manslaughter
Tanilla Warrick-Deaves
Age: 2
Likes: Horses
Disability: Bowed legs
Died: 08/01/2011
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Bashed and left to die in a pram
Killers: Donna Deaves and Warren Ross
Relationship: Mother and stepfather
Punishment: Donna Deaves sentenced to 9.5 years. Warren Ross sentenced to 40 years
Christine Anthony
Age: 50
Disability: Severe disability, wheelchair-bound
Died: 14/02/2011
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Doused with methylated spirits and set alight
Killer: David Allen Harding
Relationship: Boyfriend
Punishment: A minimum of 20 years behind bars for murder
Accepting disability as a reason for murder is not just an Australian problem.
In the US, journalist and academic David Perry conducted a study looking at four years of US media coverage of hundreds of cases.
He found there were certain phrases that kept cropping up, whatever the case, whatever the circumstances.
"'Mercy killing', 'suffering' for sure, 'put out of her misery'," he said.
"When you see neighbours quoted as, 'Oh, they were so in love' or, 'She was such a doting parent'. 'Burden' would be right up there as a phrase. 'Act of love'. When we talk about, 'The love that a murderer felt for their murder victim'."
Trawl through Australian coverage of homicides where a carer has killed a person with disabilities, and David Perry's checklist will resonate.
To Perry, the biggest problem is not what reportage includes, but what it almost always leaves out.
"The big thing that I want the listeners to identify is the absence of the voices of people with disabilities," he said.
"So we really have a very fundamental problem. People are being murdered and no-one is talking to people with disability.
"I don't think there's any other kind of marginalised community in which, if there were a lot of murders, at least one reporter wouldn't reach out to — whether it's a community of colour, or an LGBT community.
"There are lots of communities that experience violence but at least they get a reaction quote, they get some kind of chance to weigh in."
Girl A
Age: 9
Disability: Cerebral Palsy
Died: 17/07/2011
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Repeatedly punched in the stomach
Killer: Cannot be named.
Relationship: Father
Punishment: Father charged with murder and case is still ongoing
Girl B
Age: 6 months
Disability: Mother feared her child had dwarfism or another genetic disorder
Died: 18/11/2010
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Drowned in bathtub
Killer: Cannot be named.
Relationship: Mother
Punishment: Detained in a facility by the mental health tribunal
Zahra Baker
Age: 10
Disability: Deaf, prosthetic leg, and bone cancer
Disappeared: 09/10/2010
Location: USA
Circumstances: Dismembered
Killer: Elisa Baker
Relationship: Stepmother
Punishment: Sentenced to 15 to 18 years in jail for second-degree murder
Barry Harrison
Age: 61
Disability: Motor neurone disease, could only move his head and eyes
Died: 05/10/2010
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Position in bed adjusted resulting in choking
Killer: Steven James McLaren
Relationship: Paid carer
Punishment: Sentenced to a minimum of three years' jail
Janet Mackozdi
Age: 77
Disability: Dementia, mobility impaired
Died: July, 2010
Location: TAS
Circumstances: Hypothermia from being left in a shipping container overnight
Killer: Jassy Anglin and Michael Anglin
Relationship: Daughter and son-in-law
Punishment: Suspended sentences for manslaughter
Elizabeth Knowles
Age: 48
Disability: Chronic illness and mobility impaired
Died: 04/01/2010
Location: Qld
Circumstances: A deliberately lit housefire
Killer: David Knowles
Relationship: Husband
Punishment: None (killer deceased)
Peter Eitzen
Age: 16
Disability: Intellectual disability
Died: 07/01/2009
Location: SA
Circumstances: Drugged and stabbed to death
Killer: Beverley Eitzen
Relationship: Mother
Punishment: Ruled unfit to stand trial, released on mental health supervision licence
Stephen Chin
Age: 63
Disability: Quadriplegic
Died: Before June 20, 2008
Location: NSW
Circumstances: House was burned down
Killer: Grace Soon
Relationship: Former wife
Punishment: Sentenced to a minimum of five years' jail for manslaughter
Violence towards people with disabilities is a confronting topic, shrouded in mystery.
According to a recent Senate report, having a disability means you are more likely to suffer violence, especially if you are a woman, whether you live in a residential care setting or the family home.
And if you have an intellectual disability, a study by the National Police Research Unit found you are 10 times more likely to have experienced abuse than an abled person.
But across all disabilities and genders, we do not know how often carers are violent towards people with disabilities because no-one collects the statistics — and the Federal Government has resisted strong calls for a royal commission.
Calling out poor media coverage of the killing of people with disabilities is not just about being politically correct.
David Perry warns there is a risk of contagion — that accepting disability as a reason for murder could lead to more deaths.
"The next potential murderer reads that, they think about it as a mercy killing, they're more likely to commit violence themselves," he said.
"We know about suicide contagion. We're learning unfortunately in the States about a mass-murder contagion.
''There is a real sense by the people who study media that the ways we talk about these things does have an impact."
