Serial Murderers and their Victims, 5th ed. - Brainshare Public ...

PROFILE 6.5 Donald Harvey, 1970–1987
HEALTHCARE KILLERS 179
Donald Harvey, “The Angel of Death,” startedkillingwhenheturned18and
began working as a nurse’s aide at Mary Mount Hospital in Laurel County, Kentucky.
He first killed an aunt, then committed what he referred to as “accidental homicides,”
followed by 10 more patient deaths—a total of 13 dead in 10 months. Some were
suffocated, others had their oxygen supply shut off, and one victim died when Harvey
shoved a wire coat hanger up his catheter tube, tearing his bladder.
Harvey then joined the Air Force, where he attempted suicide on two occasions.
Unable to cope, he was discharged after only 9 months of service, but he continued
to receive psychiatric care. In 1975 he joined the nursing staff at the Veterans
Administration Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. During a 2-year period he is believed
to have murdered another 17 patients. His remaining 8 years at the hospital were
spent working as an autopsy assistant in the morgue. Being exposed to death and
corpses seemed to satisfy Harvey, and apparently he killed no one during this time.
In 1985 he was asked to resign when a gun, books on the occult, syringes, and slides of
human tissue were discovered in his hospital locker.
He then joined the staff at Drake Hospital, also in Cincinnati, without anyone
ever checking his references. Most of the patients at Drake were the elderly and the
terminally ill. Using cyanide, arsenic, and sometimes injections of cleaning fluids,
Harvey was able to kill at least 21 victims in a 2-year period. When he had no poison
for their food or IVs, Harvey suffocated his victims. Harvey later referred to his
actions as mercy killings. He had become the angel of death and held the power over
who would live and who must die. He finally confessed when investigators discovered
large amounts of cyanide in the stomach of a victim. This final victim brought Harvey’s
total number of homicides to between 54 and 58. Almost all of his victims were male;
among his possessions police discovered a list of victims yet to be killed by Harvey. One
of his female coworkers had hepatitis serum poured into her coffee by Harvey but
miraculously survived her ordeal. Harvey also slowly poisoned his roommate only to
nurse him back to health.
During his confession, Harvey explained that during a 13-year period, starting
when he was 5 years old, he had been subjected to sexual molestation by an uncle
and a male neighbor. He did not believe that this frequent molestation had anything
to do with the fact that almost all his victims were helpless males, older than
himself; nor did he feel it had anything to do with the fact that he was a homosexual.
He claimed to be a compassionate, caring person, which seemed to be validated
by his fellow workers. They found Harvey to be dedicated, polite, and a good
colleague. The courts found Harvey to be sane under law and competent to
stand trial.
Harvey gave his confession only after being allowed to plea-bargain and
thereby escape the death penalty. Dozens of bodies were exhumed, and the victims
were found to have died as Harvey described. Never showing remorse or guilt,
Harvey received three consecutive life sentences and will not be eligible for parole
until he has served at least 60 years. He was also fined $270,000 and received a life
sentence for the murders in Kentucky. After several years in prison Harvey has
changed his mind about what influenced him to kill. He now states that the sexual
abuse he experienced as a child was indeed a major contributing factor fueling
his urges.