Kingston, N.Y. — An 85-year-old man accused of helping a person die by suicide in Upstate New York has been charged with manslaughter.
The uncommon arrest was made after a nearly three-month investigation into a death in a motel room in the Hudson Valley.
The investigation began at 11:15 a.m. on Nov. 9 when a person was found unresponsive and unconscious at Super 8 by Wyndham Kingston in Kingston. No information about the person who died has been released.
At first, it appeared the person had died by suicide while alone in a 487 Washington Ave. motel room, the City of Kingston Police Department said in a news release. But evidence soon revealed a man from Arizona who “contributed to or assisted in the suicide” had been present when the person died, police said.
Stephen P. Miller was arrested Friday on an arrest warrant charging him with second-degree manslaughter for aiding or causing a suicide, Kingston police said. The Tuscon man was also charged with first-degree assault and second-degree assault, both felonies.
Miller was not related to the person who died, police said. No additional information — including how the Arizona man knew the person or ended up assisting with a suicide in New York — was immediately released.
Medical aid in dying, or assisted suicide, is not legal in New York state.
Miller was arraigned in Ulster County Court, where police said his bail was set at $500,000 cash, a $1,000,000 bond or a $3,000,000 partially secured bond. He posted a bond and was released from custody on the day of his arrest, VINE records show.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal feelings, help is available 24/7 at the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988.
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