Press Release - District Attorney Secures Indictments for Manslaughter in Assisted Suicide Case & Agreement with Final Exit Network

Boulder County, Colo. - On February 18, 2024, officers from the Louisville Police Department responded to a suicide at The Lodge at Balfour. The Lodge at Balfour is an independent living facility for older residents in Louisville. Officers discovered the deceased, a 91-year-old female resident named Mildred “Milsy” Roller (DOB: 07/22/1932). Milsy lived alone at Balfour and was found by staff with a clear bag over her head. The bag had a plastic tube attached that ran to a gas flow regulator connected to a green nitrogen gas bottle. Officers also found a suicide note, which had been dated for “Feb 5, 2024” crossed out and replaced with “Feb 18, 2024.”

The Louisville Police Department investigated the case and determined that Milsy’s daughter, Kim Roller, and her son-in-law, David Norton, aided Milsy in committing suicide.

Colorado's End-of-Life Options Act, adopted in December 2016, permits terminally ill adults to request and receive prescribed medication for the purpose of ending their life in a peaceful manner. Under the law, there are specific requirements and a mandated process. Hospitals throughout the metro area offer information and assistance in this process. Importantly, the law also includes safeguards to ensure that a person is terminally ill and that the decision is not being guided by any improper influence. Those safeguards include, for example, the involvement of a medical professional and a witness to the person’s request who is not entitled to any portion of the individual’s estate upon his or her death. These requirements were not complied with in this death. 

Louisville Police learned that Kim Roller purchased a 20 lb. industrial nitrogen bottle from Airgas in Dacono, Colorado, which Milsy used to commit suicide. In addition, the Louisville Police Department determined that David Norton purchased a gas flow regulator from Amazon and then helped Milsy install the gas flow regulator to the nitrogen tank purchased by Kim Roller.

Kim Roller was present with her sister, Nancy Norton, when Milsy took her life. David Norton was waiting outside of Balfour in his car. The monthly bill for Balfour was approximately $6,980 a month and her own savings account had approximately $655,540 in it. The defendants were beneficiaries, along with other surviving children.  

The District Attorney’s Office presented the case to the Grand Jury. On January 8, 2026, following a lengthy investigation, the Grand Jury returned indictments against both Kim Roller and David Norton for Manslaughter (Caused or Aided Suicide) § 18-3-104(1)(b), C.R.S. 2024.

The investigation revealed that information about the use of nitrogen to commit suicide was obtained from the Final Exit Network. The Final Exit Network is a national organization that conducts workshops and provides information about suicide. They provide presentations across the country, including in Colorado. The Final Exit Network also runs the Exit Guide Program, in which Final Exit provides individualized support to people seeking to end their life.

As a result of this investigation, the District Attorney’s Office secured an agreement from the Final Exit Network. The Final Exit Network has agreed to make changes to the materials provided at public workshops, how workshops are conducted, and to the Final Exit Guide Program. The changes include:

• Improve awareness of Colorado’s End-of-Life Options Act and medical aid in dying (MAID);
• Caution public workshop attendees that if someone assists another in ending their life outside of the restrictions set forth in Colorado’s End-of-Life Options Act, the person providing such assistance could face potential prosecution under Colorado law;
• No longer include nitrogen demonstrations, step-by-step instructions, or providing attendees with equipment lists at public workshops;
• Ensure that the individual is mentally capable, acting voluntarily, and not being coerced; and
• Revise its document-retention policy to retain paperwork for one year following a guided exit.

DA Michael Dougherty stated, "Our office understands and supports the right of Coloradans to avail themselves of medical aid in dying, as prescribed under law. The law provides requirements and safeguards that were not followed here. I appreciate the thorough analysis and effort by the investigators and prosecutors as well as the grand jurors who worked through all the evidence. The changes required of Final Exit Network will, also, clarify what is -- and is not -- legally permitted in Colorado.”

               As in every criminal case, these charges are merely an accusation and

                the defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.