20 Bodies to Be Tested in ‘Angel’ Case

Investigators in the so-called “Angel of Death” case announced Wednesday that they would exhume 20 bodies in their ongoing probe of purported mercy killer Efren Saldivar.

The exhumations are to begin “within the week,” and will be conducted at a rate of one or two a week for the next several months, said Glendale Police Chief Russell Siverling.

Once the bodies are unearthed and tissue samples taken, investigators will look for traces of succinylcholine chloride and Pavulon--drugs that Saldivar once told police he used to hasten the deaths of as many as 50 patients while working as a respiratory therapist at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. He then recanted his confession on national TV.

“Our experts tell us that if [the drugs are] there, they will find [them],” said Sgt. John McKillop, leader of a police task force assigned to the case for more than a year.

McKillop said investigators have ruled out that any of the 20 deceased patients would have received the drugs for legitimate medical purposes.

“If we find [these] chemicals in the tissues . . . the only logical conclusion would be they were given illegally,” McKillop said.

The 20 deaths all occurred at Glendale Adventist during 1997 and 1998 while Saldivar was on duty, authorities said.

Saldivar, who said he was angered at seeing terminal patients’ lives unnecessarily prolonged, allegedly told police he killed only those who were unconscious, had “do not resuscitate” orders on their charts, and appeared ready to die.

“These cases do match certain criteria that [were] outlined by Mr. Saldivar,” McKillop said. He refused to elaborate.

McKillop also declined to identify any of the possible victims or their families. He said the families who had been notified of the pending exhumations had requested anonymity.

“We’re doing the best we can to be sensitive,” McKillop said.

Saldivar, who has maintained a low profile since recanting his confession last year on the ABC-TV news program “20 / 20,” could not be reached for comment.

“He maintains his innocence,” said his lawyer, Terry Goldberg, of Woodland Hills.

At Wednesday’s news conference, police also shed light on a yearlong investigation that has been conducted in virtual secrecy since Saldivar’s confession made headlines last year.

McKillop said more than a thousand patients died at Glendale Adventist Medical Center while Saldivar was on duty, from the time he started work in 1989 until he was fired from the hospital last year.

Investigators focused on the most recent deaths during Saldivar’s tenure, those in 1997 and early 1998. Of the 171 deaths that occurred while Saldivar was on duty during that period, 54 were excluded from the investigation because the remains were not available, primarily due to cremation.

That left 117 cases for the seven-man task force to investigate.

Aided by local, state and federal authorities, as well as public and private medical experts, the task force members established a protocol to review medical charts and discharge summaries, and to interview doctors and nurses who cared for the patients.

The process resulted in the identification of at least 20 “suspicious deaths,” Chief Siverling said.

Investigators outlined their findings in a 175-page search warrant application submitted to a Superior Court judge, who then ordered the exhumations.

“The judge has found that the investigators have shown probable cause to believe each of the 20 persons was murdered,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian Kelberg, who would prosecute Saldivar if charges are filed.

Kelberg added that investigators are a long way from making a case against Saldivar.

“Probable cause won’t even get you a civil judgment, which requires a preponderance of the evidence,” he said. “To convict someone of a criminal offense, you must have proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In the scheme of things, ‘probable cause’ is at the low part of the ladder and ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ is at the uppermost level of that ladder.”

Kelberg also countered criticism that investigators had waited too long to begin exhuming bodies, and may have inadvertently allowed some of the telltale drugs to dissipate.

“It’s important to understand that you don’t just go identifying people who died when the man worked at the hospital and say you have a basis to exhume 117 bodies,” Kelberg said. “It is thoroughly inappropriate to be exhuming bodies when you could easily rule out that patient’s death as a potentially suspicious cases.”

Contrary to the opinions of some knowledgeable sources, Kelberg said medical experts working with investigators on the case have said that if drugs were present in the body at burial, chances are “reasonably good” that the drugs are still detectable.

Siverling cautioned that there were no guarantees.

“Even the best of those experts made no promises that the drugs would be detectable, as there are so many variables, including the time since death, the condition of the remains, [and] the amount of substance used.”

Siverling said the testing and evaluation process could take six to nine months.

He said 30 volunteer counselors are available to help any family members who may have trouble coping with their loved ones being exhumed.

“We ask for your prayers and support for all of those involved during this difficult phase of the investigation,” the chief said.