Say What Now? ‘Rogue Nurse’ at N.C. Hospital Accused of Intentionally Killing 2 Women with Insulin Doses

A man who was a nurse at a Winston-Salem hospital has been charged with murdering multiple patients by administering lethal doses of insulin.

via: People

According to WRAL-TV, 47-year-old Johnathan Hayes is accused of the January killings of patients Gwen Crawford, 60, and Vickie Lingerfelt, 61, at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

During a press conference Tuesday, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill said Hayes is also charged with one count of attempted murder in connection to the administration of a near-fatal insulin dose to another woman in December 2021, the outlet reports.

In March, the medical center alerted authorities to their investigation into Hayes, which showed he may have caused the death of at least one patient, according to the station.

“As soon as we identified a deviation in patient care as part of our established safety protocols, we took immediate action to remove the employee from the patient care environment and terminated his employment,” Denise Potter, a spokesperson for Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center said in a statement obtained by NBC.

Through their own investigation, the Winston-Salem Police Department allege that Hayes, who is believed to have acted alone, was responsible for the insulin-related deaths of Crawford and Lingerfelt.

“The totality of the information provided to me led me to only one conclusion: That probable cause existed to support charging what can only be described as a ‘rogue nurse’ with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder,” O’Neill said, Fox News reports.

Online records show Hayes was denied bond and is being held at the Forsyth County Jail.

Hayes’ attorney information was not immediately available, and it was unclear Wednesday if he entered a plea to the charges.