In August 1985, he was found guilty of aggravated battery and sentenced to five years in prison, reportedThe New York Times. It takes the work of law enforcement officials acting on those suspicions. An internal probe of Swango brought about no conclusive evidence, but the school still ended his neurosurgery residency, according toThe Washington Post. Was he a good boy during that time? [32] Marcello appeared cold and matter of fact in court as all five men were convicted. is alive and well, currently serving a 42 . Dr. Michael Swango is one of the prolific medical serial killers in history. Swangos past becomes known. I suppose I would ask why. Sackman was serving as a special agent in charge for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs out of New York when he first became aware of Swango, who had recently been featured on a television program that caught the attention of a doctor at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northport, New York. Michael Swango (born Joseph Michael Swango) was a physician who spent most of the 1980s and '90s using his . "I don't think there's any anger. Oct.2000: Swango pleads guilty in Columbus to the 1984 slaying of 19-year-old Cynthia McGee, a Dublin native who died at University Hospital while recovering from an automobile accident. As part of that investigation, prosecutors exhumed the bodies of three patients and found poisonous chemicals in them. Swango allegedly cheered TV reports of murders, professed his admiration for serial killers and told them that he fantasized about a busload of children being impaled by a tanker, according to the Los Angeles Times. On August 16, HLN (CNN Headline News) aired the show Very Scary People - Dr Death, detailing the investigation and conviction of this doctor based largely upon my book Behind The Murder . His patients, many of whom were considered stable, began to mysteriously die without explanation. Another suggested that murder was"the only way I have of reminding myself that I'm still alive." . That Thanksgiving Day, the Discovery Channel aired an episode of Justice Files that included a segment on Swango. He can be reached at ekaufman@mitchellrepublic.com. Dan Cook saw something in Swango long before 1984, when he was one of Michael's teachers at Christian Brothers High School in Quincy, the school from which Swango graduated as valedictorian in 1972. Only with their help can people like Sackman and his team bring justice to those who were the victims of murderers like Swango. As part of his residency, Swango began seeing patients at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northport, New York. McNairs final and most notorious escape was in 2006 when he packed himself into a shipment of mail leaving the prison. Now 68, Swango is incarcerated at, To learn more about Dr. Swango, watch Oxygen's series ". In 1993 a rival cartel attempted to assassinate Guzman at an airport, but accidentally killed the Cardinal Archbishop of Guadalajara and six other bystanders. The patient survives, but nurses suspect Swango in five deaths on the ward. In both Virginia and South Dakota, he used his inherent charm and a variety of forged legal documents to re-establish his career in the medical field. Swango ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. They told him that on the day he was due to be released, he would be extradited to Zimbabwe to face charges of murder and attempted murder. [1] Following his graduation, Swango went to medical school at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU). KHQA? On Sept. 6, 2000, Michael Swango pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, according to the Associated Press. Management more often than not supports the accused and not the whistleblower. In November 1994, he settled in Zimbabwe and used forged documents to obtain a job at Mnene Lutheran Mission Hospital in the center of the country. Swango seemed to be obsessed with violence and kept scrapbooks of newspaper clippings of disasters, accidents, crime scenes and other incidents, according toThe Columbus Dispatchnewspaper. Background screenings for hiring have improved greatly in the time since Swango stalked hospital hallways, Sackman said. No one investigator could do this himself or herself. Sources: Media reports; Meeks report; Blind Eye, by James B. Stewart. Around this time, Swango met Kristin Lynn Kinney, a nurse at Riverside Hospital. On this coming Sunday August 16, 2020 at 9PM EST on HLN (CNN Headline News) the show Very Scary People - Dr Death, will detail the investigation and conviction of this doctor based largely upon my book . He forged a Restoration of Civil Rights letter from Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles, falsely stating that Baliles had decided to restore Swango's right to vote and serve on a jury, based on "reports from friends and colleagues" that he had committed no further crimes after his "misdemeanor" and was leading an "exemplary lifestyle". His reign of terror came to an end in 1997, when he was arrested at Chicagos OHare International Airport and subsequently convicted and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He was sentenced to two life sentences for one of the abortion clinic bombings that had killed a police officer, and later two more life sentences for the Atlanta bombing. Michael Swango aka David J. Adams, Michael Kirk, Jack Kirk, Michael Swan, Dr. Death is believed to have committed as many as 60 murders including his patients and colleagues. That's all Michael Swango has left; the twisted answers inside a once-brilliant mind - all alone, in a prison cell, for the rest of his life. In July 2000, Swango was charged with the murders of three New York state patients. ", 'Dateline' investigates case of Sarah Jean Hartsfield, former Minnesotan accused of killing husband, Karla Jo Nieland was murdered at a 1981 Minnesota farm party. The former wasn't even supposed to be working at the Crossroads Convenience Store in Algona on November 15, 2010, yet she'd clocked in anyways after another . His co-workers found him unusually grim. I always like to say thank you to the very professional doctors and nurses who brought these cases to our attention. Rudolph grew up in Florida and North Carolina before moving