Nurse Charged with Assisting Suicide Over the Internet

After Mark Drybrough’s sister Carol found him hanging from his bedroom door, she began researching her brother’s internet history, finding that he spent a significant amount of time in suicide chat rooms and that he had entered into a suicide pact with someone named Li Dao.

After years of research, it was discovered that William Melchert-Dinkel, a 48-year-old nurse from Faribault, had posed as Li Dao, falcongirl, and Cami on suicide websites, advising people about suicide methods. Sometimes he was even able to convince these people to allow him to watch them hang themselves via webcam.

In April 2010, Melchert-Dinkel was charged with advising and encouraging the suicides of Nadia Kajouji and Mark Drybrough. This is the first time that criminal charges have been brought against someone for assisting suicide over the Internet. Questions that must be answered include: Can he be held legally culpable? Would Mark or Nadia have killed themselves anyway? How much encouragement did they really need? Thus, even if Melchert-Dinkel pleads guilty or is convicted, it is not likely that he will serve much time.

See Nadya Labi, Are You Sure You Want to Quit the World?, GQ, Oct. 2010.