Alleged serial killer faces more charges
WOODSTOCK, ONT. •A former Ontario nurse accused of killing eight elderly patients in her care shuffled into a court in shackles Friday to face new allegations of attempting to murder four others by injecting them with insulin.
Elizabeth Wettlaufer was led into a Woodstock court from the Vanier Centre for Women as the alleged victims’ family members watched from a packed gallery Friday.
“We want her to see how much hurt and how much pain we have for our loved ones and how much pain she’s created,” said Andrea Silcox, a daughter of one of Wettlaufer’s alleged victims. “She needs to see the pain in the faces that still exist, the loved ones that she had left behind.”
The 49- year- old former nurse has been in custody since her arrest on eight murder charges in October.
After a very brief hearing, Wettlaufer was led from the court. She will next appear before a judge on Feb. 15, by video.
Moments before Friday’s court appearance, Ontario Provincial Police announced the new charges. The four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault involve six nursing home residents in Woodstock and Paris, Ont., who range in age from 57 to 90 years old.
She is accused of attempting to murder Sandra Towler, 77, at Telfer Place nursing home in Paris in September 2015; Beverly Bertram, 68, at a private Oxford County residence in August 2016; Wayne Hedges, 57, at Caressant Care nursing home in Woodstock between September and December 2008; and Michael Priddle, 63, also at Caressant Care between January 2008 and December 2009.
The alleged victims of aggravated assault are siblings Clotilde Adriano, 87, and Albina Demedeiros, 90, who were living at Caressant Care between June and December 2007.
Four of the alleged victims — Adriano, Demedeiros, Hedges and Priddle — have since died although police said “their confirmed causes of death are not attributed to the accused.”
Police would not provide details on the incidents but said their investigation was ongoing, encouraging people with information about the case to call police.