Richard Angelo

Angelo was born on August 29, 1962, 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.{{cite news|last=Schmitt|first=Eric|title=Nurse Known as Dedicated Worker|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/17/nyregion/nurse-known-as-dedicated-worker.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 November 1987}}

Angelo first came to the attention of the public in October 1987 when he was suspected of poisoning a patient at then 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. Angelo was arrested for assault on the 73-year-old patient because he was the only person to match the description given to the police.{{cite news|last=Colen|first=B.D.|title=Hospital's Waking Nightmare|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/104756576.html?dids=104756576%3A104756576&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&type=current&date=Nov+17%2C+1987&author=By+B.D.+Colen.+Newsday+Science+Editor.+Catherine&pub=Newsday+%28Combined+editions%29&desc=Hospital%27s+Waking+Nightmare&pqatl=google|accessdate=17 March 2012|newspaper=Newsday|date=17 November 1987|archive-date=March 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311221732/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/doc/277868811.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT&type=current&date=Nov%2017%2C%201987&author=By%20B.D.%20Colen.%20Newsday%20Science%20Editor.%20Catherine&pub=Newsday%20%28Combined%20editions%29&edition=&startpage=&desc=Hospital%27s%20Waking%20Nightmare|url-status=dead}}

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.{{cite news|last=Joshua Quittner|first=B.D. Colen|title=Hospital Policies Scrutinized NY weighs rule to speed notice to authorities|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/104761961.html?dids=104761961:104761961&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+24%2C+1987&author=By+B.D.+Colen+and+Joshua+Quittner&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=Hospital+Policies+Scrutinized+NY+weighs+rule+to+speed+notice+to+authorities&pqatl=google|accessdate=17 March 2012|newspaper=Newsday|date=24 November 1987|archive-date=March 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306212409/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/doc/277841862.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov%2024,%201987&author=By%20B.D.%20Colen%20and%20Joshua%20Quittner&pub=Newsday%20(Combined%20editions)&edition=&startpage=&desc=Hospital%20Policies%20Scrutinized%20NY%20weighs%20rule%20to%20speed%20notice%20to%20authorities|url-status=dead}}

In all, Angelo was suspected of poisoning at least 35 people at the hospital while working there for seven months, though the medical examiner was unable to conclusively attribute the deaths to the injections. He 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.{{cite news |title='Angel of Death' tours hospital |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/465945763/?clipping_id=129313979 |newspaper=Daily News |date=April 5, 1989 |page=705 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=August 2, 2023}}{{cite news|last=Gutis|first=Philip S.|title=Nurse Faces New Murder Charges|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/23/nyregion/nurse-faces-new-murder-charges.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 December 1988}} He 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.{{cite news|title=State cites 'Angel of Death' hospital for shortcomings|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UklRAAAAIBAJ&pg=2477%2C2049252|accessdate=17 March 2012|newspaper=The Evening News|date=18 December 1987}}

A total of 32 bodies were exhumed in order to collect tissue samples. The presence of Pavulon was detected in the following seven victims:{{cite news |title=More Exhumations in LI Case |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/705122291/?clipping_id=129296819 |newspaper=Newsday |date=November 11, 1988 |page=25 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=August 2, 2023}}{{cite news |title=The Verdict on Angelo |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/724224739/?clipping_id=129298025 |newspaper=Newsday |date=December 15, 1989 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=August 2, 2023}}

• John Stanley Fisher, 75, of Amityville, died on September 8, 1987.
• Milton Poultney, 75, of Lindenhurst, died on September 16, 1987.
• Joseph Francis O'Neill, 79, of West Islip, died on September 21, 1987.
• Frederick LaGois, 65, of Babylon, died on October 9, 1987.
• Joan Hayes, 53, died on October 5, 1987.
• Gerolamo Kuchich, 73, from Yugoslavia and visiting Dix Hills, was injected with a non-fatal dose of Pavulon on October 11, 1987.
• Anthony Greene, 57, of North Babylon, died on October 16, 1987.

During the eight-week trial, 32 witnesses testified and more than 100 exhibits were entered into evidence.{{cite news |title=Angelo Case Jurors Start Deliberating |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/723844748/?clipping_id=129297197 |newspaper=Newsday |date=December 8, 1989 |page=45 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=August 2, 2023}} On December 14, 1989, Angelo was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder: Poultney, Greene; one count of second-degree manslaughter: Fisher; one count of criminally negligent homicide: LaGois; two counts of first-degree assault: Kuchich; three counts of second-degree assault: Fisher, Greene, Poultney. Not guilty verdicts were returned for O'Neill and Hayes, despite having Pavulon in their systems. On January 24, 1990, a Suffolk County judge sentenced him to 61 ⅓-years-to-life. However, the maximum possible term, per state law, was 50-years-to-life.{{cite news |title=Angelo gets maximum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/724054281/?clipping_id=129298287 |newspaper=Newsday |date=January 25, 1990 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=August 2, 2023}}

He is serving a life sentence at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and will become eligible for parole in 2049, when he is 87.{{Cite web |date=26 May 2022 |title=New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision |url=http://nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov/GCA00P00/WIQ3/WINQ130 |access-date=26 May 2022 |website=Ny.gov}}

• List of serial killers in the United States
• List of medical and pseudo-medical serial killers

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• New York State - [http://nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov/kinqw00 Department of Corrections and Community Supervision >Inmate Lookup] Richard Angelo - Department Identification Number (DIN): 90A2242

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Category:1962 births

Category:20th-century American criminals

Category:American male criminals

Category:American nurses

Category:American people convicted of assault

Category:American people convicted of manslaughter

Category:American people convicted of murder

Category:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment

Category:Serial killers from New York City

Category:Living people

Category:Male nurses

Category:Medical serial killers

Category:Nurses convicted of killing patients

Category:People convicted of murder by New York (state)

Category:Poisoners

Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by New York (state)

Category:Serial killers from New York (state)

Category:St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School alumni