Relatives of murdered seniors set to ask to take part in public inquiry
TORONTO — Relatives of murdered seniors, along with advocacy and health-care groups, are among four dozen applicants seeking to participate in a public inquiry sparked by a nurse who killed eight elderly long-term-care residents in Ontario.
Commissioner Eileen Gillese will hear their requests for standing — a status that gives them the right to call and question witnesses — in St. Thomas, Ont., on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Ontario government set up the Long-Term Care Homes Public Inquiry in August after Elizabeth Wettlaufer was convicted of eight counts of first degree-murder, four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault. Wettlaufer had pleaded guilty in June and was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.
The 50-year-old injected her victims with insulin while they were in her care at three Ontario long-term care facilities and a private home between 2007 and 2016.