After Marrying a Patient He Groomed, a Canadian Doctor Murdered Another

A 2024 study found 689 patients—585 of whom identify as women and girls—self-reported harassment, discrimination and/or assault occurring from 208 physicians across Canada. Four provinces have laws that recognize and punish physicians for sexual misconduct.

British Columbia did not have any such legislation at the time when Dr. Josephakis “Joe” Charalambous committed his crimes there. Charalambous was convicted of murder of his former patient, Sian Simmonds, though he’d been engaged in illegal activity with patients for years prior to Simmonds’ 1993 killing. Lifetime’s The Monster She Married is based on the book Fatal Prescription: A Doctor Without Remorse by John Griffiths, which covers Charalambous' case.

Charalambous immigrated from Cyprus to Canada at age 8, and his severe—yet estranged—father dominated the family. In contrast, Charalambous’ mother doted on him. Still, Charalambous developed an intense disrespect toward women. Upon adulthood, Charalambous sought prostitutes to satiate his domineering and sexual appetites.

While working as a part-time karate instructor, Charalambous faced an allegation that he molested one student in 1974; he was convicted of common assault four years later.

Charalambous pursued the medical profession mainly as a means to attract women, and he grew frustrated when they didn’t come to him. Then, in his early 30s, he met Shelley Joel, a 12-year-old patient who attended his practice with her parents. By the time she was 15, Charalambous had groomed and alienated Shelley from her family to the point where the two were cohabiting in a sexual relationship.

Charalambous married Joel when she came of age—likely to avoid censure from the British Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons—but he continued seeing prostitutes and molesting young female patients, according to Fatal Prescription. Charalambous was charged with assaulting a house guest who refused his advances in 1985, but legal proceedings on those charges paused. The doctor was also charged with eight counts of sexual assault between 1985 and 1998, seven related to complaints from former patients, according to court documents. He denied any sexual offenses.

Sian Simmonds and her older sister, Katie, were patients of Charalambous for 10 years. And while other sexual assault victims under his care remained silent, the two sisters chose to tell their parents about Charalambous’ inappropriate behaviour. With their father’s help, the young women filed a complaint with the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1991.

A disciplinary hearing was set for March 1993, but Sian would never get a chance to tell her story.

On January 27, 1993, just weeks before she was set to testify against Charalambous, screams emanated from Sian’s home in Surrey, British Columbia. Soon after, she was found murdered in the basement, both shot and repeatedly clubbed to death with a blunt object. Sian was one day shy of her 20th birthday.

Authorities quickly apprehended a suspect, David Schlender, who was already on bail for an attempted murder a year earlier. As such, Schlender readily admitted he’d killed Sian—but clarified that he’d been hired to do so by another man, Brian West, as a means to wipe out a drug debt. When police dug deeper into West’s background, they came across a surprising name in connection to the crime: Charalambous.

In the lead-up to the 1994 trial, Sian’s father questioned why the disciplinary hearing had been scheduled so far in the future. Shelley—Charalambous’ now-ex-wife—testified in the non-jury hearing that her husband physically abused her and gambled away his $450,000 salary at casinos and racetracks.

Jurors learned that when Charalambous found out about Sian and Katie’s complaints, he became terrified of how the outcome would affect both his reputation and financial situation. To stop the hearing from occurring, Charalambous had enlisted West—an ex-convict he knew from a karate club—to find someone to prevent Sian and Katie from testifying against him at the hearing, though he later amended the hit to just Sian. West served as the middleman, providing weapons and information to Schlender.

Ultimately, a British Columbia Supreme Court jury found Charalambous guilty of both first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. West was ruled guilty of the same crimes in a separate trial, and Schlender had already pled guilty to second-degree murder. All three received life sentences, without the chance for parole for 25 years. West was granted parole in 2016, and Schlender died in prison in 2006.

Charalambous’ notorious case has been featured in books and podcasts, and was the subject of a 1990s episode of Inside Edition.

Behind bars, he’s been far from a model prisoner—selling and possessing contraband, getting into fights, and acting entitled and combative about television and phone privileges.

Despite his behaviour improving incrementally over the years, Charalambous has been denied day parole three times—most recently in January 2025—with the Parole Board citing his moderate-high risk as a reoffender, his refusal to participate in rehabilitation programs offered in prison and a general lack of remorse about Sian’s death.

As the Board stated at Charalambous’ 2020 parole hearing, “Any regret expressed for your past behaviours appears superficial.” The Board also concluded, “You do not appear to grasp the enormity of the harm you caused the deceased victim’s family. You appear to view the victimization from a philosophical position that does not reflect true remorse.”

Charalambous has also previously tried to strip his files of any mentions of sexual behavior, to no avail.