The 91-year-old woman who got help with killing herself from her daughter and son-in-law did not have a terminal illness, and was not found incompetent, an unsealed grand jury indictment states. In Colorado, only terminally ill patients with less than six months to live can get medical aid in dying. Investigators said that the woman’s family caused her to kill herself anyway. Advocates also said this case did not appear to follow Colorado’s aid-in-dying law. Kim Roller, 70, and David Norton, 68, were indicted Jan. 8 and charged with manslaughter by aiding suicide, according to a Boulder County District Attorney’s Office press release. Kim Roller, the woman’s daughter, and Norton, the woman’s son-in-law, are accused of buying nitrogen gas and the accessories needed to help Kim Roller’s mother, Mildred “Milsy” Roller, kill herself. Norton is the husband of another of Mildred’s daughters, according to the indictment. Mildred Roller did not have a terminal illness, according to an autopsy reviewed by a grand jury. Under Colorado law, patients who request aid in dying must have fewer than six months to live. Boulder County District Attorney’s Office investigators and Louisville police officers reviewed Mildred Roller’s autopsy and records from Erie Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente, and found that Mildred Roller had no diagnosis for a terminal illness and was never found incompetent, the indictment states. Mildred Roller died of “asphyxia due to a bag over the head and displacement of oxygen by nitrogen gas,” Meredith Frank, a doctor in the Boulder County Coroner’s office, wrote in the autopsy opinion. Under the End-of-Life Options Act, terminally ill Coloradans can request medication for the purpose of ending their life on their terms.  Under the 2016 law, patients must have two physicians sign off on an aided death, after determining the person is terminally ill, has less than six months to live and is mentally capable of making such a decision, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health Environment. The law also aims to prevent terminally ill patients from making decisions based on outside influence, by including a medical professional and a witness, the release states. No one has been prosecuted for manslaughter under the law in Boulder County since 2018, according to the DA’s office spokesperson Shannon Carbone. Related Articles Second suspect arrested in deadly Wolff Run Park shooting 2 indicted on manslaughter charges for helping Louisville independent living facility resident kill herself Westminster homicide suspect arrested after manhunt, shooting shuts down I-70 Colorado mom, 6-year-old son found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide Man found fatally shot in south Westminster park, police say Kim Roller told police that she, Norton and her sister all knew that Mildred Roller planned to kill herself, and that she bought a nitrogen gas tank in Dacono to be used in Mildred Roller’s death, according to the indictment. The trio and Mildred Roller used resources from the Final Exit Network, a national organization promoting the right to die for the terminally ill, to learn how to use nitrogen to kill oneself, the indictment states. After Mildred Roller tried to kill herself once with the nitrogen earlier in February, Norton reportedly bought a gas flow regulator and installed it on the tank, the indictment states. One Balfour employee told police that Kim Roller called him to say that Mildred Roller killed herself. Another told police that both of Mildred Roller’s daughters, Kim Roller and her sister, were there when Mildred Roller died, the indictment states. Kim Roller told police that she was in the room, but her sister had left and that Norton waited outside, according to the indictment. Transaction details show a credit card tied to Kim S. Roller was used to purchase the nitrogen tank, and that the phone number listed at the store is the same one Kim Roller gave to police, the indictment states. Police reviewed numerous texts between Kim Roller and her sister, in which the sisters discuss Mildred Roller’s estate, their inheritances and plans to purchase equipment related to Final Exit Network resources, according to the indictment. Mildred Roller’s will stipulates that after her death, her children receive equal shares of her estate, which included a savings account with approximately $655,540 in it, the indictment states. Police also found three videos on Kim Roller’s phone showing Mildred Roller explaining her decision to kill herself. Kim Roller can be heard in one of the recordings saying, “If I didn’t get that recorded, I’m going to kill myself. That was so perfect,” according to the indictment. Patients who are suffering deserve to get the best care possible, Barbara Morris, a geriatrician and president of End of Life Options Colorado, said. Sometimes, that care means helping someone with a terminal illness choose the timing, manner and place of their death, she said. That’s why the End of Life Options law benefits Coloradans, and those thinking of taking matters into their own hands should seek out resources to help them stay safe and as healthy as possible. “I think we have to follow the law,” Morris said. “But, we do have to have some human understanding for suffering that is intolerable for that person.” Morris told the Daily Camera that the circumstances of Mildred Roller’s death don’t appear to be consistent with the law, noting that the United States does not allow patients who are not terminally ill to get aid in dying. Human suffering is not cut and dried, she said, adding that aid in dying is not the only option available to people who are struggling. That’s why people who are suffering and their families deserve compassion during difficult times. They also should have support resources to find adequate care, Morris said. “I don’t know the whole story,” Morris said. “I think we have to understand that there is a lot of suffering that we don’t always have a good medical understanding of.” Both Norton and Kim Roller were released from custody at the Boulder County Jail on Wednesday after posting a $5,000 bail. Each is scheduled for a hearing on advisement in Boulder County Jail court on Jan. 28. Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis can call or text 988, 24/7, to reach the Colorado Mental Health Line, which is free and confidential. This is a developing story and may be updated. ...read more read less