A second case of assisted suicide is before the Nova Scotia courts. It occurred in May 1994, a year after the Myers death, and has reached the preliminary inquiry stage.
Thirty-five-year-old Brenda Ethel Barnes, a non-diabetic, died in hospital three days after receiving a dose of insulin. Nurse Mary Jane Fogarty, 38, who calls herself Barnes’ best friend, is charged with providing the syringes and insulin, and writing the suicide note.
Barnes, one of 11 children, was a hard worker who successfully held two jobs and was well liked by her employers. Some co-workers called her quiet and depressed, and the media claimed she had a history of suicide attempts.
But family and friends said they believed her to be in good health and were surprised by her death. Her mother described her as a healthy girl, not suffering from any illness, painful or otherwise.
Fogarty was scheduled to be tried in Provincial Court, but as the preliminary inquiry got underway, she asked to be tried by a Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury. That date has not been set yet.
Fogarty is represented by Anne Derrick who first received national attention in the Donald Marshall case. In June 1994, Derrick represented Henry Morgentaler in Charlottetown in a case that has not yet been decided.
