An Arizona man who shot his wife point-blank says he did it to end her so-called “pain and suffering,” and his story has quickly become a rallying point for assisted suicide advocates.
According to court documents, 67-year-old Michael Gelleny shot his wife, 65-year-old Brenda, at their home. He claimed he had planned to kill himself afterwards also, but couldn’t go through with it, and instead, called the Goodyear Police Department and confessed. Gelleny said he shot her once, in the back of the head, “to make it as quick as possibly (sic) without pain,” and that he kissed her and told her he loved her before murdering her.
“He stated she had been in pain and suffering for over four years and he decided to end her life,” the probable cause statement said. “Michael stated he had been thinking of killing his wife for a couple of weeks, however since Monday of this week, he decided to actually do it.”
He has since been arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder, and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
While any specific illness Brenda may have been suffering is not yet known, Fox 10 Phoenix reported that, in 2022, she posted on Facebook about her struggles. In the post, which remains publicly available, Brenda outlined problems with depression, financial difficulties, the death of her oldest son, and estrangement from her youngest son. “I have nothing left. Nothing to live for,” she wrote.
READ: Man who shot wife in alleged ‘mercy killing’ gets 20 years in prison
Arizona End-of-Life Options quickly took the opportunity to exploit Brenda’s death by turning it into a plea for legalized assisted suicide.
“I think we want to have choices and freedom and control over the way we live, and dying is a part of living. We want to have control over that too,” Mark Savan, executive director for the group, told Fox 10 Phoenix, and said assisted suicide is about more than just physical pain. “It’s about loss of autonomy, being a burden on others and probably the biggest one, is not being able to do the things that make life enjoyable for that person. I think it’s a matter of personal freedom.”
Brenda, however, did not get the opportunity to exercise any kind of personal freedom; moreover, she was clearly struggling with mental health issues, which would have made it impossible for her to freely and willingly choose assisted death.
Furthermore, the romanticization or rationalization of murder as mercy has grown in recent years, with many of the perpetrators claiming it was an issue of so-called “assisted suicide.” Often, they receive just a slap on the wrist — or no punishment at all. One media article called the murder of a woman with dementia by her husband a “love story.” In two separate cases, where men murdered their ill and elderly parents, they received no punishment and were told by the judges that these were acts of love and mercy. Will Gelleny be held accountable for the brutal murder of his wife?
