Swango was released from prison in 1987, after serving only two years. Soon after his arrival, however, staff were alarmed by an unusual number of patient deaths or illnesses, according to the Los Angeles Times. Swango is also suspected of poisoning patients in … Biography. His father was a noted US Army Officer who served in … By making a deal with prosecutors, he was spared the death penalty, and the government of Zimbabwe agreed not to seek his extradition and pursue charges against him. So when nurses discover that patients seem to get sick or die unexpectedly when Dr Swango is on duty, they raise the alarm. Stewart says Swango wound up joining the Marines and later falsely claimed to have received both a Bronze Star for heroism and a Purple Heart for wounds received in combat. People born on October 21 fall under the zodiac sign of Libra. Regardless of the allegations against Swango, several OSU doctors wrote him letters of recommendation for his application for a medical license. #ShockingButTrue His classmates found him strange and fiercely competitive, according to The Washington Post. In 2000, Swango was sentenced to life in prison at USP Florence ADMAX in Florence, Colorado. The Associated Press contributed to this report, First published on July 12, 2000 / 11:23 AM. "I just hope Michael spends the rest of his life in a living hell," said Carol Fisher, daughter of victim Thomas Sammarco. In late 1994, Swango used forged documents and false information to secure a job as a physician at Mnene Lutheran Mission Hospital in the city of Bulawayo. Now 64, Swango is incarcerated at USP Florence ADMAX, a maximum-security federal penitentiary in Colorado known as “The Alcatraz of the Rockies.”. r. Michael Swango used to tell colleagues that his favorite movie was ''The Silence of the Lambs.'' Details: In July 1983, Michael Swango, a recent medical school graduate of Southern Illinois University, went to Ohio State University Hospital, but his poor … Before the long arm of the law could catch up to him, he flew to Africa, where his penchant for poisoning people and murder continued. The lawyer, Randi Chavis, represents Michael Swango, who went to prison in the 1980's for poisoning co-workers in Illinois and who now faces Federal charges of fraudulently obtaining a … Michael was a serviceman in the Marine Corps where he received an honorable leave upon his discharge. Stewart also said he believes Swango is responsible for the death of the woman who was his fiancee, Kristin Kinney, who killed herself after suffering numerous mysterious illnesses, including severe mental disorientation. But as investigators closes in, the doctor is always one step ahead. Michael Swango's story began right here in the Tri-States, but few could have ever guessed where it would end. Michael Swango pleaded guilty to five counts of a nine-count federal indictment and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Murders A-Z is a collection of true crime stories that take an in-depth look at both little-known and infamous murders throughout history. He was later accused of falsifying patient reports and threatened with expulsion, but he ultimately graduated, reported the Los Angeles Times. Michael Swango is an American serial killer and a former physician who is serving three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole at the ADX Florence supermax prison near Florence, Colorado. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The second of three children, he grew up in Quincy, Illinois. Stewart also reports that Swango did his undergraduate chemistry thesis, at Quincy College in Illinois, on a now-eerie subject: the 1978 murder of a Bulgarian writer who had been living in exile in London. Real Name: Joseph Michael Swango Aliases: The Doctor of Death, Michael Kirk, David Jackson Adams, Jack Kirk, Michael Swan Wanted For: Questioning in Murders Missing Since: January 1994 Case. One day, Swango brought a box of doughnuts to work. With Bruce Farley, Marta Legrady, Drew Riedstra, Katie Ryerson. He was a great admirer of serial killer Ted Bundy due to Bundy's intelligence and ability to fool so many people. After the military, Swango enrolled in … Michael Joseph Swango (born October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington) is a physician and surgeon, who fatally poisoned at least thirty (and possibly many more) of his patients and colleagues. Michael Swango is a American Criminal from Washington, United States. License to Kill: Dr. Joseph Michael Swango's Disturbing 'House of Horrors'. Michael Swango received three consecutive life sentences. Michael Swango is said to have murdered between 30-60 people during his career as a doctor. Former physician sentenced to life without parole for poisoning his patients and co-workers. Michael Swango (born Joseph Michael Swango) was a physician who spent most of the 1980s and ’90s using his medical license to poison patients (and, sometimes, colleagues). His death would be ruled a homicide, and his family sued Swango in 1986, believing him to be the murderer, according to, An internal probe of Swango brought about no conclusive evidence, but the school still ended his neurosurgery residency, according to, In summer 1984, Swango returned to Quincy, where he obtained a job as an, emergency medical technician with the Adams County Ambulance Service, reported. In summer 1984, Swango returned to Quincy, where he obtained a job as an emergency medical technician with