Jessie Gordon, formerly McTavish, (born c.1940)[1] is a Scottish retired nurse who was convicted in 1974 of murdering a patient with insulin, and of administering a variety of substances with intent to cause harm.[2][3] The conviction was overturned on appeal in 1976. She was dubbed the "Angel of Death" by the press.[4]

Career

McTavish worked in Ward 5 at Glasgow's Ruchill Hospital.[4]

Prosecution

McTavish was tried in 1974 for the murder of an 80-year-old patient, Elizabeth Lyon[4][5] and assaulting three other patients by giving them illegal injections.[6] All of the alleged incidents occurred between 24 June and 30 June 1973, and police were involved by 1 July.[7][8] One victim was found after tests to have an inexplicable quantity of pethidine in their system, while the murder victim had been injected with soluble insulin.[3] An expert witness on insulin testified to the court that tests demonstrated that non-diabetic Lyon had about 200 units of insulin injected into her at least 14 hours before she died, and that this was distinctly unusual, explaining: "I would hate to think of any patient of mine getting 100 units, let alone 200 units, and being left alone".[9]

Colleagues of McTavish told the court how they had witnessed her inject a patient with an entirely unnecessary dose of phenobarbitone and then make no record of the injection, and that she had said at the time, "Doctor likes them to go quietly".[3] One of the relatives of the alleged victims said that McTavish had told her that they called her "Burke and Hare" in the mortuary.[7] McTavish admitted making this comment.[7] A nurse testified at trial that she had seen McTavish inject one patient three times, and also saw her taking a syringe towards another of the alleged victims.[8] The witness nurse also said that McTavish had said to her after being questioned by police: "I didn't do anything. They cannot trace it, anyway".[8] One other nurse recounted McTavish telling her and another colleague to stop bothering giving oxygen to a collapsed woman, saying: "I would not bother. She has taken a cerebral and she will be dead in five or 10 minutes", and they were allegedly again told by McTavish not to bother as they tried to make the patient comfortable.[10]

Multiple doctors testified that McTavish often gave patients injections without recording these events in the patients' case notes.[3] At the trial it was revealed that police had recorded her testifying to them: "I gave a half cc of insulin soluble to Mrs Lyon because she wanted to be put out of her pain and misery".[11] When asked at trial if she indeed said this McTavish responded "I do not remember".[11] She had previously testified that she did not believe in euthanasia.[11] A daughter of one of the alleged victims said that McTavish had told her "it won't be long now" after giving her mother an injection.[12]

McTavish admitted giving one of the alleged victims pethidine, claiming a doctor had told her "you are trained, give her what you like", and she responded by injecting the patient with 100 mg of pethidine.[7] One previous patient of McTavish asserted that she had been injected with a drug by the nurse after she claimed it was a new treatment for Parkinson's disease.[10] The patient said she "just stuck the needle into my arm".[10]

Despite the blood test evidence, McTavish claimed during the 15-day trial that she had only injected the patient with a placebo of sterile water.[4] However, McTavish had admitted in police interviews that she had administered insulin to patients without authorisation.[3] Two of the alleged assault victim patients had died by the time of the trial.[7]

McTavish was jailed for life in October 1974. An appeal in February 1975 was successful. Three appeals court judges said that while there was ample evidence to support the conviction,[6] the McTavish's legal team's successful argument—that the judge, Lord Robertson, had inadvertently misled the jury—would prevail. The appeals judges said Lord Robertson had failed to highlight the fact that McTavish denied admitting to the police that she had committed a mercy killing, an omission that "a few words could have cured".[6] The judgement read that:

"At the end of 13 days of evidence, highly complicated evidence, and two days of days of submissions by counsel, it was a far from easy task for the presiding judge to give a comprehensive and clearly defined charge to the jury. But for a single omission which a few words could have cured, it was a well constructed, clear and accurate charge."[13]

Despite her acquittal, she was formally struck off the nursing register in March 1975.[14][15] The General Nursing Council of Scotland took the action after a unanimous decision.[15]

Suspected other victims

Apart from the case prosecuted, another 23 deaths were deemed suspicious by investigators.[16]

Motive

The prosecution said that McTavish had been inspired by an episode of the detective series A Man Called Ironside, in which a character said that insulin was untraceable as a murder weapon and proceeded to murder a person using this method.[2][17] McTavish had notably discussed with colleagues how the programme had taught her that soluble insulin would be an untraceable agent for homicide.[3] According to one nurse witness from the ward, McTavish had told her that she had watched Ironside and heard from it that they could not trace insulin in a body, and "they could dig up the bodies if they liked and they would not find any trace of insulin".[8]

