Police believe nurse Kristen Gilbert may have committed up to 60 murders at a hospital in Massachusetts. Some say an affair drove Gilbert to murder while others think her narcissism caused the death of these innocent patients. -Prescription for Death, Snapped Notorious, Oxygen (S23, E17)
Dates: March 1989-February 1996 Date of Arrest: July 11, 1996 Offender: Kristen Gilbert, 32, Department of Veterans Affairs Nurse Location: Department of Veterans Affairs, Northampton, Massachusetts Homicide Victims: Stanley Jagodowski, 66, Army veteran (August 21, 1995); Henry Hudon, 35, Air Force veteran (December 8, 1995); Kenneth Cutting, 41, Army veteran (February 2, 1996); Edward Skwira, 69, WWII Army veteran (February 15, 1996) Circumstances: The number of deaths increased dramatically at the Northampton VA Medical Center in 1995, a co-worker was surprised by all the codes at the hospital, when a patient codes, it means the heart stopped, some can survive codes but the patients at the VA died, the deaths didn’t make sense, February 29, 1996, the police received a call from the VA Center, they reported that the deaths doubled at the medical center, nurses came forward with concerns that one of their co-workers was killing patients and they thought they were dealing with a serial killer, one common denominator was the presence of Kristen Gilbert, KG came from ordinary family, she was intelligent, a great student, she had a bubbly personality, was sophisticated and had a lot of friends, she was addicted to getting attention, she needed more and more, she had a constant need to be the center of things, she had narcissistic personality disorder, she manipulated others to get her way, she threatened to kill herself if she didn’t get the attention she wanted from boyfriends, she also had Borderline Personality Disorder, her obsession was thrill and attention, she graduated from nursing school in 1988 and was hired at the VA Medical Center in Northampton the following year, she got great reviews from her bosses, she went undetected because she volunteered for extra work, she wore a mask of normality but underneath she was an evil person, Kristen met her future husband in New Hampshire, they were married and had two children, she had a volatile relationship with her husband, chased him around with a knife, but her husband wanted to hold the marriage together for the children, then Kristen had an affair with a security guard at the VA and as a result Kristen’s marriage ended, then patients started coding and the doctors were not able to save them, one of them was Stanley Jagodowski, the codes and death continued, a second suspicious death occurred, a young veteran was admitted for the flu, he coded three times and his heart gave out the third time, Kenneth Cutting was admitted for sepsis, later that night Kenneth coded and died of cardiac arrest, it appeared he died for no apparent reason, authorities learned KG injected patients with epinephrine to initiate cardiac arrest, they would code and then she was one of the people who rushed to the scene to deal with the crisis, as a result she got a lot of attention from her security guard boyfriend, they worked together to save the patients lives, she put patients into crisis to get attention from the security guard, she developed a callous attitude about the patients, authorities learned her boyfriend wasn’t involved, he was an innocent bystander, the nurses thought she had bad luck because patients died when she was around, she was known as the Angel of Death, Edward Skwira was the fourth suspicious death, he was admitted for alcoholism, that night he died from cardiac arrest and this should not have happened, her fellow nurses became suspicious, the nurses started looking for evidence and they found used bottles of epinephrine, record keeping allowed her to dip into the epinephrine supply with no detection, February 29, 1996, the cops got a call from the VA Medical Center, the nurses believed Kristen was killing patients, death followed Kristen from shift to shift to shift, the security guard ended the relationship when he began to suspect Kristen too, she took the break up badly and began panicking, when backed in a corner, her type turns to the extreme, authorities put her under surveillance, in September 1996, the VA received a bomb threat and the patients were evacuated, it turned out to be a bogus bomb threat, the police were watching Kristen and the same phone she used was traced to the VA bomb threat, after the bomb threat, she went home and the police got a warrant, the police found the jacket she had on when she placed the phone calls, she had operating directions on how to change your voice in her pocket, they also found a talk boy which changes the sound of your voice, this was the instrument most likely used to change her voice on the bomb threat call, they found medical books, computer records, journals, a page dog eared at epinephrine, but the police needed something more concrete to make their case, meanwhile she was held accountable for the bomb threat and received a 15 month sentence, when serving the sentence, there was a