Compassionate homicide deaths are usually not compassionate.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Kenzie Beach with Fox News Atlanta published an article on July 8, 2024 about the murder of Brenda Gelleny (65) by her husand Michael Gelleny. Michael Gelleny claimed that it was a "mercy Killing" that he killed his wife to end her pain and suffering. My concern is that the article uses this murder to promote the legalization of assisted suicide.

According to the Fox News report:

Michael Gelleny, 67, called the police on himself telling them he shot his wife Brenda, 65, in the back of the head on July 6 in Goodyear.

He reportedly told police the morning that he killed her, that he kissed her and told her he loved her before getting the gun in the other room and pulling the trigger.

Gelleny reportedly thought about taking his own life, but instead turned himself in. Police paperwork states his reasoning was to make it as quick as possible and put an end to her four years of pain and suffering.

Gelleny is accused of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.

It appears by the article that Gelleny originally planned for the death to be a murder-suicide. Another news article stated that Gelleny had been planning the death for a couple of weeks.

The media sometimes jumps to supporting the compassionate homicide defense when in fact these murders are rarely compassionate. Donna Cohen, a suicide researcher, and others prove that murder / suicide is rarely related to "compassionate" homicide.

Cohan stated the following in a Minnesota Tribune article from March 2009:

When people read reports of a murder-suicide they will often ask the question, was this an Act of love, or desperation? Cohen who has researched this question tries to find answers. 

She stated in the article:

That notion is common in murder-suicides, said Cohen, who has testified before Congress, written extensively and helped train families and physicians. She is a professor of aging and mental health at the University of South Florida and heads its Violence and Injury Prevention Program. 

"If they were consulted, families usually would try to stop it,'' she said. "In fact, murder-suicide almost always is not an act of love. It's an act of desperation."

Cohen also recognizes that murder-suicide does not equate with assisted suicide. Cohen stated:

Some people equate murder-suicide with assisted suicide and the right to control when you will die, Cohen said. "It usually is not the same. This is suicide and murder.''

Future reports may or may not uncover further reasons for his action but Cohen's research is clear. These cases are usually an act of murder, not a compassionate homicide.

Further to that the Fox News report stated:

In 2013, 86-year-old George Sanders shot and killed his wife Ginger. He was charged with first-degree murder after his wife allegedly begged him to kill her.

He got two years probation.

By claiming that the murder was based on compassion he may be more likely to get a lesser sentence. 

Even if his wife, Brenda, was experiencing a difficult health condition, she deserved a proper treatment, care and support, not death. The law should also recognize the vulnerability of the spouse in these cases.

Killing a spouse is not loving nor compassionate

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

People Magazine published an article on August 1 by Emily Palmer stating that David Hunter (76) who was recently convicted of manslaughter for killing his wife Janice, on December 18, 2021; did so "out of love."

The story of David and Janice Hunter will be used by the assisted suicide lobby to justify the concept of "compassionate homicide."

David Hunter was convicted of manslaughter, meaning that the judge determined that it was not a pre-meditated murder, and sentenced him to two years in prison. He was then released after being credited for serving 19 months in jail awaiting trial.

A previous article by Ryan Fahey published by the Mirror on May 10 reported that Hunter confessed to killing his "terminally ill" wife. Haematologist Dr Ourania Seimeni said Janice had myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), which is not necessarily terminal. The doctor admitted that 30 per cent of cases of MDS lead to leukaemia.

Fahey also reported that Hunter tried to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter but the charge of murder went forward to trial.

According to the accepted statement of facts, David Hunter killed his wife Janice by asphyxiation and then attempted to cause his own death by consuming a large amount of pills, but medical staff saved his life.

Research by Donna Cohen, a suicide researcher, and others prove that murder / suicide is rarely related to "compassionate" homicide.

Cohan stated the following in a Minnesota Tribune article from March 2009:

When people read reports of a murder-suicide they will often ask the question, was this an Act of love, or desperation? Cohen who has researched this question tries to find answers. 

She stated in the article:

That notion is common in murder-suicides, said Cohen, who has testified before Congress, written extensively and helped train families and physicians. She is a professor of aging and mental health at the University of South Florida and heads its Violence and Injury Prevention Program. 

"If they were consulted, families usually would try to stop it,'' she said. "In fact, murder-suicide almost always is not an act of love. It's an act of desperation."

Cohen also recognizes that murder-suicide does not equate with assisted suicide. Cohen stated:

Some people equate murder-suicide with assisted suicide and the right to control when you will die, Cohen said. "It usually is not the same. This is suicide and murder.''

I accept the idea that David Hunter was emotionally moved by his wife's "wish to die" but I do not accept the concept it is loving or compassionate to kill her.

A loving and compassionate response would be to help her receive pain and symptom relief and to assure her that her life had meaning, purpose and value.

UK Millionaire claims he killed is first wife "compassionately" and beat his second wife.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthansia Prevention Coalition

On Saturday I published excerpts from an article by Simon Caldwell accusing the Sunday Times of championing the euthanasia story of an abusive husband because it fit their pro-euthanasia stance.

An article by Gregory Kirby published by the Daily Mail on Sunday January 23 further uncovers the story of the millionaire ex-army medic, Douglas Laing. Laing confessed to killing his first wife in 1998, in what he referred to as an "assisted death" as part of a campaign to legalize euthanasia in the UK.

