Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Woodstock Residence Suspicious Deaths Bring Back Memories of Orville Lynn Majors The So Called Angel of Death


Ms. Calabaza sent a story about some suspicious deaths in a Woodstock nursing home in Illinois. It brought back memories of a male nurse accused of killing residence in an Indiana town. Orville Lynn Majors in the mid 90's was accused of being "the Angel of Death." Majors, now 48, was a licensed practical nurse in the western portion of Indiana. The Linton, Indiana man (who worked at a hospital in Clinton, Indiana) was convicted of murdering patients at Vermillion County Hospital. He was only tried for six murders: however, he may have been involved in as many as 130 deaths between 1993 and 1995. Prosecution.

Prior to the Majors employment at Vermillion County Hospital, around 26 patients died annually. After Majors began caring for patients, the annual death rate increased to more than 100 per year. (More than one out of every four patients admitted to the hospital died. Almost twice as many patients died when Majors was on duty than with any other nurses.
Majors was the only treating nurse present with seven of the patients who died. Majors was accused of injecting potassium chloride into his patients. The license of Majors was suspended in 1995. In 1999, Majors was found guilty of murdering six patients, and was sentenced to 360 years in prison.


Recently, in McHenry County, publicity of five suspicious deaths at a nursing home, have raised public concern. Woodstock Residence, a McHenry County Nursing home, recently fined nearly $360,000 after regulators alleged that an employee used drug cocktails to ensure residents "would not be bothering her during her shift." The Illinois Department of Public Health concluded that use of drugs like morphine sulfate contributed to 5 deaths in 2006 at the facility. "She won't make it through the day," Marty Himebaugh, a 57 year old worker, allegedly told a co-worker. (Illinois state law prohibits using drugs to discipline nursing home patients or use of drugs for staff convenience.)

Himebaugh, a licensed practical nurse at Woodstock Residence, was fired Oct. 31, 2006. Himebaugh and Penny Whitlock, 59, the former director of nursing at the facility, were indicted in April on criminal charges alleging they endangered the lives of residents. They were not charged with directly causing resident deaths. Prosecutors believed there was not enough evidence to prove any of the patients were killed. (Himebaugh and Whitlock are pictured above courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.)

Himebaugh was charged with four counts of criminal neglect of a long-term care resident, one count of obtaining morphine by fraud and one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.Whitlock of Woodstock was charged with five counts of criminal neglect of a long-term care resident and two counts of obstructing justice. Both women have pleaded not guilty and are presumed to be innocent unless otherwise proved in a court of law!

Woodstock, now Crossroads Care Center of Woodstock is appealing the fines. The facility is represented by attorney Meyer Magence.

Like the Majors case, civil litigation seeking monetary compensation has apparently been filed against woodstock. LINK.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember the Majors thing. Kvorkian like, as I recall.


Jill

Anonymous said...

Majors was freaky! I know a little about that one!


Shell

Anonymous said...

Both Majors and Himebaugh (if guilty) are questionable sorts that I believe deserve public reprimand and I appove this message.

B. O.

Anonymous said...

This is heavy stuff... and I don't just mean the women pictured!

Anonymous said...

Nuring homes get a bad rap. Some of the care givers are nuns.

THREE NUNS WERE ATTENDING A BASEBALL GAME SITTING DIRECTLY in front of three men. The nuns HABITS WERE PARTIALLY BLOCKING their VIEW so THE MEN DECIDED TO BADGER THE NUNS HOPING THAT THEY'D GET ANNOYED ENOUGH TO MOVE TO ANOTHER AREA.


IN A VERY LOUD VOICE, THE FIRST GUY SAID, "I THINK I'M GOING TO MOVE TO UTAH.. THERE ARE ONLY 100 NUNS LIVING THERE.."


THEN THE SECOND GUY SPOKE UP AND SAID, "I WANT TO GO TO MONTANA.. THERE ARE ONLY 5O NUNS LIVING THERE.."


THE THIRD GUY SAID, "I WANT TO GO TO IDAHO.. THERE ARE ONLY 25 NUNS LIVING THERE.."


ONE OF THE NUNS TURNED AROUND, LOOKED AT THE MEN, AND IN A VERY SWEET AND CALM VOICE SAID,


"WHY DON'T YOU GO TO HELL .. THERE AREN'T ANY NUNS THERE!"

So those readers who put down nursing homes, you know where you can go!

Anonymous said...

Makes me want to never get old or sick!

Anonymous said...

Makes me glad I ain't catholic

Anonymous said...

Trooper Gary Winters did a good job investigating the Majors cases.

Anonymous said...

Lynn Majors and I graduated nursing school together. We were a small class of only 25+ students, and even then I thought he was very strange.

Anonymous said...

Fortunately this world is full of strange people who never take others lives...

Anonymous said...

Lynn Majors could be an entire semester of psychological class study!

Anonymous said...

Lynn Majors was more than strange. He played God without a authority to do so