suicide attempt, she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, they use whatever they need to keep drawing attention to themselves, they are always the victim to keep the focus on themselves, while she was in jail, the police continued the investigation, they needed to prove what she did so they could win at trial, authorities exhumed some of the patients who died under Kristen’s care to find evidence of epinephrine in their system, the families were cooperative and thankful the police were investigating, the autopsies found much higher amounts of epinephrine than should be there, the patient’s hearts were good, and the police finally had their proof, the prosecution moved forward with homicide charges, some claimed she did it for love, her desire to get the attention of her boyfriend, she was tried in a federal capital felony case and was eligible for the death penalty, Kristen was cold during the entire trial, Kristen is a classic female serial killer, she has what they call intrinsic locus, it’s all about her, she is the number one priority in her own life and she’s self absorbed, she played the hero so she could save the day all in an effort to garner attention, if people have to die, its okay with her, she is a master of deceit, she is one of the most dangerous and evil Disposition: In 2001, Kristen Gilbert was found guilty of four counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder; the jury sentenced KG to life in prison as opposed to the death penalty; law enforcement officials believe she could be responsible for killing up to 60 patients; Gilbert appealed the decision but dropped it once she realized prosecutors could pursue the death penalty in a new trial
Notable Quotes: “Healthcare serial killers are the most unlikely villains. They prey on vulnerable victims and use medicine as their murder weapons.” -Oxygen
Source: Kristen Gilbert, Snapped Notorious, Oxygen
Kristen Gilbert
Deadly Women:
Full Episode: Poison is an ancient weapon, convenient, non-confrontational and secretive. Women are five times more likely to use it than men. The poisoner is a particularly sinister killer able to sit back and watch someone die. -Poisonous Women, Deadly Women
Navy Petty Officer Elise Makdessi worked as an Air Traffic Controller at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia. Elise was married to Eddie Makdessi for five years and they lived off base in Virginia Beach. Elise unknowingly helped plan, organize, and carry out her own murder and it is unclear if she was a willing participant in the original plot with Eddie to scam the government out of money or if she was controlled by Eddie. Eddie Makdessi murdered Elise Makdessi and Navy Petty Officer Quincy Brown on May 14, 1996 as part of an elaborate scam. The whole thing was a set up. Elise thought she was part of an arrangement where she would invite Quincy Brown to the house, have sex with him, then accuse him of rape. She also manufactured evidence to make it look like she was documenting sexual abuse in an effort to sue the Navy and make millions. She had journals and created what looked like a rehearsed video outlining what four Navy men, including Quincy Brown, did to her on the job.
When the severed head of a wife and mother is found, Lt. Joe Kenda uses forensics and interrogation to find both her body and her killer. Then… a young man’s murder looks like a robbery gone wrong until Kenda learns the odd reason he’s living there. -The Line Goes Dead, Homicide Hunter (S6,E13)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Preview: An older man obsessed with his property lines soon learns that his neighbor’s dock is actually on his property, and wants it moved immediately. His neighbors aren’t going to go down without a fight. Lake of Madness, Fear Thy Neighbor (S2, E2)
Military veteran Paul Crawford, 72, shot and killed Warren Schloegl, 41, Marcella Schloegl, 39, Jodi Schloegl, 12, Eric Schloegl, 11, and the family dog in Sauk Centre, Minnesota on June 20, 1996. Nicole Schloegl, 16, was at a game when her entire family was executed in their own home. Warren Schloegl and Paul Crawford had been in an on-going legal dispute over property boundaries and on this particular night Paul decided to deal with the conflict his way and then ended his own life. Paul Crawford was private and liked precision, order, regiment, plans, his land defined, and boundaries. He also had a history of property disputes with his neighbors. Warren on the other hand was the type to have large gatherings, playtime with kids, and recreational access to the lake in front of his house. Warren had been using the dock he believed was on his property long before Paul moved in until a land surveyor Paul hired said otherwise. Paul did not want to share the boat dock until the dispute was settled which meant the Schloegl family lost access to the dock. Warren accepted this over the winter months but come spring, he gave his children permission to play on the dock. But, Paul didn’t want the children on the dock for insurance and liability reasons. The escalating land dispute between Paul and Warren reached a boiling point.
