Her sentences were to be served concurrently, meaning that she has no chance of parole for 25 years. She took various temp jobs at other care homes. Some told her they would do so if they found out she killed again, while others dismissed Susan Horvath, daughter of victim Arpad Horvath, speaks to the media outside the courthouse where Elizabeth Wettlaufer made an appearance in Woodstock, Ont., on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017. a large role in her decision to start killing; she was very frustrated dealing with dementia patients who were difficult to control, physically abusive and often despondent. judgement that she isn’t likely to get it. also killed Caressant residents Maurice Granat, 84, Gladys Millard, 87, Helen Matheson, 95, Mary Zurawinski, 96, Helen Young, 90, and Maureen Pickering, 79. [10] After providing police with a two-hour-long confession, Wettlaufer was formally charged with the eight murders on October 25. The revelations After further investigation, she was also charged with four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault on January 13, 2017. Her final murder victim was 75-year-old Arpad Horvath, whom she killed in August 2014. Wettlaufer was also addicted to alcohol and opioids and went to rehab twice (see Non-Medical Drug Use). Wettlaufer murdered eight elderly people over nine years, and nobody noticed, or did anything about it. happen. In her confession, Wettlaufer admitted that she "knew the difference between right and wrong" but she was visited by "surges" she could not control. Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer, Ontario Nurse, Charged With Murder Of 8 Seniors From Care Homes The killings took place between 2007 to 2014. It later resulted in lawsuits against Wettlaufer, and the nursing homes she worked for, and a sweeping provincial inquiry into flaws in Ontario’s long-term care system. She faced accusations of showing up to work drunk, and at one point was found passed out in the facility's basement during the night shift. In January 2017, the province ordered Caressant She was imprisoned in the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton, She waived her right to a preliminary hearing, and confessed to all charges in court on June 1. Wettlaufer committed her crimes using insulin, a diabetes medication that lowers blood sugar. Wettlaufer was born Elizabeth Tracey Mae Parker on 10 June 1967 to parents Doug and Hazel Parker. Following the public inquiry, Alex Roslin explores how budget cuts, poor staffing and ageism in the long-term care system created an environment for the serial killer to run amok. her claims entirely. Wettlaufer later said that the end of the marriage caused her stress, and that anger also played (Adriano died in 2008 and Demedeiros in 2010.) The final report of the Public Inquiry into the Safety and Security of Residents in the Long-term Care Homes System was released on 31 July 2019. Wettlaufer's first assaults occurred sometime between June 25 and December 31, 2007. Though intoxication is not a defence to criminal charges in Canadian law, Thomas could have sentenced her to eight consecutive terms, totalling 200 years, but the Days after she murdered Pickering, Wettlaufer was fired from Caressant for making a series of In. Wettlaufer didn’t attend the hearing. On 1 June 2017, Wettlaufer pleaded guilty to all 14 charges against her. It can cause a coma or death when too much is administered. Caressant’s [23], Canadian former nurse and serial killer (born 1967), Responses from government and regulatory bodies. In the end, the investigation into Wettlaufer’s crimes was sparked by yet another confession from the serial killer herself. The alleged victims … One of the most prolific serial killers in Canadian history, she was sentenced to life in prison for the murders in 2017. Through March 2014, Wettlaufer also murdered the following patients at Caressant Care: While at Caressant Care, Wettlaufer also injected Michael Priddle (63) and Wayne Hedges (57) "with intent to murder". Because she pleaded guilty, there was no trial. She confessed to two counts of aggravated assault in these matters.[9]. ", "Wettlaufer's nursing registration revoked at discipline hearing", "Friends of former Ontario nurse charged with murder stunned by allegations", "Ex-nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer felt 'red surge' before killing elderly patients", "Nurses college under fire over Wettlaufer case", "From caring nurse to accused serial killer: who is Elizabeth Wettlaufer? In one case, she believed her The Wettlaufer case caused an enormous public loss of faith in the province’s long-term care system. Thanks for contributing to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Staff at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto diagnosed her with major depressive disorder, borderline personality disorder and antisocial adult behaviour. The victims of