Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. Joseph Michael Swango (born October 21, 1954), also known under the aliases David J. Adams, Michael Kirk, Jack Kirk, and Michael Swan, as well as the press nickname Dr. Death, is an American former physician and an admitted serial killer. He turned out the lights and noticed that another window in the adjacent dorm was still brightly lit.It was Rosenthal's classmate Michael Swango, wearing military fatigue pants and doing jumping jacks. Around this time, Swango met Kristin Lynn Kinney, a nurse at Riverside Hospital. With patients, he sometimes used poisons as well, but usually, he administered an overdose of whichever drug the patient had been prescribed, or wrote unnecessary prescriptions for dangerous drugs. One classmate, Kevin Sweeney, paraded nearly half the class through the anatomy lab to see it.The experience must have been humiliating for Swango, who had received almost nothing but praise and perfect grades before enrolling in med school. An intelligent, highly-recommended read. [6] In July 1992, he began working at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Please try your request again later. Swango's father was a career United States Army officer who. Vampire Killer: A Terrifying True Story of Psychosis, Mutilation and Murder (True C Child Killer: The True Story of The Atlanta Child Murders. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. Demand for doctors was so strong that lucrative careers awaited med school graduates. Wacaser drove around town in a truck that had emblazoned on it in bold letters, "Lyle Wacaser, M.D., Neurosurgery and Light Hauling." Readers who have never heard of physicians ignoring or covering up the wrongdoing of other physicians will probably have trouble accepting "Blind Eye" as fact. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Valery was called by the FBI to discuss holding Swango. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? He is serving a 42-month sentence in a federal prison at Sheridan, Ore. No? Ellen Clegg The Boston Globe Stewart penetrates the hermetically sealed world of medicine. - Middle child of Muriel and John Virgil Swango but later got divorced. Michael had excelled at the private Catholic boys' high school he attended in Quincy, Illinois, beginning in 1968. However, his work had been so slovenly that OSU pulled its residency offer after his internship ended in June. In June 1997, he was finally arrested at Chicago-O'Hare International Airport while attempting to move to Saudi Arabia. This may have been because Swango was still working for the ambulance corps and frequently was either unavailable or fidgeting because he was going to be late for ambulance duty. Mary Grace Vahlkamp worked at the Illinois Veterans' Home in Quincy Illinois in its dietary department. Eleven years earlier, Cashman said, he had presided at a trial in which Swango had been found guilty of poisoning co-workers at an emergency medical service. He called Richard Thomesen, who was stationed in the DEA's Manhattan field office to discuss the case. None of the workers had died, but they could have, Cashman said. Besides the military fatigues, he wore combat boots to class. [15] At the same time, Zimbabwean authorities charged him with poisoning seven patients, five of whom died. Later, it emerged that OSU officials feared that Swango would sue if he were fired without cause, and resolved to quietly push him out of the hospital as soon as possible after his internship ended. He assumed the felony conviction would end Swango's medical career. R. Z. Sheppard Time magazine James B. Stewart's Blind Eye is a persuasive case against Dr. Michael Swango. Knowing that he would likely face the death penalty for his crimes in Zimbabwe, Swango began talks for a plea agreement. Having abandoned music, he plunged into the sciences, earning a 3.89 grade-point average with a double major in chemistry and biology. The two seemed all but inseparable, Swango eagerly accompanying the neurosurgeon on his rounds and into his surgeries. He had suspected that sudden deaths of some patients were due to Swango, but had no proof at that stage. Each time, Swango had been the floor intern. Thomesen's conversation focused on Swango lying on his government application to work at the VA, where he prescribed narcotic medications. Try again. He lives in New York. These staffers soon realized what Swango was doing, but no one on the faculty complained. He crossed the border to Zambia and subsequently to Namibia, where he found temporary medical work. John Virgil Swango was born on August 26, 1914 in Quincy, Illinois, USA. Every first-year medical student was required to take and pass 476 written tests during the first year. His mother clipped the articles and circulated them among relatives. She contacted a friend of Kinney who was a nurse at Sanford, who in turn alerted Sanford's dean, Robert Talley, to Swango's whereabouts. Higher-ups in the medical establishment are more intent on safeguarding the reputation and bottom line of the employing hospital, perhaps at the expense of their patients. Indeed, Swango had persuaded the nursing staff to beep him on his ambulance pager whenever they learned that one of Wacaser's patients was about to be admitted. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser, Chapter OneSouthern Illinois, the triangle of land north of the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, 350 miles from Chicago, feels more like the Deep South than like the industrial Midwest. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime. Try again later. On September 6, he pleaded guilty to the three murder counts, as well as counts of wire fraud and mail fraud, before Judge Jacob Mishler. Recounting Swango's medical-employment history to Stewart during the telephone call, Cashman said he was enraged that hospital administrators and physicians had turned a blind eye to a troubled past. Chillingly thorough.Wonderfully done.An elaborate journalistic reconstruction that has the fascination of an acutely observed and troubling novel. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. Elijah Swangos Civil War record that shows where he goes missing and then it is determined hes a prisoner of war. Dr. Michael Swango was born on October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington raised in Quincy, Illinois. Please try again. When Rosenthal and other classmates struggled out of bed in the morning after a late night of studying, they would often see Swango outdoors doing early-morning calisthenics, chanting Marine cadences. The facts gathered by Stewart are compelling. On August 23, 1985, Swango was convicted of aggravated battery for poisoning co-workers. No Import Fees Deposit & $11.44 Shipping to Netherlands. They also staged an anti-war demonstration, the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, in which students gathered to mourn those who had been killed and advocate for peace. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Swango dropped out of sight until mid-1994, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found out he was living in Atlanta and working as a chemist at a computer equipment company's wastewater facility. The FBI obtained a warrant charging Swango with using fraudulent credentials to gain entry to a Veterans Affairs hospital. Died on 29 Jan 1982. A heavyset man mumbled, "Sorry," to Markov as the man stooped to pick up an umbrella he had dropped. Growing up, Swango saw little of his father and as a result, was closer to his mother. Swango was correct, after all, that death is a regular occurrence in a hospital.Zawodniak, Sweeney, and many of their classmates were developing a black sense of humor under the twin pressures of medical school and hospital life. Dashing into the hallway between tests seemed perilously close to cheating, though it wasn't expressly forbidden. He was also a mass serial killer and a talented con artist. As part of that investigation, prosecutors exhumed the bodies of three patients and found poisonous chemicals in them. Blind Eye is a flat-out horrifying nonfiction profile of Michael SwangoStewart is an excellent writer and reporterThis is a brave and passionate book. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. This book chronicles the life of Michael Swango from his childhood until the present. In looking into his background, Stewart learned that Swango, the second of three sons born to Muriel and John Virgil Swango, had made the honor roll every year at a rigorous private high school, winding up as valedictorian. He is a regular contributor to SmartMoney and The New Yorker. Yes, Jim Stewart's books always are. Following complaints, OSU performed a casual investigation on him and gave him a clean chit. U.S. participation in the Vietnam War, and the drafting of over six hundred thousand Americans, divided the country and led to a tumultuous 1960s, which resonated on TCUs campus. His fascination with death led him to poison colleagues and kill patients wherever he worked. Read more Product details Publisher : Simon & Schuster; First Printing edition (June 15, 2000) Meanwhile, the outcry caused by the mother of his dead girlfriend prompted Jordan Cohen, the dean at Stony Brook, to fire him and blacklist him to all US medical institutions. We have estimated He passed awayon 29 January 1982. In each locale, those in charge did little or nothing to monitor Swango's conduct. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Muriel Swango. [2], Swango's conviction led to recriminations at OSU. [15], Additionally, prosecutors found evidence that Swango lied about the death of Cynthia Ann McGee, a patient he treated during his internship at OSU. Excerpt. In contrast to high school, he pursued few outside activities. Swango claimed she suffered heart failure; he had killed her by giving her a potassium injection that stopped her heart. Even Swango finally recognized that he couldn't adequately describe the region's anatomical characteristics using his own handiwork. Colonel John Virgil Swango had been stationed in Vietnam and passed on his glorification of military life to his son. The nurses reported their concerns to administrators, but were met with accusations of paranoia. Michael Swango was born in Tacoma, Washington and raised in Quincy, Illinois, the middle child of Muriel and John Virgil Swango. Because of her considerable clinical expertise, Thomesen was able to review documents and evidence and give a criminal profile of Swango, along with her assessment of why he had committed such crimes. Given his excellent academic record and test-taking ability, Swango would have been a strong candidate. Summers are hot and steamy, and in June 1979, most of the students and faculty members at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale who could get away after graduation had fled, leaving the campus feeling sleepy and underpopulated. He died on January 29, 1982 in Quincy, Illinois, USA. John Virgil Swango was born on August 26, 1914 in Quincy, Illinois, USA. One nurse caught him injecting some "medicine" into a patient who later became strangely ill. Swango served in the Marine Corps, graduating from recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. This was the case not just at the country's most prestigious institutions, but also at newer, less well-known medical schools such as Southern Illinois University. : At his sentencing hearing, Swango admitted to causing three murders, lying about his role in causing a fourth death, and lying about his 1985 conviction. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. GREAT NEWS! Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story Of A Doctor Who Got Away With Murder. He wore a beeper and would rush off whenever the ambulance service called. [5] Prosecutors in Franklin County, home to Columbus, also considered bringing charges of murder and attempted murder against Swango, but decided against it for lack of physical evidence.[2]. Oops, something didn't work. 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As the weeks went by and Swango continued the pattern, several students mentioned to him that they thought it wasn't fair, but Swango was defiant, and continued his cramming. - ?) Michael Swango has appeared on the American television show 'Unsolved Mysteries,' the Oxygen series 'It Takes a Killer,' and the National Geographic Channel episode 'Angel of Death.' Estimated Net Worth The net worth of Michael is $10million. Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster. He was popular among students and highly respected in his field, and the fact that he championed Swango went a long way to ease student concerns about Swango's competence. Scott McLemee Newsday A remarkable piece of reporting. [18] He was sent to ADX at his own request; he had been stabbed by another inmate while serving time for lying to the VA, and feared he would be attacked again if he were placed in general population. He returned to Illinois, enrolled at Quincy College, graduated with a near-perfect grade-point average and a double major in chemistry and biology, became a certified medical technician, worked part-time as an orderly at a Quincy hospital, applied to medical school and chose Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Best of 2022 Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. That lucrative careers awaited med school graduates tests during the first year clipped the articles and circulated them relatives. Zimbabwean authorities charged him with poisoning seven patients, five of whom died school he in... Riverside Hospital chronicles the life of Michael SwangoStewart is an excellent writer and reporterThis is a flat-out horrifying nonfiction of! For memorials managed by Find a Grave found poisonous chemicals in them suspected that sudden deaths of some patients due! 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