Nurse accused of killing 38 patients she found annoying

© Europics



Modal Trigger Nurse Daniela Poggiali was arrested for allegedly killing up to 38 patients whom she found annoying.

Officials said that a nurse in northeast Italy might have killed as many as 38 patients because she found them - or their relatives - annoying.

Daniela Poggiali, who lives in the town of Lugo, was taken into custody over the weekend.

The 42-year-old nurse was booked for the alleged slaying of 78-year-old patient Rosa Calderoni, who died from an injection of potassium.

Calderoni had been admitted to the hospital with a routine illness before she died unexpectedly.

As reported by the Central European News, tests showed that Calderoni died with a high amount of potassium - which can provoke cardiac arrest - in her bloodstream.

Calderoni's death triggered an investigation, which reportedly revealed that 38 others had died mysteriously while Poggiali was on duty.

Police have Poggiali's cellphone. NY Post reports that the phone contains a photo she had snapped a few months ago of herself; in it, she is giving a thumbs up next to a patient who had died moments earlier.

"I can assure you that in all my professional years of seeing shocking photos, there were few such as these," said prosecutor Alessandro Mancini.

According to CEN, one of Poggiali's fellow nurses described her as a "cold person but always eager to work."

Another colleague said that the accused nurse was once reported for giving powerful laxatives to patients at the end of her shift to make work tougher for the nurses working after her.

reports that Mancini said, "There are the other 38 cases of suspicious deaths and, of these, 10 are very suspicious."

"Investigations are continuing, but there are insurmountable difficulties," Mancini said.

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