Wettlaufer could testify at inquiry; public hearings to start in 2018

The public inquiry called as a result of the eight murders committed by former nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer may hear from Wettlaufer herself.

Wettlaufer killed seven seniors in her care while working at the Caressant Care long-term care home in Woodstock, and an eighth at a long-term care home in London, by giving them insulin overdoses.

She also admitted to assaulting and attempting to kill other senior patients. Her activities only came to light after she admitted to them at a psychiatric hospital last year.

The case has led the province to announce a public inquiry looking not only at Wettlaufer’s case and how she was able to keep killing her patients over a span of several years without anyone noticing, but at whether any larger, systemic issues may have contributed to her actions.

Eileen Gillese, a justice with the Ontario Court of Appeal, has been tasked with leading the inquiry and delivering a report with its findings by July 31, 2019.

Two lawyers involved in the inquiry held a news conference in London on Thursday.

They said that they plan to meet with relatives of Wettlaufer’s victims this fall, with public hearings likely to start in May 2018, and that anyone from Wettlaufer to Premier Kathleen Wynne could be called to testify if the evidence leads them in those directions.

Wettlaufer is currently serving a life sentence in prison.

With files from CTV London and The Canadian Press