With a little digging researchers uncovered that in October 2017, Laing was accused by his second wife, Susan, of hitting her three times with a wooden mallet. Laing was convicted with a three year jail sentence for beating his wife.

Kirby explains that a murder investigation into the death of Laing's first wife has been launched. The story is significant since Laing released his "confession" as part of a campaign to challenge the laws prohibiting euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Douglas Laing

According to Kirby's article:

Laing said doctors familiar with his military nursing experience provided him with the lethal drugs to prevent his wife dying in a hospice.

He kept it secret until last year, when he began to follow the Sunday Times campaign Dying with Dignity, which backs efforts to legalise assisted dying.

Laing was being supported by Dignity in Dying, a separate campaign to change the law on assisted suicides, but the charity distanced itself from him after the latest revelations emerged.

Chief executive Sarah Wootton said: 'Dignity in Dying will not be commenting further while police investigations are ongoing.'

It is important to note that Dignity in Dying were supporting Laing and likely wrote his confession letter where he admitted to killing his first wife. Notice how they are now silent about their campaign with Laing.

In his contrived confession letter that was published by the Sunday Times in October 2021 Laing stated:

...'I'm in tears as I recall that conversation. 

'I have struggled with what I did and only recently spoken to close family about it. 

'I wanted to make my actions public knowledge in support of the move to legalise assisted dying.

'Taking the brave decision she did allowed my wife to say goodbye to our two sons while she was able to, and allowed us to have a final cuddle. Then she was gone. 

'I know the consequences and it doesn't bother me one jot.' 

To me, Douglas Laing feels eerily similar to the profile uncovered  byresearch done several years ago on murder-suicide by Donna Cohen, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a suicide researcher, proving that murder-suicide is rarely related to assisted suicide.

Cohen stated the following in a March 2009 Minnesota Tribune article:

When people read reports of a murder-suicide they will often ask the question, was this an Act of love, or desperation? Cohen who has researched this question tries to find answers. 

She stated in the article:

That notion is common in murder-suicides, said Cohen, who has testified before Congress, written extensively and helped train families and physicians. She is a professor of aging and mental health at the University of South Florida and heads its Violence and Injury Prevention Program. 

"If they were consulted, families usually would try to stop it,'' she said. "In fact, murder-suicide almost always is not an act of love. It's an act of desperation."

According to Cohen, the typical murder-suicide case involves a depressed controlling husband who kills his ill wife. 

"The wife does not want to die and is often shot in her sleep. If she was awake at the time, there are usually signs that she tried to defend herself."

The clear difference is that Laing killed his wife but did not kill himself but he appears to fit the profile of a controlling husband who killed his wife.

Legalizing assisted suicide does not reduce murder-suicide.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

A commentary by Karen Chaffraix that was published in the Fauquier Times (Virginia) on November 10 infers that legalizing assisted suicide will somehow remedy the tragic acts of murder suicide. 

Chaffraix's commentary concerns the tragic deaths of Linda and Clark Johnson by murder-suicide. Chaffraix states that European studies suggest that people should have the right to end their own lives, in these situations. Chaffraix does not provide links to these "studies".

Research by Donna Cohen, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a suicide researcher, and others prove that murder-suicide is rarely related to assisted suicide.

Donna Cohen

Cohen stated the following in a March 2009 Minnesota Tribune article:

When people read reports of a murder-suicide they will often ask the question, was this an Act of love, or desperation? Cohen who has researched this question tries to find answers. 

She stated in the article:

That notion is common in murder-suicides, said Cohen, who has testified before Congress, written extensively and helped train families and physicians. She is a professor of aging and mental health at the University of South Florida and heads its Violence and Injury Prevention Program. 

"If they were consulted, families usually would try to stop it,'' she said. "In fact, murder-suicide almost always is not an act of love. It's an act of desperation."

Cohen explains that murder-suicide does not equate with assisted suicide. She said:

Some people equate murder-suicide with assisted suicide and the right to control when you will die, Cohen said. "It usually is not the same. This is suicide and murder.''

According to Cohen, the typical murder-suicide case involves a depressed controlling husband who shoots his ill wife. "The wife does not want to die and is often shot in her sleep. If she was awake at the time, there are usually signs that she tried to defend herself." 

Murder-suicide are tragic actions, but legalizing assisted suicide will not reduce the incidence of murder-suicide.

Legalizing assisted suicide does not prevent murder-suicide and leads to an increase in other suicide deaths.

Margaret Dore

The following is a letter sent to Montana legislators. 

In the letter, Margaret Dore explains that it is a false argument to suggest that legalizing assisted suicide will reduce the incidence of murder-suicide.

Dore also provides links to the statistics that prove that the incidence of other suicides have significantly increased since Oregon legalized assisted suicide.

-----------------------------

Please consider the following:

1. According to Donna Cohen, the typical murder-suicide case involves a depressed controlling husband who shoots his ill wife: “The wife does not want to die and is often shot in her sleep. If she was awake at the time, there are usually signs that she tried to defend herself.”  See WebMD, "Murder-Suicides in Elderly Rise: Husbands commit most murder suicides–without wives’ consent," January 30, 2005,  http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=50782
Please also read this article from Oregon, that murder-suicides "follow the national pattern."

Link: http://blog.oregonlive.com/health_impact/print.html?entry=/2009/11/recent_murder-suicides_follow.html

If physician assisted suicide were legal in Montana, the wife, not wanting to die, would still be a victim.

