╌>

Reta Mays: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

  
Via:  Split Personality  •  4 years ago  •  11 comments

By:   Erik Hawkins (Heavy. com)

Reta Mays: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
Reta Mays is a former nursing assistant at a VA in West Virginia who on July 14 pleaded guilty to killing eight veterans with insulin injections between 2017 and 2018.

Sponsored by group The Reality Show

The Reality Show


S E E D E D   C O N T E N T


West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Reta Mays pleaded guilty to killing seven veterans at the VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Reta Mays is a former nursing assistant at the Clarksburg VA Medical Center in West Virginia who on Tuesday, July 14, pleaded guilty to killing seven veterans through insulin injections between 2017 and 2018. The second-degree murder charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, WCHS reported.

She also pleaded guilty to assault with the intent to murder another veteran, according to her plea agreement.

The charges against May, 46, were unsealed Tuesday before she pleaded, and followed a two-year federal investigation, West Virginia Metro News reported.

U.S. Attorney Bill Powell told reporters Tuesday that the investigation eventually came down to who was present during one-on-one appointments at which the patients were given insulin. Although Mays denied the charges until July 13, Powell said, "Ultimately it led to her in every instance."

Here's what you need to know about Mays and the murders she pleaded guilty to:

1. Mays Was a Nursing Assistant at the Medical Center When, Prosecutors Say, She Murdered at Least 7 Veterans via Insulin Injections


GettyInsulin

According to Mays' federal charging document, she started working at the VA Hospital in June 2015; she worked the night shift in a surgical ward, dealing with a number of diabetic patients. In June 2018, another employee at the medical center brought concerns to their supervisor about several patients who suffered hypoglycemic deaths — a condition of low blood sugar caused by being injected with too much insulin. An investigation commenced, and Mays was removed from her role, according to the document.

Mays was never authorized or licensed to administer insulin to patients, according to a Department of Justice release.

There were 11 total suspicious deaths of veterans at the medical center, although Mays was only charged in seven, WSOC TV reported.

Shen admitted to injecting an eighth veteran, who later died, with insulin, as well.

2. The Daughter of a Victim Filed a Civil Suit Against the Medical Center



The DOJ is investigating suspicious deaths at a VA medical center where at least ten veterans may have died from wrongly administered insulin injections.
@NatalieABrand spoke to the daughters of a veteran whose death has been ruled a homicide https://t.co/QjQNBFSVzlpic.twitter.com/Wv4A6cKIXL
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) August 30, 2019

Melanie Proctor, the daughter of retired Army Sergeant Felix McDermott, filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against U.S. Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs on March 2, alleging her late father suffered a hypoglycemic attack early on the morning of April 9, 2018, and died, although his cause of death was recorded as aspiration pneumonia with sepsis.

Proctor alleged a "widespread system of failures" at the medical center, with leadership not doing anything about the "abnormally high number of patients experiencing sudden unexpected declines" on the floor where Mays worked. The rate of hypoglycemic episodes was unheard of in the hospital industry, according to her complaint.

Pacer.govMelanie Proctor filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the VA on behalf of her father, Army Sergeant Felix McDermott.

Proctor alleged that someone must have known something was going on in the medical center, with a "clear pattern" of patients on the floor experiencing a severe decline, then dying, before her father's death in April 2018.

A spokesman for the medical center in March declined to comment on the suit to the Associated Press but said that they had "fired the individual at the center" of Proctor's claims.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie has filed a motion to dismiss himself as defendant in the suit, and it is currently scheduled for a jury trial in September 2021, according to court documents.

3. Mays Signed a Plea Agreement Admitting to the Murders of Robert Edge Sr., Robert Kozul, Archie Edgell, George Shaw, Felix McDermott, Raymond Golden & an Unnamed Veteran


Google Street ViewThe Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

According to her plea agreement, Mays admitted to the murders of six named veterans, as well as two who were identified only by their initials.

Around July 20, 2017, she injected Robert Edge Sr., 82, with insulin, according to the agreement. Edge was diabetic but had not been prescribed insulin; he suffered a "severe hypoglycemic event" and died the following afternoon, according to the document.

Robert Kozul, 89, was not diabetic, but during a night shift in January 2018, Mays injected him with enough insulin to cause hypoglycemia, according to the document. He died early the next morning, despite hospital staff's best efforts.

Archie Edgell, 84, was diabetic but also not prescribed insulin, and Mays injected him with insulin twice in March 2018, according to her plea agreement. She first administered it to him during the night shift of March 23, then again the next night, after hospital staff tried to stabilize him with dextrose. He died on March 25.

