"Do you think it was just coincidence?" They also knew that they had a limited amount of time to amass that proof. based on information from your browser. Among his classmates, the decision to become a doctor formed a large part of their getting-acquainted conversations. None of the workers had died, but they could have, Cashman said. Swango then found a job as a laboratory technician for ATICoal in Newport News, now Vanguard Energy, a division of CITA Logistics. John Virgil Swango was born on August 26, 1914 in Quincy, Illinois, USA. Chillingly thorough.Wonderfully done.An elaborate journalistic reconstruction that has the fascination of an acutely observed and troubling novel. Search above to list available cemeteries. Michael Swango attended Quincy Catholic Boys High School, where he was valedictorian of his 1972 class and played clarinet in the school band Quincy Notre Dame. American Criminals Libra Serial Killers Childhood & Early Life Joseph Michael Swango was born on October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington to Muriel and John Virgil Swango. Every first-year medical student was required to take and pass 476 written tests during the first year. Others were killed in action, including the five TCU alum killed in Vietnam in 1967. [15], Additionally, prosecutors found evidence that Swango lied about the death of Cynthia Ann McGee, a patient he treated during his internship at OSU. Muriel Swango. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Many of his classmates had been antiwar protesters. Drag images here or select from your computer for COL John Virgil Swango memorial. But Swango never came in during the day or evening, preferring to work on his dissection after midnight, when the lab was usually deserted. Menu. These clippings confirmed toxic levels of arsenic in the hair. He was found to have faked checkups during his OB/GYN rotation one month before graduation, but was saved from being expelled by one vote. On August 23, 1985, Swango was convicted of aggravated battery for poisoning co-workers. As an officer in the U.S. Army, his father served in the Vietnam War and was listed in Who's Who in Government 1972-1973. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. They feared that if they could not find enough evidence to convict Swango, he was likely to kill again. Even Swango finally recognized that he couldn't adequately describe the region's anatomical characteristics using his own handiwork. A fascination with dying patients was observed during this time. By the end of his sophomore year, he was spending more time alone, and his friends and roommate had less and less contact with him. Thanks for your help! Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? Yes, Jim Stewart's books always are. He fell in love with a nurse at Riverside Hospital, Kristin Kinney, who strangely began suffering from violent fits of migraines and committed suicide four months later with traces of arsenic in her body. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. He was a gifted medical student and doctor and a former Marine. Their scorching, sensual affair ended in, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLSER This is vintage Wambaugh, a rollicking and ribald tale, laced with black humor.The San Diego Union-TribuneHarbor cops Fortney and Leeds, Each wears his cynicism like a bulletproof jockstrapeach has his horror story, his bad dream, his nightshriek. Having returned from Vietnam, John Swango divorced his wife. [2][11] Before he resigned, Cohen sent a warning about Swango to all 125 medical schools and all 1,000 teaching hospitals across the U.S., effectively blacklisting Swango from getting a medical residency at any American institution. I gave it to my sister as a Christmas gift so I don't really know how the book is but judging by the cover, it was HE A V Y Y BOI. Swangos murderous rampage, and the span and duration involved, are difficult to comprehend. TCU students, alumni, and faculty served in Vietnam. In June 1997, he was finally arrested at Chicago-O'Hare International Airport while attempting to move to Saudi Arabia. In 1989, Swango, now released from prison, found work as a counselor at the state career development center in Newport News, Virginia. The goal was to graduate students prepared for careers in primary care family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology as opposed to research or the subspecialties, such as ophthalmology and cardiology. Meanwhile, the outcry caused by the mother of his dead girlfriend prompted Jordan Cohen, the dean at Stony Brook, to fire him and blacklist him to all US medical institutions. He also threw numerous parties. During high school he played clarinet in the band. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Swango was silent. On August 23, 1985, Swango was convicted of aggravated battery for poisoning co-workers. The result, according to Stewart's research, is that Swango may indeed have been involved in at least 60 deaths. He was employed until 1991, when he resigned his position to seek out a new position as a doctor. Stewart, who has written books exposing Wall Street corruption ("Den of Thieves") and presidential chicanery ("Blood Sport"), this time persuasively dissects the medical Establishment. Michael was the second of Muriel and John Virgil Swango's three sons. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. IMDb, the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie TV and celebrity content. A heavyset man mumbled, "Sorry," to Markov as the man stooped to pick up an umbrella he had dropped. John Virgil Swango photos, including production stills, premiere photos and other event photos, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes, and more. