Canadian police have opened a criminal investigation into the death of an 83-year-old Christian grandmother whose family alleges she was euthanized despite being confused about the procedure and previously expressing opposition to assisted death.
Brigitte Stegemann, known to her family as “GG” or “Oma,” died July 10 at The Pearl, a long-term care home in Cannifton, Ontario, after undergoing Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying program, commonly known as MAiD.
A spokesperson for Belleville Police confirmed to the Daily Mail that authorities are now examining the circumstances surrounding her death.
“This incident is currently open and under investigation with our Criminal Investigations Division,” the spokesperson said. “We are unable to provide any additional information at this time.”
Stegemann had been diagnosed with Stage IV stomach cancer in February. According to the Daily Mail, however, doctors had not determined whether she had approximately six months or as long as two years to live. Her granddaughter, Brigitte Kranendonk, had served as her caregiver for 12 years and held medical power of attorney for six.
Kranendonk told the Daily Mail that her grandmother had previously been presented with the possibility of MAiD and rejected it.
“No, I don’t want that,” Stegemann reportedly said.
According to Kranendonk, her grandmother’s Christian faith played an important role in that opposition.
The situation changed while Kranendonk and her husband were away on a 10-day trip in June. Near the end of their trip, she was informed that a MAiD assessment was being arranged for her grandmother. After returning, she learned that Stegemann had already undergone an initial consultation without her being notified, according to the Daily Mail.
Kranendonk said she became particularly concerned during a subsequent assessment because she believed her grandmother did not understand what was being discussed. Stegemann was 83, severely hearing impaired and spoke English as a second language, according to her granddaughter.
During a cognitive assessment, Stegemann reportedly gave incorrect answers about her own family, at one point saying she had no siblings despite having had 13 and saying none were still living although two were alive. Nevertheless, according to Kranendonk, a doctor subsequently determined that Stegemann was eligible to proceed with MAiD.
Two days before the scheduled procedure, Kranendonk said she decided to explain explicitly to her grandmother what was about to happen.
“Do you know that you’re going to die on Friday?” she recalled asking.
According to the Daily Mail, Stegemann became distraught and cried for approximately 45 minutes.
“I’ve made a mistake,” she reportedly said.
Kranendonk told the Daily Mail she reassured her grandmother that she could refuse the procedure, telling her, “The doctors are coming on Friday, and you just say no.”
Despite those concerns, the MAiD procedure went forward on July 10.
Kranendonk alleges that the morning was chaotic and that her grandmother was confused. She said a nurse struggled to establish an IV, repeatedly piercing Stegemann’s arm and causing substantial bleeding. She also alleged that the nurse was not wearing gloves.
According to Kranendonk, when the doctor arrived, Stegemann was told she would be given “medicine” and was asked whether that was acceptable.
“My Oma is not moving. She doesn’t open her eyes. She doesn’t nod. She doesn’t say anything,” Kranendonk recalled. She said the doctor then stated, “Okay, well, I’m going to proceed.”
Stegemann was pronounced dead within approximately 10 minutes.
Kranendonk maintains that her grandmother never clearly consented to the procedure in her presence.
“All I saw was her not understanding the process,” she told the Daily Mail.
She also says she has been unable to obtain the paperwork her grandmother allegedly signed authorizing MAiD.
“I don’t know who the witness was. I don’t know how they explained the paperwork to her. I don’t know what they said to her. I have no idea,” Kranendonk said.
The Daily Mail reported that the MAiD practitioners and care home have not publicly commented on the allegations but maintain that Stegemann legally consented to the procedure.
Kranendonk is seeking answers through the Ontario Chief Coroner’s Office, the Patient Ombudsman and Belleville Police. She alleges that safeguards intended to ensure informed and voluntary consent were not properly followed.
LifeSiteNews reported that the case has drawn renewed attention to concerns surrounding Canada’s rapidly expanding MAiD system. According to the Daily Mail, MAiD accounted for 4.7 percent of deaths in Canada in 2023.
For Catholics, the circumstances described by Stegemann’s family also touch directly upon the Church’s teaching concerning the dignity of human life at its most vulnerable stages.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that euthanasia, regardless of motive or means, is “morally unacceptable,” while also emphasizing that ordinary care owed to a sick person should not be interrupted and that legitimate decisions to forgo disproportionate medical treatment are distinct from euthanasia.
Kranendonk told the Daily Mail that since her grandmother’s death, she has turned increasingly toward her faith.
She has “settled a lot into prayer,” according to the report, and hopes that sharing her family’s experience will help other families and caregivers better understand the questions they may face when a vulnerable loved one is approaching death.
For now, whether Canadian MAiD law and its safeguards were followed in Stegemann’s case remains under investigation. Her granddaughter continues to insist that one fundamental question has never been adequately answered: whether her grandmother truly understood and freely consented to the procedure that ended her life.
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