Her (Death Angel) duty was in the ICU, and she looked worried. Fellow nurses thought she was anxious to meet her boyfriend.
At that moment, he asked the supervisor, If the patient inside dies, can I get some early leave?’
The patient died shortly after receiving a ‘yes’ answer.
After that, in the C ward of the VAMC (Veteran Affairs Medical Centre) in the north-eastern state of Massachusetts, there were successive deaths of elderly patients.
During the investigation, there was a revelation that was not in anyone’s imagination.
‘The Killing Field’ and crime reporting websites have detailed a serial killer known as the ‘Death Angel’.
She was a normal girl.
Born on November 13, 1967, Kristin Heather Gilbert was also an ordinary child. However, her school days saw some change, and there were complaints about her stealing other children’s small belongings while brazenly telling lies. He told his classmates things about his parents that later turned out to be white lies.
Time passed, and in 1986, she earned her diploma in nursing.
Cheerful and cheerful nurse
When Kristen Gilbert started working at the medical centre in 1989, she came across as a very beautiful, cheerful, and diligent nurse. He took very little time to mingle with the rest of the staff; he used to remember the birthdays of his co-workers and arrange cakes, etc. during duty. She was also a master of her craft. Some time later, she married Glenn Gilbert and became the mother of two children.
Boyfriend’s entry
When Kristen Gilbert returned to duty in 1993 after maternity leave for the birth of her second child, a guard named James Perrault was hired at the medical centre in those days, whose duty was to go to the wards in case of emergency and check the situation.
Kristen Gilbert and James Perrault quickly became friends and were seen drinking together after duty. Even during duty, there would be occasional face-to-face encounters, but the guards would be called in case of an emergency, such as a patient’s condition deteriorating or death.
Why did the killings begin?
Some experts involved in the investigation believe that Kristen started hitting patients because the two would meet afterwards. However, for some time, no one paid special attention to it.
After the series of patient deaths, while some fellow nurses started calling Kirsten Gilbert the ‘Angel of Death’, some nurses became concerned as to why this was happening, and one of them reported it to management. After that, the investigation started, and the matter reached the police.
Records revealed that in the seven years after Christen joined the hospital, a total of 350 patients had died on duty, a number that was too high for past years’ rates and impossible to dismiss as mere coincidence.
How were the murders done?
The investigation also revealed that only the elderly and critically ill patients were killed. According to experts, they were injected with a chemical that would cause them to have a heart attack, and so the guards would come and arrange to take away the dead body.
Deterioration in domestic conditions
In the same days, it was also revealed that Kristen Gilbert’s relationship with her husband deteriorated, and her husband also alleged that she was being poisoned in small amounts in her food every day, after which Kristen separated from her husband. Shifted to a flat.
Statements from fellow nurses
After the case came to light, police interviewed other nurses, after which prosecutors said one of the motives for the killing was not to call her lover but also to show her boyfriend that she was carrying out her professional duties diligently. She used to be very happy and used to chat with her lover during the process of moving the dead body.
Suicide attempt
After Kristen was off duty, the hospital’s patient death rate returned to normal. Perrault remained in contact with her during the investigation, but as the situation unfolded, she also cut off contact with Kristen.
Kristen tried to commit suicide and took a large number of sleeping pills. When he was taken to another hospital, he also spoke to Peralt on the phone.
During police questioning, Perrault said that on the phone from the hospital, Kristen had told him that “I killed all these people.”
He also told Perrault that there was a bomb planted at the Veteran Affairs Medical Centre that would explode shortly. Perrault was on duty at the time. After the threat, the patients were evacuated from the hospital, but the bomb was not recovered.
Kristen’s arrest
Kristen Gilbert (Death Angel) was arrested after Perrault’s statement came out. He was sentenced to 15 months in the bomb threat case while the investigation into the deaths of patients at the hospital continued.
A nearly year-long investigation by investigative agencies also checked the records of hundreds of patients who died during Christen’s line of duty. The patients she injected with poison were identify and die, while three more patients he tried to kill were saved.
Court proceedings
After several dates and lengthy court proceedings. On March 14, 2001, Kristen Gilbert was found directly responsible for four deaths and three attempted murders.
Although Massachusetts does not have the death penalty, since the crimes took place on federal property. They could have been sentenced to death, and prosecutors argued for it. But prosecutors tried to keep the sentence low. And it was reported that she had also served time in the bomb threat. While some other points were also made, including the impact on Kristen’s children in the case of the death penalty.
Decision of the case
On March 26, 2001, the court sentenced Kristen Gilbert to four terms of life imprisonment. With an additional 20 years added to it. He is currently incarcerated in a Texas prison, from which there is no chance of him getting out alive.
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