U.S. Witness for Demjanjuk Tries to Commit Suicide
A psychologist from Houston tried to commit suicide after retracting her defense evidence at the trial of accused Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk, Israeli police said Friday.
They said Swedish-born Anita Pritchard swallowed 50 aspirins and slit a wrist Thursday night in a Jerusalem hotel, one day after completing her testimony at the trial.
Under cross-examination, Pritchard told the court on Wednesday she wanted to retract her testimony on Monday in which she challenged a prosecution expert who said Demjanjuk was the man pictured on a Nazi identity card.
Demjanjuk, 67, formerly of Cleveland, denies he is the Ukrainian guard dubbed “Ivan the Terrible” who killed hundreds of thousands of Jews at the Treblinka death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. He says the card is a fraud and he is a victim of mistaken identity.
Pritchard left the hospital Friday afternoon with defense attorney John Gill but she declined to answer reporters’ questions.
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