Suspect in Hospital Deaths to Appear on TV

The Glendale hospital worker who allegedly told police he killed 40 to 50 people will take his case to a nationwide television audience later this week.

Officials with both the syndicated news magazine “EXTRA” and ABC’s “20/20” said Monday that they will broadcast taped interviews with Efren Saldivar, the 28-year-old respiratory therapist who purportedly confessed to killing terminally ill patients at Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

Representatives of both shows said they offered no money for the interviews, the first since Saldivar’s alleged confession was revealed March 27. They declined to give details.

“EXTRA,” which is broadcast locally on KNBC-TV Channel 4, will show its interview at 7 p.m. Thursday. The “20/20” segment will be shown at 10 p.m. Friday on KABC-TV Channel 7.

Eddie Saldivar, Efren’s brother and the family spokesman, has said in the past that Efren wants to tell his side of the story to the public.

An independent story broker who helps arrange network television interviews with elusive newsmakers said he set up Saldivar’s appearances. The broker, who asked not to be identified, also said that no money changed hands, but declined further comment.

“When he comes out, my brother has to go in front of the cameras. They have to see his eyes,” Eddie Saldivar told The Times last week.

In the first days after the Saldivar allegations became public, Eddie Saldivar strongly denied that his brother had confessed to police. But in more recent interviews, his denials have become more enigmatic.

For instance, Eddie Saldivar demanded that media outlets stop referring to his brother as the “angel of death,” a term Efren Saldivar used to describe himself, according to his alleged confession. However, Eddie told The Times, “ ‘Angel of mercy’ would be OK.”

Asked whether the phrase “angel of mercy” allowed for the possibility that Efren Saldivar had actually confessed, Eddie Saldivar said such a revelation would have to wait for the proper forum.

Eddie Saldivar also declined to repeat his contention that the confession was false, instead emphasizing that he thought it had been manipulated by police.

“How it turned out was how the police wanted it to sound,” Saldivar said. “They know they didn’t have anything.”

Hospital officials, meanwhile, are setting up a task force to deal with the hundreds of calls they have received from relatives worried that their loved ones might have died prematurely.

They have fired four other respiratory care workers, placed one on suspension and begun restructuring the leadership of the respiratory care unit. They declined to give any reason for the personnel actions.

Police, however, said those fired were part of their investigation. They declined to comment on whether they had given any information to the Respiratory Care Board, the state board that licenses respiratory therapists. The board also declined comment.