After a suicide pact with his sick partner went wrong, Ian Green has found himself in court.
An elderly man has pleaded guilty to being part of a suicide pact that ended with his sick life partner's death.
Ian James Green, 74, appeared in the Auckland District Court last week on one charge of entering into a suicide pact in which Jon Marie de Wijn died.
De Wijn, known as Hans to friends and family, and Green had been in a relationship for 30 years and lived together in their Hillsborough home. He had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for a number of years.
De Wijn died on May 17 last year after the couple decided to take their own lives. De Wijn succeeded but Green did not.
When approached this week, Green did not wish to comment but said he was finding dealing with de Wijn's death "very hard".
"We were together for 30 years," said Green.
"He was sick for a long time. I don't want to go into it at this stage but there's so much more to the story. I've had some friends of his come to visit, which was good."
Asked how he was coping with the death of his partner, Green replied: "Not very well. It's very hard."
De Wijn was diagnosed with Alzheimer's eight years ago, after he found himself unable to remember how to craft the handmade lace he had been producing as a hobby for years.
His symptoms began with short-term memory loss and later developed into vision and depth perception problems.
They had planned to travel overseas during their retirement years, but de Wijn said it would have been difficult for him to cope with staying in unfamiliar houses.
Detective Senior Sergeant Hywel Jones said the couple had planned suicide together.
"It has been an ongoing investigation [since May] and we got to the point where we had enough information to charge him," said Jones. "Given that it was a suicide pact, in view of all the circumstances ... this was the most appropriate charge."
In the past, Green is thought to have been involved in seminars focused around assisted death.
He attended a 2001 talk involving Australian rights-to-die campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke - also known as "Dr Death" - during his visit to New Zealand.
In June 2008, Nitschke's controversial Peaceful Pill Handbook was cleared for sale in New Zealand, on the proviso it was sold sealed to people aged over 18. Andy Moore, president of Prolife NZ, said hearing of the case was "devastating". Although Moore does not know details, he did not believe Green should be charged if both parties were acting as "rationally capable adults.
"When it comes to euthanasia, there are a few rare cases when it might be the right decision and it's hard to know where to draw the line," said Moore. "But if the line is drawn in the wrong place it could end up being a terrible situation for a lot of people."
Moore said New Zealand's ageing population could see a rise in cases like this.
"Perhaps families cannot support the elderly properly ... I would advise anyone in need to find support."
Green's case is not the first involving assisted death. Last year, the Herald on Sunday revealed manuscripts of a book written by Auckland-born doctor Sean Davison, 47, who admitted he helped end the life of his 85-year-old mother.
Davison's memoir, Before We Say Goodbye, was published in June last year. The case is still being investigated by police.
In 2003, New Plymouth voluntary euthanasia advocate Lesley Martin served a 15-month jail sentence after the Wanganui District Court found her guilty of the attempted murder of her mother, Joy Martin.
Martin stated in her book, To Die Like A Dog, she tried to end her mother's agony at her request by injecting her with morphine and putting a pillow over her face.
Martin is a trustee for Dignity NZ, a pro-voluntary euthanasia trust that offers support for those considering assisted death. "These cases that make the media are just the tip of the iceberg. If people had a way to express their wishes and have them known in writing then we wouldn't see cases like this," she says.
Green will be sentenced at the Auckland District Court on March 11.
Easing the pain or breaking the law?
* A teenager is facing up to 14 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to helping a close friend take his life. The 17-year-old was charged with assisting suicide after the body of his 16-year-old friend was found in Christchurch last year.
* A Wellington man suffering from Alzheimer's was found asphyxiated by his wife and daughter in 2005. The 51-year-old and 75-year-old women were charged with his murder, but these charges were later dropped following their deaths.
* A Paraparaumu woman, 78, was found asphyxiated in her home in 2003, with her 89-year-old husband unconscious beside her. The husband was charged with her murder. Both were members of a voluntary euthanasia society and were terminally ill.
