A former nurse accused of killing eight residents of long-term care facilities in Woodstock and London is now facing more charges.
The OPP announced Friday morning that Elizabeth Wettlaufer, 49, is now charged with four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault. The charges were laid after a multi-jurisdictional investigation continued after Wettlaufer was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder in October.
The new charges relate to offences that were allegedly committed when Wettlaufer worked at Caressant Care in Woodstock, Telfer Place in Paris, and at a private residence in Oxford County.
In a release issued by police on Friday morning, the names of the alleged victims, their ages, the offences allegedly committed by Wettlaufer against them, and the time frame in which the offences are alleged to have occurred were laid out.
Caressant Care – Woodstock, Ontario
Clotilde Adriano, 87, aggravated assault - June-December 2007
Albina Demedeiros, 90, aggravated assault - June-December 2007
Wayne Hedges, 57, attempted murder - September-December 2008
Michael Priddle, 63, attempted murder - January 2008-December 2009
Telfer Place – Brant County, Ontario
Sandra Towler, 77, attempted murder - September 2015
Private Residence – Oxford County
Beverly Bertram, 68, attempted murder - August 2016
Police say Adriano, Demedeiros, Hedges, and Priddle have since died. However, police add that their confirmed causes of death are not attributed to Wettlaufer.
There has been much speculation that Wettlaufer injected the residents with a drug. But OPP Sergeant Dave Rektor said police cannot confirm that.
“We can't speak to the evidence that is now before the courts," said Rektor. "We will do our part, which is the investigative part, and bring all of the evidence that we can to the courts."
Police continue to receive tips from the public in regards to the Wettlaufer investigation.
“We still encourage people, if they have information, to report it to the Woodstock city police," said Rektor.
Wettlaufer appeared in court in Woodstock on Friday morning to answer to the new charges. The 49-year-old was led into the packed courtroom in handcuffs and ankle chains. She was wearing a green jumpsuit from the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton.
The appearance lasted just minutes, with Crown Fraser Kelly updating the court on the new charges. Wettlaufer was then remanded into custody and will appear again via video link on February 15.
It was the first time since her arrest in October of last year, that family members of the alleged victims had a chance to come face-to-face with the accused.
“What I felt was rage and anger and I've never felt anything like that in my life," said Arpad Horvath Jr., whose father Arpad Horvath died at Meadow Park in London in August 2014. “You’re so close and yet so far away at the same time.”
Horvath said he was shocked by the new charges against the woman accused of killing his father.
"I feel numb now. That’s just nuts," said Horvath. “I hope her conscience eats her up."
Standing hand and hand outside of the Woodstock courthouse, Laura Jackson and Andrea Silcox spoke to a crowd of reporters.
"We don’t want the victims to be lost in this and that is why we are here. We are standing here, all of us, to say that these peoples' lives mattered," said Jackson, a close friend of Maurice Granat, who died at Caressant Care in Woodstock in December 2007.
Silcox, the daughter of James Silcox who died at Caressant Care in Woodstock in August 2007, was clear about what she didn't see on Wettlaufer's face during the brief court appearance.
“Absolutely no remorse whatsover," said Silcox.
She said it is important that Wettlaufer see the faces of her alleged victims' families.
"Somebody that long-term care residents trusted to take care of them and now she stands before us and we want her to see how hurt and how much pain we have for our loved ones. How much pain she has created," said Silcox. "It’s just not a face in her past of what she has done to someone who is now gone and can’t speak for themselves. She needs to see the pain in the faces that still exist.”
