Nurse who Googled ‘serial killers’ gave patients lethal shots
‘Angel of Death’ Reta Mays said she was acting with compassion as she played God with elderly veterans
After retiring from their military careers, former US service men and women have access to the government-run Veterans Affairs healthcare system. There are more than 170 medical centres across America – including the Louis A Johnson Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Care is provided for some 70,000 veterans, many of whom saw action in conflicts – and who better to look after them than a nurse who had also served? Reta Mays was a former Army National Guard who completed non-combat roles in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When Mays returned to civilian life, she worked as a correctional officer at a jail and a carer for adults with disabilities. Then, in
2015, she was employed by the VA hospital as a nursing aide. As an assistant, Mays wasn’t allowed to administer medicine but she monitored patients’ vital signs and helped staff. She worked the quiet night shift,
7.30pm to 8am, on Ward 3A. The fragile patients weren’t well enough to be discharged but weren’t ill enough for intensive care.
Mays’ neighbours said she was friendly and always gave a wave. Her colleagues recalled how the church-goer was eager to help.
But few knew that her husband was serving time in prison for failing to declare himself as a sex offender in West Virginia following a conviction for child pornography.
In June 2018, hospital staff noticed that since July 2017 there had been an unusually high number of deaths on Ward 3A caused by hypoglycaemia – severe low blood sugar. There were 20 cases. Previously, the hospital had recorded just one death caused by low blood sugar in a four-year period.
A shocking realisation dawned – the hospital had an “Angel of Death” stalking its corridors. A member of staff was killing elderly patients with a fatal dose of insulin.
Insulin is vital for keeping diabetics’ blood sugar levels steady but given unprescribed, it can cause fatal sugar lows. The hospital’s supply was stored in an unlocked refrigerator and left on trolleys in hallways, meaning anyone could access it.
The victims were aged 81 to 96 and had served in the army, navy and air force. Robert Edge Sr was the first fatality in July
2017. Six more followed in the first six months of 2018. In spring
2018, there were four hypoglycaemic events in just three weeks. The ward even ran out of glucose as nurses repeatedly tried to raise the blood levels of various patients – yet no alarm was raised.
After an investigation, it was revealed that at the time of every death, Mays was working an overnight shift on Ward 3A. In the early hours there were no visitors, fewer staff and plenty of opportunity to act. The victims all experienced a sudden and drastic drop in blood sugar levels while in Mays’ care.
Staff members recalled that after a quick succession of patient deaths while she was on duty, they exchanged texts about the eerie coincidence – but nothing was done. Other staff recalled that while they were trying to save one of the patients, Mays had said,“Something always happens when I’m in the room and I don’t know why.”
MARKS The bodies were exhumed and all had unexplained needle marks. Mays, who by then was no longer working at the hospital, was brought in for questioning by the police and denied everything. But officers were convinced they had a serial killer on their hands.
They concluded that Mays had worked out that the software system used to monitor glucose readings to alert the doctors was faulty. She’d inject the fatal dose of insulin into intravenous saline drips, then sit by the bed, watching for it to kick in, knowing no one would be notified.
Sometimes Mays would even spike medication ready for another nurse to unwittingly administer. Doctors would arrive in the morning to find the patients in crisis and Mays
Mystery needle
would linger as they tried to save them – listening in on chats with family members.
Mays was the site’s Angel of Death. At home, she searched for “female serial killers” on the internet and even watched the Netflix series Nurses Who Kill.
There were 20 deaths relating to fatal low sugar levels, but Mays was only charged for the seven cases that authorities believed would ensure a conviction. Once her actions came to light, there was widespread disbelief. How had she been allowed to kill for so long?
The hospital had repeatedly failed its patients. Insulin wasn’t properly tracked and there were no surveillance cameras on Ward 3A. Staff didn’t do tests to discover why certain patients had severe sugar episodes – and didn’t file reports that might have raised alarms.
The hospital also failed to look into Mays’ past when they hired her. While working in the prison, she’d been named in a lawsuit after an inmate accused her of using excessive force. A background check would have raised questions about her suitability as a nursing assistant.
In 2020, Mays pleaded guilty to seven counts of second-degree murder. The charges related to the deaths of army veterans Robert
‘You are the monster that no one sees coming’
Lee Kozul Sr, 89, Archie D Edgell, 84, Felix Kirk McDermott, 82, and William Holloway, 96; navy veteran Robert Edge Sr, 82; air force veteran George Nelson Shaw Sr, 81; and army and air force veteran Raymond Golden, 88. There was also one count of assault with the intent to commit murder in relation to navy veteran Russell R Posey Sr, 92.
After Mays pleaded guilty, she admitted giving insulin to patients but said she believed her victims were suffering and she wanted them to die “gently”. Mays said she had stress and chaos in her personal and work life, and her actions gave her a “feeling of control”.
But her explanation of giving the patients a “mercy death” was hard to accept. They weren’t suffering before the insulin was administered and
the deaths were far from peaceful. The veterans had experienced raised heart rates, sweating and pain that caused them to thrash about – and the distressing intervention of lifesaving measures including CPR.
predatory planning
In May this year, Mays faced sentencing. Her legal team highlighted a history of depression and mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder linked to her military service. But the prosecution said Mays’ actions were “predatory and planned” and were certainly not a mission of compassion.
“These men were not in need of mercy by the defendant,” they said.
Mays often alerted the staff to her victims’ distress and took part
in their efforts to save them. On one occasion, a single injection wasn’t enough so she injected the victim again. Another time, she did chest compressions on a man for half an hour then called her husband in jail to complain her arms “felt like rubber”.
In court, a sobbing Mays made a statement, saying,“I know that there’s no words that I can say that would alter the families’ pain and comfort. I don’t ask for forgiveness because I don’t think I could forgive anyone for doing what I did.”
Relatives spoke in the court or through video links and shared stories of the victims. Robert Kozul
“loved to dance, to sing and to play his harmonica”. Norma Shaw, the widow of George Shaw, said they had been married for 59 years.“I don’t know why Reta did what she did… but she took my life away from me,” Norma said.
Robert Edge Jr, son of Robert Edge Sr, said his dad was his hero. “He took care of me when I was little,”he told Mays.“And when it was time for me to take care of him, you took that away from me.” The family of Felix McDermott said he’d been preyed on while he was at his weakest.“For that you are a coward,” they told Mays. The judge told Mays she had known exactly what she was doing when she turned medication into a weapon.“They were good and decent men loved not only by their families but by their communities, and to whom this country owes to each and every one of them a tremendous debt,” he said. The judge named each victim and called them gentlemen who were part of the Greatest Generation. “Several times your counsels made the point that you shouldn’t be considered a monster,” he told Mays.“Respectfully, I disagree with that.You are the worst kind.You’re the monster that no one sees coming.” Mays, 46, was given seven consecutive life sentences – one for each veteran – and an additional 20 years for the assault charge. There is no chance of probation and she will die in prison.
But with 20 suspicious deaths, how many others did Mays kill? Meanwhile, the federal government has agreed on several lawsuits brought by the veterans’ families over the widespread failings of the VA hospital.
After all, Mays was a serial killer who operated in plain sight.