Fairbault man Charged with Aiding Suicide

A former nurse and Fairbault man was charged on Friday with helping people commit suicide while sitting at his home computer and presenting himself as an "angel of mercy," according to the Star Tribune.
Rice Country Attorney charged William Melchert-Dinkel, 47, with two counts of suicide aiding after the deaths of 18-year-old Nadi Kajouji of Ottawa, Ontario and 32-year-old Mark Drybrough of Coventry, England, according to the WCCO.
Melchert-Dinkel posed as a young female nurse and allegedly wrote in suicide chat rooms that the victims would be better off in Heaven and it was okay to let go, according to the Tribune.
Drybrough hanged himself after setting up a webcam so Melchert-Dinkel could watch.
The "angel of mercy" told the Canadian college student that she would avoid a huge mess if she jumped into a river; she took his advice and died in an icy river in Ottawa.
Melchert-Dinkel allegedly admitted encouraging dozens of people to kill themselves. He said with 10 or 11 people he was successful at doing so by making suicide pacts with them.
He told police he had "an obsession with death and suicide," but felt "terrible" when he succeeded, the Tribune reported.
Each charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, but his sentence has not been given yet.