Ex-nurse convicted of assisting suicides over internet

A former US nurse who admitted going online and encouraging people to kill themselves has been convicted of assisting the suicide of an English man and attempting to assist in the suicide of a Canadian woman.

The conviction of William Melchert-Dinkel follows a legal battle that has spanned more than four years and led to the reversal of part of a Minnesota law that outlaws the practice.

Rice County District Judge Thomas Neuville ruled that the state proved that Melchert-Dinkel, 52, assisted in the suicide of Mark Drybrough, 32, of Coventry, England.