2. Legalization of physician-assisted suicide in Oregon is correlated with a higher rate of other suicides. Oregon’s overall suicide rate, which excludes suicide under Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide act, is 35% above the national average. Moreover, this rate has been “increasing significantly since 2000.” 

See: http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/news/2010news/2010-0909a.pdf

Just three years prior, in 1997, Oregon legalized physician-assisted suicide. Other suicides have thus increased with legalization of physician-assisted suicide. This is consistent with a copy cat or suicide contagion phenomenon (normalizing one type of suicide, i.e., physician assisted suicide, encouraged other suicides)

Moreover, many of these deaths are violent. For 2007, “firearms were the dominant mechanism of suicide among men.” This is according to an Oregon Department of Human Services report issued in September 2010. See excerpts here: http://maasdocuments.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/oregon-suicide-info_0011.pdf

Please also note that in Oregon, the "cost of suicide is enormous."

As I wrote you before, I live in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal. I am helping Montanans Against Assisted Suicide. Here is one of my articles published in The Advocate, the official publication of the Idaho State Bar Association. http://www.margaretdore.com/pdf/Not_Legal_in_Idaho.pdf

I urge you to not make our mistake.

Vote Yes on HB 505

Margaret Dore
Law Offices of Margaret K. Dore, P.S.
Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation
www.choiceillusion.org

Murder-suicide rarely "compassionate homicide."

John Romano wrote an excellent article entitled: Murder-Suicides make news, but more abuse hides behind closed doors that was published Sunday, June 10, 2012 in the Tampa Bay Times.

This is an important article because the euthanasia lobby has been using the argument that legalizing assisted suicide will eliminate or lessen the problem of murder-suicide, but in fact research shows that murder-suicide (when done for supposedly "compassionate" reasons) is almost always related to a controlling/ abusive husband being unwilling to care for his sick wife.

Donna Cohen

Research by Donna Cohen, a suicide researcher, and others proves that homicide/suicide is rarely related to "compassionate" homicide.

Cohan stated the following in a Minnesota Tribune article from March 2009:
When people read reports of a murder-suicide they will often ask the question, was this an Act of love, or desperation? Cohen who has researched this question tries to find answers. She stated in the article:

That notion is common in murder-suicides, said Cohen, who has testified before Congress, written extensively and helped train families and physicians. She is a professor of aging and mental health at the University of South Florida and heads its Violence and Injury Prevention Program.

"If they were consulted, families usually would try to stop it,'' she said. "In fact, murder-suicide almost always is not an act of love. It's an act of desperation."

Cohen also recognizes that murder-suicide does not equate with assisted suicide. She said:

Some people equate murder-suicide with assisted suicide and the right to control when you will die, Cohen said. "It usually is not the same. This is suicide and murder.''

Murder-Suicide make news, but more abuse hides behind closed doors.

By John Romano - June 10, 2012

Four words in a headline­ Husband kills wife, self­ is all it takes to quicken the pulse and grip the heart.

Four words to trigger the memories, regrets and fears all around.

In the offices of a domestic violence shelter, Linda Osmundson wonders, and worries, if this was one of the women her group was unable to protect.

Audrey Mabrey debates attending the funeral for the woman she did not know, worrying that the scars from where her own husband once set her ablaze might make her unwelcome.

Paula Moore sits at her desk in the accounting department of a Tampa firm and silently recalls the bruises, broken bones and mental torture she once endured.

That poor woman, they all seem to say, could have been me.

The murder-suicide in Clearwater last week was the sixth case of its kind in Pinellas County in less than five months.

Some of the victims were young; others were older. Some were separated; a few shared a home with their killer. Many of their neighbors were surprised; some were not.

To the survivors of domestic abuse, those details are almost inconsequential. They have already lived through the daily horror of that story.

To them, there is one trait of domestic violence that is nearly universal. And a murder-suicide might be the ultimate example, for it's the final word in power and control.

"It is 100 percent about dominance and control,'' said Moore, who fled Ohio two years ago to escape an abusive relationship. "You look at women who stay and stay and stay, and you wonder why. It's because they have no more self-esteem, no self-respect.

"You've been beaten physically and mentally for so long, you get to the point where you think that's all there is, or all that will ever be.''

Anecdotally, it might seem as if the number of murder-suicides is suddenly spiking. Statistically, it is harder to track.

For law enforcement agencies, the investigation ends once a ruling of murder-suicide is confirmed. And that means it may never reach the desk of a domestic violence unit.

What we do know is the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has tracked roughly 90 to 120 murders of spouses or co-habitants every year for the past decade.

And those numbers don't even begin to tell the story of women who endure their beatings in silence. Women who are afraid to leave. Who don't have the means. Who worry what will become of their children if they try to flee.

In fact, the desperation of a murder-suicide is often precipitated by the possibility of the woman leaving the relationship. Of the six recent cases in Pinellas, at least four involved some level of separation between the couples.

"The violence often escalates when the guy feels he's losing control,'' said Osmundson, executive director of Community Action Stops Abuse in St. Petersburg. "If he starts threatening suicide, it's a huge red flag for us. 

If he is willing to commit suicide, then you are entering a really, really dangerous situation.

"That's what murder-suicide is: I've got you, and I'm taking you with me.''

