Minnesota Nurse Suspected of Encouraging Suicides

Minnesota man suspected of encouraging suicides

By CHRIS WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 34 mins ago

MINNEAPOLIS – A nurse who authorities say got his kicks by visiting Internet suicide chat rooms and encouraging depressed people to kill themselves is under investigation in at least two deaths and could face criminal charges that could test the limits of the First Amendment.

Investigators said William Melchert-Dinkel, 47, feigned compassion for those he chatted with, while offering step-by-step instructions on how to take their lives.

"Most importatn is the placement of the noose on the neck ... Knot behind the left ear and rope across the carotid is very important for instant unconciousness and death," he allegedly wrote in one Web chat.

Nursing regulators: Man advised in suicides
By: Kay Fate

FARIBAULT — A 47-year-old former nurse from Faribault has had his license revoked by the state’s Board of Nursing after officials ruled he used the Internet to encourage people to kill themselves.

The finding said that William Melchert-Dinkel aided suicide “by encouraging and advising individuals to commit suicide” in violation of state law. He has not been charged criminally.

His nursing license had been suspended in February.

A call to Melchert-Dinkel’s home Wednesday from the Daily News seeking comment was not returned.

The nursing board order says an 18-year-old Canadian woman committed suicide after talking online with Melchert-Dinkel, who posed as a female nurse. It says Internet chats with the man were also linked to a 32-year-old Englishman who took his own life.