Italian nurse Daniela Poggiali accused of killing 'up to 38 patients because she found them annoying'
Police in Italy are investigating whether a nurse could have killed up to 38 people who have died in hospital in suspicious circumstances.
The nurse, Daniela Poggiali, is accused of injecting a 78-year-old patient, Rosa Calderoni, with a fatal dose of potassium when she was admitted to hospital in Lugo in the province of Ravenna with a condition related to diabetes, according to the Italian newspaper Libero Quotidiano.
The police inquiry is being expanded to investigate 38 deaths, including 10 which police have described as “very suspicious” according to Italian media reports. Ms Poggiali is also suspected of giving her patients high doses of potassium because she found them or their families annoying, according to Libero Quotidiano.
Police said that they were investigating whether the patients were allegedly killed because they were too "difficult" to treat or because the families were overly pushy.
Alessandro Mancini, the chief prosecutor of Ravenna, described the investigation as "very complex".
The New York Post newspaper also reported that police have a phone belonging to Poggiali, 42, contained a photo she took of her giving a thumbs-up next to a patient that had died. As a result, Poggiali could face charges for disrespecting the dead.
Potassium chloride can trigger cardiac arrest and is used in the US for administering the death penalty.
Police reportedly said the case was difficult because potassium fades from the blood very quickly.
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