Richard Angelo graduate with honors from nursing school. He was a volunteer fireman and an eagle scout. Richard had a reputation for heroism arriving when patients were arresting and reviving them. Unfortunately for his patients he desire to be a hero went a little far.
Richard was hired to work the graveyard shift at Good Samaritan Hospital in Long Island. For some odd reason there was a large number of codes during the graveyard shift when Richard was there. As one patient was slowly deteriorating he pressed his call button. An alert nurse responded and recognised something was amiss. A urine sample was obtained and it contained panucuronium and succinylcholine, but neither was prescribed. The patient survived and described a large bearded nurse with glasses who was in his room. The police took over from there and found bottle of Pavulon and Anectine in nurse Angelo's home.
Pancuronium and succinylcholine are neuromuscular blocking agents commonly used in surgery and for emergency intubations. They both prevent muscle contraction by effecting conduction at the neuromuscular junction. Your muscles can not work (no waving for help, no breathing, nothing), yet you are wide awake.
On this day in 1987 Richard Angelo, nicknamed the "Angel of Death", was arrested for murder. It is estimated that in the seven months he worked at the hospital nurse Angelo poisoned 35 patients, or which 10 died.
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