Belgian doctor charged with murder in the deaths of 9 patients.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

CHR van Hoei Hospital

On September 24 I reported that a Belgian doctor had been charged with murder in the deaths of four patients in the palliative care department of the CHR van Hoei Hospital.

HLN news has now reported that the doctor lost his contract with the hospital and has been charged with murder in the deaths of five more patients, making it nine total murder charges.

According to HLN news, the physician claims that the deaths were not murder but palliative sedation, more accurately referred to as terminal sedation.

The physician claims that he just wanted to stop the pain and these cases were not euthanasia.

Wim Distlemans

Dr Wim Distelmans, who is co-chair of the Belgian euthanasia control commission and operates a euthanasia clinic, told the Belgian news that palliative sedation is not regulated and occurs 4 times more often in Belgium than euthanasia. Distelmans stated (google translated)

“What happens too often is that doctors dramatically increase the doses of the drugs via the baxter to speed up the end of life. That's hypocritical, because they say to the family, "We just keep him asleep." In fact, such a doctor puts an end to life. You can't even call it euthanasia, because the patient didn't ask for it, "

The intentional overdosing of palliative patients is common and is ethically the same as euthanasia. These cases of terminal sedation represent an abuse of the proper use of sedation. Palliative sedation, when done correctly and ethically, should not cause the death of the patient and should not become confused with murder.

A 2015 Belgian study showed that more than 1000 people died an assisted death without request in 2013. Data, such as this, should create great concern, but in Belgium it has simply been a statistic. This case may begin to deal with the number of intentional deaths without consent occur in Belgium.

I will continue to follow this case. Currently the court is not publishing the facts of around these cases.

Montréal man says that psychologist urged him to kill his wife.

This article was published by Choice is an Illusion on November 4, 2019

That's Not Assisted Suicide, That's Murder.
 

Serge Simard & Miranda Edwards

Emily Campbell with CTV news Montreal reported that a Montreal couple is calling for disciplinary measures against a psychologist they say counselled one of them to kill the terminally ill other.

When Miranda Edwards was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer she said she was determined to fight it.

“I want to live, I want every medical intervention possible,” she said. “I will fight to the end. I will do every treatment, everything possible to stay alive.”

Her husband, Serge Simard, struggled as his wife’s health declined and eventually sought the services of a psychologist to help manage the stress.

Simard alleges the psychologist told him to overdose his wife with morphine she had been prescribed for her pain. He secretly recorded the session on his phone and on the recording the psychologist can be heard saying: 

“at one point it will be a dose too much and she just won’t wake up. It’s the best thing that could happen, really. She won’t be suffering anymore she’ll be in a better place.”

The psychologist cannot be identified as they haven’t been charged with a crime.

Simard said he was horrified by the advice.

“That’s not assisted suicide, that’s murder,” he said. “I will not murder my wife. If Miranda voices anything I will respect her wishes. Miranda has never voiced that she wanted to pass away.”

Dr Paul Saba

Family physician Paul Saba said he feared incidents like this could occur as a result of the legalization of medically assisted suicide....

The couple said they were disappointed that both Montreal and Gatineau police refused to pursue the case and didn’t rule out a civil court case.

Australian woman charged with Killing her millionaire boyfriend.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Matthew Dunbar and Natasha Darcy

Natasha Beth Darcy has been charged with killing her boyfriend, Matthew Dunbar (42) in August 2017, soon after he named her the sole beneficiary of his multi-million dollar estate.

I am writing about the alleged murder of Dunbar is that Darcy is accused of using euthanasia techniques to kill Dunbar, information, devices and drugs that she obtained through the internet.

According to Emma Partridge, the Senior Crime Editor for 9News Darcy gave Dunbar crushed sedatives and then used an "Exit Bag" to complete the act. I will not describe the act that Darcy is accused of doing. 9News stated that Darcy has a history of violence towards boyfriends and the trial will begin next year.

9News reported that Dunbar was a trusting person.

Mr Dunbar's heartbroken mother Janet still struggles to comprehend the loss of her son. 

"He'd give you the shirt off his own back and unfortunately he was too trusting," Ms Dunbar told 9News. 

