Ontario Provincial Police News Portal OPP Media Release Corporate Communications GHQ UPDATE – MULTI-JURISDICTION – HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION – Charges Laid In Connection With Long Term Care Patient Deaths 2016-10-25
FROM/DE: CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION BRANCH DATE: October 25, 2016
UPDATE – MULTI-JURISDICTION – HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
Charges Laid In Connection With Long Term Care Patient Deaths
(WOODSTOCK, ON) – A Woodstock resident has been charged following a multi-jurisdiction homicide investigation at long-term care facilities in Woodstock and London.
The investigation began on September 29th, 2016, when the Woodstock Police Service received information that eight people had been murdered over a period of several years. Due to the nature of the allegations, a multi-jurisdictional Major Case Manager was contacted. Detective Inspector Rob Hagerman of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) was assigned to coordinate the investigation by members of the Woodstock Police Service and London Police Service.
A nurse employed at the facilities, 49-year-old Elizabeth Tracey Mae WETTLAUFER of Woodstock, is charged with eight (8) counts of First Degree Murder. The accused appeared at the Ontario Court of Justice in Woodstock on October 25, 2016 and was remanded into custody.
The names of the victims, their age, and their respective care facility are:
Name (Age) Facility Date of Death
Name (Age) Facility Date of Death
James SILCOX (84) Caressant Care – Woodstock August 17, 2007
Maurice GRANAT (84) Caressant Care – Woodstock December 23, 2007
Gladys MILLARD (87) Caressant Care – Woodstock October 14, 2011
Helen MATHESON (95) Caressant Care – Woodstock October 27, 2011
Mary ZURAWINSKI (96) Caressant Care – Woodstock November 7, 2011
Helen YOUNG (90) Caressant Care – Woodstock July 14, 2013
Maureen PICKERING (79) Caressant Care – Woodstock March 28, 2014
Arpad HORVATH (75) Meadow Park – London August 31, 2014
As a result of this ongoing investigation, police reiterate there is no further immediate threat to patient or community safety.