He killed his wife, now she is in hospice: "I wanted to die with her"

[L'absent]

A story that makes us reflect on the need to decriminalize the crime of "Assisting suicide", which is increasingly decriminalized in Italy.

The story of a man who cut his wife's throat for love.

The sad path of the 87-year-old who killed his life partner and now fights against evil. "He had Alzheimer's: who would have taken care of him?". The director of the facility: "Tragedies of abandonment"

Florence, 25 July 2022 - "I feel guilty for what I did. But I also wanted to die together with her". These are the first words he said to the healthcare workers who welcomed him to the Hospice in Via delle Oblate, the care and palliative treatment facility for terminally ill patients. Words he repeats continuously, without finding peace. When it comes to desperation. But also loneliness, illness and love. Yes, he killed his wife. With a particularly bloody gesture, cutting her throat. It happened two weeks ago. He had tried, with every intention of succeeding, to repeat that macabre feat on himself. But he didn't make it. Yet listening to what in legal terms is called a murderer, the first word that comes to mind is love. Despite it all. A gesture of love and death. With the knife: the only weapon available. The eighty-seven year old who, after dedicating the last very tiring years of his life to caring for his wife, discovered that his tumor had started to move again. That the illness would soon take him away without knowing who to entrust with his companion for a long journey full of stumbles and scattered happiness. That beloved woman now deprived of her memory and much more by that demon Alzheimer's disease. If she didn't recognize him, he knew full well who she was. That was enough. Until he decided it was no longer possible to go on. That had to end there.

Uccise la moglie, ora è all'hospice: "Volevo morire con lei"

Il triste percorso dell’87enne che ammazzò la compagna di una vita e ora lotta contro il male. "Aveva l’Alzheimer: chi se ne sarebbe preso cura?". Il direttore della struttura: "Tragedie dell’abbandono"

www.lanazione.it

 

[Adûnâi]

Love and Alzheimer? wtf The libs are gonna blame the patriarchy, but all I'm seeing here is just confused Italian boomers.

 

[rozeske]

I don't know man....a spouse slit my throat in the name of love and claims to have done it because what? didn't know who would take care of me? I'm pretty sure my ghost would be furious. I'm not sure if this makes the people in charge think of improving assisted suicide...more like murder and deranged...

 

[Forever Sleep]

It does sound suspicious. He clearly wasn't fussed about breaking the law. Couldn't he have found a more reliable and peaceful method they both could have used to go together?

Put it this way- would you assist a loved one? I possibly would. But, I'd do my best to get them the most peaceful method I could. Then, I'd follow them. There's no way I think I'd ever slit someone's throat! That's brutal.

 

[fallingtopieces]

It is gruesome and the circumstances are tragic. They were together for 70 years and had three children. But if his wife didn't ask for an assisted death, then his act of love is also an act of murder.

Murder-suicides are not uncommon in elderly couples. Suicide pacts are rare but of those one major subset is older married couples.

Myself I think if I lived long enough to end up with Alzheimer's/dementia I would rather someone put me down. Unless you are wealthy you end up in some govt/state facility that will of course be underfunded and miserable af. Robin William's would have had the best care but he still preemptively took his own life.

 

[LostSoul1965]

That's not love. That's twisted. I wanna die but no one is slitting my throat. Brutal.