Even in cases when the abuse was not as apparent, or not as severe, the trigger before the escalation is almost always there.

In Mabrey's case, which drew national headlines in 2009 when her husband doused her in gasoline and threw a candle at her, physical abuse had arrived only in the final days.

It was when Mabrey moved out of their home and began preparing for a divorce that the situation turned dangerous.

"The point of hitting is to obtain and maintain control,'' Mabrey said. "My husband was not a violent man before that. He was a cop. He was the last person you would have expected to do something like that.

"But at the end of the day, when a person who is used to being in control feels like they've lost everything, then they're capable of doing anything.''

Mabrey now devotes her life to speaking out against domestic abuse and spreading the word for groups such as Community Action Stops Abuse and the Family Justice Center of Hillsborough County.

The Justice Center has created an advocacy committee called Voices, where domestic abuse survivors tell their stories and encourage battered women to seek help.

"We can answer their questions, identify with their fears, speak their language,'' said Kimberly Alexander, who is chair for the Voices committee. "All of the women in Voices have been to hell and looked Satan in the eyes, and we've survived. We would be doing ourselves and our legacy a disservice if we didn't speak out.

"As a society, we've become kind of insensitive. Yes, it's in the news and you're talking about it today, but in a few days we will have forgotten about it. But that doesn't mean it's not still out there behind a lot of closed doors.''

Need help? The statewide domestic violence hotline is, toll-free, 1-800-500-1119.
That number will direct you to the nearest domestic violence center.

Link to a previous article on the topic by Stephen Drake, the research analyst from the disability right group Not Dead Yet.

Time to rethink - rethink euthanasia.

In his article [“Time to rethink euthanasia,” Ottawa Citizen, Dec. 29th ] Marcel Lavoie implies that legalizing euthanasia would stop violent deaths in the elderly, such as the death of Doreen Flann by stabbing at the hands of her husband, Ian.  In many of these deaths, the perpetrator-husband also kills himself for a murder-suicide.

Link to a recent Canadian study on the topic.

In Oregon where assisted-suicide has been legal since 1997, murder-suicide has not been eliminated. Indeed, murder-suicide follows “the national pattern.”

Donna Cohen

Moreover, according to Donna Cohen, an expert on murder-suicide, the typical case involves a depressed, controlling husband who shoots his ill wife:

“The wife does not want to die and is often shot in her sleep. If she was awake at the time, there are usually signs that she tried to defend herself.”

If euthanasia were legal, the wife, not wanting to die, would still be a victim.

Our laws against assisted suicide and euthanasia are in place to protect vulnerable people. Assisted suicide and/or euthanasia should not be legalized in Canada.

[Note: You may be interested in these articles: Don Colburn, "Recent murder-suicides follow the national pattern," The Oregonian, November 17, 2009,  and “Murder-suicides in Elderly Rise: Husbands commit most murder-suicides – without wives’ consent,”]

Homicide or Mercy Killing?

Alex Schadenberg

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The New York Daily News is reporting on a very sad case of homicide, whereby an elderly man shot his wife, reportedly based on compassion.

The daughter of the couple was reported by the newspaper as stating:

"It was a mercy killing," 

"Her mind was gone."

These cases need to be reported very carefully by the media. We do not know the actual intention of the spouse who is the perpetrator.

Research indicates that often a older person who kills their spouse has a history of abuse, has a controlling personality, or is experiencing depression or mental illness. Sadly these acts are almost always done by men.

A recent study entitled: Domestic Homicide and Homicide-Suicide: The Older Offender that was researched by Dominique Bourget and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 38:3:305-311 (2010) found that a disturbing trend exists in Spousal homicide cases among older persons.

The study found:

Most homicides committed by offenders aged 65 and older occur in a domestic context. In Canada, incidence rates of family homicide against people in this age group have increased in recent years, with spouses or ex-spouses accused in 42 percent of deaths of older women and 25 percent of deaths of older men. Most of the perpetrators of spousal homicide (77%) were close in age to their spouses. This finding differs from results in U.S. studies that indicate that female spousal homicide victims are usually younger than the perpetrators, and that the risk of homicide victimization increases as the age difference between spouses increases.

A history of domestic violence is a major risk factor for spousal homicide for female and male victims of any age. Lethal violence is often a result of long-term abusive behavior by a man against his female partner, and some women kill their intimate partners in a severe reaction to longstanding abuse. Spousal violence often continues into old age. In the past decade in Canada, 37 percent of older adults accused of spousal homicide had past incidents of domestic violence. Older male spousal homicide victims were more likely than older female homicide victims to have a history of domestic violence against the accused. While this finding is consistent with those in previous research that indicate a continuation of spousal violence into old age, it is important to note that the perpetrators of previous domestic violence cannot be established from available police reports. It should also be noted that, for various reasons, the prevalence of domestic violence is likely to be higher than reports indicate and that the apparent association with spousal homicide would therefore also be under-reported.

The study continues by promoting the high rate of mental illness among older persons who are prosecuted for homicide. The study states:

In an investigation of psychiatric characteristics of older offenders (65 and older) who had been referred to a medium-security forensic unit in the London area over a 13-year period, Tomar et al. identified diagnoses of schizophrenia and dementia in three of four homicide perpetrators who had offended after the age of 65. Coid et al. recorded index offenses and lifetime diagnoses of mental disorder in 52 older offenders (aged 60 and older) admitted to seven secure forensic psychiatric services in the United Kingdom over a seven-year period. The investigators found that schizophrenia, other delusional disorders, organic brain syndrome, and depressive disorder were the most prevalent lifetime diagnoses for the offenders, most of whom (82%) had committed homicide or attempted homicide. Link to study.

