Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings/Conspiracy Theories Book II

Killer Nurse: Genene Jones

Genene Anne Jones (born July 13,1950) is an American serial killer, responsible for the deaths of upto 60 infants and children in her care as a licensed vocational nurseduring the 1970s and 1980s. In 1984, Jones was convicted of murderand injury to a child. She had used injections of digoxin, heparin,and later succinylcholine to induce medical crises in her patients,causing numerous deaths. The exact number of victims remains unknown;hospital officials allegedly misplaced and then destroyed records ofJones' activities, to prevent further litigation after Jones' firstconviction.

Early life and marriages

Jones was adopted by a nightclub ownerand his wife. Jones worked as a beautician before attending nursingschool in the late 1970s.

Jones was married to her high schoolsweetheart between 1968 and 1974, and they had one child during thattime. The relationship ended in divorce. Three years later Jones andher husband reconciled and had another child together in 1977. Justbefore her indictment, Jones married a 19-year-old nursing assistant.He filed for divorce a short time later.

Career and background

While Jones worked as a licensedvocational nurse (LVN) at the Bexar County Hospital (now UniversityHospital of San Antonio) in the pediatric intensive care unit, astatistically improbable number of children died under her care. Because the hospital feared being sued, it simply asked all of itsLVNs, including Jones, to resign and staffed the pediatric ICUexclusively with registered nurses. No further investigation waspursued by the hospital.

Jones left and took a position at apediatrician's clinic in Kerrville, Texas, some 60 miles northwest ofSan Antonio. It was here that she was charged with poisoning sixchildren. The doctor in the office discovered puncture marks in abottle of succinylcholine (Suxamethonium chloride) in the drugstorage, where only she and Jones had access. Contents of theapparently full bottle were later found to be diluted.Succinylcholine is a powerful short-acting paralytic that causestemporary paralysis of all skeletal muscles, as well as those thatcontrol breathing; the drug is used as a part of general anaesthetic.A patient cannot breathe while under the influence of this drug. Insmall children, cardiac arrest is the ultimate result ofdeoxygenation due to lack of respiration.

Jones claimed she was trying tostimulate the creation of a pediatric intensive care unit inKerrville.

Prosecution

In 1985, Jones was sentenced to 99years in prison for killing 15-month-old Chelsea McClellan withsuccinylcholine. Later that year, she was sentenced to a concurrentterm of 60 years in prison for nearly killing Rolando Santos withheparin.

As of May 2016, Jones was held at theLane Murray Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. She hadbeen scheduled for mandatory release in 2018 due to a Texas law meantto prevent prison overcrowding. To avoid this, Jones was indicted onMay 25, 2017, for the murder of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer. NicoLaHood, Bexar County District Attorney, stated that additionalcharges could be filed in the deaths of other children. Due to themandatory early-release law covering Jones' original convictions, shewould otherwise have been released upon completion of a third of theoriginal sentence. The new charges were filed to avoid her release. In April 2018, a judge in San Antonio denied a request to dismissfive new murder indictments against Jones. On 16 January 2020, Jonespleaded guilty to the murder of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer on 12December 1981 as part of a plea deal in which four other charges weredropped. She was sentenced to life in prison. She will not beeligible for parole until she is roughly 87 years old.

In popular culture

She was portrayed by Susan Ruttan inthe television movie Deadly Medicine (1991) and by Alicia Bartya inthe straight-to-video movie Mass Murder (2002). She was alsofeatured in a Discovery Channel documentary, Lethal Injection; seasonfive episode ten of Forensic Files titled "Nursery Crimes"; season one episode three of the British docuseries Nurses Who Kill(2016); as well as the "Dark Secrets" season two, episodefour of Investigation Discovery's Deadly Women, and was said to haveinspired Annie Wilkes from Stephen King's Misery.