Is There a Doctor Death Jr. in the House?

Dr. Jack Kevorkian may be behind bars, serving a 10-to-25-year sentence for murder, but authorities in New Mexico suspect that one of his associates may be carrying on his work in their state. A year ago, Donna Brennan, 54, was found dead in her Rio Rancho, N.M., home. She had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for more than 20 years, but an autopsy revealed she died from a lethal dose of pentobarbital. A neighbor told police that the morning Brennan died, she had been visited by a man named George. The authorities identified him as Georges Reding, 74, a retired Galesburg, Mich., psychiatrist and an associate of Kevorkian's.

The identification came as no surprise to Michigan authorities: They had arrested Reding with Kevorkian when the two men allegedly dropped off a body at a Detroit hospital. Reding was found innocent of charges stemming from the incident. He had also been suspected in three previous assisted-suicide cases in Michigan but not prosecuted. He now faces first-degree murder charges in New Mexico. Charlie Brown, the deputy district attorney of Sandoval County, says he isn't interested in debate about assisted suicide, which is against the law in New Mexico. "I'm just trying to keep it a simple murder case," he says.