Six more charges laid against former nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer

CTV London: Court appearance Accused nurse in eight first-degree murder cases now facing new charges. Daryl Newcombe has more.

OPP have laid six additional charges against a former Woodstock nurse accused of killing eight seniors at long-term care homes.

Elizabeth Wettlaufer, 49, was charged with eight counts of first degree murder as a result of an investigation on Oct. 25, 2016.

Following further investigation, Wettlaufer has been charged with an additional four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault.

The additional charges were laid by investigators from Woodstock police, London police and OPP in Oxford and Brant County detachments.

An initial investigation relating to patients from long term care facilities in London and Woodstock and Paris began in September 2016, under the direction of multi-jurisdictional Major Case Manager Detective Inspector Rob Hagerman.

The names of the victims, their ages, the associated criminal charge laid, their respective places of residence, and the time frame for when the alleged offence occurred are as follows:

Caressant Care – Woodstock, Ontario

Name                           Age        Offence                            Time Frame

Clotilde ADRIANO         87          Aggravated Assault           JUN.-DEC. 2007

Albina DEMEDEIROS   90           Aggravated Assault           JUN.-DEC. 2007

Wayne HEDGES           57         Attempt Murder                 SEP.-DEC. 2008

Michael PRIDDLE          63         Attempt Murder                 JAN.2008 – DEC.2009

Telfer Place – Brant County, Ontario

Sandra TOWLER          77          Attempt Murder                 SEP. 2015

Private Residence – Oxford County, Ontario

Beverly BERTRAM        68          Attempt Murder                 AUG. 2016

Four of the six victims (Adriano, Demedeiros, Hedges and Priddle) have since died although their confirmed causes of death are not attributed to the accused.

The accused will appear to answer these charges at Ontario Court of Justice in Woodstock today.

The son of Arpad Horvath, one of the alleged victims in the case, said outside the courthouse Friday morning that his family has been struggling since their loved one was named as a victim in the case.

“It's pretty hard when you lose your best friend and your hero, but I’ve done the best I can to hold it together. I’m going to keep holding it together until this is resolved, which it probably won’t be for a long time,” Arpad Horvath Jr. said.

“We have to stay strong and have faith.”

A CTV reporter inside the courtroom said the victim’s family members stared at Wettlaufer as she sat in prison’s box.

“It was devastating (to see the suspect). It really made me angry. I’ve never been, in my entire life, that angry. I’ve never had so much hatred for a human being on this planet,” Horvath said after he left the courtroom. “I learned from my father, ‘listen and learn, don’t make an ass out of yourself.’ But this was really hard.”

Horvath pledges to be at every court date until “this is resolved.”

“There’s got be something wrong to do that,” he said. “Nobody in this world should be able to play God.”

Wettlaufer returns to court Feb. 15 via a video link.

Anyone with further information about this case is encouraged to contact the Woodstock Police Service at 1-519-537-2323 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).