Self-styled ‘angel turned evil’ Victorino Chua has been jailed for at least 35 years for murdering two patients and poisoning 20 others.
Father-of-two Chua, 49, described by detectives as a narcissistic psychopath, 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.
Filipino Chua was convicted by a jury at Manchester Crown Court yesterday following a three month trial.
His victims’ loved ones were in court as Chua 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.”
Stifled cries could be heard from the public gallery as Chua was taken down.
Described as “dangerous and devious” who used, “considerable cunning” to harm his patients with insulin, the father of two 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 then used by other nurses on the ward – leading to a series of insulin overdoses to mainly elderly victims.
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.”
In all, Chua was convicted of two murders, 22 counts of attempted grievousbodily harm, one count of grievous bodily harm, seven attempts of administeringpoison and one count of administering poison.
Chua received 25 life sentences in total for his crime spree and will be aged 84 before his 35-year minimum term expires and he is eligible for parole.
Chaos and panic followed in his wake as patients suffered sudden illness that left hospital staff in turmoil and police on the brink of closing the hospital for the sake of patient safety.
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.
Chua was cleared of murdering Arnold Lancaster, 71, but found guilty of attempting to cause him grievous bodily harm.
Among the evidence produced by the prosecution was a self-penned letter foundat Chua’s home in Stockport after his arrest in January 2012 for changingprescription charts so patients would get dangerously wrong amounts of drugs.
In the letter, described as “the bitter nurse confession” by Chua, he said he was “an angel turned into an evil person” and “there’s a devil in me”. He also wrote of having things he would “take to the grave”.