"A former US nurse has been charged with two counts of aiding suicides on the Internet, US officials say. William Melchert-Dinkel, 47, is accused of encouraging the suicides of Mark Drybrough from Coventry, UK, in 2005 and Canada's Nadia Kajouji in 2008. Melchert-Dinkel, from Minnesota, allegedly posed as a female nurse, instructing people in suicide chatrooms how to take their lives. He reportedly admitted helping five or fewer people kill themselves. Some legal experts say it could be difficult to prosecute Melchert-Dinkel under a rarely used law because he allegedly only encouraged the victims to kill themselves, without physically helping them to take their lives."

'Thrill of the chase'
Investigators have said Melchert-Dinkel feigned compassion for those he chatted with, while offering step-by-step instructions on how to take their lives. The criminal complaint filed in the case said he told investigators he encouraged "dozens" of people to commit suicide and "characterized it as the thrill of the chase."

He also "indicated his interest in death and suicide could be considered an obsession," the complaint said.

The Minnesota Board of Nursing, which revoked his license last June, said he encouraged numerous people to commit suicide and told at least one person his job as a nurse made him an expert on the most effective way to do it.

"Most important is the placement of the noose on the neck ... Knot behind the left ear and rope across the carotid is very important for instant unconsciousness and death," he allegedly wrote in one Web chat.

Legal experts have said prosecuting the case would be difficult on freedom-of-speech grounds because Melchert-Dinkel didn't physically help kill them, just allegedly encouraged them and gave technical directions. The decades-old state law does not specifically address situations involving the Internet or suicides that occur out of state.



Tags: Former Nurse Charged With Aiding Suicides Via Web, Former Nurse Charged