A former nursing assistant admitted to murdering seven older veterans and attempting to kill an eighth at a West Virginia hospital, court documents show.
Reta Mays, 46, pleaded guilty to seven counts of second-degree murder and one count of assault with the intent to commit murder, according to documents filed in federal court in West Virginia.
According to the documents, Mays was a former night shift assistant in the medical surgery unit at the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the city of Clarksburg.
The documents say that between July 2017 and June 2018, he administered doses of the hormone insulin to patients who were mostly non-diabetic or did not need it. His blood sugar dropped, causing severe hypoglycemia, the documents say.
The documents identified the patients as Robert Edge, 82; Robert Kozul, 89; Archie Edgell, 84; George Shaw, 81; WAH, 96; Felix McDermott, 82; and Raymond Golden, 88.
An eighth patient identified as RRP, 88, recovered after receiving Dextrose 50, according to the documents.
Mays ‘attorneys did not respond to a request for comment on Mays’ motives.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the US Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia, William Powell, said it was unclear why Mays killed the patients.
“She denied it for a long time until she recently recognized the strength of our case,” he said.
He said the murders were initially detected after doctors noticed an “unusual” series of hypoglycemic deaths in the area. When asked if the hospital should have recognized the deaths earlier, Powell said the Department of Veterans Affairs cares for “many sick and elderly patients.” It probably wasn’t as easy as it might sound. “
He added that once the deaths were noted, doctors immediately contacted the department’s inspector general, who began an investigation.
Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael Missal told reporters that an investigation into how the cases were handled will look at medication administration and staff communication.
