Richard Angelo

Suffered from low self esteem Often felt inadequate Eagle Scout, altar boy, and volunteer firefighter Described by neighbors as a normal kid

Employed at the Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, NY Worked the night shift Claimed he did not intend to kill anyone

As a Child

During Murders

Modus Operandi

All victims were elderly

Died of overdose of muscle

relaxants

Would create respiratory distress in patients and attempt to revive them

Some lived, some died

Richard Angelo in Court

Motive
Told investigators that he wanted to be a hero I wanted to create a situation where I would cause the patient to have some respiratory distress or some problem, and through my intervention or my suggested intervention or whatever, came out looking like I knew what I was doing. I felt very inadequate.

Arrest

Gerolamo Kucich
Only eye-witness, identified Angelo during trial Drug test confirmed dangerous levels of a drug

called Pavulon

Confessed to authorities on tape, but passed polygraph tests saying that he had not committed murder
This evidence was not allowed into court

Vials of lethal doses of Pavulon and Anectine 37 Code-Blue emergencies during his shift
12 out of 37 patients survived

Conviction
Two counts of second degree murder: Depraved Indifference Murder One count of second degree manslaughter One count of criminally negligent homicide Six counts of assault Sentenced to 61 years in prison

Identity Disorder?

DID: the reflex to dissociate oneself from crimes committed

A person with DID would

not be able to judge risks

A form of multiple personality disorder

Angelos lawyers were not able to prove this Limited evidence for DID Polygraph tests are notorious for being faulty

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Attention Seeking Murder

Citations

"Angels of Death: The Male Nurses." Angels of Death. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/angels/male_nurses/ 4.html>.

Grine, Jennifer D. "Serial Murder in Institutional Settings." Thesis. University of South Florida, 2003. 2003. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. <http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000053/SerialMurderinInstitutionalSettings (finalversion).pdf>.
Gutis, Philip S. The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Oct. 1989. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/20/nyregion/formerpatient-points-to-nurse-in-murder-trial.html>.

Newton, Michael, and Charles Montaldo. "Richard Angelo." Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers. Juan Ignacio Blanco. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. <http://murderpedia.org/male.A/a/angelorichard.htm>.