James Lancing Silcox, an 84-year-old Male, was remembered by those who knew him as a kind, gentle, and caring man. A veteran of the Second World War, he served for four years in Italy, Holland, and Belgium with the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. After the war, he worked for over 30 years at Standard Tube in his hometown of Woodstock, Ontario. He was a man of deep faith, active in his church, and a longtime member of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Moose Lodge.
Above all, he was a devoted family man, married to his wife, Agnes, for over 63 years, and a protective, loving father to their six children.
In the summer of 2007, Mr. Silcox, who was living with severe Alzheimer's, became a resident at the Caressant Care nursing home in Woodstock. His family had concerns about the care he was receiving, particularly after he sustained an unexplained broken hip at the facility. On August 11, 2007, only a short time after moving into the home, Mr. Silcox died. At the time, his death was considered unexpected but was not deemed suspicious. His family, though grieving, had no reason to believe his passing was anything other than the result of his declining health.
For nine years, the truth of Mr. Silcox's death remained hidden. The family was unaware that he was the first murder victim of Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer, a registered nurse at Caressant Care who would go on to become one of Canada's most prolific serial killers. It wasn't until the fall of 2016 that a police investigation was launched after Wettlaufer, who also went by the name Bethe Parker, confessed her crimes to staff at a psychiatric hospital. She admitted to killing eight senior citizens and attempting to murder or harm six others in her care between 2007 and 2016.
The investigation revealed that Wettlaufer had murdered Mr. Silcox by injecting him with a fatal dose of insulin. She would later tell police that she felt a "red surging feeling" and believed God was telling her to kill. The news was a devastating shock to Mr. Silcox's family, who learned of the horrific circumstances of his death from news reports. His son, Daniel Silcox, described the experience as "horrific," stating, "We're living my father's death right now." The family was heartbroken to learn that his last words were reportedly, "I'm sorry, I love you."
On June 1, 2017, Elizabeth Wettlaufer pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, and two counts of aggravated assault. Because she pleaded guilty, there was no trial. During the sentencing hearing, family members gave emotional victim impact statements. Mr. Silcox's son David expressed profound guilt, saying, "I simply feel guilty for not being able to protect my father as he had protected me." The judge called Wettlaufer "the shadow of death" and a complete betrayal of trust.
Wettlaufer was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The case prompted a public inquiry into the systemic failures in Ontario's long-term care system that allowed her to continue her crimes for nearly a decade. For the Silcox family, the legal resolution brought a desire for closure. "We just want closure," his son Dan said after the guilty plea. "We want to see the sentencing and then we never want to see her again." They remember their father not as a victim, but as a wonderful, compassionate, and loving man who was the best father in the world.
