Nebraska man convicted of assisted suicide in the death of girlfriend.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Matthew Stubbendieck

After two days of hearings and three hours of deliberation, a jury in Nebraska found Matthew Stubbendieck guilty of assisting the suicide of his girlfriend Alicia Wilemon-Sullivan in August 2017.

According to Paul Hammel reporting for the Omaha World Herald:

Wilemon-Sullivan, a divorced mother of four, had texted her boyfriend photos of supposed cancer surgery scars and claimed she had tried radiation treatments that were unsuccessful. 

Stubbendieck, admitted that Wilemon-Sullivan was coming to Nebraska to take her life, and he helped her find a secluded spot.

Even though the article suggested that jurors felt sorry for Stubbendieck, when he admitted that he layed with Wilemon-Sullivan for seven hours while she was dying of self-inflicted wounds, a female juror stated that, 'that was enough for her.'

Shirley Wilemon the mother of the deceased also thought that Stubbendieck should be found guilty. According to the article by Hammel, her mother stated:

“If you love someone, you don’t just sit there and let them die,” 

“He could have saved my daughter, and he chose to leave her out there.”

Stubbendieck also admitted to attempting to suffocate her while she was slowly dying.
Wilemon-Sullivan may have been dying of cancer, but that does not justify abandoning someone to their suicidal ideation.

Nebraska speaking tour, a great success.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Thank you to the organizers of the three day speaking tour that I just completed in Nebraska. The Nebraska legislature has rejected "Oregon model" assisted suicide bills in 2016 and 2017. Senator Ernie Chambers is vowing to bring the assisted suicide bill back again.

The organizer of the tour enabled interviews with two TV news segments. 

Here is the link to the video of the KLKN news report in Lincoln Nebraska. Here is the report:

Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition said many people who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses are too emotionally distraught to know if asking a doctor to euthanize them is really the right thing for them--especially, he says, when their diagnoses were wrong. 

"You're taking somebody who's going through a down time in their life, when they're emotionally distraught by their situation," Schadenberg said. "And you're saying to them 'yes, you qualify for assisted suicide. We're going to help kill you.'" 

Schadenberg said there's no way to come back from a misdiagnosis when you've already died by assisted suicide. 

He said doctors should provide proper care and never be involved in causing someone's death. 

Schadenberg said Nebraska is one of 26 states that has debated assisted suicide. Sen. Ernie Chambers has introduced legislation in the past.

Alex Schadenberg is booking speaking engagements for the early summer and fall and we are encouraging groups and individuals to organize screenings of the Fatal Flaws film that will be released in May 2018.

• Order copies of the Fatal Flaws film and pamphlets today.