Elizabeth Wettlaufer. The chair of the five-person disciplinary panel that heard Wettlaufer's case said it was "the most egregious and disgraceful conduct this panel has ever considered". Wettlaufer started working at the Caressant Care nursing home in Woodstock in June 2007. Elizabeth Wettlaufer made an odd discovery when she was hospitalized in the psychiatric ward. Wettlaufer still managed to get work at various long-term facilities through a She also said she believed God was telling her to kill. confessing to staff, who first informed Toronto police and the College of Nurses of Ontario, the profession’s provincial regulatory body. Ontario. Wettlaufer was known as “Bethe Parker” while attending Huron Park Secondary School in the mid-1980s, where she participated in band and choir. Elizabeth Wettlaufer, self-confessed serial killer and failed health professional, was the accused sitting in the box, waiting to be sentenced for murdering eight of the people in her care. The pair lived together in Woodstock. Wettlaufer usually worked the night shift, and was mainly responsible for dispensing medication. the murders. Mark Zigler, the inquiry’s lead co-counsel, issued the statement Thursday night after CBC News reported that Wettlaufer made more confessions […] 2016. Here is what we know about her. After her divorce, Wettlaufer entered several same-sex relationships. reports after her arrest. Serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer has admitted attacking Florence Beedall, 77, at the Meadow Park facility in London, Ontario, where she worked as a registered nurse. Wettlaufer confessed her crimes to several people before they came to light in 2016. "There's 120 units [of insulin] per cartridge, but if I dialled up 15, I could leave the nurses station and take out the insulin pen and dial up another 50," Wettlaufer said. [6] She then personally emailed the College of Nurses to resign as a registered nurse because she had "deliberately harmed patients in [her] care and [was] now being investigated by the police for same", personally called an investigator from the college, and had CAMH staff fax a four-page handwritten confession. Wettlaufer killed patients in her care by injecting them with massive amounts of insulin. Elizabeth Tracy Mae "Bethe" Wettlaufer[2] (née Parker; born June 10, 1967)[3] is a convicted Canadian serial killer and former registered nurse who confessed to murdering eight senior citizens and attempting to murder six others in southwestern Ontario between 2007 and 2016. Police charged Wettlaufer with attempted murder for her unsuccessful attempts to kill Caressant residents Michael Priddle and Wayne Hedges from 2008 to 2009. Wettlaufer committed her first murder on 11 August 2007, at Caressant, when she gave 84-year-old James Silcox enough insulin to kill him. In addition to the eight murder charges, Wettlaufer also used insulin injections to commit four attempted murders and two aggravated assaults against patients in her care. Most described grief, depression and guilt. Wettlaufer committed her crimes using insulin, a diabetesmedication that lowers blood sugar. Wettlaufer began attending services at South Zorra Baptist again, which is where she met truck driver Donnie Wettlaufer. Bertram was at a private residence in Ingersoll, Ontario, and was the only one of Wettlaufer’s victims still alive when the serial killer was sentenced. Wettlaufer’s other attempted She was initially regarded by co-workers to be a caring and professional individual. However, throughout her tenure, Wettlaufer struggled with substance abuse and alcoholism. While they later died, neither of their deaths was attributed to Wettlaufer. From December 2007 to March 2014, Wettlaufer Horvath was a married father of two, living at the Meadow Park facility in London, Ontario. [5] She confessed to staff about killing and attempting to kill her patients, and CAMH staff notified the College of Nurses of Ontario and the Toronto Police Service of her confession. She had been suspended by Caressant several times before she was fired. it can be a factor in determining if a murder was planned or deliberate; in Wettlaufer’s case, a claim of intoxication may have resulted in conviction for lower degrees of murder (see also Defence of Intoxication). On June 26, Wettlaufer was sentenced to eight concurrent life terms in prison, with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The court held a sentencing hearing on 26 June 2017, giving victims and their loved ones the chance to read their impact statements (Photo: Peter Power/CP) Wettlaufer had already committed at … Mcintosh, E., Elizabeth Wettlaufer Case (2019). While they later died, neither of their deaths was attributed … In some cases, the amount was not enough to kill the patient; she was charged with, and confessed to, aggravated assault or attempted murderfor those cases. She spent a few months at the Meadow Park home in