LOS ANGELES, March 12 (UPI) -- A former respiratory therapist who nicknamed himself "The Angel of Death," pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally drugging six elderly patients at a Los Angeles-area hospital in a plea deal aimed at avoiding the death penalty.
Efren Saldivar, 32, agreed to serve six life terms without the possibility of parole in exchange for pleading guilty in Superior Court to charges he injected seven elderly patients at Glendale Adventist Medical Center with the muscle relaxant Pavulon during 1996 and 1997. One patient survived and later testified before the grand jury that handed down the murder indictment last year.
"Our decision to accept this plea avoids a lengthy, costly trial, and more importantly, insures the public that the defendant will no longer be a danger to society," Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.
Saldivar has been in custody for more than a year and was the target of an investigation that included the exhumation of some 20 patients who died at the suburban hospital. He had been arrested originally in 1998 for investigation of murder, but was released with no charges being filed due to a lack of evidence.
During a 1998 polygraph examination, Saldivar reportedly told Glendale police that he had been responsible for more than 40 deaths in the late 1990s at the hospital where he worked as a supervisor on the overnight shift. He insisted that he had only killed patients who were comatose or in a terminal medical condition.
"He may have done hundreds (of murders)," Glendale Police Sgt. John McLillop told the Los Angeles Times.
Saldivar worked at Glendale Adventist and other hospitals for nine years, and a task force said that the number of deaths caused by the "Angel of Death" could top 100; Cooley said Tuesday the exact death toll might never be known.
Although Saldivar confessed twice to killing patients, he also recanted his confession and proclaimed his innocence to reporters. Cooley said that the relatively new techniques used to detect Pavulon also added a potential complication to prosecution.
Pavulon is used to sedate patients who are being placed on respirators, but respiratory therapists are not authorized to administer the drug, the district attorney's office said.
"The scientific techniques showing traces of Pavulon in tissue from the six victims is sound, but new to the criminal justice system," Cooley said. "The techniques relied upon faced court approval before the evidence could be introduced to a jury. It was estimated the process might take years of litigation."
