por
John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | October 31, 2022
A former North Carolina nurse has been arrested for allegedly administering fatal doses of insulin to women.
A former North Carolina nurse has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in connection with the deaths of three insulin patients.
Jonathan Hayes allegedly administered a lethal dose of insulin to patients Gwen Crawford, 61, and Vickie Lingerfelt, 62, in January 2022 at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem,
according to Fox 8 News.
Crawford received her injection on January 5 and died three days later, while Lingerfelt was injected on January 22 and died on January 27.
Hayes is also accused of administering a near-fatal dose to Pamela Little, 62, in December 2021. Little survived.
“All of the evidence indicates Hayes acted alone,” said Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill in a statement.
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center fired Hayes in March after investigating and finding information that appeared to show that Hayes administered a fatal dose to one patient. It tipped off the DA the same month, saying that it suspected that he may be linked to other similar deaths.
The District Attorney’s Office opened its own investigation with the Winston-Salem Police Department and spoke with family members of the deceased, and collected evidence between March and October.
After consulting the medical examiner in the case, the DA charged Hayes and arrested him on October 25.
O’Neill stressed that Hayes was not being charged with “involuntary manslaughter” when asked if his actions were that of premeditated murder or medical malpractice. “No one in this community should hesitate or be reluctant to seek treatment from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center or any of our outstanding healthcare facilities that we’re blessed to have here in Forsyth County,” he said, according to Fox 8 News.
Wake Forest Baptist Representative Denise Potter said in a press conference the health system is taking measures to assure the community that this situation will never happen again,
reported WFMY News 2.
“What has alleged to have taken place certainly does not represent the very high standards of safety and integrity that our dedicated teammates take pride in and display each and every day. “When we first learned of these disturbing events, we immediately reached out to offer our condolences, our apologies and our support to the patients’ families,” she said.
The investigation is ongoing.