URUGUAY: Three Uruguayan nurses are charged in connection with murders of 16 hospital patients.

Record ID: 351531

  • Title: URUGUAY: Three Uruguayan nurses are charged in connection with murders of 16 hospital patients.
  • Date: 20th March 2012
  • Summary: MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY (MARCH 18, 2012) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF SPANISH MUTUAL CARE WHERE NURSES ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE KILLED PATIENTS VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF MACIEL HOSPITAL WHERE NURSES ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE KILLED PATIENTS VARIOUS OF CRIMINAL COURT POLICE VEHICLE DRIVING BY JOURNALISTS OUTSIDE COURT VARIOUS OF DEFENCE ATTORNEY INES
  • Embargoed: 4th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Uruguay, Uruguay
  • Country: Uruguay
  • Reuters ID: LVAPSIIFWOLI2KHVA4G4IUJLXOR
  • Story Text: An Uruguayan judge charges two nurses with the deaths of 16 hospital patients and another nurse with covering up the crimes.
    Uruguayan Judge Rolando Vomero charged three nurses in connection with the murders of 16 patients in two hospitals in the capital city of Montevideo authorities said on Sunday (March 18).
    Two of the nurses are suspected of killing the patients by poisoning them or putting air in their intravenous lines. The other nurse is accused of helping to cover up the crimes.
    One of the defendants, a 39-year-old nurse who worked at Spanish Mutual Care and Maciel Hospital, admitted to five murders, according to his attorney, Ines Massiotti, who said he did it out of "mercy."
    "My client is conscious of his actions. He fully confessed in front of the judge, prosecutor and his defence is that he did it out of mercy," she told reporters.
    According to authorities, most of the patients were seriously but not terminally ill.
    The other defendant, a 46-year-old nurse who also worked at one of the hospitals, is accused of killing at least 11 of his patients.
    "It wasn't a vicious operation in the spirit of death, rather what they wanted was to ameliorate the patients' pain," said attorney Santiago Clavijo (clah-VEE-ho) who is representing him.
    Judge Rolando Vomero said authorities are continuing their investigation and left open the possibility that there may be further victims.
    "Two people admitted numerous identical situations in which they had administered medicine to many people for them to die. Through photographs that were shown to them, one recognized five and the other one eleven. The investigation will continue. The methodology in one case was to apply morphine directly through their central line and, in another case, it appears to have been air in their central line, which caused death in a few minutes," he said.
    Uruguayan officials said the two nurses acted independently. Authorities were tipped off by a suspicious hospital employee.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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