Paul was angry that one of the Schloegl kids accidentally hit and knocked out one of his boundary stakes because he had to pay someone to remeasure and legally replace the stake. Paul tried putting up a fence to define the boundaries and Warren stopped him and asked him to wait until the court date. And on the day of the murder-suicide, the Schloegl children were playing on the docks when Paul yelled at them and told them to leave. Warren was angry that Paul spoke to his children like he did and confronted him. Paul called the cops to complain about trespassing. After police intervention, Warren agreed to stay off the docks. It’s unclear what triggered Paul Crawford but he went to the Schloegl’s home with a loaded gun and first shot Warren in the back of the head. Next, Paul shot Jodi and then Marcy, who was shot while on the phone with 911. After Paul ran out of ammunition, he went back to his residence and the youngest child Eric called the police to report that Paul shot his mom, dad, and sister. Nicole questioned why the police didn’t tell Eric to hide because Paul got another gun and returned back to the home to finish the job. Paul shot the dog, shot the others again, and in his last act of evil, he ripped the phone line out of the wall and shot little Eric. All of Nicole’s family died. Police found Paul dead in his yard with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigation Discovery:
ID Go: A family moves into their dream home on a Minnesota lake, and welcomes the single retiree who soon takes up residence next door. But a dispute over access to the water they all love escalates until one party snaps, and others pay the price in blood. -Lake of Madness, Fear Thy Neighbor (S2, E2)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
ID Go: When a Naval Officer is apparently raped and stabbed by a coworker, a mysterious VHS tape suggests the victim may have been silenced to prevent a scandal. Dogged investigation and cutting edge forensic science reveals a shocking murder plot. -Deadly Accusations, Unusual Suspects (S7,E4)
Navy Petty Officer Elise Makdessi worked as an Air Traffic Controller at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia. Elise was married to Eddie Makdessi for five years and they lived off base in Virginia Beach. Elise unknowingly helped plan, organize, and carry out her own murder and it is unclear if she was a willing participant in the original plot with Eddie to scam the government out of money or if she was controlled by Eddie. Eddie Makdessi murdered Elise Makdessi and Navy Petty Officer Quincy Brown on May 14, 1996 as part of an elaborate scam. The whole thing was a set up. Elise thought she was part of an arrangement where she would invite Quincy Brown to the house, have sex with him, then accuse him of rape. She also manufactured evidence to make it look like she was documenting sexual abuse in an effort to sue the Navy and make millions. She had journals and created what looked like a rehearsed video outlining what four Navy men, including Quincy Brown, did to her on the job.
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
Paramedics respond to a horrific crime scene – a woman is found tied to a bed with slashes across her body. Next to her on the floor, a man with three gunshot wounds. Detectives spend the next several years unraveling this bizarre mystery. -Last Man Standing, Solved (S2,E10)
Navy Petty Officer Elise Makdessi worked as an Air Traffic Controller at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia. Elise was married to Eddie Makdessi for five years and they lived off base in Virginia Beach. Elise unknowingly helped plan, organize, and carry out her own murder and it is unclear if she was a willing participant in the original plot with Eddie to scam the government out of money or if she was controlled by Eddie. Eddie Makdessi murdered Elise Makdessi and Navy Petty Officer Quincy Brown on May 14, 1996 as part of an elaborate scam. The whole thing was a set up. Elise thought she was part of an arrangement where she would invite Quincy Brown to the house, have sex with him, then accuse him of rape. She also manufactured evidence to make it look like she was documenting sexual abuse in an effort to sue the Navy and make millions. She had journals and created what looked like a rehearsed video outlining what four Navy men, including Quincy Brown, did to her on the job.
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
Dates: March 1989-February 1996 Date of Arrest: July 11, 1996 Offender: Kristen Gilbert, 32, Department of Veterans Affairs Nurse Location: Department of Veterans Affairs, Northampton, Massachusetts Homicide Victims: Stanley Jagodowski, 66, Army veteran (August 21, 1995); Henry Hudon, 35, Air Force veteran (December 8, 1995); Kenneth Cutting, 41, Army veteran (February 2, 1996); Edward Skwira, 69, WWII Army veteran (February 15, 1996) Circumstances: The number of deaths increased dramatically at the Northampton VA Medical Center in 1995, a co-worker was surprised by all the codes at the hospital, when a patient codes, it means the heart stopped, some can survive codes but the patients at the VA died, the deaths didn’t make sense, February 29, 1996, the police received a call from the VA Center, they reported that the deaths doubled at the medical center, nurses came forward with concerns that one of their co-workers was killing patients and they thought they were dealing with a serial killer, one common denominator was the presence of Kristen Gilbert, KG came from ordinary family, she was intelligent, a great student, she had a bubbly personality, was sophisticated and had a lot of friends, she was addicted to getting attention, she needed more and more, she had a constant need to be the center of things, she had narcissistic personality disorder, she manipulated others to get her way, she threatened to kill herself if she didn’t get the attention she wanted from boyfriends, she also had Borderline Personality Disorder, her obsession was thrill and attention, she graduated from nursing school in 1988 and was hired at the VA Medical Center in Northampton the following year, she got great reviews from her bosses, she went undetected because she volunteered for extra work, she wore a mask of normality but underneath she was an evil person, Kristen met her future