Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Police Check Man's Claims of Deaths > LOS ANGELES (AP) -- As police tried to determine whether > a self-proclaimed mercy killer was a mass murderer or a > fraud, people came forward Saturday to tell police their > relatives died mysteriously at a hospital that employed > him. > > ``Their loved ones seemed to be OK one day and gone the > next,'' said Rick Young, spokesman for the Glendale > Police Department, which is heading the investigation > into the claims by the former respiratory therapist at > Glendale Adventist Medical Center. > > Police were still unsure if Efren Saldivar, who is in > his 20s and lives in Los Angeles, told the truth when he > admitting killing 40 to 50 terminally ill patients in > the last decade. > > ``We must establish that a crime did in fact occur,'' > Young said. > > Saldivar hasn't been charged with a crime and remains > free while police, prosecutors and medical regulators > continue with their investigations. His license was > suspended March 13, regulators announced Friday. > > News of the confession shocked patients' relatives. > > Ana Spann went to the hospital Saturday with questions > about her 95-year-old grandmother, Juana Souza, who died > Jan. 10, 1996, while undergoing respiratory treatments > for pneumonia. > > ``I want to know: Did she die in her sleep, did she feel > pain, or did somebody murder her?'' said Ms. Spann, 39, > of Alta Loma. ``We thought that God had taken her. I > hope it was like that, and not somebody had taken her > life.'' > > Inundated with calls from the media and relatives, the > 450-bed, 1,800-employee hospital in the Los Angeles > suburb distributed a letter to all of its patients > Saturday to outline the allegations and explain why it > suspended its entire 44-member respiratory care > department. > > ``We want to assure you that we firmly believe there is > no reason for concern regarding safety,'' it said. ``We > have taken every reasonable precaution to protect > patients and we are committed to doing what ever it > takes to get to the truth in this investigation.'' > > Saldivar told a police investigator earlier this month > that he was an ``angel of death'' who killed patients he > deemed to be on the verge of dying anyway through > suffocation or drug injection, state medical regulators > said. > > Friday's announcement, in response to media calls to the > state Respiratory Care Board, caught investigators by > surprise, Young said. > > ``We were angry to begin with, and now we are totally > frustrated as it has hampered this investigation 100 > times fold,'' said Young, who noted that some hospital > employees have become reluctant to cooperate for fear > their names will be revealed. > > Kathleen McCoy, executive officer of the state's > Respiratory Care Board, which released the documents, > responded that they officially became public once an > administrative law court suspended Saldivar's license > for 30 days. The court placed no secrecy order on the > documents. > > ``We did not want to hamper their investigation, but > these are public documents,'' McCoy said. > > Saldivar faces a hearing Tuesday on whether regulators > may permanently suspend his license. > > He was jailed earlier this month but released two days > later for lack of evidence pending further investigation > -- a situation that legal analysts say is not uncommon. > > ``If they don't believe he's a flight risk, they are > better off releasing him and developing a case that will > actually stick than holding him on superficial > charges,'' said Carol Chase, a law professor at > Pepperdine University. > > Police have been interviewing patients' relatives and > reviewing hospital files, and they were strongly > considering exhuming some bodies. > > In a statement to the state regulatory board, Glendale > police Officer William Currie described a March 11 > interview in which Saldivar waived his right to have a > lawyer present. > > ``Saldivar talked about his anger at seeing patients > kept alive as opposed to the guilt he would feel at the > failure of providing lifesaving care,'' Currie said. A > polygraph examiner ``asked Saldivar if he considered > himself an angel of death. Saldivar replied yes.'' > > Gloria A. Barrios, a state deputy attorney general, > wrote in court papers seeking the license suspension > that ``there is no reason to believe'' that Saldivar > would concoct the story, adding that his ``statements > cannot simply be discounted as the rantings of a person > seeking attention.'' > > Another question is whether Saldivar acted alone. In the > statement to regulators, Currie said: ``Saldivar said he > felt encouraged by other therapists at (Glendale > Adventist) who would sometimes give him room numbers of > patients who needed lethal injections.'' > > Saldivar could not be reached for comment Friday or > Saturday. His brother, Eddie, said Friday the > allegations could not be true and that his brother's > life ``is being torn apart by something someone said.'' > > Currie said it was Saldivar himself who admitted killing > with either lethal injections of Pavulon and > succinylcholine chloride -- both paralyzing medications > -- or by decreasing oxygen to patients relying on a > ventilator. > > Saldivar told him that patients had to be unconscious, > have a do-not-resuscitate order and ``they had to look > like they were ready to die,'' Currie said. > > The hospital first heard rumors about hastened patient > deaths in April 1997, hospital officials have said. A > two-month internal investigation revealed nothing > suspicious. > > The criminal investigation began after police received > an anonymous phone call on March 3 from a person who > said Saldivar ``helped a patient die fast'' about Feb. > 16, Currie said. -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. 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