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Los Osos man murder charge dropped to assisting suicide

December 14, 2012

Gewynn Taylor

The San Luis Obispo county District Attorney’s Office reduced the charge against an 86-year-old Los Osos man from murder to assisted suicide in the death of his 81-year-old wife.

George Taylor told a ranger at Montana de Oro State Park that he agreed to a suicide pact with his wife, Gewynn Taylor prior to her death Monday. Thursday, George Taylor appeared in court, and Judge Ginger Garrett ruled that he can live with his daughter as opposed to returning to jail if he gets counseling.

Taylor did not succeed in his attempt to commit suicide along side his wife at Montana de Oro on Monday and began to drive away with his wife’s body in the car. But, a park ranger stopped Taylor’s car around 11:30 p.m. and discovered that the man had cuts on his wrists and neck. Taylor said he tried to suffocate himself but did not succeed.

Taylor told the ranger that the couple tried committing suicide because they were extremely depressed.

After receiving treatment for his injuries Taylor spent Tuesday and Wednesday in jail on a murder charge. Many supporters of Taylor attended his afternoon hearing Thursday, where the charge changed to assisted suicide.

Taylor will receive a mental health evaluation Friday and is scheduled to appear in court again on December 19. Taylor is represented by attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu.

Both of the Taylors made weekly appearances at San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors meeting and spoke regularly on issues pertaining to Los Osos. In February 2011, Gewynn Taylor warned Supervisor Bruce Gibson during public comment that his claim that Los Osos residents could use equity in their home to cover sewer project costs could lead to residents committing suicide.

 


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I hope that, in time, Mr. Taylor will realize that maybe he was left in this world for a purpose, whether to help his daughter, or to honor the memory and work of his wife. Sometimes, things happen for a reason, impossible for us to understand at the time, but for a reason, nonetheless.


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Drop all charges. Leaving this physical plane should not be a crime and assisting another is an act of mercy. What a dysfunctional society.

I wish I had known of their plans, I would have helped them to either stay or leave with dignity.


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You’re right, assisted suicide is an act of mercy. However, YOU are dysfunctional to believe it’s okay for yourself or any other deranged person to be the assister. The person desiring death deserves some sort o representation/evaluation from a sane professional or loved one before any life-ending action is taken. If suicide remains their goal after that, by all means I wish them farewell. Death is forever and George was in no position to be a party in his wife’s decision.


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Talk about a hypocritcal and contradictive statement. YOU state that representive or love one should be consulted before action in taken. Then YOU state that George was in no position. REALLY!!! The guy was married to her for 50+ years (if I remember right). So his fifty years of love doesn’t qualify him??!!!!! Then what the hell does in your dysfunctional world?


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Wouldn’t it be great if everybody attending one of the public speaking segments of a LOCSD could simply play a recording of her testimony? It obviously didn’t get through then. The stuffed suit sent by the county to basically render the voter’s decision null and void should be made to listen again and again and again. At some point, they seem to have forgotten their roles as public servants. When they shot down the voter’s decision and came in like gang busters with their “Cease and Desist Orders” I knew that something had definitely gone haywire. I wasn’t suicidal over it but the psychological, financial and physical impact was horrific to many.

The telling scientific evidence that showed approximately 2% of the total E. Coli count was of human origin was completely ignored by the powers that be.

The financial impact on people like the Taylors was completely ignored by the powers that be.

Didn’t the constitution of the United States address such issues… as to what we as a society were to do should the government overstep it’s bounds?


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Great post. I not suicidal either, but, I question my sanity. How do people, particularly the Board of Supervisors, sleep at night knowing that their decisions will cause economic hardship and/or force some people out of their LO homes? How is this OK with everyone?


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It’s all politics with them. They agree to vote a certaiin way in turn they get remuneration (in some form) for having done so.


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We have had three supervisors that are just not equipped with the moral compass that most people have. They have acted as little dictators in pushing their programs on this county. One, in particular, operates by trying to degrade and ridicule his opponents (people who disagree with him)–Colab, and the Los Osos Sewer opponents.

This supervisor has openly ignored people speaking (checking his computer), and is responsible for the derisive name given to the sewer opponents. He called COLAB racist for having a nationally known comedian who imitated presidents perform at one of their meetings. Another was “busy” having an affair with his employee, and arrogantly tells homeowners in Los Osos to use the equity in their homes to pay their sewer fees. What if they don’t have the equity to pay the costs, then what?


Because of these three supervisors, the county just shut down as far as trying to help residents in Los Osos who won’t be able to pay the sewer costs. We all need to be concerned because these overreaching government mandates causing people to lose their homes and property are being brought up in our county through the EnergyWise (climate control) Plan pushed through and approved by the Patterson, Hill, and Gibson. Any of us in the county could suddenly be required to make so many costly “improvements” to our homes/property that we would have to sell or walk away.


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This is a real tragedy and it’s ironic that George is probably far more depressed now that he no longer has his wife at his side.


George, his family and his friends all have my best wishes.


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Both my parents lived into their 80’s. While they didn’t have financial problems, they had plenty of physical problems. I can only say that if something like this had occurred with my parents, I know that my father would not have been able to continue on with life without my mother under circumstances such as these.


As much as I would have wanted to help him and tried, I believe that I would have had to let him go and be with her. I feel for the daughter as she can’t keep her eye on him every second. Yet, home is certainly where he belongs and should be.


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I posted on other article right before this article posted. It is better here.


Well now that the charge has been changed to assisted suicide, the D.A. should do the right thing and drop the charges. He should do it under the precept of simular cases. Example when a fire arm has accidently discharged and killed a man’s kid, they will drop charges, figuring they will suffer more with their carelessness.


Here the case is easily made that George is not a threat to society, the man is going to suffer terribly with guilt and it was not done with malice.


There is nothing to be gained in persuing this any further. Charge him, (for paper works sake) then drop all charges. The man has suffered enough. I don’t know you George but God Bless and I wish you what peace you can find in your remaining years.


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