Chapter 6

Question 1

Typical killing locations by healthcare serial killers

Answer 1

hospitals and nursing homes

Question 2

Ways they kill

Answer 2

52% injections, 25% unknown, 11% suffocation, 4% water in lungs, 3% oral medications and air embolus, and 1% equipment tampering and poisoning

Question 3

Where they kill

Answer 3

hospitals and nursing homes

Question 4

Mental disorders of killers

Answer 4

often diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome

Question 5

Why they may not get caught and keep on killing

Answer 5

Victims are accessible and vulnerable.
An offender can easily operate without detection because no one expects such crimes to occur in a place of care.
An offender has access to a variety of murder weapons that are easily disposed of without detection.
Often autopsies are not performed when a death occurs under the care of an attending physician.

Question 6

How different than other serial killers

Answer 6

Compared to cases of non-healthcare serial murder, those healthcare providers who engage in murdering patients are quite rare but often very prolific in their killing.

Question 7

Why they get away with it

Answer 7

Prosecuting those who are believed to be involved in the deaths of patients can be very difficult as a result of lost evidence, sensationalism, and legal procedures.