A nurse who killed two patients and poisoned 20 others who he was supposed to be caring for has been jailed for at least 35 years.
Self-styled ‘angel turned evil’ Victorino Chua injected insulin into saline bags and ampoules while working on two acute wards at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, in June and July 2011.
These were unwittingly used by other nurses, causing a series of insulin overdoses to mainly elderly victims.
In all, Chua was convicted of two murders, 22 counts of attempted grievous bodily harm, one count of grievous bodily harm, seven attempts of administering poison and one count of administering poison.
Tracey Arden, 44 and Alfred Weaver, 83, suffered agonising deaths and a third, Grant Misell, 41, was left brain damaged as the insulin overdoses starved the victims’ brains of oxygen.
Police were nearly forced to close the hospital for fears over patient safety.
Father-of-two Chua, 49, described by detectives as a narcissistic psychopath, was convicted by a jury at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, May 18, 2015 following a three month trial.
His victims’ loved ones were in court today as Chua, who wore an impassive face throughout the entire trial, was told he would serve a minimum of 35 years before being eligible for parole.
Mr Justice Openshaw told the court: ‘He has committed a dreadful crime and he must now pay the price.’
His victims’ loved ones packed the public gallery above the dock where Chua sat below, with 10 jurors returning to court to see him sent down following a trial stretching over four months.
All sat grim faced in silence as Mr Justice Openshaw recounted the pain, suffering and deaths of his victims and the anguish of their loved ones.
Stifled cries could be heard from the public gallery as Chua was taken down.
Passing sentence Mr Justice Openshaw added: ‘What he did was inexplicable and irrational.
‘It is a striking, sinister and truly wicked feature of the case, he did not personally administer contaminated products directly to most of these patients but having left saline bags contaminated with insulin he did not know which nurse would unwittingly collect them and still less to which patient the nurse would then unwittingly administer the poison.
‘It is as if he left it to fate to decide who would be the victim.’
