Angel of Mercy (serial killer)
Encyclopedia
An angel of mercy or angel of death is a rare type of criminal offender (often a type of serial killer
) who is usually employed as a caregiver and intentionally harms or kills persons under their care. The angel of mercy is often in a position of power and may decide the victim would be better off if they no longer suffered from whatever severe illness plaguing them. This person then uses their knowledge to manufacture the death of the victim. As time goes on, this behavior escalates to encapsulate the healthy and the easily treated.
One theory to explain this particular type of serial killer is the Neutralization theory
. Developed by sociologists Gresham Sykes
and David Matza, it explains that criminals understand right from wrong. In order to neutralize their actions, criminals will develop new perceptions to mitigate the circumstances of their crimes. In this case, the killer might claim that he or she was helping the victim by easing their pain.
, who admitted during her murder trial that she was sexually aroused by death
. She would administer a drug mixture to patients she chose as her victims, lie in bed with them and hold them close to her body
as they died. Another example is Harold Shipman
, an English
family doctor, who made it appear that his victims died of natural causes (disease). Between 1975 and 1998, he murdered at least 215 patients; he is suspected of having murdered 250 people. Dr John Bodkin Adams
, meanwhile, though acquitted
in 1957 of the murder of one patient, is believed to have killed around 163 patients in Eastbourne
, England
.
An example of a sadistic medical serial killer was Richard Angelo, who was called the "angel of death," or angel of mercy. Angelo devised a plan where he would inject the patient with drugs, then rush into the room and attempt to "save" the patient so that he could be a hero to the patient’s family. This motive of excitement from inducing a health crisis for the patient has recently been labeled as a professional version of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
, which is a Factitious Disorder
. Richard Angelo confessed to killing 25 of his patients.
A number of medical murderers were involved in fraud
. For example, H. H. Holmes
was often involved in insurance scams
and confidence trick
s. Harold Shipman had a previous conviction for prescription fraud and forgery
, for which he was fined £600.
More known "Angels of Death" include:
For others, see :Category:Health care professionals convicted of murdering patients.
's play Arsenic and Old Lace
act as angels of mercy for lonely old men, poisoning them with elderberry wine laced with arsenic, strychnine and cyanide.
The character Annie Wilkes
in the Stephen King
novel Misery seems to be a serial killer of this type. Additionally, "Angel of mercy" is mentioned in Agatha Christie
's novel By the Pricking of My Thumbs
. The novel The 5th Horseman
in James Patterson
's Women's Murder Club
series features an "Angel of Mercy" serial killer. The term is also mentioned in a Fear Factory
song "Demanufacture".
, Dexter Morgan
's first kill is his father's nurse, an angel of mercy, who worked in the fictional Angel of Mercy Hospital.
It is also mentioned in Lie to me, Season 3, Episode 7: Veronica.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
) who is usually employed as a caregiver and intentionally harms or kills persons under their care. The angel of mercy is often in a position of power and may decide the victim would be better off if they no longer suffered from whatever severe illness plaguing them. This person then uses their knowledge to manufacture the death of the victim. As time goes on, this behavior escalates to encapsulate the healthy and the easily treated.
One theory to explain this particular type of serial killer is the Neutralization theory
Techniques of neutralization
Techniques of neutralization are a theoretical series of methods by which those who commit illegitimate acts temporarily neutralize certain values within themselves which would normally prohibit them from carrying out such acts, such as morality, obligation to abide by the law, and so on...
. Developed by sociologists Gresham Sykes
Gresham Sykes
Gresham M'Cready Sykes was an American sociologist and criminologist. He earned a Bachelor of Arts at Princeton University and a Ph. D. at Northwestern University. He taught at Princeton, Dartmouth, and Northwestern prior to becoming sociology professor at the University of Virginia...
and David Matza, it explains that criminals understand right from wrong. In order to neutralize their actions, criminals will develop new perceptions to mitigate the circumstances of their crimes. In this case, the killer might claim that he or she was helping the victim by easing their pain.
Characteristics and motivations
The motivation for this type of criminal is variable, but generally falls into one or more types or patterns:- Mercy killer - Believe the victims are suffering or beyond help, though this belief may be delusional or simply ignorant.
- Sadistic - Use their position as a way of exerting power and control over helpless victims.
- Malignant hero - A pattern wherein the subject endangers the victim's life in some way and then proceeds to "save" them. Some feign attempting resuscitation, all the while knowing their victim is already dead and beyond help, but hope to be seen as selflessly making an effort.
In the medical field
Some people with a pathological interest in the power of life and death tend to be attracted to medical professions or acquiring such a job. These kinds of killers are sometimes referred to as "angels of death" or angels of mercy. Medical professionals will kill their patients for money, for a sense of sadistic pleasure, for a belief that they are "easing" the patient’s pain, or simply "because they can." One such killer was nurse Jane ToppanJane Toppan
Jane Toppan , born Honora Kelley, was an American female serial killer. She confessed to 11 murders in 1901. She is quoted as saying that her ambition was "to have killed more people — helpless people — than any other man or woman who ever lived...".-Early life:Though scant records...
, who admitted during her murder trial that she was sexually aroused by death
Lust murder
A lust murder is a homicide in which the offender searches for erotic satisfaction by killing someone. Lust murder is synonymous with the paraphilic term erotophonophilia which is sexual arousal or gratification contingent on the death of a human being...