London, and then worked temporary nursing … murder charges stemmed from insulin injections she gave to 77-year-old Sandra Towler in September 2015 and to 68-year-old Beverly Bertram in August 2016. Elizabeth Wettlaufer is escorted from the Provincial courthouse in Woodstock, Ont. In January 2017, police charged Wettlaufer with two counts of aggravated assault for the injections. Wettlaufer was held at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ontario. [13], Yasir Naqvi, the Attorney General of Ontario, and Eric Hoskins, the province's Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, jointly announced on the day of Wettlaufer's sentencing that the provincial government would commission a public inquiry into her case. [18] The inquiry will include interviews with victims' families and public consultations in the community as it investigates the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Wettlaufer's victims and gaps in legislative or policy frameworks that allowed her to continue working as a nurse. Elizabeth Wettlaufer arrived for her first day of work as a nurse at the Meadow Park nursing home in 2014 with glowing references. [11] During the police interview she described the laughter as a feeling within her mid chest (visually using her hands) and the feeling prompting her to overdose and subsequently kill as coming from her stomach region, the description of the laughter in the police interview is a feeling not an audible laughter and throughout never claimed to derive pleasure from it always saying the feeling was horrible. She murdered seven of her eight victims at the facility. Care’s Woodstock facility to stop admitting new patients, after an inspection found numerous issues at the facility. Former Ontario nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer has been sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for 25 years, in connection with the murder of eight seniors in her care. She has been a Registered Nurse with the College of Nurses of Ontario since June 8, 1995 and resigned on September 30, 2016. In October 1997, she married Daniel Wettlaufer, a long-haul truck driver she met at church. Recently the government of Canada has come under fire again due to the transfer of Elizabeth Wettlaufer from a maximum security prison to a mental health facility. The college held a disciplinary hearing for Wettlaufer in July 2017. [ad_1] The lead lawyer for the public inquiry into how former nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer’s attacks on patients went undetected for so long, now concedes the inquiry has known for a year that the serial killer made more confessions. Elizabeth Wettlaufer, the serial killing nurse, confessed to attacking a 15th senior in a crime for which she was never charged, according to a blockbuster CBC News report.. after Woodstock police released details the next day. [19] The inquiry's lead counsel stated that "anyone from Wettlaufer to Premier Kathleen Wynne" may be called to testify before the inquiry based on the evidence that is uncovered. prompted criticism, with many questioning the college’s ability to effectively regulate its profession. For families whose loved ones were killed by ex-nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer, their chance to take part in a public inquiry will be limited not by law but by… The case prompted widespread public outrage and made headlines internationally. Elizabeth Wettlaufer pleaded guilty last month to eight counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault. [14] The full details of the inquiry were not given in the announcement, as the government had yet to determine the scope or an individual to lead the inquiry, with Naqvi and Hoskins instead saying that the inquiry would "get the answers we need to help ensure a tragedy such as this does not happen again. She was hired by the Meadow Park Care Center in London, but lost this job after checking herself into drug rehab facility in Niagara. The probe began in August 2017 and concluded in July 2019. Ontario Provincial Police conducted a 2½-hour-longinterview on Oct. 5, 2016, in which the former nurse described thekilling of patients in her care. justice said he recognized that the public would likely never have known about her crimes if she had not confessed. Wettlaufer later studied nursing for three years at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Insulin overdoses are also difficult to detect, so victims’ family members originally believed that their loved ones died of natural causes. The two Caressant Care residents were Wettlaufer’s first victims. The public was shocked and horrified by the killings In late October, police charged former Ontario nurse Elizabeth Tracy Mae Wettlaufer with eight counts of first-degree murder. She left employment at Caressant Care in 2014, but in part-time work at other facilities and at patients' homes, she injected three more people with insulin: Wettlaufer entered an inpatient drug rehabilitation program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), a psychiatric hospital in Toronto, on September 16, 2016. facility in Fergus was not allowed to admit patients between October 2017 and February 2019. Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer of Woodstock, 49, is facing eight charges of first-degree murder and police allege she killed eight elderly people between 2007 and 2014. She confessed that she injected sisters Clotilde Adriano (age 87) and Albina Demedeiros (88) with insulin. Here’s why | Globalnews.ca Over the course of nine years ending in 2016, Wettlaufer, a registered nurse in Southwestern Ontario, killed eight and … Yet she still was allowed to work as a nurse. A person who lived in the same apartment as Wettlaufer named … She murdered seven of her eight victims at the facility. [16], The Public Inquiry into the Safety and Security of Residents in the Long-Term Care Homes System was formally established by the provincial government on August 1, 2017. Wettlaufer confessed to stealing medications from a safe used to store drugs belonging to dead patients, but said she was sober when she committed Rather, great effort went into keeping her employed. The families of victims Horvath and Silcox filed separate lawsuits against Wettlaufer and the nursing homes that hired her; the Ontario Nursing Association was also named in a lawsuit brought by Susan Horvath. [7], After leaving Caressant Care, Wettlaufer had difficulty holding down a job. "The Unraveling of Elizabeth Wettlaufer", "Seeing Red: How did a mild-mannered nurse from small-town Ontario become one of Canada's worst serial killers? In, Mcintosh, Emma, "Elizabeth Wettlaufer Case". [8], While she was a nurse at Caressant Care, Wettlaufer began injecting some of the patients with insulin. She and her brother were raised in Woodstock, Ontario. that staff had no underlying concerns about Wettlaufer, so the College of Nurses didn’t investigate further. She later told neighbours she had found God and was no longer interested in women, according to media She earned a bachelor’s degree in religious education from London Baptist Bible College, since renamed Heritage Baptist College. Elizabeth Tracy Mae "Bethe" Wettlaufer (née Parker; born June 10, 1967) is a convicted Canadian serial killer and former registered nurse who confessed to murdering eight senior citizens and attempting to murder six others in southwestern Ontario between 2007 and 2016. [20], Wettlaufer was charged with professional misconduct by a disciplinary panel convened by the College of Nurses of Ontario on July 25, 2017. Though Wettlaufer had already given up her nursing status, the organization permanently revoked her registration, preventing her from nursing in Ontario ever again. (At that point, she had killed seven victims at Caressant.) and his wife, a lawyer, and an ex-girlfriend, all of whom did not report her to police. Wettlaufer checked herself into rehab at CAMH on 16 September 2016, almost two weeks after one of her employers reassigned her to administer insulin to children with diabetes at a school in Ingersoll. The couple separated in January 2007 and formally divorced in 2008. It can cause a coma or death when too much is administered. Toronto police first interviewed Wettlaufer on 29 September 2016. on Thursday. Wettlaufer told police she had tried to stop the murders and she had told friends, a former partner and her pastor about the killings, but no one took her seriously. Several pieces described killing, while others delved into her love life, job and personal struggles. Caressant Care notified the college when it fired Wettlaufer for making a series of medication errors, including a potentially serious one, in 2014. [21] Even though she had already been found guilty in a criminal trial and voluntarily surrendered her nursing license, the formal hearing was required by the College of Nurses to officially bar her from the profession. For two hours, they spoke with Wettlaufer, who chose not to have a lawyer present. Wettlaufer was arrested on 24 October 2016 at the age of 49. ", "Timeline of events in case of former Ontario nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer", "Here's what ex-nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer confessed about killing 8 patients", "Life in prison: Behind the barbed wire at Grand Valley Institution", "Elizabeth Wettlaufer transferred from GVI over medical issue", "Ontario to hold public inquiry into Elizabeth Wettlaufer nursing home murders", "Case of killer nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer to be subject of public inquiry", "Elizabeth Wettlaufer: Critics impatient for details of province's killer nurse inquiry", "Ontario names Justice Eileen Gillese to lead Wettlaufer inquiry", "Wettlaufer probe will include interview with families, public consultations", "Wettlaufer