The night of March 25, Mays also injected George Shaw, 81, with insulin, even though he was not diabetic, according to the document. He was treated with dextrose and Glucagon, according to the document, but he was unable to recover and died on April 10, 2018.

Felix McDermott, 82, also was not diabetic when Mays injected him during the night shift on April 8, 2018. He died the next morning.

Raymond Golden, 88, was diabetic and required a specific type and dosage of insulin, according to the document. During the night shift on June 3, Mays injected him with enough to cause a hypoglycemic event and he died four days later.

The seventh victim Mays admitted to murdering was identified in court documents only by the initials W.A.H. She also pleaded guilty to a charge of assault against a person identified as R.R.P., who prosecutors said died two weeks after being injected with insulin by Mays, according to local ABC affiliate WCHS.


Judge Tom Kleeh asks Mays to stand to formally plead guilty. Mays is crying. Judge read each victim's name. Mays pleads guilty to all counts and says "yes, sir" when asked if she did was the govt. said she did. — Leslie Rubin (@LeslieRubinWCHS) July 14, 2020

Mays was crying in court when she heard each name called and pleaded guilty to each death on Tuesday, WCHS reported.

Powell told reporters that Mays did not offer up any motive for the killings, the outlet reported.

4. Mays Could Serve a Life Sentence for Each of the 7 Murder Pleas & 20 Years on the Assault With Intent Charge



This is Reta Mays; she is the former nursing assistant at the Clarksburg VA Medical Center who administered insulin to veterans who did not need it; killing them. @WOWK13News

We know of at least 7 veterans who have died, however no explanation from Mays as to why she did it. pic.twitter.com/LBGSrviZBK

— Erin Noon (@ENoonWOWK) July 14, 2020

According to her plea agreement, Mays faces up to a life sentence on each murder charge she pleaded guilty to, as well as a $250,000 fine. On the assault with intent to commit murder charge, she could be sentenced to another 20 years and another $250,000 fine.

After her plea, Powell told reporters, "Though we can't bring these men back, because of her evil acts, we hope the conclusion of the investigation and guilty plea helps ease the pain of the victims' families," WSOC TV reported.

Although she has pleaded guilty, the case will continue as prosecutors and her defense attorneys uncover more of the circumstances, West Virginia Metro News reported. A status conference was scheduled for October and Mays was remanded to West Virginia's Northern Regional Jail, according to the report.

5. Senator Joe Manchin Had Pressed Attorney General William Barr to Fast-Track the Investigation & Said Tuesday, 'Justice Is Finally Being Served'


GettySenator Joe Manchin

West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who serves on the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee, said he followed the case closely as soon as he heard about it in July 2018, repeatedly calling on the inspector general and FBI to finish their investigation as soon as possible.

He also called for his Senate committee to investigate but was asked to put any Senate investigation on hold until the criminal case was complete, Manchin said in a release Tuesday.

"My heart goes out to the families and loved ones who tragically lost a Veteran and have had to endure this injustice," Manchin said. "While overdue, today justice is finally being served. I hope today's announcement brings some semblance of peace to their hearts and to the families who are still uncertain about the fate of their Veterans."

Heavy reached out to Mays' defense attorney for comment Tuesday but did not hear back by the time of publication.


Article is LOCKED by moderator [smarty_function_ntUser_get_name: user_id or profile_id parameter required]
 

Tags

jrGroupDiscuss - desc
[]
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
1  seeder  Split Personality    4 years ago

At a plea hearing, Mays, 46, admitted to purposely killing the veterans, injecting them with unprescribed insulin while she worked overnight shifts at the hospital in northern West Virginia between 2017 and 2018. Her voice cracked throughout the hearing as she answered a judge’s questions. She shook and appeared to weep as details of the charges were read aloud.

U.S. Attorney Bill Powell told reporters that Mays’ motive is still unclear, saying that authorities did not receive a “satisfactory response” to questions about the reasoning behind her actions.

no politics, please.

 
 
 
devangelical
Professor Principal
1.1  devangelical  replied to  Split Personality @1    4 years ago

very tragic that this mental case managed to slip thru the cracks. I spent almost 3 years trying to navigate the VA on behalf of my father, even though we had been estranged for several years prior, he was still a veteran. for the most part I was very happy with the care given by all of the VA health professionals. it was the VA administrators and the DAV that ultimately failed him, and in my opinion led him to an earlier death than he should have experienced.  

