April 27, 2025
How Not to Help Your Loved One to Die
This week an Australian woman called Kylie Truswell-Mobbs appeared in court charged with the murder of her husband, David Mobbs.
David was suffering from motor neurone disease (MND/ ALS) at the time that Kylie allegedly killed him.
Indeed, according to news reports, David was so disabled by the disease that he was using a sign board to communicate and was fed via a tube.
Hours before his death, David had told a meeting of his palliative care team that he wished to delay his decision to die (under Queensland’s assisted dying law).
The state prosecutor is alleging that Kylie made 3 attempts to administer a combination of drugs intended to kill David on the night of 5 December 2023.
Police say that Kylie admitted to family and a carer that she had administered the lethal dose to David.
She is also reported as saying that she ‘could not take it anymore’.
So how could one avoid a nightmare scenario of this nature
- If your loved one has already proceeded down the legal (medicalised) route of assisted dying – do not deviate from this course of action as heightened surveillance is certain
- Do not tell anyone of plans to help, even if you trust them fully – because if you do and if the police become involved, the people you told have an invidious choice: a) lie under oath to protect you or b) tell the truth and condemn you …
- Palliative carers may take an especially dim view of any modus operandi that is not within the prescribed schedule of their care – generally speaking these people are no advocates of DIY
- The person involved should, perhaps, think twice before speaking openly with members of the palliative care team, even if they are cherished carers – after all they are just doing their job
- Finally, do not use a method of assistance that could blatantly lead to an allegation of active assistance
For example, nitrogen hypoxia is the only method of DIY help that cannot be detected at autopsy.
For further discussion about hypoxia, see the online Peaceful Pill eHandbook
Exit will continue to provide updates on this tragic situation in the coming weeks/ months.
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