Article By Frank Bergman
Canadian police have launched a criminal investigation into the state-backed, taxpayer-funded killing of an 83-year-old grandmother whose family says she was euthanized against her will and even begged doctors to spare her life as they administered a lethal injection.
Brigitte Stegemann’s family says she was confused, never gave clear final consent, and told doctors she wanted to live.
As Slay News previously reported, Stegemann cried and told doctors, “I don’t want the death shot!”
According to her family, she died praying and covered in blood after doctors forcibly injected her with lethal drugs.
Stegemann died on July 10 through the Canadian government’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program at The Pearl care home in Cannifton, Ontario.
Stegemann had been diagnosed with stage-four stomach cancer in February.
However, her granddaughter and longtime caregiver, Brigitte Kranendonk, alleges that serious safeguards failed in the days before her grandmother was killed.
Two days before the scheduled procedure, Kranendonk asked Stegemann directly whether she understood that she was going to die that Friday.
Stegemann began crying.
“I’ve made a mistake,” she told her granddaughter.
Granddaughter Says Stegemann Was Confused
Kranendonk said her grandmother had previously rejected MAiD and was experiencing significant cognitive decline.
During an eligibility assessment, Stegemann allegedly gave incorrect answers to basic questions about her own family.
She said she had no siblings despite having 13 and believed that her two surviving siblings were dead.
Nevertheless, a doctor declared Stegemann eligible for euthanasia, according to Kranendonk.
The granddaughter also alleges that medical staff failed to explain clearly what would happen.
Stegemann was severely hearing-impaired, and English was not her first language.
Rather than explicitly describing a lethal injection, a doctor allegedly told Stegemann that she would receive “medicine” that would make her “feel at peace.”
“My Oma’s just kind of nodding,” Kranendonk recalled.
“She doesn’t understand what you’re saying.”
Kranendonk said medical staff assured her that Stegemann could still refuse the procedure on the day it was scheduled.
‘She Did Not Consent’
Kranendonk alleges that her grandmother never gave that final consent.
Before the doctor arrived, a nurse repeatedly struggled to insert an IV, leaving Stegemann, her clothing, and her bedding covered in blood.
“This nurse is not wearing gloves,” Kranendonk alleged.
“There’s blood all over her hands, there’s blood all over the place.”
When the doctor arrived, she allegedly told Stegemann that she was there to give her “medicine” and asked whether that was acceptable.
Stegemann did not respond, according to her granddaughter.
“My Oma is not moving,” Kranendonk recalled.
“She doesn’t open her eyes.
“She doesn’t nod.
“She doesn’t say anything, and the doctor just said: ‘Okay, well, I’m going to proceed.’”
The doctor then administered the drugs, and Stegemann was pronounced dead within 10 minutes.
“She did not consent the morning of the procedure,” Kranendonk alleged.
Criminal Investigators Open Probe
Kranendonk has demanded answers from Ontario’s Chief Coroner’s Office, the Patient Ombudsman, and Belleville Police.
Belleville Police confirmed that its Criminal Investigations Division is examining Stegemann’s death.
“This incident is currently open and under investigation with our Criminal Investigations Division,” a police spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
“We are unable to provide any additional information at this time.”
The care home and MAiD practitioners have not publicly addressed the family’s specific allegations.
Those involved maintain that Stegemann legally consented to the procedure, according to the Daily Mail.
No formal finding of wrongdoing has been made.
However, police are now investigating how a confused and unresponsive grandmother was given a taxpayer-funded lethal injection after telling her family, through tears, that she had made a mistake.
Be the first to comment