KINGSTON – An Arizona man has been convicted in Ulster County Court of assisted suicide in the death of a woman in Kingston.
Stephen Miller, 85, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to five years of probation by Judge Bryan Rounds.
The conviction stems from an incident on November 9, 2023, when an individual was found unresponsive by the cleaning staff at the Super 8 Motel in the City of Kingston.
Authorities determined the death was a homicide. The victim’s name has been withheld at the request of the family.
The ensuing investigation uncovered that Miller had traveled from Arizona and had been with the victim a short time before and at the time of death and had procured the instruments used to cause the person’s death.
District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji said Miller has taken accountability for his conduct in Ulster County. “His actions led to the death of another person in this community at her most desperate time.”
Nneji said the state legislature has not passed an assisted suicide law, “and as DA I cannot closed my eyes to that fact regardless of any mitigating considerations lest we open a pandora’s box for subterfuge and ill motives to excuse homicides as assisted suicide.”
He said it is “best to direct or assist the person to the resources that are available through medical, psychiatric, and family interventions.”
Nneji said anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts and for families with loved ones who are struggling with pain or substance use disorder, should reach out for help by contacting the Ulster County Department of Mental Health at 845-340-4110, review resources in the county, or by calling 988 for the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
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