When reading these very disturbing facts it becomes abundantly clear that when a spouse of many years murders their spouse, even when the spouse who died was ill, one should never conclude that the action was based on a "compassionate" homicide.

It is better to speak about the sad reality of the story and not draw conclusions, especially conclusions that suggest that these acts would not occur if euthanasia or assisted suicide were legalized.

Link to a previous article on this topic.

Homicide-suicide deaths in Portland Oregon

In Oregon, a murder-suicide following the usual pattern of man shooting his female partner and then killing himself was reported by the Seattletimes from an Associated Press article.

A previous blog comment on homicide-suicide reported the research by Donna Cohen proving that homicide-suicide cases are rarely cases of "compassionate homicide". Link to the comment: http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2009/03/murder-suicide-rarely-equates-to.html

Recently Stephen Drake, the researcher from Not Dead Yet, reported on his blog how Compassion & Choices, the leading euthanasia lobby group, have been exploiting the tragedy of homicide-suicide to promote the legalization of assisted suicide. Link to the comment: http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2010/09/assisted-suicide-lobby-exploit-elderly.html
The article from the Seattle Times follows:

Police: Two Portland deaths homicide-suicide

The Associated Press - September 11, 2010

Portland police say a man and woman whose bodies were found Friday in a north Portland apartment died in a homicide-suicide.

Police were called to the apartment to do a welfare check because neighbors and a friend had not seen the woman recently.

Detectives have identified the dead as 42-year-old Stephanie Curtis and 60-year-old Francis "Frank" Masure. They say Masure shot and killed Curtis, then killed himself, likely on Monday or Tuesday. Detectives say Curtis lived at the apartment and was involved in a relationship with Masure, who lived in Vancouver, Wash.

Curtis recently reported domestic violence incidents to both Vancouver and Portland police and appeared to be ending the relationship

Obviously the legalization of assisted suicide does not prevent homicide-suicide deaths.

Link to the article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012866753_aporapartmentdeaths1stldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

Assisted Suicide lobby exploit elderly murder/suicides for political gain

Stephen Drake, the researcher for the disability rights group Not Dead Yet has written a great exposé on how Compassion & Choices is using the sad case of homicide/suicide to promote their death agenda. Thank you Stephen, this article is definately worth reading:

------------------------------------------
On September 1, the Missoulian published a story that is becoming all-too-familiar, titled "Fire investigation reveals 'mercy killing in Libby"
(http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_4f6a0038-b5f4-11df-8e2a-001cc4c002e0.html):

An investigation into a house fire in northwestern Montana took a grisly turn when authorities discovered the elderly couple living there were involved in a murder-suicide that police say was meant to be a mercy killing.

Authorities originally believed that Ted and Swanie Hardgrove, both 81, died in the Saturday morning fire that burned down their home in a rural area of Lincoln County north of Libby, where they had been longtime residents.

The bodies were taken to the state crime lab, where it was discovered that both Hardgroves had single gunshot wounds to their heads, Lincoln County Sheriff's Capt. Roby Bowe said Wednesday.

Amid the charred wreckage, a gun was discovered near Ted Hardgrove's body and a letter in which he explained his actions.

Authorities concluded that Ted Hardgrove shot his wife, set fire to the house and then shot himself, Bowe said.

"It was more an act of despair out of love. They both had medical issues. She was in a huge amount of pain," Bowe said. "He could not take it anymore. He could not see her in that amount of pain anymore."

Swanie Hardgrove had cerebral palsy and her suffering had grown intense in the days leading up to the shooting, Bowe said. She had been in and out of hospitals for some time and her treatment was not easing the pain.

Ted Hardgrove also had medical issues, although Bowe declined to elaborate.

As I've seen in other cases, part of the problem in how this article - and subsequent coverage - gets framed is a result of the careless and even irresponsible comments from a law officer, in this case Sheriff's Captain Roby Rowe. His own account - sympathetic to the man who killed his wife and burned down his house - gives permission to everyone to refer to Swanie Hardgrove's murder as a "mercy killing."

It gets worse, though.

On September 4, a follow-up story appeared in the newspaper. It begins with yet another sheriff describing Ted Hardrove's murder of his wife as an act of mercy. Then the tone and message changes. The title of the article might give you a clue - "Libby shooting, arson tragedy puts focus on 'aid in dying'"
(http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_14e5e9b6-b7db-11df-aa1c-001cc4c03286.html):

"What we want people to know," said Steve Hopcraft, "is there is help and information out there."

Hopcraft works with a nonprofit called Compassion and Choices, a group that offers free end-of-life planning, counseling and options.

"We believe that these tragic and violent deaths are 100 percent preventable," Hopcraft said. "It's a matter, really, of getting the information out."

Information such as the fact that Montana is among three states - Oregon and Washington are the other two - where doctors are allowed to provide what's known as "aid in dying." They can prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients, who can then choose whether and when to use the pills.

Voters in Oregon and Washington approved such measures, which come with safeguards and careful case reporting. In Montana, no such structure exists. Instead, the state Supreme Court ruled last New Year's Eve that no public policy here prohibits aid in dying, so it's legal but largely unregulated.

