Nurse Injected Fatal Drugs; 10 Deaths Studied
A nurse has admitted giving lethal drugs to an unspecified number of patients because he “wanted to be a hero” and save them, prosecutors said today, adding that 10 deaths were being investigated.
Suffolk County Dist. Atty. Patrick Henry said Richard Angelo, a nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital on Long Island, was remorseful and waived his right to an attorney during questioning by police.
“He felt he was inadequate in his abilities and he wanted to be a hero to his peers,” Henry said at a news conference.
He said a grand jury had begun an investigation into at least 10 deaths at the hospital since September.
Angelo “wanted to prove to himself that he could revive the people and he wanted to show other people that he was good. He thought he could always bring them back,” said Edward Jablonski, chief of the district attorney’s homicide squad.
Angelo, 25, of Lindenhurst, who was suspended after a patient alleged the nurse gave him a paralyzing drug, was arrested Sunday in Albany.
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