– the nurse who killed 60 infants in her care

Genene Jones was supposed to save lives – but instead she mercilessly took them

Being a nurse is a vocation. They don’t go into the job for money or easy hours – they work long days saving lives and when they lose a patient, it’s upsetting. Paediatric nurse Genene Jones would often have an extreme reaction when a child on her ward died. Once, Jones even pulled up a stool in the cubicle where a young infant had passed away, just so she could stare at the body, seemingly processing the tragedy. No one liked to lose a patient, but for Jones it was a regular occurrence as she chose to work with the very sickest of children.

After marrying her childhood sweetheart and trying her hand at being a beautician, Jones changed tack and trained to be a nurse. She ended up being a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) in the 1970s at the former Bexar County Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, now the University Hospital of San Antonio.

It was tough working in the intensive care unit, surrounded by poorly children, but Jones, then 27, took it in her stride, with her brisk, matter-of-fact demeanour. She had two children of her own, but they were mainly cared for by her adoptive mum. Jones focused on her patients.

But while many showered Jones with praise, staff did notice that babies and young children were dying at an alarming rate at the hospital. There was a high level of cardiac arrests and uncontrollable bleeding – symptoms unrelated to the diagnosis of the patients.

When the numbers got into double figures, there was a panel put together to launch an internal inquiry. It was discovered that around 20 babies had died from cardiac arrest or bleeding during the period of May to December 1981. It was clear something was very wrong. All the staff were interviewed and one of Jones’s colleagues even blatantly accused her of having a part in the deaths of the children. It was a shocking accusation, against a well-regarded nurse, but no one could prove anything. So, in the end, the hospital decided not to staff the intensive care unit with LVNs any more. Jones left and the matter was swept away.

It should have been investigated further. Was there more to the accusation against Jones than first thought? Had the hospital been at fault and Jones had taken the fall? Whatever was believed at the time, it certainly didn’t stop her getting another job. Jones went on to secure a position working with Dr Kathleen Holland at her small Kerrville paediatric clinic in Texas. Shortly after starting, a number of children began experiencing breathing problems and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital. It was strange for children to fall ill while visiting the clinic.

Then, in 1982, 15-monthold Chelsea McClellan was given what should have been a routine immunisation for mumps and measles. Jones administered the injection and, almost immediately, Chelsea had a seizure. She was rushed to hospital in San Antonio, but on the way she suffered a cardiac arrest and died. The abnormal cases were starting to attract attention.

Dr Holland became suspicious and tests revealed a powerful muscle relaxant called succinylcholine in Chelsea’s body. Dr Holland found a bottle of it in her clinic with needle puncture marks in the lid as though some had been used – despite no record of it being needed or authorised. It turned out the bottle was partly filled with saline in an attempt to cover up that some of the succinylcholine had been used. Only Dr Holland and Jones had access to the drug and she informed the authorities and dismissed the nurse.

By now, the investigation had gathered pace. Jones had been linked to a number of other deaths – up to 60, including at the hospital where she’d worked previously. It was a chilling discovery and seemed unthinkable. Would a devoted nurse really be killing babies?

Meanwhile, Jones’s first marriage had failed and she was married to a 19-year