by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright January 16, 2001
All Rights Reserved.

ccused of murder and now behind bars, 31-year-old respiratory therapist turned serial killer Efren Saldivar baffled investigators, recanting a fantastic tale filled with bizarre contradictions from merciful euthanasia to racist vigilantism. Blurring the murky line between mercy killing and premeditated murder is the quagmire of treating the terminally ill in medical settings. With the suicide doctor—Dr. Jack Kevorkian—doing time in a Michigan prison, it was just a matter of time before his next reincarnation. Admitting that he killed more than 200 gravely ill patients, the Tujunga resident Saldivar now sits in Los Angeles County jail awaiting arraignment on charges of serial murder in connection with his employment as a respiratory therapist at Glendale Adventist Medical Center from 1989 to 1998. Analyzing the anatomy of murders, few would have suspected the unassuming Saldivar to fit the typical profile of a serial killer. Now, after nearly three years of intensive investigation, thanks to the persistence of the Glendale Police, Salidvar’s finally behind bars.

       Throwing investigators for a loop, Saldivar’s victims were gravely ill patients on their last legs with medical instructions: “Do not resuscitate.” With families signing advanced directives requesting 'no heroic measures,' most expect the worse and give up hope. When patients expire, few question the circumstances under which they died, believing that patients deceased of natural causes. When Saldivar inserted his syringe loaded with lethal doses of Pavulon and succinylcholne, foul play was the last thing on families’ or physicians’ minds. After all, most of Saldivar’s patients were already diagnosed with a fatal respiratory condition known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD], commonly known as emphysema. Only through the keen observations of Saldivar’s colleagues and his own inexplicable confession would anyone ascertain his real motives. Sounding merciful, Saldivar told Glendale detectives that he “helped the patients die fast.”

       Arrested in 1998, fired from his job, and stripped by the State Board of Respiratory Therapy of his license, LA County District Attorney Gill Garcetti refused to file charges against Saldivar, apparently due to a lack of evidence. But eye witness and police reports overwhelmingly pointed toward Saldivar’s guilt. A well-publicized confession obtained with the help of a polygraph examiner also pointed toward his culpability. Not exactly a smoking gun but the next best thing, Saldivar’s confession—which he quickly recanted when he returned to his senses—revealed a plethora of incriminating disclosures in Saldivar’s own words. He even admitted to seeking out patients with orders in their charts saying, “Do not resuscitate.”

       Saldivar reported feeling a “nagging guilt,” but admitted, “It was nothing compared to the anger—rage, of seeing somebody kept alive in this position,” showing his phony compassion. Revealing his true sentiments about Armenians whom he suspected of fleecing Medicare or Social Security, Saldivar revealed cryptic racial hatred. Commenting about Saldivar’s incriminating confession, his attorney Terry M. Goldberg discounted his client’s statements to the police as “a coerced, false confession.” He also said that Saldivar’s incriminating remarks were due to depression and mental illness. Yes, Saldivar’s mentally ill, but it’s his psychopathic personality that leaves him incapable of feeling true guilt or remorse. Far from shame, Saldivar swelled with omnipotent pleasure, playing executioner, administering lethal injections and watching helpless patients die.

       Filing 6 counts of murder with special circumstances on January 10, 2001, Glendale Police Chief Russell Siverling finally corroborated suspicions that Saldivar’s patients did not die of natural causes. Confirmed by the prestigious Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories in the Bay Area, tissue samples drawn from 20 exhumed corpses detected lethal levels of Pavulon, a powerful drug used to paralyze respiration during live-saving medical procedures like intubation. Also found were trace amounts of the potent muscle relaxant succinylcholine also used while installing breathing tubes. Finding these two drugs was the 'smoking gun' needed to prove that Saldivar deviated from his scope of practice and administered lethal injections. According to state law, respiratory therapists are prohibited from giving any injections. This finding corroborated the sworn affidavit of another respiratory therapist and former girl friend who said that Saldivar possessed a “magic syringe” and gave lethal injections.

       “I don’t want to sound racist, but this is a large Armenian community and there’s a lot of—falsifying Medicare stuff,” said Saldivar to police detectives during his original arrest and confession back in 1998. While discounted as the ranting of a mentally ill patient by Saldivar’s attorney, his statement gives a free X-ray into his perverted motives for committing serial murder. Though Saldivar’s emotions are clearly a mixed bag, his personal testimony reveals an inner core of hatred used to justify taking human life. Recanting his story, Saldivar now maintains that he duped detectives because he was depressed and seeking retribution. To this date, Saldivar maintains that investigators were “fooled” by envious co-workers gunning for his job. Like most psychopathic killers, Saldivar shows pathological levels of paranoia, leading him to engage in dangerous behavior. Saldivar’s pleasing presentation, pathological lying, and absence of remorse display the rotten inner core needed to commit serial murder.

       Faced with incontrovertible toxicology evidence, Saldivar’s defense is now morphing into “He did it, but he’s crazy.” Having made his confession, it’s difficult to unring the bell and erase the many details supplying compelling evidence of his motives and means for committing serial murder. With racist overtones, Saldivar saw himself performing a humanitarian mission, liquidating people he suspected of fleecing the system. Despite the medical setting, Saldivar’s a bloodthirsty killer, deriving perverse gratification from playing God and watching people die. Playing executioner and administering lethal injections, he dispelled any fairy tales about his need to end the misery of terminal patients. Like other serial killers, all fancy motives are eclipsed by the euphoric pleasure derived from the act of killing. Wearing a white coat and using state-of-the-art techniques doesn’t change a thing.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in political consulting and strategic public relations. He’s a seminar trainer, columnist and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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