Start here
The Chilling Case of Elizabeth Wettlaufer
That Chapter's 20-minute overview: the quickest complete way into the case.
Watch on YouTubeWhat happened
Overview
Elizabeth Tracy Mae "Bethe" Wettlaufer (née Parker, born June 10, 1967) is a former registered nurse convicted of murdering eight elderly patients and attempting to murder or assaulting six others in long-term care facilities and private homes in southwestern Ontario, Canada, between 2007 and 2016. She is described as one of the deadliest serial killers in Canadian history.
Background
Wettlaufer was raised in Zorra Township near Woodstock, Ontario, in a Baptist household. She earned a degree in religious education counseling before studying nursing at Conestoga College. In 2007, she was hired at Caressant Care, a long-term care home in Woodstock, where she was initially seen as caring and professional. During her employment she struggled with substance abuse and alcoholism, was suspended multiple times for medication-related errors, and was ultimately fired in March 2014 following a serious medication error.
Crimes
Beginning between June and December 2007, Wettlaufer began injecting patients under her care with insulin. Her first fatal injection occurred on August 11, 2007, killing James Silcox, an 84-year-old World War II veteran. Between 2007 and 2014, she also killed Maurice "Moe" Granat, Gladys Millard, Helen Matheson, Mary Zurawinski, Helen Young, and Maureen Pickering, all patients at Caressant Care. She additionally confessed to two counts of aggravated assault involving sisters Clotilde Adriano and Albina Demedeiros, whose subsequent deaths were not attributed to her, and to attempted murder involving patients Michael Priddle and Wayne Hedges. After leaving Caressant Care, Wettlaufer continued working at other facilities and private homes, where she killed Arpad Horvath at a London, Ontario facility and injected Sandra Towler and Beverly Bertram with intent to murder.
Confession and Legal Proceedings
Wettlaufer entered inpatient drug rehabilitation at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto on September 16, 2016, where she confessed to staff. This led to notification of the College of Nurses of Ontario and Toronto Police. She resigned her nursing registration and provided a lengthy police confession. She was charged with eight counts of murder on October 25, 2016, and with four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault on January 13, 2017. She waived a preliminary hearing and pleaded guilty to all charges on June 1, 2017. On June 26, 2017, she was sentenced to eight concurrent life sentences with no parole eligibility for 25 years.
In her confession, Wettlaufer described experiencing uncontrollable "surges" that compelled her actions, stating she knew right from wrong but felt driven by forces she attributed to "God or the devil." She said she had previously disclosed the killings to a lawyer, friends, a former partner, and her pastor, none of whom reported her to authorities.
Institutional Response
Following her sentencing, the Ontario government announced a public inquiry, formally established August 1, 2017, and led by Justice Eileen Gillese. The inquiry examined the circumstances of the deaths and gaps in long-term care oversight, producing recommendations on staff training, screening, and reporting processes. Separately, the College of Nurses of Ontario revoked her nursing registration indefinitely following a disciplinary hearing in 2017.
