Elderly California woman charged with murder. Friend claims it was an assisted suicide.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Sandra Bonertz

Colin Kalmbacher reported for Law & Crime on July 14, 2021 that Sandra Jeannett Bonertz was charged with murder in the first degree in the death of her room mate, Winnie, in Bakersfield California.

According the report Bonertz confessed to the crime and then pleaded not guilty at the arraignment a few days later. Kalmbacher reported:

According to the Bakersfield Police Department, officers responded to a call on July 11th and found the roommate with major injuries lying dead on the floor. Bonertz allegedly confessed to the crime, believed to have occurred the night before, as police arrived and had a gun in her hand–which police say was surrendered without incident.

To complicate the case, Kalmbacher reported that Cheryl Sperry, a friend of Bonertz told ABC affiliate KBAK that:

I do believe that Winnie begged her to kill her. She had said that on many occasions in front of me if I ever can’t walk please kill me. And Winnie was in a car accident a month ago, Winnie and Sandy both, and Winnie broke her ankle and she was unable to walk and she was unable to get into a doctor. It takes three months to get into a doctor these days and she was completely miserable. I talked to them Thursday, she was depressed and distraught, just down in the dumps. I don’t believe there was any malice or anything like that.

Legalizing assisted suicide changes attitudes towards killing people. Bonertz may have killed Winnie and is now seeking a lesser or no sentence by claiming that the death was an assisted suicide.

Whether or not Winnie begged to be killed, if Bonertz killed her it is still murder.

I will continue to follow this case. The next hearing is scheduled for August 9, 2021.