husband in New Hampshire, they were married and had two children, she had a volatile relationship with her husband, chased him around with a knife, but her husband wanted to hold the marriage together for the children, then Kristen had an affair with a security guard at the VA and as a result Kristen’s marriage ended, then patients started coding and the doctors were not able to save them, one of them was Stanley Jagodowski, the codes and death continued, a second suspicious death occurred, a young veteran was admitted for the flu, he coded three times and his heart gave out the third time, Kenneth Cutting was admitted for sepsis, later that night Kenneth coded and died of cardiac arrest, it appeared he died for no apparent reason, authorities learned KG injected patients with epinephrine to initiate cardiac arrest, they would code and then she was one of the people who rushed to the scene to deal with the crisis, as a result she got a lot of attention from her security guard boyfriend, they worked together to save the patients lives, she put patients into crisis to get attention from the security guard, she developed a callous attitude about the patients, authorities learned her boyfriend wasn’t involved, he was an innocent bystander, the nurses thought she had bad luck because patients died when she was around, she was known as the Angel of Death, Edward Skwira was the fourth suspicious death, he was admitted for alcoholism, that night he died from cardiac arrest and this should not have happened, her fellow nurses became suspicious, the nurses started looking for evidence and they found used bottles of epinephrine, record keeping allowed her to dip into the epinephrine supply with no detection, February 29, 1996, the cops got a call from the VA Medical Center, the nurses believed Kristen was killing patients, death followed Kristen from shift to shift to shift, the security guard ended the relationship when he began to suspect Kristen too, she took the break up badly and began panicking, when backed in a corner, her type turns to the extreme, authorities put her under surveillance, in September 1996, the VA received a bomb threat and the patients were evacuated, it turned out to be a bogus bomb threat, the police were watching Kristen and the same phone she used was traced to the VA bomb threat, after the bomb threat, she went home and the police got a warrant, the police found the jacket she had on when she placed the phone calls, she had operating directions on how to change your voice in her pocket, they also found a talk boy which changes the sound of your voice, this was the instrument most likely used to change her voice on the bomb threat call, they found medical books, computer records, journals, a page dog eared at epinephrine, but the police needed something more concrete to make their case, meanwhile she was held accountable for the bomb threat and received a 15 month sentence, when serving the sentence, there was a suicide attempt, she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, they use whatever they need to keep drawing attention to themselves, they are always the victim to keep the focus on themselves, while she was in jail, the police continued the investigation, they needed to prove what she did so they could win at trial, authorities exhumed some of the patients who died under Kristen’s care to find evidence of epinephrine in their system, the families were cooperative and thankful the police were investigating, the autopsies found much higher amounts of epinephrine than should be there, the patient’s hearts were good, and the police finally had their proof, the prosecution moved forward with homicide charges, some claimed she did it for love, her desire to get the attention of her boyfriend, she was tried in a federal capital felony case and was eligible for the death penalty, Kristen was cold during the entire trial, Kristen is a classic female serial killer, she has what they call intrinsic locus, it’s all about her, she is the number one priority in her own life and she’s self absorbed, she played the hero so she could save the day all in an effort to garner attention, if people have to die, its okay with her, she is a master of deceit, she is one of the most dangerous and evil Disposition: In 2001, Kristen Gilbert was found guilty of four counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder; the jury sentenced KG to life in prison as opposed to the death penalty; law enforcement officials believe she could be responsible for killing up to 60 patients; Gilbert appealed the decision but dropped it once she realized prosecutors could pursue the death penalty in a new trial
Notable Quotes: “Healthcare serial killers are the most unlikely villains. They prey on vulnerable victims and use medicine as their murder weapons.” -Oxygen
Source: Kristen Gilbert, Snapped Notorious, Oxygen
Deadly Women:
Full Episode: Poison is an ancient weapon, convenient, non-confrontational and secretive. Women are five times more likely to use it than men. The poisoner is a particularly sinister killer able to sit back and watch someone die. -Poisonous Women, Deadly Women
Oxygen:
Police believe nurse Kristen Gilbert may have committed up to 60 murders at a hospital in Massachusetts. Some say an affair drove Gilbert to murder while others think her narcissism caused the death of these innocent patients. -Prescription for Death, Snapped Notorious, Oxygen (S23, E17)
Just off the coast of Spain, the U.S.S. Forrestal cruised through open waters on the Mediterranean Sea. This particular aircraft carrier had the ability to unleash total devastation on the enemy. But below deck, one Navy sailor was fighting off an enemy in his body. Lt. Lee Hartley was complaining of diarrhea and lethargy. He also experienced excessive weight loss and there was a grayness to his skin. Hartley was a career Navy sailor, having served nineteen years, and the Lt. in the ship’s disciplinary office. A month into his current deployment, Lee became violently ill with severe stomach pains and a strange tingling in his hands and feet. He was treated by the ship’s medics for gastrointestinal problems. A couple weeks went by and the symptoms reappeared, each time getting progressively worst. The onboard medics thought maybe he was exposed to something in a foreign port.
