90-Day Workhouse Sentence Imposed For Assisted Suicide

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -- A suburban Twin Cities man will spend 90 days in a county workhouse for assisting in the asphyxiation death of his wife.

Thomas Houck earlier pleaded guilty to helping his 59-year-old wife, Linda Conrad, end her life last summer. Officials say she suffered from chronic migraines, severe stomach pain and depression.

The Star Tribune reports statutes call for up to 15 years in prison upon conviction for assisted suicide. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says the judge gave Houck a lighter sentence last week "probably because both the mother and ex-husband of the victim sent letters of support" on his behalf.

A criminal complaint says Houck admitted helping his wife make a hood out of the plastic bag, then held it over her head and turned on nitrogen gas.

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