could testify at inquiry; public hearings to start in 2018", "Serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer faces College of Nurses disciplinary hearing July 25", "Elizabeth Wettlaufer: Nurses' regulatory body will hold disciplinary hearing Tuesday for the local health-care serial killer", "Serial killer found guilty of professional misconduct by nursing college", Public Inquiry into the Safety and Security of Residents in the Long-Term Care Homes System official website, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elizabeth_Wettlaufer&oldid=1004296544, Canadian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Canada, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Killed Arpad Horvath (75) at Meadow Park facility in London, Ontario, Injected Sandra Towler (77) "with intent to murder" at a retirement home in, Injected Beverly Bertram (68) "with intent to murder" at a private residence in, This page was last edited on 1 February 2021, at 23:05. Court order raises questions Court order raises questions The family of a London, Ont., woman has won a court order compelling police to hand over details about the criminal investigation into the death of their mother at a care home where serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer was working, CBC News has learned. Did nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer kill a 9th person? Canadian nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer would not have become a serial killer if she had not been in the medical profession, an expert claims. Elizabeth Wettlaufer was charged in 2016 with eight counts of first-degree murder that took place at nursing homes in southwestern Ontario. She said, "God or the devil or whatever, wanted me to do it." Wettlaufer later said that she feared she wouldn’t be able to resist hurting them, so she quit the job. Caressant has since disputed that account, saying it sent a 20-page report of its concerns that was never followed up on. [1] Growing up in a staunchly Baptist household,[5] she went on to earn a bachelor's degree in religious education counselling from London Baptist Bible College after graduating from Huron Park Secondary School in the mid-1980s. Before the court case was over, several advocacy groups demanded answers This is a trial exhibit authorized for release by the Ontario Superior Court. In a 2.5-hour videotaped confession to police, Wettlaufer said she felt a “red surge” before killing and described a “laughing feeling” once the murders were complete. The doses were not fatal, and police did not attribute either of their eventual deaths to Wettlaufer. [12] In March 2018, she was transferred from Grand Valley to an unspecified secure facility in Montreal to receive medical treatment. Wettlaufer posted poetry online under the pen name “Betty Weston.” Her poetry was often dark. aloud in court. Wettlaufer started working at the Caressant Care nursing home in Woodstock in June 2007. The next day, she resigned her nursing status with the College of Nurses. victim was no longer enjoying life. Our team will be reviewing your submission and get back to you with any further questions. Towler was living in Telfer Place retirement home in Paris, Ontario. The hearing also revealed that Wettlaufer’s nursing activities were restricted for one year, following an incident in the 1990s when she was caught intoxicated on the job, using medication stolen from the hospital where she was working. Elizabeth Wettlaufer is a former nurse who murdered eight elderly patients and attempted to harm six others in southwestern Ontario between 2007 and 2016. She was only in jail for about a year before being transferred to a place with no traditional prison bars. After Caressant, Wettlaufer moved between several facilities until she left nursing in Wettlaufer apologized in court that day, flatly telling those assembled that she was “truly sorry.”. Justice Bruce Thomas sentenced Wettlaufer to life in prison. TIMELINEA timeline of key events in the Elizabeth Wettlaufer case. [1], Elizabeth Wettlaufer was born and raised in Zorra Township, a rural community near Woodstock, Ontario. Wettlaufer was suspended four times for "medication-related errors", then was finally fired in March 2014 over a "serious" incident in which she gave the wrong medication to a patient. Between 25 June and 31 December 2007, Wettlaufer injected sisters Clotilde Adriano and Albina Demedeiros with insulin. "[15] The delay in establishing the inquiry was criticized by members of the opposition Progressive Conservative and New Democratic parties toward the end of July 2017, as no progress had seemingly been made since the announcement and the Legislative Assembly had risen for its summer recess. Though Wettlaufer will be eligible to apply for parole in 2041, Thomas noted in his Mcintosh, Emma. Insulin overdoses are also difficult to detec… Image via: ctvnews.ca. Soon after she was admitted