Angels of Death. Emily Webb
Helen Young, Maureen Pickering and Arpad Horvath. She also attempted to murder several more of her patients.
Wettlaufer’s crimes are shocking however the circumstances of how she committed them are all too familiar when compared to other cases of healthcare serial murder. Most of the patients she murdered were at Carresant Care in Woodstock, Ontario. She was eventually fired from the facility because she made too many mistakes with patient care, including administering medication. Wettlaufer was a member of the Ontario Nurses Association which brought a grievance against the dismissal. Carresant Care didn’t have the appetite for arbitration so settled with Wettlaufer, resulting in $2000, a reference and a sealed employment file. Wettlaufer was free and able to apply for other jobs with the knowledge that her past would not interfere with her working in another healthcare setting.
Wettlaufer first started injecting patients with unauthorised doses of insulin in 2007 when she was working at Carresant Care. She injected Clotilde Adriano, 87 with additional insulin on a number of occasions in 2007. Mrs Adriano died later in 2008. Her death was not attributed to Wettlaufer but police classified her actions as an aggravated assault against Mrs Adriano.
Wettlaufer told police she’d chosen Mrs Adriano as a victim because she was already an insulin-dependent diabetic so the nurse could get her hands on insulin easily.
That same year Wettlaufer also committed an aggravated assault against Mrs Adriano’s sister Albina Demedeiros, who also lived at the Carresant Care home (the sisters were in rooms next to each other). Ms Demedeiros died in 2010 at age 91.
Again, Wettlaufer said she picked Ms Demedeiros because she was already a diabetic and confessed she dosed her with extra insulin several times. Wettlaufer told investigators she essentially “stood back” and didn’t help Ms Demedeiros following the injections that caused unstable blood sugar levels.
Maurice Silcox, 84, died on August 12, 2007. Wettlaufer confessed she’d deliberately chosen Mr Silcox, a World War II veteran, because she’d found him difficult. He had Alzheimer’s Disease and Wettlaufer told police she felt like it was “his time to go” and she had an “urge to kill him” because of the challenges caring for him and his conduct towards staff.
The document “Statement of Facts on Guilty Plea” from The Long-Term Care Homes Public Inquiry detailed that Wettlaufer admitted she felt a deep sense of guilt after overdosing Mr Silcox because he cried out “I love you” and “I’m sorry” before he died. The shame of her actions compounded when his family praised her for her nursing care of their father and grandfather. She also admitted to police that after killing Mr Silcox it felt like a “pressure lifted from my emotions”.
Had Wettlaufer not confessed to killing Mr Silcox no one would have known he was murdered. The cause of his death was originally attributed to complications from hip surgery he’d had the week before.
Wettlaufer murdered Maurice Granat, 84 on 23 December 2007. She told police that Mr Granat had been inappropriate with her and that angered her, coupled with general resentment and pressure over her life and relationship at the time, and she decided to kill him.
Laura Jackson, a close family friend, said that on the night Mr Granat died she’d visited him at the care home and seen the former mechanic “fighting off” Wettlaufer who scurried out of the room when his visitors arrived. Ms Jackson said Wettlaufer stuck in her mind because the nurse was rude and pushy and returned later to inject Mr Granat with “something” (unbeknownst to her, insulin) and he died less that one hour later.
Wayne Hedges, 57, passed away in January 2009 but Wettlaufer admitted overdosing him with insulin a few months before his death, causing a hypoglycaemic event. Mr Hedges was a diabetic who also had schizophrenia and developmental delays and had lived at Carresant Care for almost a decade. Wettlaufer said she made a decision it was Mr Hedge’s “time to go” and she claimed he would sometimes mention he wanted to die.
Her next victim was the defenceless Michael Priddle. Wettlaufer attempted to kill him with an overdose of insulin (she couldn’t recall to police whether in was 2008 or 2009) and he barely survived the overdose, according to the nurse’s statement. Mr Priddle had Huntington’s disease, a degenerative, inherited condition. He was unable to speak, had difficulty swallowing and was checked half hourly as he was such a risk for injuries.
