Julie Betty Kuhn (75) was “murdered” / “mercy killed” by her de-facto husband, Herbert Bernard Erickson (81) on January 16 2012, in Armadale, Western Australia.
Julie & Herbert were together for 50 years & they were parents to two children, and her daughter had passed away from cancer 10 years prior.
Erikson smothered Julie, whom he cared for after she suffered a stroke.
She also suffered from chronic arthritis and was confined to a wheelchair.
After smothering her, Erickson killed his two dogs and attempted to electrocute himself as part of the couple’s suicide pact.
Erickson said he didn’t want to go to jail.
“I want to be with my partner, but I am here – worse luck,” he said outside court.
His lawyer David Manera, who planned to argue against a life jail term because of Erickson’s “genuine love” for his partner, told ABC radio on Tuesday it was not a simple murder-suicide.
“In many respects, it was an act of love in both what he was charged with doing and what he did to himself,” Mr Manera said.
In October 2012, he pleaded guilty to murder to his de-facto wife & was granted bail due to ill-health.
Three weeks later, he reported to police, returned his library books & went to the beach. His body was found on Floreat Beach, Western Australia, his death was determined as suicide by drowning.
Erickson didn’t want to be seen as a torchbearer of the euthanasia debate, which was reignited when news of his death broke.
Counting Dead Women & Children | Australia 