Angel of Mercy or Murdering for Men?

You’ve probably heard stories of “mercy killings” by people in the medical profession.  I have a relative who is involved in hospice, which focuses on the palliative treatment of people with terminal illnesses.  Palliative means more than just medications for easing pain associated with certain diseases.  It also includes the emotional and psychological assistance in dealing with dying. It takes really special people to be involved with patients who are facing death.  Personally, I feel these people are angels for what they do.

For years there have been stories of “angels of mercy”. These were not caregivers for the dying. These were caregivers who expedited the dying!  People who took advantage of their positions in order to kill.

There have been doctors convicted of murdering patients (Kevorkian probably comes to mind), but less obvious have been the nurses who were killing patients. Perhaps less obvious because the nursing profession has always been revered as one of ultimate caregiving.

Some of the convicted nurses killed their patients simply because they were “annoying” or they were old. A couple noted killers only killed infants and children. One nurse killed her patients and then took selfies with them after stealing their money and jewels. One convicted nurse said she wanted to be known as the person who killed the most people. She was convicted before reaching that status.

There was a nurse who had many stories circulating about her but nothing had ever been proven or formally questioned so all the rumors remained just that, rumors.  It was rumored that she would often take care of women with terminal or serious illnesses, who were married, and who’s husbands were wealthy.  She wasn’t especially attractive. In fact, she was rather plain and quiet. She wasn’t one to draw attention to herself.  She was known to be very comforting to both the patients and their husbands, growing quite close to the family.  The families grew so attached to her that they didn’t want anyone but her caring for their loved ones. Thus, it wasn’t so surprising when she ended up dating, living with, and even marrying some of the widowers after the unexpected death of their wives.  The men found themselves suddenly alone and she was there for them.  She understood what the men were going through as she had been there day and night through the ordeal and already had developed a relationship of sorts with them.  So it seemed natural that they would turn to her for comfort.  Her nickname became the “killing concubine”.

She seemed to fly below the radar of suspicion because it never seemed foul play had been involved.  Many of the women simply passed in their sleep…or so it seemed.  Suspicions were that she was saving the unused muscle relaxants (paralyzing agents) from code blue incidents on the hospital floor and she was adding small doses to the pain medications she administered to her patients.  The pain medicine would depress respirations and the paralytic would decrease respiratory effort causing the patient breathe so slowly and shallowly that their carbon dioxide would build up further decreasing their respiratory drive.  Eventually the patient would become anoxic (without oxygen) and if left long enough, would go into cardiac arrest.   The deaths were all labeled natural causes.

As for the men, it was also rumored that if the topic of a prenuptial agreement came up before marriage that she left the man and moved on to another married man with a sick wife. She never left empty handed, however. She always managed to acquire many gifts from her grieving suitors. Large pieces of jewelry, luxury brand bags and shoes, fur coats, vacations, even cars. But when she left, she sold everything, keeping no traces of prior relationships.

When pre-nups were regrettably ignored by the grieving yet grateful men, she stayed just long enough to assure getting at least half of their worth.

It seemed questions were starting to be raised. Questions as to why she moved around the country so much. Questions about why so many jobs at so many hospitals.

She had acquired so much wealth from each widower she probably had enough saved up that she didn’t need to work ever again.  But yet, she continued seeking out nursing jobs, especially working with the terminally ill patients.  This was evidence that she wasn’t working for the money necessarily…..she was in it for “the game”, the kill.

At her last hospital job, one of her patients, who was sick but not terminal, came to a very untimely death.  The hospital started getting quite a bit of backlash and bad publicity.  The hospital didn’t fire her, but instead took her away from direct patient care and had her working in the administrative offices.

She began working on the side being a private nurse.  She took a job taking care of a wealthy business tycoon’s sick wife in the evenings and at night.  His wife was expected to fully recover when suddenly she passed away.  Three weeks later her marriage to said tycoon was announced on the front page of the local paper.

People at the hospital had noticed the large pieces of jewelry she had been wearing prior to the announcement.  Once the relationship was public the hospital again started receiving inquiries about this nurse.  It was at this time the hospital firmly suggested she leave on her own accord.  They no longer wished to be associated with this nurse.

The death of the tycoon’s wife also caused a huge uproar by her family.  It was said that the police and lawyers had been summoned, but suddenly not another word was uttered about the death, the sudden marriage, or anything else.

It wasn’t too long after her exit from the hospital that the tycoon himself had been murdered! There was quite an investigation as there were several people at the scene of the crime, each with their own motivation for killing the man.  However, some of the possible suspects themselves turned up murdered following the tycoon’s murder!  Could it have been the wife?  It didn’t fit her MO at all.  Was she even strong enough to accomplish some of the heinous acts as some were quite violent.  However, because it was a murder, the investigation continues.

Stay tuned and perhaps we will discover truth!!