Elizabeth Wettlaufer, a 49 year-old nurse, was recently charged with eight counts of murder of her elderly patients. These murders occurred over a span of 7 years, from 2007 to 2014, and happened in both Woodstock and London, Ontario nursing homes. Police say the patients were administered a drug that would kill them. Even though the investigation began recently, and information was uncovered fairly quickly, Elizabeth was described by her neighbours as a good person, and “nothing was out of the ordinary,” according to Shawna Fraser.
Although that may have been true from her perspective, rumours had spread regarding her substance abuse issues and restriction of access to insulin for non-personal use. She was also banned from visited long-term care facilities unless she was the one who needed medical treatment. Elizabeth had also recently gotten out of rehab for the second time. Even though this could be related to her killings, it makes more sense that these restrictions were based on her personal mental health. She would have been in jail much earlier if the nursing homes knew of her actions.
Wettlaufer had practiced since 1995, and it is still a shock for most of her neighbours to hear the news. It seems her serial killer actions were easily masked throughout her community, as she has also volunteered at charitable organizations. However, family members of the victims were not happy, because of the obvious repercussions of finding out that their loved one potentially could have survived. All eight victims’ names were released, and obituaries were posted.
It is only the second case in Canada where this is believed to have happened, with another case happening in the 1980s. However, many other cases have occurred where the defendants have either been falsely accused, not enough evidence was present, or they pleaded guilty of a lesser charge. Whether they were actually guilty is always difficult to prove, and careful precaution is always taken to avoid a wrongful conviction.
Elderly abuse isn’t been something that has been recently measured, and it’s difficult to estimate its prevalence in Canada. Elizabeth’s actions are not a reflection of long-term care facilities in Canada (or even Caressant Care, where she worked). So, even though sadism in the medical industry may sound like something that should be feared by all patients, it’s a rare case, and chances are you are in good hands and the staff are doing their best to help you get better.
Leave a Reply