WINDSOR, Ont. (CP) – A doctor faces a charge of first-degree murder in the brazen stabbing death of a nurse who was attacked in the recovery room of a southwestern Ontario hospital while stunned colleagues worked nearby.
Police said Monday they laid the charge against Marc Daniel, 50, an anesthesiologist who was romantically involved with slain nurse Lori Dupont, 37. An autopsy concluded the single mother died almost instantly from multiple stab wounds to her chest and back after Saturday morning’s attack at Hotel-Dieu Grace hospital. Daniel was later found unconscious in his car, suffering from an apparent drug overdose.
“The root of this whole thing is there was a past relationship between the victim and the suspect in this case,” said Windsor police Staff Sgt. Ed McNorton.
“There was a break-up in that relationship and that’s what caused, basically, what happened.”
McNorton said the weapon – a military-type dagger with a 15-centimetre blade – was left at the crime scene.
But McNorton said Daniel has not been officially charged because he remains in critical condition in an unnamed hospital. McNorton said a lot hinges on the man’s health.
“There is still a lot of information that we have to gather,” McNorton said.
“There are still witnesses that we’d like to speak to and, of course, it’s a waiting game as far as his condition is. If he improves to the point where he can be taken before the courts, then a formal charge will be laid, but until then it is just a waiting game.”
It was unknown to what extent Daniel, who had worked at the hospital for 11 years, may have suffered brain damage or what his prognosis will be.
Stan Dupont, an Amherstburg, Ont., dentist, said his sister met Daniel at the hospital and began dating him about two years ago.
He said the couple bought a home together, but the relationship soured about a year ago and his sister asked Daniel to leave.
He said she tried to give Daniel back money he contributed to the purchase of the home, but he refused it and then tried to sue for additional money, claiming the house appreciated in value.
“He would not let go and would not take no for an answer,” Dupont told the Windsor Star.
“He needed to prove something to everybody, and unfortunately my sister got caught in the middle.”
Hospital colleagues have said that Dupont, who had worked at Hotel-Dieu Grace for five years, feared for her safety and had applied for a restraining order against her former boyfriend.
Dupont was so afraid that she asked security guards to walk her to her car after her shifts at the hospital. Besides providing Dupont with a security escort and helping her apply for the peace bond, the hospital also reserved her a parking spot on the first floor of the garage next to the security office, hospital officials said.
The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario said Monday the nursing community was in mourning following the attack.
“This tragic event is a grisly reminder of the pervasive abuse and violence that women face in our society – inside and outside the workplace,” said association president Joan Lesmond.
“It reinforces the critical importance of effective sexual harassment and violence prevention programs everywhere, including health-care facilities.”
Linda Haslam-Stroud, president of the Ontario Nurses’ Association, said nurses are three times more likely to experience violence in the workplace than any other professional group.
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