Appeals Court Splits In Minnesota Assisted Suicide Case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An appeals court has affirmed the conviction of a Minnesota man for assisting the suicide of a British man, but reversed his conviction for attempting to assist a Canadian woman's suicide.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals said Monday that there was sufficient evidence to convict William Melchert-Dinkel for assisting the 2005 suicide of Mark Drybrough, of Coventry, England.

However, it said there wasn't enough to convict the ex-nurse of the lesser offense of attempting to assist the 2008 suicide of Nadia Kajouji, of Brampton, Ontario.

The appeals court says Melchert-Dinkel gave Drybrough detailed instructions on how to hang himself, but didn't give specific instructions to Kajouji, who jumped off a bridge.

The case has been the subject of a long legal fight that narrowed Minnesota's law against assisting suicides.