"The medical examiner's opinion is a medical opinion, which is that the stabbing contributed to her death,"
That statement from the medical examiner had me laughing like crazy (yeah, I'm going to hell, I know). I love it when people get bogged down in semantics Yes, the ultimate cause of her death was blood loss, and the loss was caused due to her numerous stab wounds--therefore the stabbing 'contributed' to her death. It was the precipitating event in the the chain of circumstances that led to her eventual death, and therefore techinically is a contributing factor. It's logical, I'll give it that.
I have a cousin who is a pathologist, and one of her favorite jokes is: "Everyone who has ever lived has died of exactly the same condition: Cardiac Arrest"
Regardless of her choice to not accept a blood transfusion, the stabbing is the event that set the stage for her eventual demise, and the man is culpable for his actions. I do believe, however, that she shares some of the responsibility for her death in that she refused treatment that likely would have eliminated the stated cause of death (blood loss). Factor in the diminished mental capacity of her attacker, and you've got an impressive legal quagmire to wade through.
A mother is dead, her mentally ill son will likely not see freedom again due to his actions. That poor family.