Notorious nurse who murdered numerous patients by injecting them with lethal doses of medication, earning the nickname "Angel of Death".
Richard Angelo, born on August 29, 1962, is an American serial killer notorious for poisoning and murdering numerous patients while working as a nurse at Good Samaritan Medical Center on Long Island, New York. In 1989, he was convicted of murdering several of his patients and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
Angelo was born to parents who were both working in education. His mother was an economics teacher, and his father was a high school guidance counselor for the Lindenhurst school district on Long Island. He graduated from St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in 1980 and then entered a two-year nursing program at Farmingdale State College, where he was a well-regarded honor student.
In October 1987, Angelo first came to the attention of the public when he was suspected of poisoning a patient at Good Samaritan Medical Center. He was accused of injecting Gerolamo Kuchich with pancuronium, a muscle relaxant, via his I.V. The patient felt unwell after the injection and later paged a nurse to help him.
Following his arrest, Angelo confessed to having poisoned other patients with pancuronium and Suxamethonium chloride, both of which are paralytic agents used in anesthesia. As a result, as many as 30 recently deceased patients were exhumed and examined for traces of these powerful paralyzing agents.
Angelo claimed that his motive was to portray himself as a hero. After poisoning his victims, he would wait until they went into cardiac arrest and then come by and "save" them in front of his colleagues. This twisted desire for attention and admiration drove him to commit heinous crimes, earning him the nickname "The Angel of Death."
Angelo was held in Suffolk County Jail for more than a year, awaiting trial. He declined to pay his $50,000 bail, fearing for his safety given the high-profile nature of the case. In 1989, he was convicted of murdering several of his patients and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
Richard Angelo's crimes shook the medical community and raised questions about the detection and prevention of healthcare worker-related violence. His case led to increased scrutiny of hospital protocols and the implementation of stricter security measures to protect patients from rogue healthcare workers.
A decade after his conviction, Angelo's case was revisited in a 1999 episode of the TV series "Forensic Files," which explored the investigation and prosecution of his crimes. His story continues to fascinate and disturb, serving as a cautionary tale about the darker aspects of human nature.
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