‘Angel of Death’ poisons patients

BY BRYN FAWN Opinions Editor & PR Chair

Hospitals are often the last line of defense against a trip to the pearly gates. Nurses and doctors are entrusted with our wellbeing to give us a rapid recovery. Yet, one nurse decided to kill instead of heal in California, giving him the nickname “Angel of Death.”

Robert Diaz was born in 1938, one of 12 siblings. He was often ill, which prevented him from attending school. Diaz later dropped out due to his ailments and joined the Marine Corps at 18. However, Diaz disappeared for six months and was promptly discharged with the reason of being unable to acclimate to military life.

Diaz then chose to pursue his childhood dream of working in the medical field. He joined a vocational nursing program, yet insisted his relatives refer to him with the title of “doctor.” Vocational nurses do not have the same responsibilities as a registered nurse, and often work with the elderly and disabled under the watchful eye of an RN.

Diaz jumped from one temporary nursing position to the next, and suddenly, hospitals began to notice a spike in deaths for their elderly patients. In just a few months, there were at least 30 suspicious deaths on file.

These patients’ bodies were exhumed and autopsied. The toxicology screens showed high amounts of lidocaine, a medication often used to treat irregular heartbeats in elderly patients. A normal amount is between 50 and 100 milligrams, but these victims had 1,000 milligrams or more. This wasn’t a simple mistake or death from natural causes. The hunt to find the common link began, and soon it was discovered that only one nurse had been in proximity of these patients: Diaz.