Richard Angelo | The 'Angel Of Death'
Richard Angelo was born on August 29, 1962. Both of his parents worked in the educational system: His mother was an economics teacher and his father was a high-school guidance counselor. Later in his life, it was discovered that he suffered from Hero Syndrome. There were indications of it in his youth though; he became an Eagle Scout and after graduating high school, he became a volunteer fireman. He craved praise.
He graduated from New York State University as a registered nurse in May 1987. He briefly worked at two Long Island hospitals before he got a job at Good Samaritan Hospital, in West Islip, during April 1987. That was also where his crimes started. Angelo was unable to gain enough praise in the hospital, so he devised a scheme to gain more attention. He would poison the patients by injecting them with unprescribed drugs, usually Pavulon and Anectine, that would bring the patients into critical conditions. Then he would “rescue” them before their cardiac arrest, impressing coworkers and other patients.
Angelo was finally caught when he injected a 73-year old patient, Gerolamo Kucich. After being poisoned, Kucich immediately pressed the call button for the nurses. The nurses arrived as Angelo escaped. It was found that Kucich had Pavulon in his urine, a drug he was not prescribed. Police arrived, they searched Angelo’s locker and house; drugs Pavolon and Anectine were found. He was arrested for assault on Kucich. During his arrest, he also confessed to having poisoned other patients. As a result, up to 30 recently deceased patients were exhumed and examined for traces of the drugs. It was later concluded that he poisoned at least 35 patients while working there for seven months. He claimed that his motive was to portray himself as a hero. In an interview, he stated, “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 whatever, come out looking like I knew what I was doing. I had no confidence in myself. I felt very inadequate.”
In December 1989, Angelo was found guilty on 2 counts of murder, 1 count of manslaughter and 1 count of criminally negligent homicide. He was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. He is now serving his sentence in the Great Meadow Correctional Facility.
It's shocking how far someone would go to be 'viewed' as something. Richard, who only wanted to be seen as a hero, is now seen as more of a villain because his temptations took him too far. It does seem like he learned from his mistakes, and if not, he probably will eventually, while he's rotting in jail. Kudos to Gerolamo Kucich for immediately calling the nurses, he probably saved many lives. Overall, guys, I won't lie, I am trying to be nice to this Angelo guy because I don't want him to get out of jail, read this and come after me. Anyways, what did you guys think of this case? And also, feel free to recommend more. Stay safe out there and remember to always carry around a bottle of pepper spray. Stay alive, my friends. See you next week!