with his mother to a Missouri compound run by the Christian Identity movement,[14] a racial interpretation of Christianity that believes Europeans are the chosen descendants of the Israelites and Jews are the cursed descendants of Cain. local. In 2006, he was sentenced to seven years in British prison for inciting violence. After two years in college, he enlisted in the Marines, but later returned to school at Quincy College to pursue a career as a doctor, reported theChicago Tribune. Police search his house and find a mini-laboratory of poisons, including handwritten recipes for ricin, botulism and supersaturated cyanide. Barely noticed at the time, many of Swango's assigned patients ended up "coding", or suffering life-threatening emergencies, with at least five of them dying. The public outcry resulted in Cohen and Miller being forced to resign before the end of the year. Police arrested him at Chicagos OHare Airport on fraud charges for presenting a false statement to Stony Brook and illegally distributing controlled substances, according to theOffice of Inspector General. When he was re-captured, he was sentenced to two life sentences at the North Dakota State Penitentiary. report from 2007 describes this maximum-security prison as a 21st century Alcatraz, where many inmates spend 23 hours a day locked in their cell. During the trial, the prosecution also argued that Palerma was involved in the kidnapping of three U.S. contractors in 2003, and a former guerilla testified against him about the kidnapping of a former mayor. [14] At the same time, Zimbabwean authorities charged him with poisoning seven patients, five of whom died. Swango could very well have remained in Sioux Falls for some time, but he committed a critical blunder. Swango allegedly cheered TV reports of murders, professed his admiration for serial killers and told them that he fantasized about a busload of children being impaled by a tanker, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Swango case almost sounded too sensationalistic to be believed, Sackman said. Hes really smart.. And I like the way Columbo works. Time is slowly putting Swango's story to rest, but Judge Dennis Cashman feels he has a responsibility to speak up about his involvement whenever he's asked, to serve the greater good. There were still many victims in Zimbabwe. Palerma quickly rose through the ranks of the organization to lead the area known as Front 41 and eventually was one of the leaders of the entire Caribbean bloc. He then enrolled in Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, where his troubles began. Swango rarely changed his murder methods. Michael Joseph Swango (born October 21, 1954) is an American serial killer and former physician who is estimated to have been involved in as many as 60 fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, although he admitted to causing only four deaths. In addition to writing his book, Sackman has become an in-demand speaker due to his work in the field of medical killers. [17] 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. ?s Ross Green sent Swango a letter asking him to re-consider; Swango did not reply. You can find parts one and two by clicking the links below this article. Born in Sinaloa, Mexico in 1957, Guzman started his journey into the drug world early by growing marijuana with his father. He was also a mass serial killer and a talented con artist. Can you imagine? Sackman said. [1]:28, Swango displayed troubling behavior during his time at SIU. Rudolph enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after this but was discharged for marijuana use. Advertisement During the 10 years that followed, a trail of suspicious deaths beset Swango's career through several states and two. Medical credentialing is 100 times more restrictive now than it was back then. As horrific as the allegations at his other career stops were, his time in Sioux Falls was marked by a notable absence of suspicious activity. His mother, Muriel, was a housewife, and his father, John, was a military officer. [17] Palmera formed his strong political opinions while teaching economics at the Popular University of Cesar and helped create the socialist organization known as Los Indipendientes. As a result of suspicions of the medical director there, Dr. Christopher Zishiri, Swango was suspended. March1992: Secures a residency at a university hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, using forged documents. " He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. [7] Authorities arrested McNair, but he slipped out of his handcuffs by greasing them with lip balm. One nurse caught him injecting some "medicine" into a patient who later became strangely ill.[1], The nurses reported their concerns to administrators but were met with accusations of paranoia. I certainly believe that he is a sick individual and he does not have the ability to comprehend what he did," Landis said. He committed multiple incidents of forgery and assault so that he could continue his disastrous medical career, but he was eventually charged by both U.S. and Zimbabwean authorities and is serving three consecutive life sentences. At the time, a unanimous vote was required for a student to be dismissed. He is serving a life sentence. Is Dr. Michael Swango Still Alive? Soon after his arrival, however, staff were alarmed by an unusual number of patient deaths or illnesses, according to theLos Angeles Times. Instead, 30 years later, what happens in Michael Swango? In 1987, however, he was caught red-handed by a staff member while robbing the offices of the Farmers Union and he shot the man and then killed a truck driver as he fled the building. Federal inmates must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences before being eligible for time off with good behavior, meaning that they likely had only three years to prove Swango was indeed a murderer. Security guard Richard Jewell led a partial evacuation of the area and was originally the main suspect but was eventually cleared and hailed as a hero. The lab reports were passed on by the Zimbabwe Republic Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) through Interpol to the FBI, who subsequently visited Zimbabwe to interview Cotton and the pathologist in Bulawayo, Stanford Mathe. But later that same year, he would reach out to the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and become a double agent. Wed, November 19th 2014, 9:24 PM PST. Sept. 2000: Swango pleads guilty to the three New York slayings and is sentenced to three life sentences without parole. Dr. Michael Swango is one of the prolific medical serial killers in history. He is serving fifteen consecutive life sentences.