to CAMH, she started Elizabeth Wettlaufer, of Woodstock, Ont., is escorted by police to the door of the courthouse in Woodstock on June 26, 2017, for a court appearance. [22] Wettlaufer declined to participate in the hearing and was found guilty based on court documents from her criminal trial as well as her previous confession. "The Unravelling of Elizabeth Wettlaufer". Wettlaufer admitted to a neighbor that she was fired from one of these jobs for stealing medication, and was fired from another job for making a medication error while high that nearly resulted in the death of a patient. and inquiries from the provincial government and from the College of Nurses of Ontario. Elizabeth Wettlaufer murdered eight seniors in Ontario nursing homes over a period of nine years. Among those she told were a former boyfriend, a student nurse working at Caressant, a pastor [17] Justice Eileen Gillese of the Court of Appeal for Ontario was appointed commissioner of the inquiry. The crime was withheld from the public and never disclosed at a public inquiry into how Wettlaufer … Signing up enhances your TCE experience with the ability to save items to your personal reading list, and access the interactive map. Wettlaufer changed jobs frequently after Caressant Care. Elizabeth Wettlaufer’s confession says stress played role in murders of nursing home patients. [5] Wettlaufer had confessed to killing patients several times prior to her confession at CAMH, including to a lawyer who advised her to keep it a secret, and was not reported to police. She began killing patients there a couple of months later (see Homicide). In her high school yearbook, Wettlaufer said she hoped to study drama in university. [6], In 2007, Wettlaufer was hired onto the staff at Caressant Care, a long-term care home in Woodstock. The regulatory body said that Caressant reported medication errors, including giving insulin to one patient that was prescribed for another. oversight, increased funding for the training and education of staff, increased staffing levels of registered nurses and registered practical nurses at long-term care homes, less reliance on nurses from temp agencies, and improved storage and tracking "Elizabeth Wettlaufer Case". Wettlaufer's first assaults occurred sometime between June 25 and December 31, 2007. of medication. Open this photo in gallery: Police interview Elizabeth Wettlaufer in this video. While she was a nurse at Caressant Care, Wettlaufer began injecting some of the patients with insulin. They did not have any children. Investigators promised to examine how Wettlaufer continued to work despite her disciplinary record and to also examine the systemic conditions that allowed it to happen. She began killing patients there a couple of months later (see Homicide). In the four-volume report, Justice Eileen Gillese made 91 recommendations. In some cases, the amount was not enough to kill the patient; she was charged with, and confessed to, aggravated assault or attempted murder for those cases. Wettlaufer herself remained expressionless throughout. They began readmitting patients in December 2017. Shortly after sentencing, the Ontario government announced it would hold an inquiry into conditions in the province’s long-term care system that allowed the murders to Wettlaufer then studied nursing at Conestoga College. After one murder, she felt "the surging ... And then [heard her own] laughter afterwards, which was really, it was like a cackling from the pit of hell." When serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer confessed to murdering eight nursing home residents under her care, government inspectors scrambled to find evidence of more victims. Ontario, and became a registered nurse in 1995. She confessed that she injected sisters Clotilde Adriano (age 87) and Albina Demedeiros (88) with insulin. [4] With a total of fourteen victims either killed or injured by her actions, she is described as one of the worst serial killers in Canadian history. STATEMENT OF FACTSAgreed Statement of Facts on Guilty Plea in the Elizabeth Wettlaufer case. She confessed to two counts of attempted murder in these cases. The first case in which Wettlaufer injected a patient with enough insulin to directly cause death was on August 11, 2007, when she murdered James Silcox (84), a World War II veteran and father of six. These included greater ministry [2] Her conduct was deemed "disgraceful and dishonourable" by the disciplinary panel and her nursing registration was formally revoked indefinitely, barring her from ever practicing nursing in Ontario again. Wettlaufer usually worked the night shift, and was mainly responsible for dispensing medication. The 50-year-old, from Southwestern Ontario, dubbed the ‘Angel of Death’, was given a life sentence in June this year after confessing to killing eight elderly patients by injecting them with lethal doses of insulin, which was readily accessible to her.