Death Aided by Kevorkian Is Called Homicide

A coroner ruled Friday that the death of a woman who inhaled carbon monoxide last month with help from Dr. Jack Kevorkian was a homicide.

Susan Williams, 52, died May 15 of carbon monoxide poisoning after putting on a mask and inhaling the gas through a canister that Kevorkian had attached to her bed.

Kevorkian, who built devices to help three other severely ill people commit suicide, was present at the time of her death.

The key to the homicide finding “is that somebody actively participated in the process of when she died,” said Dr. Kanu Virani, Oakland County’s deputy chief medical examiner.

He said that while Williams, who was crippled by multiple sclerosis, could have triggered a valve to take in the gas, someone else would have had to operate the valves to control its flow.

But Kevorkian’s attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, said there was no need for anyone to operate any valves after Williams started the flow of gas. Kevorkian attached the tank to her bed and put the valve and mask within her reach, Fieger said.

Oakland County Prosecutor Richard Thompson has not said whether he will file charges in the case.