Police arrested a woman on Friday on suspicion of disconnecting an elderly patient’s respirator at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, leading to his death.
Doctors said they found the 97-year-old man – who was hospitalized earlier this week on Memorial Day with an unspecified illness – disconnected from the machine and forced to declare him dead overnight.
Police said they launched an investigation and detained a 33-year-old man suspected of involvement.
Hebrew media outlets reported that the woman acted as a caregiver for the man and his late wife.
The suspect’s defense counsel said that his client denied the allegations and claimed that the elderly patient died of natural causes.
He is set to attend a hearing at the Haifa Magistrate’s Court on Friday afternoon, where the police are expected to request an extension of his remand.
A police officer told Channel 12 News that if evidence is found against the suspect, they may launch a murder investigation.