Lee Hartley also assumed it was food or water he consumed while visiting one of the foreign ports. Whatever the cause, Lee’s symptoms were spiraling out of control. He endured nearly two months of agony. When Lee wasn’t getting better, the Navy decided to ship him off to a hospital so he was medi-vaced to Jacksonville, Florida. Lee’s wife Pamela rushed to his bedside. Pam and Lee were newlyweds; they were married a year earlier. Doctors ran a battery of tests to help make a diagnosis. Some believed he might have liver disease or hepatitis or even some kind of poisoning but they couldn’t come up with a definitive diagnosis. Lee commented to multiple people that he thought he was dying because he was so gravely ill. On November 18, 1982, after nearly five months of terrible suffering, Lt. Lee Hartley succumbed to massive organ failure.
Before he set out on his final deployment, Lee Hartley was living the life he had always dreamed of. Lee loved the Navy and his family was very proud of him. He joined the Navy as an enlisted man and then became an officer. Lee was happy with Pam and was looking forward to the end of long deployments so he could spend more time with her. They didn’t have children of their own but Lee had a daughter from a previous marriage. Pam was now a devastated widow and waited for the autopsy to determine the cause of her husband’s death. When the results came back, they revealed Lee died from arsenic poisoning, nearly 1000 times the normal level. His liver, kidneys and blood was full of arsenic and Lee had enough arsenic in him to kill several people. Arsenic is a odorless, colorless, and tasteless chemical. This information led to a murder investigation.
An investigation was immediately launched to find out how that much arsenic entered Lee’s body. Investigators could not imagine how Lee came into contact with that much arsenic aboard a ship. Special Agents Jerry Whitaker and Walter O’Brien of the Naval Criminal Investigation Services (NCIS) were assigned to the case. The two actually knew Lee Hartley and served side by side on the U.S.S. Forrestal with him. They start with the simplest possibility: was this an accidental poisoning? They checked to see if there were large amounts of arsenic on the ship but that theory was instantly put to rest. The supply officer on the ship maintained records of everything that was onboard the ship and according to him, there was no substance on board the ship that contained arsenic. This meant there was no way Lee came into contact with arsenic onboard the ship, at least not by accident. Agents wondered if someone deliberately dosed Lt. Lee Hartley.
The NCIS agents broke the news to Lee’s family. When Pam found out about the arsenic poisoning, she reacted with shock. Pam’s mother-in-law was the one to break the news to Pam that someone may have killed her husband. The agents didn’t know who killed Lee but they knew how so they launched a search for suspects. They looked at who had something to gain if Lee died and one main suspect emerged, his wife Pamela Hartley. Pam had the motive because she stood to inherit a lifetime of military benefits but how did she poison her husband while he was on a ship thousands of miles away? When agents checked her travel itinerary, they discovered Pam traveled to port in Spain to spend time with Lee. Quite often, when a ship visits a foreign port, it’s common for a group of wives to visit that port. One of those wives was Pam Hartley.
Pam traveled to Spain and met with Lee and another military couple. On one of those days, Pam offered to cook breakfast for everyone and she even made drinks too. Soon after that visit, Lee got violently ill, along with his friend who had eaten breakfast with him. At the time, they both thought they got sick from drinking Spanish water, the friend recovered but Lee kept getting worse. Over the next two weeks, Lee had severe cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting so he reported to the ship’s medical department. Agents wondered if Pam laced her husband’s food and drink with arsenic during that Spanish shore leave. It was a chilling scenario but one that became more plausible as agents found out about Pam’s unique job experience. They learned that Pam worked at the Department of Energy facility in Akon, South Carolina for one year.
Pam used to be an environmental technician and one of her job duties was to analyze water samples to determine heavy metal levels. At her job site, she came in contact with a range of toxic chemicals, including arsenic. Was Pam the victim of circumstantial evidence or heartless black widow? Agents wanted to perform a polygraph because they were convinced she wouldn’t pass. She was their prime suspect because she had the opportunity to spike her husband’s food and drinks when she went to Spain at his port of call. On the surface, there was nothing suspicious about Pam so agents conducted interviews of Hartley’s neighbors. The pair appeared to have a normal family and were described as nice people. But gossip soon found its way from officer’s wives club and this information painted another picture.