 
 
 
Freewill
Junior Quiet
1.1.1  Freewill  replied to  devangelical @1.1    4 years ago
and the DAV that ultimately failed him

devangelical - I'm very sorry to hear about what happened to your father.  By DAV do you mean the Disabled American Veterans organization?  I have donated to them on a regular basis for years.  Can you elaborate on when and in what way the DAV failed your father?  If they aren't as reputable an organization as I have thought all along, perhaps I'll need to rethink my giving to them.

 
 
 
devangelical
Professor Principal
1.1.2  devangelical  replied to  Freewill @1.1.1    4 years ago
Can you elaborate on when and in what way the DAV failed your father? 

probably not without going on a local killing spree afterwards..........jk/s

failure to help get his local VA to provide in home services or a mental health evaluation

failure to help me get him transferred to a VA hospital out of a civilian hospital and then a behavior hospital, both in texas, after he decided to go for a drive, from colorado...

failure to provide help after the civilian hospital installed a defective pacemaker in his chest

failure to help me navigate the bureaucratic nightmare that is the VA

failure to help me place him in a new VA home in denver that had a memory care center

failure to help get the VA to provide remote services to him in the rehab nursing home the VA stuck him in

failure to help get the VA to provide hearing aid batteries to him in the rehab nursing home

failure to do anything that apparently would cause friction between them or the VA

they were johnny on the spot after he croaked willing to console me and my family members by phone or with their support group. happy to provide all the pomp and circumstance when we were ready to plant him.

feel free to use your full imagination on what you think my response to them was...

IMO they are a leech organization, but I don't know whose blood they're sucking. hopefully it isn't the blood of any disabled veterans.

my apologies to SP for this derail rant.

 
 
 
Freewill
Junior Quiet
1.1.3  Freewill  replied to  devangelical @1.1.2    4 years ago

Man those are all things that they say they can help with on their website.  Thanks for letting me know.  I'm going to do some deeper digging now.  All the stories I had heard previously about DAV from other veterans was much more positive.  Now the stories I heard from veterans about the VA over that last couple of decades, horrendous!

feel free to use your full imagination on what you think my response to them was...

No imagination needed.   Sorry you had to deal with that.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
2  seeder  Split Personality    4 years ago
 Melanie Proctor, the daughter of retired Army Sergeant Felix McDermott, filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against U.S. Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs on March 2, alleging her late father suffered a hypoglycemic attack early on the morning of April 9, 2018, and died, although his cause of death was recorded as aspiration pneumonia with sepsis.

Proctor alleged a "widespread system of failures" at the medical center, with leadership not doing anything about the "abnormally high number of patients experiencing sudden unexpected declines" on the floor where Mays worked. The rate of hypoglycemic episodes was unheard of in the hospital industry, according to her complaint.

Pacer.govMelanie Proctor filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the VA on behalf of her father, Army Sergeant Felix McDermott.

Proctor alleged that someone must have known something was going on in the medical center, with a "clear pattern" of patients on the floor experiencing a severe decline, then dying, before her father's death in April 2018.

Where the hell were the patient advocates and Quality Control managers?

 
 
 
sandy-2021492
Professor Expert
2.1  sandy-2021492  replied to  Split Personality @2    4 years ago

My sister did some of her rotations at this hospital for PA school.  She did not have good things to say, even almost 20 years ago.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
3  Kavika     4 years ago

A very sad commentary. Vets that served their country killed by another American. It's very difficult to wrap one's head around this.

I'm sorry to hear of your father, devan. 

A salute to him.

 
 
 
devangelical
Professor Principal
3.1  devangelical  replied to  Kavika @3    4 years ago

meh, we weren't at all close, otherwise you would have seen me on the news a few years ago. helping out a disabled veteran and relieving my mom and sisters from the nightmarish VA ordeal was the only reasons I put up with the BS. I actually had a VA official tell me to fill out a next of kin form my dad hadn't completed, put the pen in his hand and then help him make a mark on it in front of a friendly witness to expedite the process of making all my VA problems go away. despite diagnosis' of his dementia by both a VA psychologist and VA psychiatrist 2 years earlier, he died before the VA had ever issued their official judgement. we couldn't stand to be around each other, but he was still a disabled veteran.

 
 
 
sandy-2021492
Professor Expert
4  sandy-2021492    4 years ago

I've had people ask me why my dad doesn't get all his healthcare at the VA, especially when he had prostate cancer.  This would have been one of the VA hospitals nearest to him.  Thanks, but no thanks.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
4.1  seeder  Split Personality  replied to  sandy-2021492 @4    4 years ago

It does seem to have the reputation of being the last choice in healthcare.

 
 

Who is online

devangelical
jw
Eat The Press Do Not Read It


47 visitors