[6]. At one point in the 2010s, law enforcement determined that despite being less than 0.10% of the prison population, they were responsible for 18% of prison murders. Under the appearance of a caring doctor, Michael Swango planned and killed. Yet investigators suspect that during his crime spree, which spanned 1981 to 1997, Swango may . He called Richard Thomesen, who was stationed in the DEA's Manhattan field office to discuss the case. He eventually graduated behind schedule. He's serving three life sentences at the country's only supermax federal penitentiaryin Florence, Colorado. The infamous ADX Florence has earned the nickname The Alcatraz of the Rockies because of its extreme security. [26] Bingham rose to be a high-ranking member of the organizations leadership council. Even earlier, several students and faculty members had raised concerns about Swango's competence to practice medicine. An autopsy would later reveal that a ball of gauze had been placed down DeLongs throat. It takes medical examiners to help prove the causes of deaths that at first blush may seem unremarkable. It was reported on another occasion that he emerged from a dying patient's room with a smile on his face. [6] In both cases, Swango forged several legal documents that he used to reestablish himself as a physician and respected member of society. It was a case that stunned many in both the healthcare profession and law enforcement. Growing up, Swango saw little of his father and as a result, was closer to his mother. At this time, Swango rented a room in Bulawayo from a widowed woman who subsequently became violently sick after a meal she had prepared for herself and a friend. While Swango eventually pleaded guilty to just four murders, his victim countmay be as high as 60. He even managed to convince a police officer who was looking for the escapee that he was just a jogger. Weeks later, the co-workers laid a trap before they were dispatched, leaving behind a pitcher of unsweetened iced tea. [15] A week before the indictment was handed up, FBI agents interviewed Swango in prison. Sackman spent 32 years working for the federal government, including 25 with the Veterans Administration, investigating crime within the department. Sackman said he hopes the Swango case gives law enforcement and prosecutors the confidence to move ahead with investigations. Her death had interrupted yet another of Swango's attempts to complete his residency - training he needed in order to . Rudolph was finally caught by officer Jeffrey Scott Postell in 2003 and pled guilty. Valery was called by the FBI to discuss holding Swango. A quick search of inmate records will show ADX Florence is home to domestic and foreign terrorists, spies, gang leaders - and a doctor from Quincy. Amid the AMA report and calls from frightened colleagues, Sanford fired Swango. Sept.2000: Swango pleads guilty to the three New York slayings and is sentenced to three life sentences without parole. Swango was cleared by a cursory investigation in 1984. On one occasion, Swango picked up a bucket of fried chicken from a fast food restaurant for his fellow doctors on duty at Ohio State University. Prosecutors said Michael Swango killed for pleasure, and they read entries from a handwritten journal in which he mused about "the sweet, husky, close smell of indoor homicide." Another entry suggested that murder was "the only way I have of reminding myself that I'm still alive." Swango, 45, pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in a plea . FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was a group of Marxist-Leninist fighters who were responsible for up to 12% of civilian deaths during the Colombian conflict in the 1960s. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. After that, Swango was gone.. Michael Swango is an American serial killer and a former physician who is serving three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole at the ADX Florence supermax prison near Florence, Colorado. [1], While all this was happening, Tom Valery, chief investigator for the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), consulted with Charlene Thomesen, a forensic psychiatrist. In 2006, Bingham and several others were convicted of murder and racketeering, but federal prosecutors failed in securing the death penalty. Dr. Michael Swango, the notorious Dr. Death, was connected to at least 35 lethal injections and pleaded guilty to a total of four murders. He later became obsessed with the Holocaust, with particular interest in vivid images of the death camps. While in school, Swango worked part-time as a paramedic and would never miss a shift, reported theChicago Tribune. 2023 www.columbusmonthly.com. In July 1998, he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. In 2004, he was extradited to the United States on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. [13] The government used this time to amass a dossier of Swango's crimes. This was all pre-internet. Michael Swango pleaded guilty to five counts of a nine-count . The program also noted that he had actually been imprisoned for a time for poisoning his own co-workers on an ambulance crew. [2] During high school, he played clarinet in the band. Such was the case for the patients of infamous physician and serial killer Michael Swango. When not studying, he was frequently seen jogging or performing calisthenics on the Quincy University campus, and he was known to perform pushups as a form of self-punishment when criticized by instructors. By accounts he was considered a valued member of the medical staff, and if anything seemed out of the ordinary, nobody came forward to point it out. local. Could be. Joseph Michael Swango was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1954. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!