FORT FRANCES, Ont. -- More than nine years after 76-year-old Hermina Fletcher died in a Fort Frances hospital, the former nurse who altered her medication administration record to steal morphine for her own addiction has been sentenced to two years imprisonment.
Lindsey Coyle, 38, wiped away tears as Justice Pieter Joubert handed down his sentence in a Fort Frances courtroom on Tuesday.
In August 2022, Coyle pleaded guilty to one count of criminal negligence causing death and one count of breaching a probation order.
According to the agreed statement of facts entered into the court record, Coyle was working as a registered practical nurse at La Verendrye Hospital in Fort Frances in January 2015.
Hermina had been admitted to the hospital in December 2014 and was described as critically ill at the time.
A doctor prescribed Hermina morphine. During Coyle’s shift on Jan. 3, 2015, she altered Hermina’s medication administration record, changing her dosage from five milligrams to 10 milligrams to steal morphine to feed her addiction.
The record was not changed back and Hermina was given the increased dosage. She began to lose consciousness during the night of Jan. 4 and died that morning.
A forensic pathologist determined that on the balance of probabilities, Hermina died as a result of acute morphine toxicity.
Coyle admitted to stealing morphine from the hospital for her own personal use and being high while on the job. She was terminated from the hospital on Jan. 28, 2015, and surrendered her nursing licence a year later.
Following an investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police, Coyle was arrested in August 2019 and originally charged with second-degree murder.
During a sentencing hearing held in August 2023, Coyle’s defence counsel, Barry Sinder, called for a three-year suspended sentence, citing her expressions of remorse and her struggles with an addiction at the time.
Crown attorney David Kirk argued a two-year sentence was the only way to achieve denunciation and deterrence for such actions.
Joubert agreed with the Crown’s submission, sentencing Coyle to two years in custody.
“I have come to the conclusion that it is not appropriate to sentence Ms. Coyle to a three-year suspended sentence. It would not give effect to the serious consequences of the offence and the aggravating features of this case,” Joubert said.
“It is a terrible thing to sentence a member of the community to imprisonment, but I agree with Crown counsel that there is a heightened moral blameworthiness to this case and other aggravating circumstances, including the vulnerability of the victim and the impact on the family calls for a more serious sentence.”
Joubert did cite the mitigating factors in the case and noted that imprisonment would disrupt Coyle’s life as well as the lives of her children and family.
“It may appear to Ms. Coyle and those who support her that the sentence I am imposing is harsh,” Joubert said.
“I view this sentence to take into consideration the mitigating factors and restorative justice mitigations, as well as the personal circumstances of Ms. Coyle during the proceedings and at present.”
But Joubert added that had it not been for those mitigating factors, the sentence imposed would likely have been even higher.
On the charge of breaching a probation order, Coyle received a suspended sentence and nine months probation. She will also be required to submit a DNA sample and is subject to a weapons prohibition for 10 years.
Coyle is also to have no contact during her sentence with members of the Fletcher family.
Joubert will release his full written reasons on judgment in February 2024.
