U.S. woman appears in Alberta court charged with aiding mother’s suicide

HINTON, Alta. – A U.S. woman charged with aiding the suicide of her mother in an Alberta mountain town has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment.

The defence lawyer for Linda Jean McNall has told court it’s possible the woman may have a mental disorder and could be found not criminally responsible for the alleged crime.

McNall, who is 53, appeared with her lawyer by video in Hinton provincial court, but did not say a word.

Her mother, Shirley Vann, was found dead last month inside a vehicle in front of the hospital in Hinton, about 300 kilometres west of Edmonton.

The Crown says there’s some indication the woman, in her 70s, was poisoned by carbon monoxide, but autopsy results are not complete.

Prosecutor Bob Marr believes the women were from Arizona or Idaho and had been on holiday in Canada for about three weeks.