Serial killerkristengilbert

1. Kristen Gilbert “The Angel of Death” By: Emily Matia

2. Her Childhood Born on November 13 th , 1967 in Massachusetts as Kristen Heather Strickland. Her parents were married, but distant and u naffectionate. In high school, Gilbert p hysically and verbally abused her boyfriends, a nd she was a notorious liar. She claimed she w as related to murderer Lizzie Borden.

3. Adult Life Kristen Gilbert graduated from high school a year a nd a half early with very high grades. She went t o Bridgewater State College, then transferred to Greenfield Community College to be closer to her boyfriend Glenn Gilbert. She graduated with a d iploma in nursing. She eloped and married Glenn Gilbert in 1988. They had two children.

4. Kristen Gilbert began displaying very odd, even cruel behavior. In 1987, she began working as a home health aide where she scolded a mentally disabled child over 60% of his body with hot bath water . She was not prosecuted for this. She also allegedly chased her husband around the house with a butcher knife after an argument, but she did not harm him. She was employed as a nurse at Leeds Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Massachusetts, where she was given the nickname “Angel of Death” because so many people died while in her care . During an affair that Kristen was having, her husband Glenn believed that Kristen was trying to kill him because of the funny tasting food she served him. A search of the house supported his suspicion: they found a book titled The Handbook of Poisoning in Kristen’s cupboard. During the murder investigation, Gilbert phoned in a bomb threat to the hospital to try and put the investigation on hold. She was arrested and served 15 months for this crime. Adult Life

5. The Killings There were no certain motives for the killings. Gilbert was a highly skilled nurse, and a “social butterfly” at the medical center. But, she was having an affair with hospital security guard James Perrault. It is believed that Kristen would put her patients in emergency conditions, because hospital security always came rushing at an emergency, so she could show off her nursing skills and flirt with Perrault. Gilbert eventually left her husband and kids for Perrault

6. The Method of Killing Gilbert killed her victims by injecting them with the drug epinephrine, which caused them to have massive heart attacks and die. The Killings

7. The victims All of Kristen Gilbert’s victims were white male hospitalized veterans. These men were perfect victims-they were all vulnerable because of their physical and mental illnesses. Gilbert was convicted of four murders. Their names were Henry Hudon (age 35), Stanley Jag0dowski (age 66), Kenny Cutting (age 41), and Edward Skwira (age 68).

8. Caught& Convicted Three suspicious coworkers of Gilbert came forward and sparked the investigation that eventually got Gilbert caught. Gilbert was under suspicion because there was an unusual amount of deaths and near deaths of patients that were under her care, and bottles of epinephrine were said to be missing. A test of the exhumed body of one of the victims found that there were traces of epinephrine in the body that shouldn’t have been there; the victim was never supposed to be given epinephrine.

9. Caught& Convicted On March 14 th ,2001 at age 33, Kristen Gilbert was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, and two counts of attempted murder, and is suspected of 40+ other deaths. She was sentenced to four life sentences without possibility of parole plus 20 years. She had just barely escaped the death sentence.

10. Why are serial killers so difficult to spot? Serial killers are so difficult to spot because they live behind a “mask of sanity”. Most often serial killers are charming, well dressed and successful people. They often wear disguises, such as a counselor, police officer, or other successful figure in society. They fool people to gain their trust. They do not feel sympathy for others, however they are able to imitate the normal behavior they have learned from other people. For example, Kristen Gilbert was an attractive, charming, and talented young nurse. When one thinks of a serial killer, that is not the image that comes to mind.

11. What are the four types of serial killer crime scenes? Organized Crime Scene- is a planned offense in which the victim is a targeted stranger. Most often the body is hidden or disposed of. There is very little to no evidence at the scene of the crime. Kristen Gilbert had an organized crime scene. 2. Disorganized Crime Scene- victim is selected at random. The crime scene is sloppy, evidence is left. Sudden violence on the victim. 3. Mixed Crime Scene- includes characteristics from both organized and disorganized crime scenes. 4. Atypical Crime Scene- cannot be classified by the remains of the victim. This crime scene usually pertains to decomposed remains.

12. What I learned What surprised me the most was learning that most serial killers do not appear to be serial killers at all. They are usually very well kept, organized, intelligent people. I was appalled that Kristen Gilbert not only killed her patients, but that her patients were brave men who had once served our country.