GUILTY CA - Bertha Anderson, 68, & Lisa Nave, 58, die in 'mercy killing', 11 Dec 2013

New Posts

michmi

michmi

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Messages
1,709
Reaction score
353
Tears were shed and nerves were frayed Wednesday at the North Hills convalescent hospital where a man allegedly shot his near-comatose sister after killing his wife in their Canyon Country home.

Police said the man walked into Country Villa Sheraton Nursing Rehabilitation Hospital in the 9600 block of Sepulveda Boulevard about 10 a.m. and "shot his sister once in the head."

The sister had been in a vegetative state for five years after suffering a heart attack, officials added.

During an investigation, detectives learned that the man shot and killed his wife, who suffered from dementia, in Canyon Country before coming to the hospital.


http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...t-home-20131211,0,3273942.story#ixzz2nHPltJBE
 
This is so sad. He reportedly was very devoted to his wife and seemed to care deeply according those who saw him interact with her. I can only image that he was overwhelmed being responsible for watching the deterioration of his wife after five years of watching his sister in vegetative state.

I think he felt he was doing them a mercy. I feel badly for him that he was apparently in the role of caregiver/decision maker for both wife and sister with such complicated medical issues. That is a heavy burden.

I also wonder if he had medical issues of his own that caused him to think he might not be there much longer to fill that role for his wife and sister.

Anderson, 60, and his wife, Maxine, move into their Canyon Country apartment complex six months ago. Neighbors say he was caring and loving to his wife.
“He was very dainty with her. You see him caressing her hand,” said Grace Madrigal.

“He was caressing her like she was a jewel, you could tell that's how he treated her.”

Madrigal said it was clear his wife was ill but he never offered details. She said he once mentioned that he had another sick relative and that caring for both of them appeared to taking a toll on him.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...-probed-20131211,0,179337.story#ixzz2nHa9qFmw
Click to expand...
 
Double mercy killing? LA police probe shootings at nursing home, house

A California man is in custody after two suspected mercy killings — the shooting of his wife at home, followed by his sister at a nursing facility, police said.
Cops were called to the Country Villa Sheraton Nursing Home in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning to investigate a report of a shooting.

When they arrived, they found 58-year-old invalid Lisa Nave dead in her bed of a gunshot to the head, with a derringer-style revolver on the table next to her, and her 60-year-old brother, Lance Holger Anderson, waiting for them on the patio.

"He gave up without any problems at all," said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon, adding that no one else at the nursing home was threatened or hurt.

full article and video at link ................ http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...-police-probe-shootings-at-nursing-home-house
 
Having taken care of someone with dementia, that is an overwhelming task in itself, especially if you have no help at all.

The very wealthy can hire help, the very poor much of the time qualify for some help in the home through Medicaid, but people in between often have no assistance at all. Shoot, I couldn't even get my brothers to watch my mother if I had to go to the doctor (so I didn't go). And she couldn't be left alone at all.

I even hated putting this in the "crime" section, I mean it's obvious this man was in his own mind putting everyone out of their misery and I also wonder if he had a terminal illness and was afraid nobody would be there to advocate for his wife and his sister after he was gone.

This is going to be more and more of a problem. The decision to place my mother came for me when I had the fleeting thought that both of us would be better off dead. That scared me and it was then I knew that as much as I wanted to keep her at home, without any help I couldn't.
 
Agree with you michmi, it's a horrible thing to do but I think all the stress just got to be too much for him, esp. if he also has health problems.
 
What a sad event. The poor man must have felt so overwhelmed and grief-stricken, and exhausted beyond description.
 
tlcya said:
This is so sad. He reportedly was very devoted to his wife and seemed to care deeply according those who saw him interact with her. I can only image that he was overwhelmed being responsible for watching the deterioration of his wife after five years of watching his sister in vegetative state.

I think he felt he was doing them a mercy. I feel badly for him that he was apparently in the role of caregiver/decision maker for both wife and sister with such complicated medical issues. That is a heavy burden.

I also wonder if he had medical issues of his own that caused him to think he might not be there much longer to fill that role for his wife and sister.
Click to expand...

michmi said:
Having taken care of someone with dementia, that is an overwhelming task in itself, especially if you have no help at all.