"He just wanted to belong to a family. Family meant everything to him," she said.

The case shows how prescribing assisted suicide drugs can be a perfect cover for murder.

A UK man received a suspended sentence after killing his mother by pushing her off a balcony.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Direction, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Langley Lodge Care Home in Essex UK

Robert Knight, in the UK, plead guilty to manslaughter for killing his mother, June Knight who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

According to the BBC news, Knight was cleared of murder and received a two year suspended sentence for pushing his mother off of the balcony at the care home where she lived. The case referred to as a "mercy killing". The BBC news report stated:

Knight placed his mother on a railing before pushing her to her death on 10 December, Basildon Crown Court heard. 

He was cleared of murder and was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years. 

Sentencing Knight at Basildon Crown Court, Judge Samantha Leigh said: "You are someone who acted out of love and desperation. 

"You have been punished enough and you have to live with what you have done."

She added that it had been a "very sad case" and described it as a "mercy killing".

Caring not killing

Essex Police Detective, Daniel Stoten, told BBC news:

Det Ch Insp Daniel Stoten said the jury had agreed that Knight had suffered a loss of control when he killed his mother. 

He said: "I do not doubt that Robert Knight loved his mother deeply, but his actions were deplorable and they have affected many, many people."

The sentence must be appealed.

I recognize that Alzheimer's is a difficult condition, but a suspended sentence for killing a mother with Alzheimer's offers a green light to others experiencing similar situations. The message to society is that Alzheimer's makes you a second class citizen and that the court will deal leniently when these people are killed.

Everyone deserves to be cared for, not killed.

Connecticut man charged with manslaughter in supposed "assisted suicide" of his wife

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

A

Kevin Connors

Connecticut man has been charged with manslaughter in the death of his wife, in a case that has being referred to as assisted suicide.

Samara Abramson reporting for Fox news  stated that Kevin Connors told police that he held the gun to his wife's head as she pulled the trigger. This is being referred to as an assisted suicide case because Lori Connors had late stage ovarian cancer and Lyme disease and allegedly pulled the trigger. 

The Associated Press reported that:

The 65-year-old retired prison guard initially told police he had been woken up by the sound of a gunshot, but later admitted he helped 61-year-old Lori Conners hold a gun to her head while she pulled the trigger in their bed on Sept. 6, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Conners said he couldn't watch his wife suffer any more.

CNN news reporter Lauren del Valle quoted Connors lawyer, Raymond Rigat as stating:

"Mr. Conners did what any loving husband would do,"

Cathy Ludlum

Cathy Ludlum from the disability rights group Second Thoughts Connecticut told Abramson from Fox news:

“If you don’t have encouragement and support around you, it’s easy to give up”

Manslaughter is the correct charge in this case. Whether Connors was a "loving" husband or not, it is not a loving act to kill or assist to kill your spouse, parent or child.

Society needs to care for people, by killing the pain not the patient.

Florida man murdered, by daughters, claimed to be "euthanasia."

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Nicole Darrah, with Fox News, reported that Mary-Beth Tomaselli, 63, and Linda Roberts, 62, were charged with murder in the death of their father, Anthony Tomaselli, after telling a friend how they killed their father.

Murder is sadly a common occurrance, what makes this murder different is that the sisters claimed it was "euthanasia." According to Fox News.

The women said "they had killed their father, and had, quote, 'euthanized' him because he had been ill" and refused to go to an assisted living facility, according to the sheriff. He added, "They knew he would die sometime in the next couple of months, so they decided to euthanize him."

The women killed their father for money. Fox reported:

Once their father was dead, the daughters sold the home and split a $120,000 profit with their brother, who the sheriff's office said wasn't involved in the father's murder.

Terminally ill people are vulnerable to friends and family members who are willing to kill for personal gain and then claim that it was a "compassionate homicide."
Similar stories: 

• Kansas man found guilty of murder after claiming it was an assisted suicide.  
• Convicted killer in BC tried using assisted suicide defense.  
• The media appears to be trying to create an assisted suicide story. 
• Quèbec man uses "mercy killing" defense in the murder of his wife.