An American woman who pleaded guilty to helping her mother commit suicide will be deported Wednesday, but will not have to spend more time in jail.
Linda McNall appeared in person at a Stony Plain Courthouse Tuesday, and was sentenced to eight months of time already served.
McNall was arrested and charged last spring after her 79-year-old mother, Shirley Vann, was found dead in a vehicle in the parking lot of Hinton Healthcare Centre.
The pair had agreed to a suicide pact last spring; McNall’s mother suffered from colon cancer. The two left their homes in the states, and travelled from Arizona to Canada’s Rocky Mountains - they pitched a tent near Hinton.
On May 9th McNall and her mother injected themselves with insulin, and opened a propane tank in their tent.
Shirley Vann died, but despite further attempts to take her own life, McNall survived. She drove her mother’s body to the Hinton hospital.
In court, Judge Charles Gardner remarked, “This is not a crime of prevalence.
“Providing assistance in the taking of a life is a serious matter,” Justice Gardner continued, “[He] can’t overlook the genuine motivation of the accused.” McNall had told investigators she shared a very close relationship with her mother.
McNall will be deported to the United States on Wednesday morning – two agents will escort her by airplane to Phoenix, Az.
The 53-year-old was being treated at Alberta Hospital, a psychiatrist there had recommended a hospital-to-hospital transfer - but U.S. authorities rejected the request.
On Tuesday, defence lawyer Laura Stevens said she is worried McNall may have to seek help at a women’s shelter once she arrives in the states.
“This isn’t really a happy ending in the sense that there’s been so much tragedy here, but I hope there is a happy ending for her.”
With files from Susan Amerongen
