An unnamed man who attempted to kill himself and his wife by administering an insulin overdose will avoid jail time after being shown mercy by a Melbourne judge.
The incident occurred days before the couple were due to be separated after more than 50 years of marriage, so the wife could be moved to a secure dementia unit.
“I would prefer to end this peacefully,” he wrote in a letter to his son and daughter.
The man was convicted in Victoria’s Supreme Court after a guilty plea, but Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said he would serve no jail time.
“Where offending has occurred not because of anger or greed or other base motives, but rather from love for the victim and the desire to end their suffering, a modified approach to the issue of remorse is appropriate,” she said.
