Ex-nurse arrested for killing patient by mixing excrement in IV
By JIJI PRESS
CHIBA (Jiji Press)--Police have arrested a former nurse for allegedly killing a male inpatient of a hospital in Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, in January by mixing excrement in his intravenous drip.
Apprehended by the Chiba prefectural police department Wednesday was Miyuki Furukawa, 51, from the city of Kashiwa in the prefecture. The suspect has denied the allegations against her, investigative sources said.
Furukawa is suspected of mixing excrement in the extension tube of an intravenous drip for Eiji Aita, 75, at Kashiwa Tanaka Hospital in the city around 3:55 a.m. Jan. 30, when she was working on the night shift, and killing the inpatient the following day by causing him to suffer multiple organ failure resulting from sepsis.
Around 4 a.m. Jan. 30, an assistant nurse on the night shift found Aita in abnormal condition with a pale face and shallow breathing. Treatment was given to Aita, but he died around 10:30 p.m. Jan. 31. Aita was from the city of Toride in Ibaraki Prefecture, adjacent to Chiba.
A brown-colored foreign object was discovered from the intravenous tube, according to the police. Intestinal bacteria were detected as a result of an examination, and the same bacteria were found from Aita's blood.
On Feb. 1, an official of the hospital visited the Kashiwa police station and reported that "there is a possibility that a foreign object was mixed into an intravenous drip for an inpatient whose condition suddenly deteriorated."
At the time, two nurses, including Furukawa, were in charge of patients on the floor where Aita was. The police identified Furukawa as a suspect partly based on footage from a security camera installed at the hospital.
Furukawa quit the hospital in late February.
The Chiba police will investigate details including Furukawa's motive and how she obtained the excrement used in the alleged murder.
Aoikai, the medical corporation that runs Kashiwa Tanaka Hospital, said on its website: "We will fully cooperate with the investigation. Keeping in mind again our mission to protect lives and health, we will work to prevent a recurrence."