Creepy Minnesota Nurse Calls Abetting Suicide "Free Speech"

William Melchert-Dinkel was a noose who trolled the internet looking for people he could encourage to kill themselves. Two did. He went to jail (a mere slap on the wrist of less than a year in jail). Now he wants out early because what he did was "free speech." Creepy, very creepy.

Nurse appeals assisted suicide conviction in student's death

The disgraced former Minnesota nurse convicted of assisted suicide in the death of Canadian university student Nadia Kajouji was like a good, nurturing friend, someone who wanted to watch her die via webcam “in an act of togetherness and mutual support, to avoid (her) being alone.”

That is the message contained in an appeal filed in U.S. court on behalf of William Melchert-Dinkel, the 49-year-old man who admitted to trolling online chat rooms with the aim of trying to push vulnerable participants into suicide. more

Creepy Canadian Nurse Appealing His Conviction

The creepy male nurse who coaxed a teenager over the web to commit suicide is going to appeal his conviction. Given where Canada is (in the throes of enchantment with the pro-deathers) he might actually succeed. Stay tuned.

Ex-nurse to appeal assisted suicide conviction

The Minnesota man convicted of encouraging 18-year-old Carleton University student Nadia Kajouji and a 32-year-old British man to commit suicide online is appealing his conviction. more

Minnesota Assisted Suicide Verdict Makes Assisting Killing Palatable

I've long been on the case of the deranged male nurse from Minnesota William Melchert-Dinkel who encouraged at lest two people to commit suicide over the internet. Minnesota law says that aiding in a suicide is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. What did Melchert-Dinkel get? A year in jail. I wish I was making this up. Now, the Time story looks more at the legal intricacies of this case, but let's just say it like it is: There's something seriously wrong with a society that slaps a man on the wrist for egging people on to kill themselves. It's verdicts like this that will have more people thinking it's OK to help others kill themselves, unfortunately.

Assisted Suicide Goes Digital: When Is a Chat-Room Post a Crime?

On Nov. 27, 2005, a man in Faribault, Minn., received an e-mail with a subject line that read, "Melissa goodbye to Li Dao." It was a suicide note, scribbled digitally, sent by a woman to her online pen pal who had actively encouraged her to embrace death. The only catch: Li Dao was not a real person, and, according to authorities, the virtual advice was not an act of empathy but an attempt to manipulate Melissa into taking her own life — all for what the man told the police was the "the thrill of the chase." more

Good News: Minnesota Nurse Convicted For Encouraging Net Suicide

Good, good, good. If you're a creepy sicko that gets their jollies goading people on the web to kill themselves, and then have them do it, you deserve to go to jail. Period.

Former Minn. nurse guilty of using chats to encourage 2 suicides

A former nurse in Minnesota has been found guilty of using Internet chats to encourage and advise two people to commit suicide. more

Ruling: Convincing People To Kill Themselves Isn't Free Speech

Good, very good. This Minnesota creep won’t be allowed to argue that convincing people to kill themselves live on the web is free speech. Put him in jail and throw away the key.

Judge refuses to dismiss charges for encouraging suicide

MINNEAPOLIS—A former Minnesota nurse who prosecutors say sought out depressed people in Internet chat rooms and encouraged two of them to kill themselves won't get his case dismissed on free speech grounds, a judge ruled Tuesday.

William Melchert-Dinkel, 48, of Faribault, is charged with two counts of aiding suicide, for allegedly advising and encouraging an English man and a Canadian woman to take their own lives. more

Pro-Deathers: He's A Murderer, We're Compassionate

Good. One William Melchert-Dinkel is in deep doo-doo for talking two people into committing suicide over the internet. The pro-deathers, of course, quickly try to distance themselves from this murderer, saying “aid in dying” is different that convincing someone to kill themselves. Uh-huh. The only difference, as far as I can tell, is that Melchert-Dinkel did it at a distance, while the pro-deathers will actually have someone sitting right next to you telling you it’s OK to kill yourself as they help you do it.

Online Talk, Suicides and a Thorny Court Case

The seemingly empathetic nurse struck up conversations over the Internet with people who were pondering suicide. She told them what methods worked best. She told some that it was all right to let go, that they would be better in heaven, and entered into suicide pacts with others.

But the police say the nurse, who sometimes called herself Cami and described herself as a young woman, was actually William F. Melchert-Dinkel, a 47-year-old husband and father from Faribault, Minn., who now stands charged with two counts of aiding suicide.

Mr. Melchert-Dinkel, whose lawyer declined an interview request on his behalf, told investigators that his interest in “death and suicide could be considered an obsession,” court documents say, and that he sought the “thrill of the chase.” While the charges stem from two deaths — one in Britain in 2005 and one in Canada in 2008 — Mr. Melchert-Dinkel, who was indeed a licensed practical nurse, told investigators that he had most likely encouraged dozens of people to kill themselves, court documents said. He said he could not be sure how many had succeeded. more