Richard Angelo (born August 29, 1962) is an American

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who operated within

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

and

West Islip, New York West Islip is a hamlet and CDP founded roughly in 1683, located in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Situated on the South Shore of Long Island, the population of the CDP was 27,048 at the time of the 2020 census. ...

. In 1989, he was convicted of murdering several of his patients and sentenced to 61 years to life in prison.

Early life

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

. He graduated from

St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School , motto_translation = In Faith and in Gentleness , address = 1170 Montauk Highway , city = West Islip , county = ( Suffolk County) , state = New York , zipcod ...

in 1980 and then entered a two-year nursing program at

Farmingdale State College The State University of New York at Farmingdale (Farmingdale State College or SUNY Farmingdale) is a public college in East Farmingdale, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college was chartered in 1912 as a school of a ...

, where he was a well-regarded

honor student An honors student or honor student is a student recognized for achieving high grading (education), grades or high marks in their coursework at school. United States In the US, honors students may refer to: # Students recognized for their academi ...

Arrest

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 Cucich with Pavulon 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. Following his arrest, Angelo confessed to having poisoned other patients with Pavulon and

Anectine Suxamethonium chloride, also known as suxamethonium or succinylcholine, or simply sux by medical abbreviation, is a medication used to cause short-term paralysis as part of general anesthesia. This is done to help with tracheal intubation or ele ...

. As a result, as many as 30 recently deceased patients were exhumed and examined for traces of these powerful paralyzing agents. It was later concluded that he had poisoned at least 35 people at the hospital while working there for seven months. The poisoning resulted in ten deaths. He claimed that his motive was to portray himself as a

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

. After poisoning his victims, he would wait until they went into

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

and then come by and save them in front of his colleagues. 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.

Conviction

In December 1989, Angelo was found guilty on two counts of murder, one count of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

, and one count of

criminally negligent homicide Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against a person who, through criminal negligence, allows another person to die. Examples include the crash of Aeroperu Flight 603 near Lima, Peru. The accident was caused by a piece of duct tape ...

. He was also convicted of assault in connection with the deaths of four other patients, and he was suspected of being responsible for several other deaths. On January 25, 1990, he was sentenced to 50-years-to-life in prison. He was 27 years old. He is serving a life sentence at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility and will become eligible for parole in 2049, when he is 87.

References

External links

* New York State
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision >Inmate Lookup
Richard Angelo - Department Identification Number (DIN): 90A2242 {{DEFAULTSORT:Angelo, Richard 1962 births 20th-century American criminals American male criminals American nurses American people convicted of assault American people convicted of manslaughter American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment American serial killers Criminals from New York City Living people Male nurses Male serial killers Medical serial killers Nurses convicted of killing patients People convicted of murder by New York (state) Poisoners Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by New York (state) St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School alumni

Early life

Arrest

Conviction

See also

References

External links