With their husbands overseas, the Navy wives would get together at parties and drink. And after a few drinks, they weren’t afraid to say anything. There was talk among the wives that life was so much better when the men were at sea. Some even suggested they get rid of them. But it was a party atmosphere so nobody really took it seriously, except maybe Pam. In one interview, Pam made a comment to a friend about hiring a hitman to kill Lee but was taken as a joke by the witness because they had been drinking. As special agents dug deeper, they found out Pam and Lee were having some marital problems. Pam was a free spirit who liked to go to the officer’s club and dance with other men. Apparently, this made Lee extremely jealous. And Lee may have had reason to be jealous because Pam admitted to friends that while Lee was off at sea, she found it to be difficult to be faithful.
For NCIS agents, it all added up to a classic scenario: a bored wife feels trapped in her marriage so she poisons her husband… Under questioning, Pam insisted that she loved Lee and swore she has nothing to do with his death. And she agreed to take a polygraph test to prove her innocence. Agents were convinced she wouldn’t pass the polygraph but the results indicated that she wasn’t being deceitful. The agents concluded Pam didn’t have anything to do with Lee’s death. In addition, lab results blew a hole in their theory because the toxicology analysis on Lee’s hair pinpointed the dates he was exposed to the arsenic. His first dose was before Pam’s trip to Spain. Hair grows about a centimeter a month and testing of the hair provided a timeline of when the poison entered his body. The hair samples indicated that Lee was poisoned 5-6 months prior to his death.
The arsenic timeline showed Lee Hartley was first poisoned while Pam was thousands of miles away in Jacksonville, she had a persuasive chemical alibi. Armed with the new evidence that Lee was poisoned while on board the U.S.S. Forrestal, NCIS agents confronted a massive crime scene. The U.S.S. Forrestal was a floating city with 5000 potential suspects. And like any large city, the carrier had personnel dedicated to maintaining law and order. As the ship’s discipline officer, when sailors ran afoul with Navy regulations, it was up to Lee to administer punishment. This likely didn’t make him a lot of friends on board. Because of his work, Lee was exposed to people who might have had a grudge or an axe to grind against the Navy or the legal office or a person. As agents conducted more interviews, they learned of a disturbing rumor involving Lee.
During the investigation, there was an indication that Lee had received an anonymous death threat. The rumor about the death threat was backed up by Lee’s parents. They told agents what Lee shared with them while he was home in Mayport. Lee told them he was walking about the ship when someone angrily confronted him. Now Agents wanted to eliminate or find somebody who may help them understand what happened. A search of Lee’s cabin revealed a clue. They found a collection of letters written by Lee himself. In one of those letters, Lee described a near death confrontation with another sailor aboard the ship. He described how he came across someone who had a sword. But, if there was an altercation, Lee never reported to his superiors. Why would Lee choose to keep it secret but share it with his parents? Was Lee leaving a trail of evidence?
Pamela and Verle Lee Hartley, U.S. Navy (photo: CBS)
In an effort to track down subjects, agents used Lee’s toxicity reports which showed a continuous pattern of poisoning over a 5-6 month period of time. Agents shared when investigating poisoning deaths, you need to establish an opportunity of who during that time would have had access to both Lee and poison. There were spikes in Lee’s arsenic levels during his deployment at sea, at the port of call in Spain, and even when he was at the hospital in Jacksonville. One person who was at Lee’s side throughout his months of agony was his cabin mate Lt. Samuel Yates. They seemed to get along well but tension builds up month after month when living in close proximity together trapped on a ship. Lee was also in direct competition with his roommate for advancement.
Both Lee Hartley and Lt. Yates wanted desperately to be promoted to Lt. Commander. Was there a feud simmering between them, a rivalry that turned deadly? As agents developed information on the roommate, rumors began to circulate that had already been rampant on the ship. After Lee’s death, Lt. Yates allegedly waisted no time going after his roommate’s young wife who was grieving and vulnerable. At Lee’s funeral, he paid his respects by reportedly seducing the pretty widow. Agents knew they needed to take a closer look at Yates. And when they did, they found a chilling piece of evidence. Lee’s cabin mate was asked to give them a blood sample to see if it tested positive for arsenic or other heavy metals. As a result, they learned Yates had some elevated amounts of arsenic in his blood stream, the same poison that killed Lee.
Lt. Yates’ low level arsenic exposure was consistent with someone who had handled the substance. But the test results were not remarkable because Yates would have been exposed to all the same environmental factors as Lee. If someone was trying to harm Lee, Yates could have easily been exposed to the same food and drinks in foreign ports. Although a lot of circumstantial evidence pointed to the roommate, a thorough search of Yates’ belongings showed no traces of arsenic. They could only conclude that Yates was a collateral victim of whoever was poisoning Lee. As suspects were eliminated one by one, agents had to consider the possibility that the suspect they were looking for may be Lee Hartley himself. One of the NCIS agents said when they don’t have anymore theories, they have to think outside the box. The agents considered that Lee may have ingested the arsenic intentionally.