It's also largely unknown, which is what Hopcraft hopes to change.

"Talking about death can't kill you," he said, "but it can help you have the peaceful death that everyone wants."

His group provides counseling, and help with wills and advance directives. They lay out options, such as hospice, and involve entire families. And they do it for free.

"It's just a phone call," Hopcraft said. A toll-free call to 1-800-247-7421. "You can call any time, at each step along the way. Most of us are total amateurs when it comes to approaching death. We don't know what the options are, or where to get information. Call us; we'll help you understand what's available, so you can make choices."

Most of all, he said, Compassion and Choices helps people communicate. Doctors and patients, patients and family, family and physicians. "Because too often," he said, "failure to communicate ends in less than optimal care."

Or, more tragically, in an anguished couple choosing the only option they think is available.

Time for another Bullshit Alert. Technically, there is no statute in Montana authorizing doctors to hand out lethal prescriptions to "terminally ill" patients. But that is the least of the problems here:

* There is no indication in either of the articles that this was something "the couple" decided, but was something that Ted Hardgrove planned on his own.
* There is no indication that Swanie Hardgrove wanted to die or even knew that he planned to kill her.
* Neither individual was 'terminally ill.'

This looks a lot like other elderly homicides/suicides in which the husband is the perpetrator. Some of the research on these killings was shared in an earlier blog entry (quoting researcher Donna Cohen):

“These are not acts of love. They are not compassionate homicides. They are acts of desperation and depression, other forms of psychopathology, or domestic violence.”

Dr Cohen’s research indicates that older men – who almost always initiate the acts – routinely proceed without their wife’s knowledge or consent. She says true pacts occur in perhaps one half of 1 per cent of elder homicide-suicides.

Of the hundreds of homicide-suicide deaths in the US each year, the rate amongst over 55s is twice that of under 55s. Homicide-suicides now account for about three per cent of all suicides, and about 12 per cent of homicides in the older population.

“One of our most distressing findings is evidence that older women who are killed are not knowing or willing participants,” says Dr Cohen. “Often they are killed in their sleep or shot in the back of the head or chest.”

Her research indicates that about a third of elder homicide-suicides occur in a context of domestic violence, an ugly contrast to the Norman Rockwell image of loving clan matriarch and patriarch

.
The picture of the male perps isn't exactly one of someone who would want to go to his physician and discuss how and why he wants to kill his non-terminally ill spouse.

But this coverage - and the slant that Conflation & Con jobs (aka "Compassion & Choices) has put on it shouldn't come as a surprise. I predicted as much earlier this year when the organization issued a press release exploiting a murder/suicide in Connecticut that uses the same themes, even some of the same phrasing. In that case, the murdered wife had dementia. Other than that, what I wrote at the time (http://notdeadyetnewscommentary.blogspot.com/2010/05/connecticut-assisted-suicide-advocates.html) applies to this latest exploitation of a tragedy as well:

There are only two ways I can think of right now to interpret this cynical exploitation of a tragic situation:

1. C&C is testing the limits of the public's gullibility. They might be emboldened right now, seeing how the Final Exit Network - with its "open door" policy of suicide assistance to nonterminal old, ill and disabled people have gotten a sympathetic free ride in the press - and in many cases misreport the group as "aiding" people with "terminal illnesses." They might also have been pleasantly surprised at how the combined marketing efforts of HBO and CNN have repackaged Jack Kevorkian - from a lawless creepy ghoul to an eccentric champion for the terminally ill. So maybe they're keeping they're fingers crossed that maybe the public really is too stupid to notice that the person who was killed wasn't dying and didn't ask to die.

2. It's also possible that C&C is testing the waters with this release. Anyone familiar with the passions of assisted suicide/ euthanasia activists knows that the "terminally ill" limitation being promoted at present is just the first step in an incrementalist strategy. Most of the supporters of assisted suicide and euthanasia want much broader "elegibility" - similar to the expansive eligibility in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

For another take on this situation, check this post by Wesley Smith at Secondhand Smoke (http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2010/09/04/compassion-and-choices-uses-murdersuicide-to-advertise-doctor-prescribed-death-in-montana/). -- Stephen Drake

Legalizing assisted suicide will not prevent murder-suicide

I was looking through my past emails and noticed that a letter that I wrote to the New Haven Advocate in Connecticut was printed on July 13. This letter was a response to an article entitled: Hot Topic: End of Life Debate. The following is a reprint of my letter.

Letters from our readers

I am the Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, and Chair for the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, International. Your article (“Hot Topic: End of Life Debate,” June 17) reports on the claim of assisted suicide lobbyists that legalizing assisted suicide will prevent murder-suicides.

According to Donna Cohen, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, the typical murder-suicide case involves a depressed controlling husband who shoots his ill wife. “The wife does not want to die and is often shot in her sleep. If she was awake at the time, there are usually signs that she tried to defend herself.”

The proponents’ claim ignores this important fact: The typical wife in these cases does not “choose” her death. Rather, she is a victim of spousal abuse.

Legal assisted suicide, regardless, fails to guarantee “choice.” These laws instead empower doctors, family members and new “best friends” to legally pressure others to take their own lives, or even to directly cause the deaths.

