
A man shot his doctor to death in Indiana after his wife wasn't prescribed opioids to treat her pain, according to media reports.
A man in Indiana shot his doctor to death before turning the gun on himself after his wife wasn’t prescribed opioids, according to reports. Authorities believe 48-year-old Michael Jarvis shot 56-year-old Dr. Todd Graham because he was upset that Graham wouldn’t prescribe his wife opioid painkillers.
Jarvis confronted Graham in the St. Joseph Rehabilitation Institute parking lot in Mishawaka, and shot the doctor twice in the head before fleeing and then shooting himself. It happened shortly after Jarvis and his wife Petra visited Graham at the medical center.
Petra, who was reportedly seeking a remedy for her pain, was a new patient of Graham’s. Graham told the couple that even though Petra suffered from pain, he wouldn’t be prescribing any painkillers.
St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter said in a news conference that Graham did the right thing by not prescribing the painkillers. “He did what we ask our doctors to do. Don’t over-prescribe opioids.”
Authorities believe Jarvis returned to the center without his wife’s knowledge and approached the doctor in the parking lot. He then reportedly told two witnesses to leave the area before pulling the trigger. He then went to a friend’s house, where he shot himself, police believe.
“Make no mistake, this was a person who made a choice to kill Dr. Graham,” Cotter told WSBT 22. “This is not a fallout from an opioid epidemic or opioid problems. This was a person who made that choice.”
Around 1.3 million Americans have been hospitalized for issues related to opioids and painkillers. Authorities have called opioid abuse an epidemic in this country, as it is not the leading cause of death for people under age 50.
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