Inside sources within Asante have since disclosed details surrounding the reported deaths, per NBC5 News. It is alleged that up to 10 patients died of infections contracted at the hospital.
The sources claim the infections were caused by a nurse who purportedly substituted medication with tap water.
It is alleged that the nurse was attempting to conceal the misuse of the hospital’s pain medication supply — specifically fentanyl — and intensive care unit patients were injected with tap water, causing infections that resulted in fatalities.
Medford police have confirmed their active investigation into the situation at the hospital but have refrained from providing specific details.
The sources indicate that the unsterile tap water led to pseudomonas, a dangerous infection, especially for individuals in poor health, commonly found in a hospital’s ICU.
Murder has to have the intent to kill someone AFAIK, this is “just” intentionally doing something that you know can (instead of will) kill someone. (it’s a fine distinction)
Murder doesn’t require direct intent to kill. Knowingly and/or purposefully doing something you know can kill people can result in murder charges if someone dies. Recklessness can be a factor.
A medical professional knows that injecting tap water can be fatal, so by doing so purposefully and knowingly, the act absolutely meets the definition of attempted murder, especially since this behavior was happening repeatedly at a large enough scale to cause multiple deaths. Likewise, those deaths absolutely meet the definition of murder.
And while it would be a stretch, first degree murder isn’t off the table, since these actions appear very deliberately pre-planned with the intent of stealing drugs. Planning ahead of time, as a medical professional, to do things that you know can kill people, does meet the definition of premeditation.
There’s also felony murder, where if someone dies in the commission of a felony, murder charges can be included with the other crime(s). Stealing drugs from a hospital is a felony, as is intentionally fraudulently injecting patients with non-medical/non-sterile liquids, though it doesn’t appear that this is possible in Oregon, specifically.
It would seem to me that doing something you know will kill someone is the same as intentionally killing someone. A trained nurse can’t plead ignorance in this case.
It’s really no different than pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger.
From my perspective that’s premeditated murder in the first degree.
That’s why I highlighted between can kill and will kill. Tap water injections can kill (with a reasonably high chance of survival if caught in time with the right medical equipment at hand). (Again, IANAL/AFAIK)
I read those two acronyms as one continuous sentence and found it hilarious (that as far as you know you’re not a lawyer, but you could be)