Man convicted in assisted suicide case is sentenced to 85 months in prison

Bruce Haughton and Katherine Goddard both got into a car rigged to feed fumes back into itself. She died, but he was saved by paramedics.

By Jonathan Simmons
| 4:20 p.m. August 16, 2019

Bruce Haughton in court before his conviction (File photo)

Palm Coast Observer
Crime

Bruce Haughton, the 54-year-old Palm Coast man convicted of "assisting self-murder" for his role in a suicide pact that resulted in the death of his girlfriend, has been sentenced to 85 months in prison, or about seven years, plus seven years of probation.

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins in a hearing the afternoon of Aug. 16 denied Haughton's motion for a downward departure of sentence, finding no mitigating evidence to warrant it, but did grant Haughton credit for 730 days worth of time already served at the county jail, according to State Attorney's Office spokesman Bryan Shorstein.

Haughton had made a suicide pact with his girlfriend, Katherine Goddard, 52, in which both got into a car that they had rigged to feed carbon monoxide fumes back into itself, according to Sheriff's Office reports and court testimony.

Goddard's daughter found them both unconscious in the car in the family's garage on June 30, 2017, and called 911. Goddard died, but Haughton was revived by paramedics. He initially told deputies he didn't remember what had happened, but later admitted to helping Goddard rig the car and seal the garage.