In Canada, a bill that would have legalized assisted-suicide was just overwhelmingly defeated in our Parliament, 228 to 59. When I spoke with lawmakers who voted against the bill, many voiced the opinion that our government’s efforts should be focused on helping our citizens live with dignity, rather than developing strategies to get them out of the way.

Alex Schadenberg
London, Ontario, Canada

Link to the letter: http://newhavenadvocate.com/commentary/letters-euthanasia-and-nukes

Letter sent to Idaho paper concerning murder-suicide

I was cleaning up my email and found this article that I recently sent to the Couer D'Alene press in Idaho.

Re: Idaho doctors can offer a compassionate option, June 25, 2010

Dear Editor:

I am the Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, and Chair for the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, International. I was dismayed to see that Kathryn Tucker, Legal Director for the suicide lobby group, Compassion & Choices, is now targeting your state to legalize assisted suicide. Moreover, her column, suggesting that legalization will prevent murder-suicide, is spurious.

Donna Cohen

According to Donna Cohen, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, the typical murder-suicide case involves a depressed controlling husband who shoots his ill wife. "The wife does not want to die and is often shot in her sleep. If she was awake at the time, there are usually signs that she tried to defend herself." http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=50782

The typical wife in these cases does not “choose” her death. She is a victim of spousal abuse. Legal assisted suicide, regardless, fails to guarantee “choice.” These laws instead empower doctors, family members and new “best friends” to legally pressure people to take their lives. http://wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/jul-09+deathwithdignity.htm

In Canada, a bill that would have legalized assisted-suicide was recently defeated in our Parliament, 228 to 59. When I spoke with lawmakers who voted against the bill, many voiced the opinion that our government’s efforts should be focused on helping our citizens live with dignity, rather than developing strategies to get them out of the way.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Box 25033 London ON, Canada, N6C 6A8
1-877-439-3348, info@epcc.ca

Link to the original article: http://cdapress.com/columns/my_turn/article_ed885905-9ec9-5f4b-acf3-97063cb5f2de.html

Edinburgh man is sentenced to jail for attempting to kill his disabled wife

An interesting article in yesterdays BBC News concerns John Millar (67), from Edinburgh, who has been convicted and sentenced for four-and-a-half years for attempting to kill his wife, Phyllis Millar (65), who has multiple sclerosis.

This is an interesting case because Mr. Miller claims that his wife, Phyllis wanted to die, while Phyllis denies that she wanted to die. Similar cases of homicide/suicide are often reported by the media and the euthanasia lobby as acts of mercy but the reality is that most of these cases have nothing to do with compassion.

In fact, in Idaho, Kathryn Tucker from Compassion & Choices is using a similar story, except that the husband did kill his wife, to argue that they need to legalize assisted suicide.

The story stated:

John Millar, 67, claimed he was trying to end her suffering when he attacked Phyllis Millar, 65, at their home in Ravelston on 28 June 2009.

Mrs Millar, who has multiple sclerosis, denied claims by her husband that she said she wanted to die. ...

He attempted to smother his wife with a pillow.

On sentencing, Lady Smith said: "On 28 June 2009, far from acting in a caring fashion towards your wife, without provocation and for no apparent reason, you quite deliberately tried to kill her.

"Preying on her vulnerability, you picked up a pillow and held it over her face in an attack which lasted for about five minutes.

"Fortunately your wife was able to get one of her hands between her face and the pillow so as to enable her to breathe and to shout for you to stop. You eventually did so."

Millar himself dialled 999, telling police: "I tried to kill my wife."

While being questioned later, he told officers: "She would be dead and out of the way.

"When I say out of the way, you know, she would be, perhaps, not having to put up with, you know, her life and it was my life too, I suppose, really."

Suicide researcher Donna Cohan has found that cases of murder-suicide or spousal homicide are rarely acts of mercy.

Although each murder-suicide among older people is different, researchers say there is a typical pattern:

• The man kills the woman in their bedroom with a gun -- an act he has thought about for weeks or months.

• The woman has Alzheimer's disease or another illness, and the man is depressed, often exhausted, perhaps sick himself, and under strain as the primary caregiver.

• The woman is rarely a willing or knowing participant. She usually is killed in her sleep.

• The man almost always mistakenly believes he is acting with mercy, putting the woman out of her misery. Instead, he is ending his own misery.

• There may be warning signs that can help families prevent the tragedy.

Links to original articles: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10631843

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6310101-man-who-tried-to-smother-his-disabled-wife-is-jailed

Links to articles about homicide-suicide: http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2009/03/murder-suicide-rarely-equates-to.html

http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2008/10/homicide-suicide-statistics-shows.html

Murder-suicide rarely equates to assisted suicide - suicide

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Donna Cohen

An article that was published in the Minnesota Star Tribune on March 27, 2009 and written by Warren Wolfe looks at the sad phenomenon of murder-suicide. The article entitled: Desperate act from a weary caregiver looks at how older men will often falsely associate the act of murder-suicide with an act of mercy, but in reality it is rarely the case.

Donna Cohen, a researcher and expert in suicide recognizes that a pattern exists in the 500 murder-suicides that are now happening every year in the United States. Cohen stated in the article:

"Some older men try so hard to hold their heads high, to not ask for help with the stress of caregiving,'' said Donna Cohen, a researcher and expert on murder-suicide among older couples. "They cope as best they can with a depression they feel but can't acknowledge."

