‘Keep their names in the news’
FAMILIES STAND UP FOR VICTIMS OF KILLER NURSE
Before he took his last breath, James Silcox apologized to the nurse who killed him. That was the moment when Thursday’s court proceedings caught up to Andrea Silcox.
“I had a complete meltdown when I heard that my father had last words,” she said.
Silcox had recalled her father’s unhappiness at being in long-term care.
She knew he might have given his nurses a hard time.
But to hear t hat t he 84-year-old military veteran apologized to the nurses at Caressant Care on his deathbed, after Elizabeth Wettlaufer administered enough insulin to kill him, was too much to bear.
“I was devastated to hear that my father had those last words,” she said.
“It’s been really, really rough this morning. I pray to God I never have to go through anything like this again in my life. This will age a person.”
Nothing could prepare the families to hear Canada’s worst health care serial killer admit to taking the lives of their loved ones.
“I’m pretty shocked right now,” said Susan Horvath, daughter of Arpad Horvath, the Londoner who was Wettlaufer’s only victim outside Woodstock.
“She killed my dad. Can you believe this? And she’s sitting there, no expression on her face.”
It was hardest to hear the facts about Wettlaufer’s premeditation, she said, noting the ex- nurse was online searching for information about jail before she confessed. Horvath said she wouldn’t wish such an experience on her worst enemy. Others agreed.
“It’s overwhelming, it’s s ad, it’s heartbreaking. I think heartbreaking is the best word to use to describe it. I t hought I was able to handle hearing it, and I couldn’t,” said Laura Jackson, a close family friend of Maurice “Moe” Granat.
Keeping the victims at the forefront of the case is important for Jackson and Horvath.
“Every time we say her name, it gives her power,” said Jackson.
“That’s why we’re here standing to say Moe’s name, and Arpad Horvath’s name and the other victims. Keep their names in the news. They’re the ones that matter.”
Horvath said she made a s pecial T- s hi r t she wore — it features a photo of her father, smiling and happy, alongside hi s wife a nd daughter — to keep him with her during the difficult moments.
“My f ather is over my heart, right here.
“That’s where he’s going to stay,” she said through tears.