Accused Of Assisted Suicide, Nebraska Man May Have Been Duped: Court Records

WEEPING WATER, NE — A Nebraska man has been charged with assisted suicide for helping his girlfriend of one-and-a-half years end her life after she said she had been diagnosed with late-stage cancer. But he may have been misled about her illness, according to court records.

Autopsy results reveal the woman, Alicia Wilemon-Sullivan, 38, of Orange City, Florida — whose body was found in the woods in early August about 25 miles south of Omaha — might never have been sick, according to court records in which Matthew J. Stubbendieck, 41, of Weeping Water, Nebraska, is charged with assisted suicide.

Stubbendieck told investigators that Wilemon-Sullivan told him she had Stage four cancer of the lymph nodes in her neck, armpit and stomach, but the autopsy report showed no evidence of cancerous masses or tumors, according to court records. Authorities say the cause of death was inconclusive, but an autopsy found no sign of blunt force trauma and concluded that cuts on her forearms and wrists appeared to be self-inflicted. Wilemon-Sullivan also had alcohol, painkillers and cold medicine in her system, according to the autopsy report.

Wilemon-Sullivan flew to “Nebraska to die” Aug. 1 after she and Stubbendieck had exchanged text messages for several weeks in which she had “talked about her death,” according to court records. Her children and family believed she had taken a vacation in Key West, Florida, according to reports by the The New York Post and the Associated Press.

When Wilemon-Sullivan arrived in Nebraska, Stubbendieck accompanied her to a state park near Weeping Water, but left when they encountered a park employee. They returned Aug. 5, according to court records, and Stubbendieck remained with his girlfriend for several hours as she attempted to end her life, the reports said.

Stubbendieck attempted to suffocate Wilemon-Sullivan twice that day, but stopped because he believed she was suffering, according to court records. Investigators say she was still able to whisper when he left her about seven hours later, around 9:30 p.m. He returned to the woods the afternoon of Aug. 6 and found Wilemon-Sullivan dead, according to court records,

Stubbendieck said he was unable to keep a promise he made to Wilemon-Sullivan to keep her death a secret for five or six months before telling her children. He reneged on the pledge because it was “destroying his family,” Stubbendieck said, according to court records.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office in Nebraska began investigating after Wilemon-Sullivan’s 15-year-old son filed a missing person’s report in Florida. He told investigators his older brother in Mississippi had received a call from Stubbendieck, who said Wilemon-Sullivan had died after cutting her wrists.

Three days after Wilemon-Sullivan died, Stubbendieck led authorities to her body in the woods, according to the reports.

Assisted suicide is a felony in Nebraska. If convicted, Stubbendieck could face up to two years in prison and $10,000 in fines if convicted of assisting in Wilemon-Sullivan's death. He would also face one-year of post-release supervision, although a judge could impose a lesser sentence.

Assisted suicide is legal in six U.S. states — Oregon, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Montana — and the District of Columbia. Montana’s law came via a court ruling, and Oregon, Colorado and Washington all legalized assisted suicide at the ballot box. In each of those jurisdictions, legal protections extend to physicians, but not to lay citizens. The laws differ, but they all require certification by a physician that a patient has less than six months to live.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Cass County, Nebraska, Jail via Associated Press