CTV News has learned that Elizabeth Wettlaufer, accused in the deaths of eight long-term care patients quit her job at a care agency called Lifeguard Home Care because she wrote, “She can no longer function as a registered nurse.”

That was last August - a day after police began investigating her. Two months later she was charged with first-degree murder. She was later charged with four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with incidents which occurred while she was working as a nurse between 2007 and 2016.

The latest information comes from an unsealed warrant that is 72 pages long in the case that has rocked Southwestern Ontario.

The murder charges stem from a police investigation into seven deaths at Woodstock’s Caressant Care and one death in London at Meadow Park.

At a nursing home in Brant County – Telfer Place – Wettlaufer was asked not to return to work in April 2016 because of her behaviour toward other staff, the documents reveal.

While at Telfer Place she cared for Sandra Towler. Police charged Wettlaufter with attempted murder in relation to her care of Towler.

The documents also reveal:

  • A director of nursing at Caressant Care told police Wettlaufer was dismissed in 2014 for failing to follow insulin protocol
  • A dismissal letter is quoted that “She administered wrong medication… resident became distressed as a result. This is another incident in a pattern of behaviours that are placing residents at risk.”
  • “You have an extensive disciplinary record for medication related errors which includes warnings as well as 1,3, and 5 day suspensions,” the letter stated, noting she was  “terminated immediately.”

The police investigation on Wettlaufer began on Sept. 29, when Woodstock police say they received information that eight people had been murdered between 2007 and 2014.

Wettlaufer’s last court appearance was last Friday in Woodstock.

Wettlaufer’s lawyer, Brad Burgess, said a judicial pretrial is now underway and that more disclosure is expected on March 30. A pretrial is a conference involving the Crown attorney, the defence lawyer, the judge and the police officer in charge of the case before the actual trial begins.