Friday, May 22, 1998
A Xenia, Ohio, woman stricken with lung cancer is thought to be the latest client of assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian.
The body of Emma Kassa, 68, was delivered to William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, on Tuesday night by Dr. Kevorkian, said Bill Presley, an investigator with the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office in Pontiac, Mich.
She was taken to the medical examiner's office that night, where an autopsy Wednesday showed she died of poisoning through intravenous injection, he said.
The death was ruled a homicide.
Ms. Kassa's body was released Thursday morning to the Korkoian Funeral Home in Royal Oak, Mr. Presley said.
The type of poisoning will be learned following the completion of toxicology tests within the next two weeks, he said.
The Royal Oak Police Department is investigating.
Ms. Kassa is survived by daughters Ildiko Marcus of Xenia, Aniko Gayhart of Johnstown, Pa., and Reka Koslowski, of Cleveland; and a son, Attila Kassa, of Denver.
"It's a private matter, and I really have no comment," Ms. Marcus said when reached at her home.
The family has asked that any contributions be made to Hospice of Clinton County.
Dr. Kevorkian has acknowledged attending more than 100 deaths. He has been acquitted in three trials involving five deaths and went free after a mistrial.
The family of Elizabeth Mercz, 59, of Colerain Township, said she obtained Dr. Kevorkian's help to kill herself in August, 1996. She suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is incurable and slowly robs victims of control of their bodies.
