Alta View Hospital hostage incident
Encyclopedia
The Alta View Hospital hostage incident began the night of September 20, 1991 when Richard Worthington, armed with a shotgun, a handgun and sticks of dynamite
arrived at Alta View Hospital
in Sandy, UT in an attempt to kill Dr. Glade Curtis who had performed a tubal ligation
on his wife.
After planting the dynamite outside, Worthington entered the Hospital's Women's Center and took two nurses, a patient, Christan Downey, who was giving birth to her first child, her sister Carre, the baby's father Adam, and two newborn babies hostage (Caitlin, the daughter of Christan and Adam, was born during the siege). Dr. Curtis saw what was happening and hid in his office, where he called the police. When the police arrived nurse Karla Roth attempted to wrestle Worthington's shotgun from his hands but failed. Worthington then shot and killed Roth.
Worthington held the hostages for eighteen hours. He was talked into surrendering and releasing the remaining hostages by Sergeant Don Bell and Detective Jill Candland of the Salt Lake City police department who were assisted by a hostage inside, a nurse named Susan Woolley. Worthington was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison for the murder of Karla Roth, he committed suicide in his prison cell on November 11, 1993.
The incident was portrayed in the 1992 TV movie Deliver Them From Evil: The Taking of Alta View starring Harry Hamlin
and Teri Garr
.
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
arrived at Alta View Hospital
Alta View Hospital
Alta View Hospital is located in Sandy, Utah and is an Intermountain Healthcare member hospital.Hospital services include, a 24-suite women's center that features single-room birthing and facilitates over 1,800 births per year, a 46-bed medical/surgical unit, a 4-bed intensive care unit...
in Sandy, UT in an attempt to kill Dr. Glade Curtis who had performed a tubal ligation
Tubal ligation
Tubal ligation or tubectomy is a surgical procedure for sterilization in which a woman's fallopian tubes are clamped and blocked, or severed and sealed, either method of which prevents eggs from reaching the uterus for fertilization...
on his wife.
After planting the dynamite outside, Worthington entered the Hospital's Women's Center and took two nurses, a patient, Christan Downey, who was giving birth to her first child, her sister Carre, the baby's father Adam, and two newborn babies hostage (Caitlin, the daughter of Christan and Adam, was born during the siege). Dr. Curtis saw what was happening and hid in his office, where he called the police. When the police arrived nurse Karla Roth attempted to wrestle Worthington's shotgun from his hands but failed. Worthington then shot and killed Roth.
Worthington held the hostages for eighteen hours. He was talked into surrendering and releasing the remaining hostages by Sergeant Don Bell and Detective Jill Candland of the Salt Lake City police department who were assisted by a hostage inside, a nurse named Susan Woolley. Worthington was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison for the murder of Karla Roth, he committed suicide in his prison cell on November 11, 1993.
The incident was portrayed in the 1992 TV movie Deliver Them From Evil: The Taking of Alta View starring Harry Hamlin
Harry Hamlin
Harry Robinson Hamlin is an American film and television actor, known for his role as Perseus in the 1981 fantasy film Clash of the Titans, and as Michael Kuzak in the legal drama series L.A...
and Teri Garr
Teri Garr
-Early life:Garr was born in Lakewood, Ohio in 1947. Her father, Eddie Garr , was a vaudeville performer, comedian and actor whose career peaked when he briefly took over the lead role in the Broadway drama Tobacco Road...
.