(KETV) – Matthew Stubbendieck has been sentenced to four years probation and 25 days in the Cass County Jail for assisting in his girlfriend’s suicide, a judge ruled Monday. Stubbendieck will serve five days in jail on the anniversary of Alicia Wilemon-Sullivan’s death over the next four years in addition to five days immediately, Judge Michael Smith ruled.
“I hope you realize the significance of those dates,” Judge Smith said during the hearing.
Investigators found Wilemon-Sullivan dead in a wooded area of Cass County on August 5, 2017. Prosecutors say Stubbendieck let her bleed out over the course of several hours after she had slit her wrists on August 1. Correspondence between Wilemon-Sullivan and Stubbendieck revealed she made the trip from Florida to commit suicide in Nebraska with Stubbendieck’s help. “I’ll quote Alicia’s parents here from the victim impact statement,” Cass County Attorney Colin Palm said, “‘Alicia needed a friend at that time, not an enabler or facilitator.'”
Palm told Judge Smith that Stubbendieck had multiple chances to steer his girlfriend away from suicide, but he chose not to. “He chose to help her die,” Palm said. CONTINUE