Shellay Ebony Ward
Age: 7
Disability: Autism
Died: 02/11/2007
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Starvation and neglect
Killers: Blakeley Ward and Sharyn Ward
Relationship: Mother and father
Punishment: Sharyn Ward was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Blakeley Ward was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for a minimum of 12 years
Janine Penelope Brockie
Age: 42
Disability: Intellectually disabled
Died: 10/05/2007
Location: Vic
Circumstances: Head injuries sustained from punching and kicking
Killer: Brian Robert Andrew
Relationship: Intimate partner
Punishment: Sentenced to 10 years' jail for manslaughter
Janene Devine
Age: 48
Disability: Multiple sclerosis
Died: 16/03/2007
Location: WA
Circumstances: Starvation and neglect
Killer: Andrew Devine
Relationship: Husband
Punishment: Convicted of manslaughter
Kate Bugmy
Age: 26
Disability: Deaf
Died: 06/01/2007
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Neglect, malnutrition, and blood poisoning
Contributed to death: Daphne Hall and Jenna Bugmy
Relationship: Mother and sister
Punishment: No charges laid. Coroner criticised remote health and disability services
Christopher John O'Brien
Age: 22
Disability: Intellectual disability
Died: 03/01/2007
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Assault
Killers: Shalendra Singh, Darren Charles Summers
Punishment: Shalendra Singh and Darren Charles Summers each were jailed after pleading guilty to being an accessary to manslaughter
Grace Parkes
Age: 83
Disability: Bell's palsy, Paget's disease
Died: 01/01/2005
Location: NSW
Killer: Phillip Raymond Parkes
Relationship: Son
Circumstances: Bludgeoned to death
Punishment: Sentenced to 18 years for murder
Gracie Sharpe
Age: 19 months
Disability: Intellectual disability
Died: 23/03/2004
Location: Vic
Circumstances: Attacked with a spear gun
Killer: John Myles Sharpe
Relationship: Father
Punishment: Life in prison
Boy D
Age: 4
Disability: Physical and intellectual disabilities
Died: 29/08/2003
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Medical attention resisted or not sought
Killer: Unknown
Relationship: Mother
Punishment: Convicted of manslaughter, suspended sentence, and good behaviour bond
Jason Dawes
Age: 10
Disability: Autism
Died: August, 2003
Location: NSW
Circumstances: Suffocation
Killer: Daniela Dawes
Relationship: Mother
Punishment: Convicted of manslaughter and given a five-year good behaviour bond
Daniel Thomas
Age: 2
Disability: Speech delay
Died: 10/01/2003
Location: Vic
Circumstances: Inconclusive (possibly strangulation, drowning, or a head injury)
Contributed to death: Mandy Martyn and Donna Thomas
Relationship: Babysitter and mother
Punishment: Police had insufficient evidence to lay charges
David Perry said no-one in the US has researched whether the tendency to excuse carers who kill extends to the courtroom.
But in Australia, there was a paper published last year.
In it, lawyer Frankie Sullivan examined all the cases they could find from the past 15 years where a carer was sentenced for the domestic homicide or attempted homicide of a disabled person.
Mr Sullivan analysed the language used in the sentencing remarks. Some familiar trends emerged: disability was invariably discussed as a very negative thing.
"So really medicalised language, language such as 'wheelchair bound' or 'this person suffered this condition'," Mr Sullivan said.
"People with disability were assumed to have a low quality of life, so to not enjoy their lives, or to be miserable, or to be suffering, or to be really unhappy with their bodies or their minds or their existence."
It would be unthinkable in other domestic violence cases, but quite often judges were prepared to accept evidence the victim had a low quality of life, which came from the killer themselves.
"Often, you know, the accused or the offender themselves would be saying, 'This person was unhappy with x y z' or 'This person really struggled with this and that' being sort of taken as a definitive statement of their lived experience, without consulting or having any consideration of whether or not that's accurate," Mr Sullivan said.
In these sentencing remarks, killing appeared to be seen as an extension of care. The killers were perceived to have "suffered enough" through their years of devoted care for their victim.
But, as Mr Sullivan wrote, when there's domestic violence towards people without a disability, social stressors are not accepted either by judges or by society in general as a mitigating factor.
And when it comes to the persistent narrative of the "devoted carer", disability advocate Samantha Connor said citing a killer's love for their victim doesn't cut it.
"When people say that a mother was a devoted carer or a parent or another family member was a devoted carer, our response is invariably that devoted carers do not kill their children," she said.
"Because the worst thing that can happen to someone is that they die.
"It doesn't matter how much you love that person. They're just as dead."
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800, Mensline Australia on 1300 789 978 or the Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
Credits:
- Reporter: Sarah Dingle
- Research: Sarah Dingle, Connie Agius, and Lauren Williams
- Digital Producers: David Lewis and Stephen Hutcheon
- Executive Producer: Alice Brennan
Topics: community-and-society, discrimination, government-and-politics, health, law-crime-and-justice, crime, murder-and-manslaughter, disabilities, autism-spectrum-disorder, australia