It appeared Lee Hartley had everything going for him and he loved his job on the U.S.S. Forrestal. He also had a beautiful young wife waiting for him in Florida. But NCIS agents wondered if the image of that perfect life was just a sham. The two agents knew Lee while serving with him on the carrier. When they reflected back on their time with him, they did observe some unusual behavior. After lunch, Lee regularly met up with a small group and he always appeared disgruntled. They learned Lee was drinking heavily before his deployment and thought maybe he was going through some depression. Was Lee suicidal? Did he deliberately consume the arsenic to poison himself? The pair thought the odds were high that Lee ingested the poison and brought in in a psychologist to analyze Lee’s life and letters; they found no suicidal ideation in any of his writings.
The medical evidence in this case didn’t fit the pattern of someone trying to kill themselves. Typically in a suicide case, it would be a major ingestion of poison and then it would drop off. Lee was poisoned consistently over several months. He was in horrible condition to the point that he had an ulcerated esophagus, open sores in his mouth, couldn’t talk, and could’t eat. Would Lee have voluntarily chosen to kill himself in such a slow, agonizing way? They ruled out suicide and wondered if the poisoning was an attempt to help get him off the ship. Lee made some statements to family members that he really didn’t want to go on this last deployment and his heart wasn’t in it anymore. He was upset about having more sea duty. He wanted a stateside desk job close to his wife. Did he use the arsenic to get himself off the ship? Would they send him home?
Agents considered that maybe Lee wanted to take just enough of the poison to get himself sent back home. But arsenic doesn’t leave the body and instead builds up over time. The agents theorized Lee may not have understood its cumulative effect over time. Maybe, Lee didn’t realize it made him sicker and sicker with every dosage. Did his scheme backfire by taking one dose too many? This theory didn’t hold water though because there were no tell tale signs in Lee’s belongings that led anyone to believe he had handled arsenic. And toxicology evidence showed that the poisoning continued even after he got back to Jacksonville. NCIS had no choice but to put the latest theory to rest. At this point, they ran out of theories, suspects, and direction and chose to close the case.
Thirteen years later in 1995, NCIS formed a cold case homicide unit. Lee Hartley’s poisoning case was one of the first cases brought to their attention. Lee’s death was reviewed at headquarters and a new team of special agents were assigned. They quickly learned that all of the physical evidence in the Lee Hartley case had been destroyed. The team had to work the case the old fashioned way so they started re-interviewing people involved in the initial investigation. Agents said its helpful to go back and talk to people because their stories change and some are more willing to tell the truth after 10-15 years has passed. Agents spoke with family, friends, and neighbors and the same name that kept coming back up was the original suspect in the case, Pam Hartley. But their big break came when Lee Hartley’s brother-in-law helped them uncover the truth.
Pam’s brother knew the dynamics of Pam and Lee’s relationship so agents wanted to speak with him. The fact the case had been reopened after all these years, caught Pam’s brother by surprise and he dropped a bombshell no one expected. He shared that Pam tried to hire him to kill Lee and offered him some of the insurance money if he did it. He kept this secret for years and when agents interviewed him this time, he told them the truth. NCIS was now convinced Pam was the killer but building a case against her wasn’t going to be easy. After all, she passed a polygraph test that indicated no deception. When NCIS had the results re-examined by current staff, they found the findings of ‘no deception’ were probably erroneously reached. The results should have been inconclusive. It was more evidence of Pam’s involvement in Lee’s death.
But after so many years, they had no physical proof, no eyewitnesses, and no way to tie Pam to the actual crime. She also had what seemed to be an ironclad alibi. She was on the other side of the world when her husband was poisoned. If she was the killer, how did she do it? Could they get her to confess? They only had one shot and needed to get Pam alone, because thirteen years ago her controlling mother was beside her running interference. The cold case team placed Pam under surveillance and tracked her every move. They learned the years since Lee’s death had not been good to her. Having squandered her inheritance, she lived with her mother and struggled with substance abuse. She treated her addiction at a hospital on a military base. On one of those occasions, she arrived alone for the appointment. The NCIS used the structured environment of the Army base to conduct the interview.
