Picture a serial murderer. Does Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer come to mind? It’s doubtful you imagined a physician or nurse. And yet, they also deliberately kill hundreds of patients.
Why on earth? Why a physician or nurse? Well a man who researched this in depth, Special Agent Bruce Sackman, believes the profession draws serial murderers (rather than creates them). He uncovered four typical motives for wanting to end the lives of dozens of patients:
- money
- to collect people for research purposes
- Munchhausen’s by proxy (gaining attention for trying to rescue the patient)
- power and control
How do they get away with it? Easy. The working environment is conducive. After all, they work in privacy. They are not suspected by virtue of their profession. It’s like their white lab coat is a Kevlar vest. Medical personnel know the vulnerabilities of the human body. They have access to deadly chemicals or routine medicines that are lethal in higher doses. Their personality is such that they can easily detach from the pain they cause. And last, they understand the process of autopsies and how to circumvent lab findings.
Large medical institutions such as long-term healthcare facilities and hospitals work to the benefit of MSKs. These facilities prefer in-house “investigations” rather than call upon formal law enforcement. They duck and weave negative press. They don’t want to scare off shareholders, ruin their reputation, or risk their accreditation. They’d much rather write a neutral recommendation letter for their employee and fend them off to someone else.
Who are some of these monsters?
- J. Michael Swango, M.D., who poisoned over 60 patients (he’s pictured at left)
- Niels Hogel, a nurse who poisoned over 350 patients
- Nurse Charles Cullen with an estimated 400 or more patients whom he poisoned
- Harold Shipman, M.D. who overdosed at least 250 patients in the UK (most were elderly)
- Nurse Amelia Dyer strangled over 400 infants.
- Neonatal nurse Lucy Letby killed seven newborns by injecting air into their veins but is suspected of at least six more deaths
- Donald Harvey from Ohio was an orderly who killed between 37 – 57 cardiac patients using a variety of means
- Miyuki Ishikawa was a Japanese midwife who killed at least 100 newborns via abuse
Is there a pattern of detection? Fortunately, yes. Inspector Sackman came up with 26 red flags warning signs that raise the possibility of a particular healthcare provider being an MSK. Every hospital administrator and long-term healthcare facility should know them. For example, these assassins prefer the night shift. They have an abnormally high number of deaths happening on their shift. When the patient codes they are often the first to arrive and have the least look of surprise upon their death. They seldom have close relationships with colleagues and are known for being somewhat “odd.”
What can we do to protect ourselves or a loved one from being a patient of a MSK? According to Inspector Sackman and his forensic nurses, we would do well to do the following. Bring along a nosey relative or friend to your hospital appointments. Have them ask a lot of questions. Invite them to sit in on procedures, especially those that happen during off hours. And last but not least, get second opinions or decline a procedure if your hunch makes you question a physician or nurse’s intervention.
For more information, listen to Inspector Sackman’s interview here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/special-agent-bruce-sackman-physicians-who-deliberately-kill–46266979