. She would administer a drug mixture to patients she chose as her victims, lie in bed with them and hold them close to her body
Frotteurism
Frotteurism refers to a paraphilic interest in rubbing, usually one's pelvis or erect penis, against a non-consenting person for sexual gratification. It may involve touching any part of the body including the genital area. A person who practices frotteurism is known as a frotteur...
as they died. Another example is Harold Shipman
Harold Shipman
Harold Fredrick Shipman was an English doctor and one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history with 218 murders being positively ascribed to him....
, an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
family doctor, who made it appear that his victims died of natural causes (disease). Between 1975 and 1998, he murdered at least 215 patients; he is suspected of having murdered 250 people. Dr John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
, meanwhile, though acquitted
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
in 1957 of the murder of one patient, is believed to have killed around 163 patients in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
An example of a sadistic medical serial killer was Richard Angelo, who was called the "angel of death," or angel of mercy. Angelo devised a plan where he would inject the patient with drugs, then rush into the room and attempt to "save" the patient so that he could be a hero to the patient’s family. This motive of excitement from inducing a health crisis for the patient has recently been labeled as a professional version of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
Munchausen syndrome by proxy
Münchausen syndrome by proxy is a label for a pattern of behavior in which care-givers deliberately exaggerate, fabricate, and/or induce physical, psychological, behavioral, and/or mental health problems in others. Other experts classified MSbP as a mental illness...
, which is a Factitious Disorder
Factitious disorder
Factitious disorders are conditions in which a person acts as if he or she has an illness by deliberately producing, feigning, or exaggerating symptoms. Factitious disorder by proxy is a condition in which a person deliberately produces, feigns, or exaggerates symptoms in a person who is in their...
. Richard Angelo confessed to killing 25 of his patients.
A number of medical murderers were involved in fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
. For example, H. H. Holmes
H. H. Holmes
Herman Webster Mudgett , better known under the alias of Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, was one of the first documented American serial killers in the modern sense of the term...
was often involved in insurance scams
Insurance fraud
Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer.Insurance fraud has existed ever since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions...
and confidence trick
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
s. Harold Shipman had a previous conviction for prescription fraud and forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
, for which he was fined £600.
More known "Angels of Death" include:
- Beverley Allitt, English nurse who murdered four child patients
- Kristen GilbertKristen GilbertKristen Gilbert is an American serial killer who was convicted for three first-degree murders, one second-degree murder, and two attempted murders of patients admitted for care at the VAMC in Northampton, Massachusetts...
, American nurse and convicted serial killer - Donald HarveyDonald HarveyDonald Harvey is an American serial killer who claims to have murdered 87 people. The official estimates of the number of people he murdered range anywhere from at least 37 to 57 deaths. Donald Harvey received some type of sadistic pleasure from killing his patients, although he claims he started...
, American orderly and convicted serial killer - Michael SwangoMichael SwangoJoseph Michael Swango is an American serial killer and former licensed physician. It is estimated that Swango has been involved in as many as 60 fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, though he admitted to only causing four deaths...
, American physician who poisoned over 30 patients and coworkers
For others, see :Category:Health care professionals convicted of murdering patients.
In literature
The two spinster aunts in Joseph KesselringJoseph Kesselring
Joseph Otto Kesselring was an American writer and playwright known best for his play Arsenic and Old Lace, written in 1939 and originally entitled "Bodies in Our Cellar." He was born in New York City to Henry and Frances Kesselring. His father's parents were immigrants from Germany. His mother was...
's play Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace (play)
Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play was directed by Bretaigne Windust, and opened on January 10, 1941. On September 25, 1943, the...
act as angels of mercy for lonely old men, poisoning them with elderberry wine laced with arsenic, strychnine and cyanide.
The character Annie Wilkes
Annie Wilkes
Anne Marie Wilkes Dugan, usually known as Annie Wilkes, is a fictional character and the antagonist/main villain in the 1987 novel Misery, by Stephen King. In the 1990 film adaptation of the novel, Annie Wilkes was portrayed by Kathy Bates, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal...
in the Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
novel Misery seems to be a serial killer of this type. Additionally, "Angel of mercy" is mentioned in Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's novel By the Pricking of My Thumbs
By the Pricking of My Thumbs (novel)
By The Pricking of My Thumbs is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in November 1968 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at twenty-one shillings and the US edition at $4.95...
. The novel The 5th Horseman
The 5th Horseman
The 5th Horseman is the fifth book in the Women's Murder Club series featuring Lindsay Boxer by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro first published on February 2006. The novel like many in the series was commercially successful and repeatedly appeared in Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, and high...
in James Patterson
James Patterson
James B. Patterson is an American author of thriller novels, largely known for his series about American psychologist Alex Cross...
's Women's Murder Club
Women's Murder Club
Women's Murder Club is an American police procedural and legal drama, which ran on ABC from October 12, 2007, to May 13, 2008. The series is set in San Francisco, California and is based on the 'Women's Murder Club' series of novels written by James Patterson...
series features an "Angel of Mercy" serial killer. The term is also mentioned in a Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
song "Demanufacture".
On television
In the television series DexterDexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
, Dexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan is a fictional character in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, including Darkly Dreaming Dexter , Dearly Devoted Dexter , Dexter in the Dark , Dexter by Design , Dexter is Delicious and Double Dexter...
's first kill is his father's nurse, an angel of mercy, who worked in the fictional Angel of Mercy Hospital.
It is also mentioned in Lie to me, Season 3, Episode 7: Veronica.