Jennifer Anne Hall: 'Serial killer' nurse accused of killing 9 patients is charged with another murder
CHILLICOTHE, OHIO: Former hospital respiratory therapist Jennifer Anne Hall has been charged with the murder of another patient for an incident that occurred on March 21, 2002. The ex-nurse allegedly killed her patient David Wesley Harper, 37, by "administering unprescribed pharmaceuticals to him" at Hendrick Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio. She began working at Hendrick in December 2001.
Hall has now been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Harper. The victim was battling bronchitis when he was admitted to Hendrick Medical Center on March 18, 2002. Hall was allegedly found with a vial of succinylcholine in her pocket at the time of Harper's death.
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What are the allegations against Jennifer Anne Hall?
Harper, who was admitted to the hospital, was taken care of by Hall. She apparently told her nursing staff when she entered Harper's room, she found him seated on the edge of his bed. Harper allegedly told her he felt ill before falling backward on his bed in "complete respiratory arrest." Harper died after the same. The presence of succinylcholine in Hall's hand led to more confusion. "The substance used to take Mr Harper's life, succinylcholine, paralyzes the victim's muscles, including the diaphragm, causing the victim to suffer a ghastly death from suffocation while still maintaining full consciousness and awareness that they are unable to breathe and are dying," the filing read.
Investigators claimed Hall twice “failed to record her presence with Harper,” which “had the effect of distancing Hall from Mr Harper’s murder in both time and location” while also producing “an alibi by omission” on Harper’s integrated medical records.
The legal documents also claimed that throughout the period of December 2001 to May 2002, "the rate of cardiac collapse incidents… rose alarmingly. These incidents were viewed as medically suspicious by medical staff. " Eighteen patients were admitted, among which nine of them died during her five-month employment tenure. Chillicothe Police Officer Brian Schmidt wrote in the affidavit, “Because of Hall’s singular proximity to stricken patients, her access to pharmaceuticals which are deadly if misused, and her discovery and method of notifying staff of every patient’s cardiac emergency, nursing staff believed Hall was responsible for the patient deaths."
Hall was already charged with the murder of Fern Franco, 75, in May 2022. Similar to Harper, Franco also died of lethal doses of succinylcholine. The former nurse was placed on administrative leave three days after Franco’s death, and the code blue incidents “returned to historical frequency."
Meanwhile, she was later on fired by Hendrick as she was convicted of an arson fire at another small Missouri hospital named Cass Regional Medical Center in Harrisonville. Prosecutors claimed, "Because of Hall's singular proximity to stricken patients, her access to pharmaceuticals which are deadly if misused, and her discovery of, and method of notifying staff of every patient's cardiac emergency, nursing staff believed Hall was responsible for the patient deaths."
How did the case come into the limelight?
Though there were concerns regarding the death of the patients, Scott Lindley, the county coroner, claimed, "Hospital officials are said to have been alerted to the concerns about Hall but did everything in the world to cover it up” to avoid bad publicity." However, in 2010, a lawsuit was filed against the hospital and the company that currently operates the hospital called St Luke’s Health System. St Lukes's Health System wrote in a statement, “We, too, are only interested in the truth, and look forward to a final resolution of the investigation," as per The Sun.
What are the claims of Jennifer Anne Hall?
Hall's defense attorney, Molly Hastings, said, "I look forward to the opportunity to defend her against each and every one of these allegations and believe the evidence will support an acquittal when we have our day in court," according to People. Hall has still not accepted she is responsible for the death. “Never,” she told The Kansas City Star in 2015. “No, never. My name is just thrown out there, and it’s for horrifying reason. Nobody has asked me if I've done anything or if I haven't done anything," she said.