Aftermath

An inquiry was held into the McTavish case, in which several recommendations were made: that a check list should be circulated to monitor potential stress points in long-stay hospitals; that officials should discuss the list at regular meetings with staff; there should be stricter controls on the issuing of medicine; and guidance should be sought from the Scottish Home and Health Department on the procedure for certifying death.[18] Multiple complaints and allegations made during the McTavish trial were supported by the inquiry report.[19]

In 1976, McTavish married, becoming Jessie Gordon.[20]

In 1984, she was restored to the professional register for nursing, midwifery and health visiting.[20] She continued her career in nursing.[17]

Influence

Although acquitted, McTavish's case often is mentioned in lectures at medical colleges in Britain and is cited in textbooks and academic papers about forensic science and medical malpractice.[21][22][23] Colin Norris, a nurse convicted of four murders and an attempted murder in 2008, is said to have been inspired by McTavish's case.[2][4] He murdered his patients using insulin.[2] Norris, a fellow Scottish nurse, grew up only a mile away from Ruchill where McTavish worked.[17] Her case was discussed extensively in lectures at Dundee University when Norris studied there.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Gentle nurse became killer". Western Daily Press. 8 October 1974. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Craig (4 March 2008). "The hatred that turned Colin Norris into serial killer". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lucy, David; Aitkin, Colin (2002). "A review of the role of roster data and evidence of attendance and cases of suspected excess deaths in a medical context". Law, Probability and Risk. The University of Edinburgh. 1 (2): 142. doi:10.1093/lpr/1.2.141.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Daily Record
  5. ↑ "Colin Norris: From student to deadly abuser". The Telegraph. 11 May 2008. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "Nurse who inspired Colin Norris - Telegraph". The Telegraph. 11 May 2008. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nurse denies giving an insulin injection". The Times. 2 October 1974.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Doctors did not examine bodies of dead, nurse says". The Times. 24 September 1974.
  9. ↑ "'Patient given 200 units of insulin'". The Times. 21 September 1974.
  10. 1 2 3 "Patient says nurse gave her 'new treatment'". The Times. 19 September 1974.
  11. 1 2 3 "Accused nurse 'does not believe in euthanasia'". The Times. 3 October 1974.
  12. ↑ "Scots nurse 'injected patient who was dying'". The Times. 18 September 1974.
  13. ↑ "Home News: Scots nurse cleared of conviction for murder". The Times. 1 February 1975.
  14. ↑ "Reprieve for hospital's geriatric unit". The Times. 3 June 1975.
  15. 1 2 "Glasgow nurse in insulin case is struck off". The Times. 25 March 1975.
  16. ↑ Beatrice Crofts Yorker, Kenneth W. Kizer, Paula Lampe, A.R.W. Forrest, Jacquetta M. Lannan, Donna A. Russell: Serial Murder by Healthcare Professionals, Journal of Forensic Sciences 51 (6), pp1362–1371 (2006)
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Did Sister Jessie's story influence carer who used insulin to kill?". Herald Scotland. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  18. ↑ "Tighter control of medicines in Glasgow". The Times. 18 March 1975.
  19. ↑ Tender, Stewart (14 March 1975). "Report finds nursing and medical defects in geriatric wards". The Times.
  20. 1 2 Lucy, David; Aitkin, Colin (2002). "A review of the role of roster data and evidence of attendance and cases of suspected excess deaths in a medical context". Law, Probability and Risk. The University of Edinburgh. 1 (2): 143. doi:10.1093/lpr/1.2.141.
  21. ↑ Fisher, Barry A. J.; William J. Tilstone; Catherine Woytowicz (2009). Introduction to Criminalistics: The Foundation of Forensic Science. Academic Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-12-088591-6.
  22. ↑ Lucy, D.; Aitken, C. (2002). "A review of the role of roster data and evidence of attendance in cases of suspected excess deaths in a medical context". Law, Probability and Risk. 1 (2): 141. doi:10.1093/lpr/1.2.141.
  23. ↑ Brownlie, A. (1978). "A Lawyer Looks at Forensic Science: the Expert in Court". Journal of the Forensic Science Society. 18 (1–2): 5–18. doi:10.1016/S0015-7368(78)71176-X. PMID 739248.
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