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. He served time for poisoning co-workers at the Adams County (IL) Ambulance Service. He was so precocious that his clarinet teacher, who played in the Quincy Symphony and taught at Quincy College, recruited Michael for the Quincy College Wind Ensemble, which toured Illinois during Swango's senior year in high school.When Michael graduated from Christian Brothers in 1972, he was showered with honors: the "Outstanding Musician" and John Philip Sousa band awards (followed by a party for band members and their parents hosted by his mother); a citation as a National Merit Scholarship finalist; and the place of class valedictorian. In the process, he exposes the arrogance and the fraudulent professional courtesies that allowed Swango to move ahead unchallenged. The younger Swango enjoyed being at the scene of gruesome diasters as a paramedic, was obsessed with firearms and kept a small arsenal at home, and dwelled on news reports of mass murder, such as the July 1984 shooting spree at a McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, California.". Concerned colleagues quickly raise red flags of alarm, particularly nurses, but these issues are often dismissed, discounted or not investigated. He called then-Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Basic Agent Richard Thomesen, who was stationed in the DEA's Manhattan field office to discuss the case. Torture Mom: A Chilling True Story of Confinement, Mutilation and Murder (True Crime), Has it Come to This? Best of 2022 Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. Near the end, I said Michaels name is John Michael. One nurse caught him injecting some "medicine" into a patient who later became strangely ill. Swango served in the Marine Corps, graduating from recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. In 1991, he resigned from ATICoal, legally changed his name to Daniel J. Adams, and attempted a residency at Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, West Virginia. Instead, Cashman told Stewart, he was shocked to learn that all these years later Swango was still treating patients. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? While he worked in Rhodes Hall at OSU, nurses noticed that apparently healthy patients began dying mysteriously with alarming frequency. Well, Cashman said, Swango was a medical doctor suspected by the FBI of killing at least 60 patients. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Rosenthal and Swango were partners, and at Rosenthal's suggestion, they chose to discuss the repair of certain defects through open-heart surgery. Swango dropped out of sight until mid-1994, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found out he was living in Atlanta and working as a chemist at a computer equipment company's wastewater facility. Because of her considerable clinical expertise, Thomesen was able to review documents and evidence and give a criminal profile of Swango, along with her assessment of why he had committed such crimes. Had he not done so, he faced the possibility of the death penalty in both countries. That Thanksgiving Day, the Discovery Channel aired an episode of Justice Files that included a segment on Swango. Please reset your password. "That's just what happens. Swango rarely changed his murder methods. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. These staffers soon realized what Swango was doing, but no one on the faculty complained. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 21 October. He next found residency at the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine, where he again started poisoning patients. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations. "As his class valedictorian and a National Merit finalist with high test scores, Swango would have been highly sought after by top colleges and universities all over the country. [17] On September 6, he pleaded guilty to the three murder counts, as well as counts of wire fraud and mail fraud, before Judge Jacob Mishler. "Double-O Swango" meant License to Kill.Copyright 1999 James B. Stewart. They told him that on the day he was due to be released, he would be extradited to Zimbabwe to face charges of murder and attempted murder. In both cases, Swango forged several legal documents that he used to reestablish himself as a physician and respected member of society. Swango had assembled several slides and gave a creditable, if unmemorable, performance.But given that the topic was heart surgery, his subsequent performance in class was baffling. We have estimated Rosenthal went up to Swango and asked him why he did such a thing. Swango has been estimated to have been involved in as many as sixty fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, though he only admitted to causing four deaths. Indeed, Swango had persuaded the nursing staff to beep him on his ambulance pager whenever they learned that one of Wacaser's patients was about to be admitted. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Around this time, Swango met Kristin Lynn Kinney, a nurse at Riverside Hospital. Stewart penetrates the hermetically sealed world of medicine. In each locale, those in charge did little or nothing to monitor Swango's conduct. And his violation of the antimoonlighting policy was particularly brazen, for the Springfield hospitals the ambulances served were affiliated with SIU and staffed with many SIU residents and professors. This book chronicles the life of Michael Swango from his childhood until the present. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Excellent timeline and map of Michael Swangos activities up until 1997, Kristin Lynn Kinney in happier times with Michael Swango, Lt. Col. John Virgil Swango (1914-1982)Source: TCU yearbook, 1965, Source: Christian Brothers Catholic Boys School (Quincy, IL) yearbook, 1972, Aaron Bruce (1822-1906) and Mary Anne (Bruce) Walters (1826-1920) and their children at their home in Edina, Missouri, 1893. That was Swango's first official step on the path to becoming a physician. Swango has been estimated to have been involved in as many as sixty fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, though he only admitted to causing four deaths. : To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Michael Swango has appeared on the American television show 'Unsolved Mysteries,' the Oxygen series 'It Takes a Killer,' and the National Geographic Channel episode 'Angel of Death.' Estimated Net Worth The net worth of Michael is $10million. Born In: Tacoma, Washington, United States, Nick Name: David J. Adams, Michael Kirk, Jack Kirk, Michael Swan, Dr. Death, See the events in life of Michael Swango in Chronological Order, http://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/swango-michael-photos.htm, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt6ylDK5fRY. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). This book is well researched, but this serial killer was so prolific it gets repetitive. From the best known to the least told, in this incredible one-of-a-kind book. Michael had excelled at the private Catholic boys' high school he attended in Quincy, Illinois, beginning in 1968. Something went wrong. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Discover Michael Swango's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Michael Swango was many things. In other words, Stewart does the work that hospital administrators and supervising physicians in Ohio, South Dakota, and New York should have done. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. R. Z. Sheppard Time magazine James B. Stewart's Blind Eye is a persuasive case against Dr. Michael Swango. "But finally, in the person of a faculty neurosurgeon, Dr. Lyle Wacaser, Swango seemed to find a kindred spirit. Swango was correct, after all, that death is a regular occurrence in a hospital.Zawodniak, Sweeney, and many of their classmates were developing a black sense of humor under the twin pressures of medical school and hospital life. He forged a "Restoration of Civil Rights" letter from Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles, falsely stating that Baliles had decided to restore Swango's right to vote and serve on a jury, based on "reports from friends and colleagues" that he had committed no further crimes after his "misdemeanor" and was leading an "exemplary lifestyle". In 1967, TCU students started a chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and founded a group called Students for Peace. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations. We encourage you to research and examine . Stewart has produced an extraordinary book. The lab reports were passed on by the Zimbabwe Republic Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) through Interpol to the FBI, who subsequently visited Zimbabwe to interview Cotton and the pathologist in Bulawayo, Stanford Mathe. (Richard Kerkering, Muriel's son from a previous marriage, lived with his father.) (Richard Kerkering, Muriel's son from a previous marriage, lived with his father.) The two seemed all but inseparable, Swango eagerly accompanying the neurosurgeon on his rounds and into his surgeries. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. No one ever heard him play the clarinet or the piano again.Michael completed basic training at the Marines' boot camp at San Diego, where he was trained as a rifleman, earning the designation of sharpshooter. When Rosenthal and other classmates struggled out of bed in the morning after a late night of studying, they would often see Swango outdoors doing early-morning calisthenics, chanting Marine cadences. There was a problem getting your location. It was taught by a popular professor, Dr. John Murphy, who was favorably impressed by him.During their third year of SIU's medical school, students undergo a series of rotations, including pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, and surgery. In October of that year, Swango was arrested by the Quincy Police Department after arsenic and other poisons were found in his possession. He took the usual precollege course load, but the only topic in which he seemed to show unusual interest was the Holocaust, which was covered in world history. When John Harvey Swango was born on 19 November 1881, in Novelty, Knox, Missouri, United States, his father, Elijah Swango, was 44 and his mother, Mary Ellen Walters, was 35. "That's the heart, Mike," Folce said, sarcastically emphasizing the word "heart." Though he ran on the track team during his freshman and sophomore years, he wasn't very athletic. His fascination with death led him to poison colleagues and kill patients wherever he worked. , money, salary, income, and assets. Having abandoned music, he plunged into the sciences, earning a 3.89 grade-point average with a double major in chemistry and biology. To escape persecution in Zimbabwe, he pleaded guilty of fraud and was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in July 1998. He was a model student, named to the honor roll every year. Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Thomesen's conversation focused on Swango lying on his government application to work at the VA, where he prescribed narcotic medications. "Mike, tell us what's in this picture," he said. In looking into his background, Stewart learned that Swango, the second of three sons born to Muriel and John Virgil Swango, had made the honor roll every year at a rigorous private high school, winding up as valedictorian. Parents. Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story Of A Doctor Who Got Away With Murder. Swango was born in Tacoma, Washington and raised in Quincy, Illinois, the middle child of Muriel and John Virgil Swango. Swango claimed she suffered heart failure; he had killed her by giving her a potassium injection that stopped her heart. At the same time, Zimbabwean authorities charged him with poisoning seven patients, five of whom died. Michael was the second of Muriel and John Virgil Swango's three sons. Not for the faint-hearted. Following his graduation, Swango went to medical school at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU). Despite a very poor evaluation in his dean's letter from SIU, Swango got a surgical internship at Ohio State University Medical Center in 1983, to be followed by a residency in neurosurgery. Swango's father was a career United States Army officer who served in the Vietnam War, was listed in Who's Who in Government 19721973, and became an alcoholic. 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