Former nurse faces murder charges in children’s deaths

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A former nurse who prosecutors believe could be responsible in the deaths of up to 60 Texas children has been indicted on two new murder charges.

The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Genene Jones, 66, was indicted Thursday in the deaths of 8-month-old Ricky Nelson in 1981 and 4-month-old Patrick Zavala a year later. She now faces four new murder charges, all filed in about the last month. Last week, she was indicted on a murder count in the 1981 death of Rosemary Vega, and she was indicted on a murder count last month in the 1981 death of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer.

Jones is serving concurrent 99-year and 60-year sentences in state prison for the 1982 killing of another toddler and the sickening of a 4-week-old boy who survived. She was scheduled for release in March under a mandatory release law in place when she was convicted, but District Attorney Nico LaHood has previously said he’s trying to ensure she never leaves prison because she’s linked to the deaths of many more children who died in the early 1980s either during her shifts or shortly after.

“I believe that she should take her last breath from behind bars. And that is our intent,” LaHood said Thursday.

Jones, whose case has been chronicled in two books, a TV movie and numerous articles, had previously maintained her innocence.

During Jones’ time working at a San Antonio hospital and a clinic in Kerrville, children died of unexplained seizures and other complications.

Prosecutors at Jones’ 1984 murder trial said the nurse lethally injected children at the Kerrville clinic to demonstrate the need for a pediatric intensive care unit at a nearby hospital.