2 Who Sought Kevorkian’s Help Are Found Dead

Two women with multiple sclerosis were found dead in Detroit-area motels Wednesday and Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s lawyer all but confirmed that the assisted-suicide advocate was involved in both deaths.

One woman said on a videotape that she had tried to commit suicide four times.

Lawyer Geoffrey Fieger refused to definitively link Kevorkian to the deaths of the women, who he said were his clients, but added: “There’s no question about what happened here. Everyone understands that Dr. Kevorkian provides assistance to end suffering.”

Kevorkian appeared at a news conference at Fieger’s office but did not answer questions.

Fieger identified the women as Dorinda Scheipsmeier, 51, of Oceanside, Calif., and Lynne Dawn Lennox, 54, of Lakewood, N.J.

Police found one body at a motel in Roseville, on Detroit’s northeast side, following an anonymous tip, said Police Chief William Lucas. A note identified her as Scheipsmeier and “everything points” to suicide, he said.

An hour later, a motel maid in Romulus, southwest of Detroit, found a body that police identified only as a 55-year-old Lakewood woman. A wheelchair and note to call Fieger were in the room, police said.

They also said autopsies would be conducted.

Lennox had discussed her intention to commit suicide with her parents, her sister and her brother, and they all approved, said her mother, Shirley Colvin.

Lennox had suffered from multiple sclerosis for 17 years and was a bookkeeper until her illness forced her to quit working, her mother said.

“She couldn’t do anything for herself,” Colvin said tearfully in Lakewood.

Fieger showed reporters a videotape dated Oct. 18, 1993, in which a woman who identified herself as Lennox described how the disease left her unable to walk and forced her to wear diapers.

She said she wrote to Kevorkian for help after seeing him on Phil Donahue’s talk show. “I knew that maybe this was something that I could get him to do,” she said.

Fieger said Scheipsmeier was a registered nurse.