Ex-nurse charged in 8 killings
Woodstock woman facing first-degree murder charges in nursing homes deaths
WOODSTOCK — A Woodstock woman has been charged in the deaths of at least eight elderly residents in one of the biggest multiple death investigations in the region since the Bandido murders.
Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer, 49, a former nurse with both Caressant Care in Woodstock and Meadow Park in London, was charged on Tuesday with the firstdegree murder of eight residents aged 75 to 96 years old, seven who lived at Caressant Care and one at Meadow Park.
The Caressant Care victims include James Silcox, 84, Maurice Granat, 84, Gladys Millard, 87, Helen Matheson, 95, Mary Zurawinski, 96, Helen Young, 90, and Maureen Pickering, 79.
The sole London victim, Arpad Horvath, 75, lived at Meadow Park in London and died Aug. 31, 2014.
The deaths took place between August 2007 and August 2014.
“The victims were administered a drug, but I’m not in a position at this time to comment of specifics of the drug,” said London Police Service Det. Sup. William Merrylees.
While police didn’t rule out the possibility there might be more victims but wouldn’t comment on the motive of the alleged serial killer.
“Our hope is (the family) will find some comfort charges have been laid,” said OPP Det. Sup. Dave Truax.
The investigation began Sept. 29 when Woodstock Police Services received information from an undisclosed source that eight people had been murdered over a period of several years.
“On behalf of every police agency represented here, our deepest sym- pathies go to families who have suffered this tragic loss,” said Woodstock police Chief Bill Renton
At this point, police said they are not looking at exhuming any of the bodies.
Due to the nature of the allegations, police said multi-jurisdictional major case manager Det. Insp. Rob Hagerman was assigned to co-ordinate the investigation.
While Brant OPP and Oxford OPP provided resources for the investigation, police confirmed Tuesday there have been no investigations into homes in those regions.
Wettlaufer listed a Brantford home care provider as her current employer on Facebook.
“Our goal throughout this was to follow the evidence, which resulted in criminal charges here today,” Truax said. The London long-term care home where Horvath lived is owned by Jarlette Health Services and has 120 beds.
Officials at the home declined an interview request Tuesday but later issued a statement.
“We are co-operating fully with police investigating the actions of a former staff member who left our home’s employ some two years ago. Our highest priority is to continue to provide for the health and comfort of our residents, and that remains our focus,” chief operating officer Julia King said in a statement.
“We are determined to avoid compromising the police investigation in any way and are therefore unable to provide additional comment at this time.”
Loretta Cambridge, whose husband Paul has lived at Meadow Park for more than a year, said she was rattled by the news of the homicides.
“That’s too close to home,” said Cambridge, adding administrators at the home hadn’t told her anything about the police probe.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne called the eight nursing home deaths “extremely distressing.”
Wynne said it would be inappropriate for her to comment on an ongoing police investigation, but she said it is an “extremely distressing and tragic, tragic thing for all of the families involved.”
She was being questioned by London NDP MPP Teresa Armstrong, who said it was shocking that no one knew about the deaths for so long.
“It’s not acceptable ... there’s obviously big, gaping holes,” Armstrong said.
In response to several media requests, police first released a press release on Oct. 14 stating they had identified a suspect in an undisclosed death investigation.
“We realized that release caused more questions than answers,” Renton said. “We elected to share what we could including the fact we had identified a suspect.”
Police said they could not answer a number of questions because “the evidence and the accused are now before the courts.”
Merrylees also said part of the investigation will be determining how such a tragedy could have occurred.
“We will try to determine what needs to be done to prevent this from happening in the future,” he said.
An obituary for Maureen Pickering, one of the victims who died on March 28, 2014, included the line, “Special thanks to staff at Caressant Care, Woodstock for their wonderful care.”
According to the College of Nurses of Ontario, Wettlaufer, registered as a nurse in 1995 and resigned from the college in September 2016.