Ex-Doctor Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter for Role in N.Y. Woman’s Suicide

Stephen P. Miller, 85, traveled from Arizona to New York to assist in a woman's suicide, prosecutors said

An 85-year-old former doctor from Arizona has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in a New York woman’s suicide.

Stephen P. Miller was sentenced to five years of probation — which he will serve in Tuscon, Ariz. — as part of the plea agreement entered in Ulster County Court in N.Y. on Tuesday, Sept. 3, according to the Associated Press, The New York Times and Times Union.

Prosecutors said Miller was arrested after traveling from Arizona to Kingston, N.Y., on Nov. 8, 2023, to assist with the suicide of the woman, who was identified by the New York Times as 59-year-old Doreen Brodhead.

Court documents cited by Times Union state Miller picked up the woman at her home and bought a nitrogen gas tank before driving to a Super 8 Motel in the city.

The next day, on Nov. 9, 2023, motel cleaning staff found the woman’s body, according to a previous press release shared by the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office. Investigators said at the time that the victim “died by means of assisted suicide.”

Miller was initially indicted on charges of second-degree manslaughter and assault, according to the district attorney’s office. If convicted on all counts, he would have faced up to 25 years in prison, per the N.Y. Times. According to New York State law, manslaughter is permitted to be charged for aiding another person’s suicide, the outlet reported.

Miller’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said Miller spoke with Brodhead for about six months before her death, with Miller telling authorities it was an “act of mercy,” the N.Y. Times reported. According to the outlet, Brodhead’s family said she had dealt with chronic back and neck pain for decades.

According to the Associated Press, Lichtman claimed Miller provided "very slight technical assistance" to a woman who couldn't bear her pain.

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“Technically, he violated the law,” Lichtman told reporters, per the AP. “We accept that, but with the understanding that morally, Stephen Miller did nothing wrong.”

Lichtman added that his client, who belongs to Choice and Dignity, an end-of-life advocacy group in Arizona, still supports assisted suicide, but will not personally provide assistance regarding the matter in the future, the AP reports.

“That part of his life is over,” Lichtman said, according to the publication.

Per The New York Times, Miller obtained his medical degree in 1964 and has worked as a doctor in several states, including Illinois, Massachusetts, California and Texas.

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