the Adams County Ambulance Service, reported The New York Times. Authorities in Zimbabwe would later issue a warrant for his arrest on charges that he poisoned seven patients, including five fatalities, according to, In June 1997, Swango returned to the U.S. to catch a flight to Saudi Arabia, where he had been offered a job as a doctor. He was born on October 21, 1954 in Washington. In 2000, Swango would confess to the 1984 murder of Cynthia McGee, 19, by injecting her with a fatal dose of potassium, according to CBS News. While Dr. Michael Joseph Swango eventually pleaded guilty to four murders, his victim count may be as high as 60. Case Study #1: Michael Swango Former physician • Sentenced to four life sentences in federal prison • Deliberately killed around 60 patients over 16 years Swango is believed to have begun killing in 1983 • Graduated from Southern Illinois University Medical School • Began internship at Ohio State University Hospital o Cynthia McGee Several died unexpectedly. He was profiled on ABC’s “20/20,” vehemently denying the charges against him and any connection to the deaths in Ohio. Swango allegedly cheered TV reports of murders, professed his admiration for serial killers and told them that he fantasized about a busload of children being impaled by a tanker, according to the Los Angeles Times. He then enrolled in Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, where his troubles began. That was not a reassuring datum, considering the rumors being whispered among the nurses, and the epidemics of cardiopulmonary arrest that seemed to follow whenever Swango happened to … Michael Swango was born on October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington, United States, United States, is Serial Killer. Michael Swango was convicted of three murders in 2000 and admitted to one more slaying. Not all of Swango’s poisonings ended in death. Michael Swango was a problem student and a problem resident. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more! Yet he's suspected of claiming as many as 60 lives over the course of his murder spree. “Standard procedures for checking applicants were not followed,” former school dean Dr. Jordan Cohen told People magazine. Weeks later, the co-workers laid a trap before they were dispatched, leaving behind a pitcher of unsweetened iced tea. His subsequent guilty plea that October in the McGee murder earned him another life sentence, according to CBS News. While Swango eventually pleaded guilty to four murders, his victim count, Joseph Michael Swango was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1954. Death,” serving three consecutive life terms. There is no pathological test to detect ricin and no trace of it was found in the victim's body, although an autopsy did turn up a tiny capsule the size of the head of a pin embedded in the victim's leg. His death would be ruled a homicide, and his family sued Swango in 1986, believing him to be the murderer, according to UPI. It's also the subject of a book, Blind Eye, by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist James B. Stewart, who reports on a number of peculiar details in Swango's life and early medical career. He sought medical work in other states including South Dakota, but was rejected after it was discovered he had forged documents and lied about his criminal past, reported The New York Times. Each of those counts carried a 14-month jail term. At 66 years old, Michael Swango height not available right now. In an interview with CBS News, Stewart said he has linked Swango to 35 deaths and 20 non-fatal poisonings, including the poisoning of his Illinois co-workers, who became sick after ingesting arsenic-laced donuts and iced tea. On Sept. 6, 2000, Michael Swango pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, according to the Associated Press. He is now serving life in prison without possibility of parole in the ADX Florience supermax prison in Florience, Colorado. A co-worker said he saw Swango leave the area where the pitcher had been left. A nurse would later tell police she saw Swango injecting an unknown substance into a patient’s IV right before they stopped breathing, according to the Los Angeles Times. An internal probe of Swango brought about no conclusive evidence, but the school still ended his neurosurgery residency, according to The Washington Post. He was forced out after being caught working on a scrapbook of disasters on work time. In 1989, he was working at a medical-career vocational school in Newport News, Virginia, when three co-workers became ill, although no charges were ever filed, according to, He sought medical work in other states including South Dakota, but was rejected after it was discovered he had forged documents and lied about his criminal past, reported, “Standard procedures for checking applicants were not followed,” former school dean Dr. Jordan Cohen told, As part of his residency, Swango began seeing patients at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northport, New York. Swango seemed to always be on duty whenever these incidents occurred. Investigators suspected they may not have been his only victims at the facility. Five of his co-workers became violently ill, according to The New York Times. While there, he murdered at least three victims by lethal injection — Thomas Sammarco, 73, George Siano, 60, and Aldo Serini, 62, according to The New York Times. 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