Wettlaufer said she got her “surging” feeling the night she tried to kill Mr Priddle, which she took as a sign from God that his life should come to an end.
Gladys Millard was the next unfortunate victim of Wettlaufer. Mrs Millard had Alzheimer’s disease and had lived at Carresant Care since 2006. On 13 October 2011 Mrs Millard was on Wettlaufer’s patient list during the night shift. Wettlaufer told police Mrs Millard was difficult to care for, including administering medication to the woman. Early the next morning Wettlaufer felt her “red surge” and grabbed insulin from the medications refrigerator and injected Mrs Millard, who was not a diabetic.
Finding a place on the elderly woman’s body where she could not push her or fight her, Wettlaufer gave the overdose to Mrs Millard. Covering her tracks, Wettlaufer wrote in her handover notes for the day staff that Mrs Millard had been agitated through the night but was now sleeping and not to be disturbed. When staff did check on her, no one connected that the woman’s fast decline – she was sweating, twitchy, pale and her vital signs were low – had anything to do with the “care” she’d received from Wettlaufer. Mrs Millard died in discomfort and stress, her body shutting down for good because Wettlaufer decided to end her life.
The next patient Wettlaufer confessed to murdering was 95-year-old Helen Matheson, a gentle lady who had dementia (but not diabetes). Wettlaufer chillingly decided to kill Mrs Matheson after she’d shown an act of kindness to her by bringing the nonagenarian a piece of pie.
The “Agreed Statement of Facts on Guilty Plea” document from the Long Term Care Enquiry states ‘…they discussed Helen Matheson’s fondness of blueberry pies and ice cream and how Helen Matheson uses to bake such pies…’
Wettlaufer wrote in her nursing notes: ‘she (Helen Matheson) ate 4 bites with ice cream then smiled and said “that’s enough dear, but the crust is lovely”…’
Describing her feelings to police about Mrs Matheson, Wettlaufer said she had a rising feeling in her chest before she injected the gentle woman with insulin and then ‘…after I did it, I got that laughter’.
Mrs Matheson lingered for more than 24 hours and was moved to the palliative care section of Carresant Care, dying with her son at her side. Wettlaufer even looked after her while she was dying, noting ‘Helen was flinching and appeared uncomfortable so 10mg (of morphine) was given…’ Killed by her nurse, Mrs Matheson wasn’t even able to rest in peace, her body exhumed in June 2017 for an autopsy.
Mary Zurawinski had dementia and had only been living at Carresant Care for six months when Wettlaufer injected her with insulin. Telling the widowed mother of four that the needles of insulin were for pain (Mrs Zurawinski was not diabetic) Wettlaufer described again the feeling rising and “laughter” that came after she’d fatally injected the 96-year-old.
Scottish-born Helen Young, 90, had lived at Carresant Care since 2009 and was murdered by Wettlaufer in July 2013. Mrs Young had dementia but not diabetes and Wettlaufer told investigators she was irritated by Mrs Young’s constant cry of “help me, nurse”.
Wettlaufer decided she’d kill Mrs Young when the woman was asking for help and saying she wanted to die. Like previous victims, Wettlaufer told Mrs Young the multiple injections of insulin were for pain relief. She died the next morning, suffering from the overdose with seizures and discomfort. Later when Mrs Young’s upset niece came to pick up her belongings, Wettlaufer comforted the woman.
Wettlaufer knew exactly what she was doing when she gave Maureen Pickering fatal doses of insulin in March 2014, although in her statement to police she claimed she only wanted to place Mrs Pickering in a coma so she’d calm down. Wettlaufer explained she was irritated that she had do give so much attention to Mrs Pickering when she also had to care for many other patients and give them their medications. The 79-year-old Mrs