This approach allowed NCIS to conduct an interview without Pam’s mother being there. Pam nervously agreed to answer their questions. They told her there was no doubt in their mind that she did it and most of the problems in her life were most likely attributed to what she had done to her husband. They played on her guilt and told her to put it behind her and tell the truth. Pam Hartley broke down and told them what she did. She told them everything and filled in the missing puzzle pieces. She didn’t want to be married anymore. She said she was miserable and hated how possessive Lee was. But, she really liked the status of being an officer’s wife and didn’t want to lose that lifestyle. She wanted him gone but wanted to maintain her status. It was almost the perfect murder. The last time she saw Lee, she bid him farewell and then ran to a feed store to purchase rat poison. Pam sent Lee poisoned treats while he was deployed at sea.
Like a model wife, Pam created treats for Lee because she knew he had a sweet tooth. Agents learned that both Lee and his cabin mate sampled some whiskey cake that she sent Lee. Yates said he ate one piece, it was too strong, and didn’t like it. Pam wanted Lee to die at sea but the call never came so she upped the anti and traveled to Spain to poison him in person at breakfast. But it still didn’t do the job. When Lee was airlifted to the hospital in Jacksonville, Pam rushed to his side. This time, she poisoned his apple juice. Pam gave Lee the lethal dose the night before he died while pretending to care about him. After Lee died, Pam took the rest of the poison and dumped it in a pond behind their house. Her persistence finally paid off; she collected on a lifetime of military benefits minus the annoying husband. How could she have hatched such a diabolical plot? When asked why poison, she said “ladies have been using poison for years.”
Pam’s confession sealed her fate. On October 16, 1996, Pamela Hartley pleaded guilty to second degree murder in a Florida state court. Agents reminded us that Pam had a psychotic personality. She didn’t think about the cause and effect on other people; she only thought of herself and the effect on her. After nineteen years of service, Lee Hartley didn’t die in battle, his mortal enemy was the one person he loved most. Not long before Lee’s death, Lee and Pam’s brother had a conversation where Lee told him if anything happened to him, his sister would be well taken care of. He died thinking he still needed to take care of Pam. Pamela received $35,000 in life insurance money, $10,000 a year in veterans benefits, and free military medical benefits for life. Lee was a good man and the pain from the loss endures. Pamela Hartley was sentenced to 40 years in a state prison and served 16 years when she was paroled.
When a Navy lieutenant onboard a US aircraft carrier falls victim to a rare case of arsenic poisoning, NCIS investigators must scour both land and sea for his killer. With no crime scene and little physical evidence, agents must separate rumor from truth and use their best interrogative know-how to solve a deadly crime. Follow real NCIS agents as they hunt down suspects on one of the world’s largest ships and after a long 13 years finally uncover the bizarre truth behind the poisoning death of a Lt. Lee Hartley. -Dark Minds in Crime
Investigation Discovery:
John Prudhont as NCIS Special Agent Tom Assimos and John Bridell as NCIS Special Agent Dave Early and Mocean Melvin as the Narrator in an edited clip from Season 4, Episode 13 of the Discovery ID TV show “Unusual Suspects.”
ID Go:In 1982, a Naval Officer dies from a mysterious illness. When toxicology reports reveal he was poisoned, Naval Investigators sift through a ship of thousands, and countless theories before the truth behind the victim’s painful death is revealed. -Maritime Murder, Unusual Suspects (S4,E13)
[CANNOT LOCATE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS SEASON 4 ON-LINE ANYWHERE]
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
Marine veteran Andrew Urdiales is accused of murdering eight women from 1986 to 1996, five in California and three in Illinois, and raping and abducting 19 year old Jennifer Asbenson who escaped and survived. Urdiales was indicted for three murders in Illinois and was sentenced to death but the death sentence was commuted after Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois abolished capital punishment in 2011. Instead he received three life sentences for the murders of Laura Uylaki, Cassandra Corum, and Lynn Huber. A gun confiscated in a separate incident linked the three murders in Illinois together and during an interrogation, Urdiales admitted in detail to five cold case murders in California too.
After years of legal wrangling, Urdiales was eventually extradited to California and indicted in 2009 on five counts of first degree murder. He was accused of killing Robbin Brandley, Julie McGhee, Mary Ann Wells, Tammie Erwin, and Denise Maney while stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. On May 23, 2018, Andrew Urdiales was convicted of five murders by a jury that deliberated for about a day before recommending in June 2018 that he be sentenced to death for each of the five murders. On November 2, 2018, corrections officials said they found Urdiales unresponsive during a security check at San Quentin State Prison; former Marine and serial killer Andrew Urdiales died by suicide.
In the News:
The murders occurred when Andrew Urdiales was stationed at various Marine Corps facilities in Southern California. -CBS Los Angeles (October 5, 2018)
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 