2 Final Exit Network members turn themselves in, post bond

A Maryland doctor posted bond Monday afternoon on charges he and three other members of the Final Exit Network broke Georgia law by assisting a Cumming man to commit suicide last June.

Dr. Lawrence Egbert, 81, and another Baltimore resident, Nicholas Alec Sheridan, 60, complied with a judge’s order and appeared at the Forsyth County Jail two hours ahead of their 5 p.m. deadline to be booked on charges of assisted suicide, tampering with evidence and racketeering. Each posted a $66,000 bond, in addition to the $50,000 bond required before they left Baltimore.

Their two co-defendants, Final Exit Network founder Thomas “Ted” Goodwin, 63, of Kennesaw and Punta Gorda, Fla., and Claire Blehr, 76, of Atlanta have been out on bond since Thursday.

All four are accused of assisting a nonterminal cancer patient, John Celmer, 58, to kill himself with helium. Last week, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced the completion of an undercover sting of Marietta-based Final Exit Network.