Former nurse charged with aiding suicides via web

mernil writes: A former US nurse has been charged with two counts of aiding suicides on the internet, US officials say. William Melchert-Dinkel, 47, is accused of encouraging the suicides of Mark Drybrough from Coventry, UK in 2005 and Canada's Nadia Kajouji in 2008. Mr Melchert-Dinkel from Minnesota allegedly posed as a female nurse, instructing people in suicide chatrooms how to take their lives. He reportedly admitted helping five or fewer people kill themselves. Some legal experts say it could be difficult to prosecute Mr Melchert-Dinkel under a rarely used law because he allegedly only encouraged the victims to kill themselves, without physically helping them to take their lives.