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Officials in North Carolina announced first degree murder charges against a registered nurse accused of administering lethal doses of insulin to two patients.
J. Hayes, 47, was arrested on two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, Forsyth Country District Attorney Jim O’Neill said at a press conference Tuesday.
Hayes is accused of administering a deadly dose of insulin to Gwen Crawford on Jan. 5 at the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Crawford died three days later. Officials said he gave another lethal insulin dose to another patient, Vickie Lingerfelt, on Jan. 22, who died five days later.
Hayes also gave a near-fatal insulin dose to patient Pamela Little on Dec. 1, 2021, O’Neill said.
Hospital staff first tipped investigators with the Winston-Salem Police Department off to Hayes’ alleged wrongdoings in March following an internal investigation. On March 18, the hospital fired Hayes, who had worked there “at various times” over the last 15 years, according to hospital spokesperson Joe McCloskey.
O’Neill did not offer many details describing how Hayes carried out the alleged murders, but described him as a “rogue nurse,” who he believes acted alone. Officials said a motive was unclear, and it didn’t appear Hayes knew the victims.
“What is alleged to have taken place certainly does not represent the high standards of safety and integrity that we always expect from each and every one of our dedicated teammates,” hospital spokesperson Denise Potter said at Tuesday’s news conference. “We have conducted an in-depth analysis to ensure we have done everything possible so an event like this can never happen again.”
“All options are on the table for punishment,” O’Neill said, adding that he would wait to speak to the victims’ families before deciding whether he would seek the death penalty, which is legal North Carolina.
Last year, Hayes’ wife, Misty, nominated Johnathan Hayes as a nurse of distinction for the Celebrating Nurses of the Triad special section coordinated by the Winston-Salem Journal, News & Record and the N.C. Nurses Association. In her nomination, Misty Hayes said her husband would make sure patients had everything they needed and knew “that they will be taken good care of,” the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
Hayes had been in nursing for 21 years and worked during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the article.
County jail records showed that a bond had yet to be set for Hayes. Information on his legal representation was not immediately available.