Demjanjuk Witness Takes Overdose, Cuts Wrist, Israel Says

JERUSALEM — A defense witness in the trial of accused Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk was in satisfactory condition today after an apparent suicide attempt, according to state-run Israeli radio.

Anita Prichard of Houston, a Swedish-born photographic analyst called as a defense witness in Demjanjuk’s trial this week, “took an overdose and cut her wrist,” said Kol Israel, the state-run Voice of Israel radio service.

A guest at Jerusalem’s American Colony hotel, where Prichard was staying, said she showed “acute depression” after “tough and unrelenting cross-examination by the prosecution” at the trial.

Prichard’s testimony was intended to demonstrate that the prosecution used flawed methods to identify Demjanjuk from a photograph on a Nazi identity card.