Serial killer nurse gave police only first names of murder victims, Wettlaufer inquiry hears

The provincial inspector dispatched to a nursinghome in Woodstock, Ont., after nurse Elizabeth Wettlauferconfessed to murder in October 2016 told the long-term care inquiry she was shocked when she realized she'd been involved two years previously in an inspection involving the serial killer.

In 2014, a batch of narcotics went missing from Meadow Park nursing home in London, Ont. Kukolyinvestigated, and learned that a registered nurse now known to be Wettlaufer had quit the same day the narcotics went missing, and that she had a problem with drugs and alcohol.

But Kukoly ruled the home did what it should have done and was in compliance with legislation and regulations.

"I was looking at that home and the risk in that home was not there anymore because the nurse was gone," Kukoly said. "My job is not to determine if she took the narcotics, it's to determine if the home was compliant."

She now wishes she'd asked administrators if they had called the College of Nurses to report Wettlaufer'saddiction issues.

'Literally in shock'

She was called Oct. 5, 2016, to get basic information from Caressant Care about Wettlaufer. Police had told her and acolleague they were not allowed to speak to anyone except the administrator. The administrator had retired the previous week and so they dealt with the director of care, Helen Crombez, trying to get a list of deaths that happened within 24 hours of Wettlaufer working a shift.

When she confessed to killing eight people and trying to kill or harm six others over the course of almost a decade, Wettlaufergave police names of her victims, but didn't know all the last names. Crombez was going through the home's death register to try to match the information given by Wettlaufer to what had been recorded.

"We didn't really ask her anything else. She was obviously distressed," Kukoly said.

As the inspectors left, they called their supervisor who told them the next day they would have to visit Meadow Park nursing home in London, Ont., where Wettlaufer had killed another resident.

"The day I was assigned to the Elizabeth Wettlaufer inspection at Caressant Care Woodstock will be forever ingrained in my mind," Kukolywrote in her affidavit for the inquiry.

The inquiry into the safety and security of residents in long-term careis expected to last until September. This is the first of two weeks duringwhich the province, which regulates and funds nursing homes in Ontario, is under scrutiny.

'No idea these crimes occurred'

By the end of October, Kukoly and her team were speaking to staff and familyas well asfriends of victims about concerns they had about the home.

The inspectors were at the home until March2017.

"It was apparent through our observations and interviews that staff were feeling broken by the information that had come to light about Elizabeth Wettlaufer and the ongoing media attention," Kukoly said.

On the first day of a full inspection, a registered nurse began crying when asked if inspectors could observe her administering medication.

"Staff were feeling really traumatized because they had worked with a serial killer, and their residents were murdered, perhaps during their shift. Only a few did not cry during the interviews," Kukolysaid.