A judge who sentenced Elizabeth Wettlaufer to life in prison on Monday said the former Woodstock nurse left a “trail of broken lives in her wake” after murdering eight elderly long-term care patients over nearly a 10-year span.
Earlier this month, 49-year-old Wettlaufer pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault after using insulin to overdose 14 elderly patients in her care.
Wettlaufer’s crimes, which occurred between 2007 and 2016, came to light after she confessed to the incidents while receiving treatment at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto last year.
The offences occurred in a private home and three Ontario long-term care facilities where she was employed, including the Caressant Care home in Woodstock, the Meadow Park facility in London, and Telfer Place retirement home in Paris.
Emotional family members address the court
At her sentencing hearing on Monday, 28 victim impact statements were submitted to the court by those affected by the chilling incidents.
Tearful family and friends told the court about the emotional and physical trauma they faced after learning about the fate of their loved ones.
They described the guilt, betrayal, anxiety and depression they felt as a result of Wettlaufer’s actions. They also expressed mistrust in long-term care facilities and the professionals who work in them.
The niece of 90-year-old Helen Young, who was murdered at the Caressant Care home in July 2013, said in her victim impact statement that a peaceful memory of her beloved Scottish animal-loving aunt was later replaced by a gruesome image of the elderly woman's last moments after being given a lethal dose of insulin by Wettlaufer.
“My final memory of my aunt was her resting peacefully beneath a beautiful stained glass window in the funeral home’s chapel. That comforting memory has been replaced now with one of her contorted in pain, due to a seizure from the insulin you injected, with twisted limbs and bulging eyes- fearful, pain-filled and tortured in her final moments of consciousness,” Sharon Young’s statement read.
“And Beth, you have added insult to injury by recalling in your confession that I hugged you and thanked you after my aunt’s murder- so not only did I introduce my aunt to her killer by deciding to place (her) at Caressant Care, I also apparently thanked her for her actions. Betrayal doesn’t even begin to convey my emotions.”
Survivor worried Wettlaufer was going to 'finish the job'
Beverly Bertram, who survived Wettlaufer’s August 2016 attack, also submitted a statement to the court, which was read aloud by the Crown prosecutor on Monday morning.
In her statement, she described the intense physical pain she felt after Wettlaufer injected her with insulin.
“I have never been so ill without knowing what was wrong. It is really hard to describe. I knew I was dying. There was no control. I dirtied myself, I peed myself. I couldn’t lay in bed,” her statement read.
“I was doubled over in pain holding my stomach. Just such pain. My body hurt… I thought I was able to speak. I thought I was screaming ‘help me,’ but I was just moaning I guess.”
Bertram says she still suffers from severe anxiety following the attack.
“I don’t go out of my house... I was worried she (Wettlaufer) would get out and come to finish the job. It’s still hard to go out- is a reporter going to come? Is someone going to say, ‘Oh are you the person Elizabeth Wettlaufer tried to kill,’” the statement continued.
“By the grace of God I survived. I am not sure why but I will use my life the best I can.”
The granddaughter of Mary Zurawinski, who was killed by Wettlaufer in November 2011, said she was angry the former nurse “robbed” her 96-year-old grandmother of her 100th birthday celebration, a milestone Zurawinski was determined to reach.
“She was adamant that she would live to see that day and we would all be celebrating with a big party, eating cake adorned with 100 candles on it. She was robbed of that. We were robbed of that. Mary was made to die alone without her family by her side. Without a chance to even say goodbye," her statement said.
The son of Wettlaufer’s 75-year-old victim Arpad Horvath, who was killed at Meadow Park facility in London in 2014, called his life following his father’s murder a “nightmare” he “cannot wake up from.”
“We looked out for each other, took care of each other and if need be, would have given our lives for each other,” Arpad Horvath Junior said of his father in court Monday.
He said when he learned of his father’s murder, it was “nothing short of devastating.”
“It ripped the heart out of my chest and crushed it,” he said tearfully.
'Sorry is much too small a word': Wettlaufer
During a brief statement to the court, Wettlaufer apologized to her victims and their families for the grief she caused.
“I caused horrendous pain and suffering,” she said.
“Sorry is much too small a word.”
Wettlaufer added that she hopes they can find peace now that the court proceedings have concluded.
While delivering his sentence, Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas said that Wettlaufer left a “trail of broken lives in her wake.”
“You simply cannot blame yourselves,” he said to the family and friends of Wettlaufer’s victims.
He accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence, sentencing Wettlaufer to life in prison without the chance of parole for 25 years.
The judge was quick to note that Wettlaufer may never be granted parole due to the nature of her crimes.
