Woman denies knowingly paying for drugs

A woman accused of helping her friend take her own life denied to gardaí she knowingly paid for lethal drugs for the deceased.

Gail O’Rorke said she had a “gut feeling something was going to happen” the day before Bernadette Forde’s suicide but that she couldn’t do anything to stop it. “I’m glad she did what she had to do and is at peace,” she said in a statement to gardaí, the day after the death.

“I’m also glad she didn’t tell me as I would have refused to help. I think this is a necessary evil for her to do.”

Ms Forde, aged 51, took her own life in June 2011 using the drug pentobarbital after it was ordered online from Mexico.

The trial heard yesterday that Ms O’Rorke was to inherit 30% of the residue (the rest) of Ms Forde’s estate. Ms Forde’s solicitor, Maurice O’Callaghan, told the trial he was completely satisfied no undue pressure was being put on the woman regarding her will.

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Ms O’Rorke, aged 43, a taxi driver from Kilclare Gardens, Tallaght, has pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting the suicide of Ms Forde by helping her to procure and administer a toxic substance between April 20 and June 6, 2011.

She denies attempting to aid and abet the suicide of Ms Forde by means of attempting to arrange travel to Zurich, Switzerland, for such a purpose between March 10 and April 20, 2011.

She also denies a third charge, of procuring the suicide of Ms Forde between June 4 and 6, 2011, by means of making funeral arrangements for Ms Forde in advance of her death.

Garda Andrew Dermody told James Dwyer, prosecuting, that in a statement taken the day after Ms Forde’s death, Ms O’Rorke detailed how she had started as a cleaner for Ms Forde but they developed “a bond and a friendship”.

She told gardaí they would spend a lot of time together and go for lunch two or three times a week.

The accused described how Ms Forde’s multiple sclerosis was getting worse and was aggravated by a car crash in 2008 which hospitalised them both and left Ms Forde permanently confined to a wheelchair.

She said Ms Forde was “angry but accepting” of her disease; “She had done a lot of research; she knew how disease would progress.”

She said Ms Forde began to talk about Dignitas, a euthanasia clinic in Zurich. She said that “she didn’t want to end up in a home”, the court heard.

“I supported her because it was something she wanted. I supported her on her decision,” Ms O’Rorke said.

She said they booked a trip to Dignitas. The court earlier heard that gardaí intervened and stopped them travelling after a tip-off from the travel agent.

Ms O’Rorke said she didn’t understand the legal implications of going with Ms Forde, claiming she was unaware it was an offence until she was told by gardaí.

Ms O’Rorke said Ms Forde subsequently became less open about her intentions. She said she started clearing out her house and giving away things, claiming it was “to make room for the wheelchair”.

She said Ms Forde also made a new draft of her will.

Ms O’Rorke last saw Ms Forde on the day before her death. Ms Forde told her she loved her and gave her two cards. “I had a gut feeling something was going to happen but I knew I couldn’t stop it,” Ms O’Rorke said.

The accused said she found out her friend was dead when she asked a neighbour to check in on her the next day.

Ms O’Rorke said she remembers sending €400 via Western Union to Mexico on behalf of Ms Forde in the weeks before her death. She never asked what this was for as Ms Forde was always shopping online.

“I had no prior knowledge of what [the money] was for and if I had I would have refused, especially after Dignitas,” she said.

The trial continues.

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