A Connecticut woman was criminally charged with trying to help a family member commit suicide because she felt she had achieved her life goals and was “ready to go,” police said.
The woman and the 65-year-old man were firm believers in the afterlife and agreed that April 13 of this year would be the day they died, police said in a newly released affidavit.
For three years, the two had discussed the idea of ​​him dying prematurely to explore “the next stage of the affair,” according to the affidavit, which did not say whether the man was ill. Police have not said how the couple was related.
The suicide attempt at a home in Ridgefield, near the New York line in southwestern Connecticut, was unsuccessful. The woman was charged with attempted second-degree murder, a felony that carries one to 10 years in prison if she is convicted.
Assisted suicide has been a controversial topic across the country.
Ten states, not including Connecticut or Washington, D.C., allow only “medically assisted” suicide, in which dying people with a prognosis of six months or less can end their lives with medications prescribed by doctors. Earlier this year, Vermont became the first state to change its physician-assisted suicide law to allow terminally ill people from out of state They will take advantage of it to end their lives.
Connecticut lawmakers have debated proposals for physician-assisted suicide several times.
The Connecticut woman told police that when the man woke up the next morning, April 14, after an attempted drug overdose, she thought it was “a miracle” and believed that “God didn't want him to die.” ”, so he called 911 to look for him. medical care, according to the order, which was first obtained and reported Thursday by Hearst Connecticut Media.
The woman was arrested on July 28 and later released. Her attorney did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.
The man confirmed the details the woman provided to police, according to the affidavit. He said that in March he told his children about his plan to die and that they "were not happy with his decision, but had left on good terms after discussing it," the affidavit says.
The man had no intention of harming himself further, police said.
