A 78-year-old Ohio man has been charged in the assisted suicide death of his wife.
Thomas Stuart Macaulay is accused of assisting his wife in ending her own life in March at their home in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He was charged with two counts of assisted suicide, which is against the law in the state.
“Assisted suicide is against the policy of the state of Ohio,” said Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes. He said the charges are in connection to the March 28 death of Macaulay’s wife, 75-year-old Ardis Susanne Macaulay.
Ohio Revised Code 3795.04 defines assisted suicide as “providing the physical means by which the other person commits or attempts to commit suicide” or; “participating in a physical act by which the other person commits or attempts to commit suicide.”
On March 28, police responded at about 3:20 in the morning to the Yellow Springs Adult Living Community after Macaulay reported to them that his wife had died by nitrogen-induced suicide after choosing to end her own life.
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Ardis Macaulay was found “visibly deceased, laying on a LazyBoy type recliner with an inflated translucent clothing bag over her head connected to an air tank.” Macaulay said he had been present with his wife but didn’t participate in the suicide. However, he did admit that he was part of the planning process.
The police found a suicide note on the table next to Ardis Macaulay’s body along with instructions on how to commit suicide by nitrogen gas poisoning.
Macaulay is currently free on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in court on September 6 for a pretrial hearing. He has hired a criminal defense attorney to represent him.
Ardis Macaulay’s health condition at the time of her death has not been disclosed. It remains unknown if she had received a terminal diagnosis or if she was of sound mind at the time of her death.