The very wealthy can hire help, the very poor much of the time qualify for some help in the home through Medicaid, but people in between often have no assistance at all. Shoot, I couldn't even get my brothers to watch my mother if I had to go to the doctor (so I didn't go). And she couldn't be left alone at all.

I even hated putting this in the "crime" section, I mean it's obvious this man was in his own mind putting everyone out of their misery and I also wonder if he had a terminal illness and was afraid nobody would be there to advocate for his wife and his sister after he was gone.

This is going to be more and more of a problem. The decision to place my mother came for me when I had the fleeting thought that both of us would be better off dead. That scared me and it was then I knew that as much as I wanted to keep her at home, without any help I couldn't.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but here's where I have the problem- I understand his motivation for killing his wife, but the sister was receiving full-time medical care in a skilled nursing home. He did NOT have to care for her nor was her murder necessary!!! I'm glad he lived and will have to live with his actions.
 
The sister had been in a vegetative state for the past 5 years. I believe that the responsibility for her healthcare decisions (and yes, I am only assuming that he was) was a burden in and of itself. The act of caring for someone's physical needs at home coupled with the act of being the agent for or feeling responsible for someone in a vegetative's state's healthcare and possibly property decisions can be quite a load to carry.

I suspect this man's decision to end both his wife and sister's lives was only leading up to the final action of ending his own. but that is pure speculation on my part.
 
I feel sorry for the man. Having watched my uncle slowly die of Alzheimer's in a lovely nursing home where he was well cared for, and I only visited once a month, I can still understand the urge to put his wife and sister out of their misery.

Justice has to be done, of course, but in this case I hope justice is heavily tempered with mercy.
 
Cappuccino said:
I feel sorry for the man. Having watched my uncle slowly die of Alzheimer's in a lovely nursing home where he was well cared for, and I only visited once a month, I can still understand the urge to put his wife and sister out of their misery.

Justice has to be done, of course, but in this case I hope justice is heavily tempered with mercy.
Click to expand...

[bbm]

I agree.
 
LinasK said:
Yeah, but here's where I have the problem- I understand his motivation for killing his wife, but the sister was receiving full-time medical care in a skilled nursing home. He did NOT have to care for her nor was her murder necessary!!! I'm glad he lived and will have to live with his actions.
Click to expand...

My post about my mother was meant to show that you can really have distorted thinking if you're exhausted and stressed from caregiving with no relief.

Seriously, the thought did come to me that we'd be better off dead and I am SO glad I recognized how wrong that thinking was.

I'm convinced his thinking was quite distorted and I'm also positive he was profoundly depressed.

I can also say that even when your loved one is in a facility, it's a full-time job if you are the point person for the facility. I would receive calls about mom taking a fall, mom sick, mom needed more diapers - and I was there 4 times a week as it was.
 
Lance Holger Anderson, Man Accused Of Mercy Killings, Was Doting Husband (UPDATED)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In a story Dec. 11 about a man accused of killed his ailing wife and sister The Associated Press, relying on information from police, erroneously reported the condition of the sister and the age of his wife. Lisa Nave was responsive and had been improving since a heart attack five years earlier that left her in a yearlong coma, and was not in a vegetative or comatose state for five years. Also, the Los Angeles County Coroner said Anderson's wife was 68, not 63.

full article at link ............... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/lance-holger-anderson_n_4433399.html?ir=Los+Angeles
 
attachment.php

​
A California man who fatally shot his wife and his sister in what he defended as mercy killings was sentenced to 100 years in prison on Wednesday.

Lance Anderson had been convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Maxine Anderson, 68, and 58-year-old sibling Lisa Nave.
Click to expand...
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...er-mercy-killings-100-years-article-1.2747308
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    98.8 KB · Views: 16
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Staff online

Members online

... and 235 more.
Total: 3,743 (members: 236, guests: 3,507)

Online statistics

Members online
236
Guests online
3,507
Total visitors
3,743
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
591,735
Messages
17,958,086
Members
228,595
Latest member
Rangelmcguire
Back
Top