Murder trial hears that woman with Alzheimer’s was not at end of life
Posted January 16, 2019 12:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL — A physician says a slain Montreal woman who was receiving treatment for late-stage Alzheimer’s was not deemed to be at the end of her life.
Dr. Micheline Pelletier is testifying today at the second-degree murder trial of Michel Cadotte.
The 57-year-old is accused in the killing of his ailing wife, Jocelyne Lizotte, in February 2017.
Pelletier works at the long-term care centre where Lizotte resided between January 2014 and her death.
The doctor says Lizotte’s Alzheimer’s was advanced and she couldn’t take care of herself or communicate. But she was medicated to treat extreme agitation and was able to eat, walk with assistance and enjoy baths.
Pelletier noted it is complications from Alzheimer’s that bring about death, not the neurodegenerative disease itself. She says Lizotte, 60, was receiving care to keep her comfortable, but she wasn’t at a point where palliative care — a treatment when death is imminent — was necessary.
The Canadian Press
