4 charged in multi-state suicide assistance probe

[Judi Lynn]

Source: International Herald Tribune/Associated Press

4 charged in multi-state suicide assistance probe

The Associated Press
Thursday, February 26, 2009

ATLANTA: A wide-ranging investigation into an alleged suicide assistance ring led to charges against four people and raids in nine states as authorities looked into how many deaths might have been involved.

Four members of the Final Exit Network were charged Wednesday with helping a 58-year-old Georgia man end his life by inhaling helium. The group assigns those seeking to end their lives a guide who instructs them to purchase two new helium tanks and a hood, known as an "exit bag," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

It wasn't immediately clear how many deaths were being investigated by law enforcement agencies that include the FBI, but authorities in Arizona were looking into whether a death there involved the group.

Group members Thomas E. Goodwin, who was identified as the organization's president, and Claire Blehr, a member, were both arrested Wednesday at a home in northern Georgia, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The arrests came after a sting operation in which an undercover agent posed as a member of the group.

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/26/america/Assisted-Suicide-Ring.php