Although each murder-suicide among older people is different, researchers say there is a typical pattern:

• The man kills the woman in their bedroom with a gun -- an act he has thought about for weeks or months.

• The woman has Alzheimer's disease or another illness, and the man is depressed, often exhausted, perhaps sick himself, and under strain as the primary caregiver.

• The woman is rarely a willing or knowing participant. She usually is killed in her sleep.

• The man almost always mistakenly believes he is acting with mercy, putting the woman out of her misery. Instead, he is ending his own misery.

• There may be warning signs that can help families prevent the tragedy.

When people read reports of a murder-suicide they will often ask the question, was this an Act of love, or desperation? Cohen who has researched this question tries to find answers. She stated in the article:

That notion is common in murder-suicides, said Cohen, who has testified before Congress, written extensively and helped train families and physicians. She is a professor of aging and mental health at the University of South Florida and heads its Violence and Injury Prevention Program.

"If they were consulted, families usually would try to stop it,'' she said. "In fact, murder-suicide almost always is not an act of love. It's an act of desperation."

Cohen also recognizes that murder-suicide does not equate with assisted suicide. She said:

Some people equate murder-suicide with assisted suicide and the right to control when you will die, Cohen said. "It usually is not the same. This is suicide and murder.''

Cohan is developing answers to the problem of murder-suicide. The article states:

"Homicide-suicide is rare among older people,'' she added. "They've been through a lot and have developed ways to cope with a lot that life throws you."

But sometimes, she said, "the problems -- often real or perceived health problems -- seem insurmountable."

That can be especially true for older men who are caregivers, Cohen added. "Women are more likely to ask for help. Men try to focus on the tasks, to press on, to do all they can on their own -- and that can take a huge toll."

Recognizing that, the Alzheimer's Association in Minnesota, which sponsors 94 caregiver support groups, will add two more in May -- for older men. "We know that's a group that needs help, and we are trying to figure out how to reach out to them," said Jan Mueller, advocacy manager at the Edina office.

The association also supports legislation sponsored by Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, and Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, DFL-Minneapolis, for an Alzheimer's work group to assess needs of people with dementia and their families.

Cohen has identified risk factors for murder-suicide and ways that families can help prevent these horrific incidences. The article states

Within weeks before a murder-suicide, the man often has seen a physician -- sometimes escorting his wife, Cohen said. "Health professionals should screen patients routinely for depression. Medications and other interventions do work."

Sometimes families can prevent a murder-suicide if they recognize signs such as a health change in a long-married couple, more social isolation, exhaustion or talk of a move to a nursing home -- especially in cases where the husband has a dominant personality.

"Get Dad talking," Cohen said. "This can be frightening for families, but they can address [it] directly. Acknowledge the good work he has been doing, and ask him if he sometimes wishes his spouse or he were dead. You won't be putting a new idea in his head. It's OK to tell him those ideas are normal. They are."

"The lesson is to be aware, take the signs seriously, start talking and try to get help," she said. "You still may fail, but you will never regret trying."

The lesson is that murder-suicide is a preventable social problem.

Secondly, legalizing assisted suicide or creating special exemptions in the law for "compassionate homicide" will not lesson the social problem of murder-suicide or make the circumstances less tragic.

Link to the original article:
http://www.startribune.com/local/south/41952717.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DU2EkP7K_V_GD7Ea

Link to a previous commentary on murder-suicide:
http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2008/10/homicide-suicide-statistics-shows.html

Link to a previous sad case of murder-suicide:
http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2008/04/saltspring-b.html

Homicide-Suicide Statistics shows concerns over mental health awareness and male violence towards women

A recent article published in the Columbus Dispatch concerning statistics and issues related to homicide-suicide confirm the results of a study by Malphurs and Cohen - "A Statewide Case-Control Study of Spousal Homicide-Suicide in Older Persons," that was published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (March 2005).

The Malphurs & Cohen study found that 25% of homicide-suicide perpetrators had a history of domestic violence. In the study, all of the perpetrators were men and 40% were care givers for their wives. Furthermore, their study points out that 65% of homicide-suicide perpetrators and 80% of suicides where a man committed suicide alone were men who were depressed before their deaths. All the perpetrators in this study were men who were often described as dominating, controlling individuals. Their research points out that "depression" is prominent in persons of all ages who commit suicide. Their research also points out that most often the perpetrator is the husband and the victim is the wife.

The article in the Columbus Dispatch points to the recent research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta that released a report about violent deaths based on statistics from 16 states.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported:

In the 200 studied cases, a gun was used nearly 90 percent of the time and men almost always were both the suspects and the suicide decedents. About 15 percent of the suspects had a diagnosed mental-health problem; 10 percent of the suspects were receiving treatment.

The highest percentages of both the homicide and suicide victims were between 35 and 44 years old.

Concerns about Homicide-Suicide relate to the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide based on the false conclusions by some media reporters who state that homicide-suicide deaths are based on a "compassionate" motivation.

When reading the research, one must conclude that the concept of the "compassionate homicide" death is actually a rare occurance, if ever, the reason for the violent acts.

Society needs to recognize that nearly every time these cases are related to mental health concerns or the controlling/abusive actions of the perpetrator spouse towards the other spouse.

Link to the article in the Columbus Dispatch:
http://www.columbusdispatch.com:80/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/23/BADSTATS.ART_ART_10-23-08_A1_KGBM6KI.html?sid=101