It's not an urban myth, although it was news to us, too, until now.
Despite the scandal of alleged wagering and murder among staff at a Las Vegas hospital sounding like a lurid far-fetched plot dreamed up for TV, in fact the story broke in Las Vegas for real on March 13, 1980. Not surprisingly, the rumors soon grabbed national attention, thanks to the incredible subject matter and its dissemination by the Associated Press and UPI news agencies. Tabloids like the New York Post screamed headlines like "Angel of Death" and "Nurse Accused of Pulling Plug in Lethal Hospital Betting Scandal." Even Walter Cronkite, respected anchor of CBS' evening news, reported sensationally of employees "betting on death in a kind of ghoul pool."
In hindsight, it seems that the ingredients in this gruesome news cocktail, which involved the most trusted of professions evidently being corrupted beyond belief by the inexorably degenerate influence of "Sin City," were just too potent and enticing for the media or the public imagination to let go of. Even a coincidence of terminology was a gift to any hack -- so called "Death's Angel" supervising nurse Jani Adams worked what's commonly known as the "graveyard shift" -- while the flamboyant defense attorney she hired had some prior acting experience, including having played "the most evil spirit in the universe" in an episode of "Star Trek."
Hence, in spite of some of the earliest facts to emerge indicating that there was no evidence of foul play in the deaths of the alleged victim(s), nor of any betting occurring or money changing hands, the story was evidently just too good, or rather too bad, to inspire much in the way of measured professional journalism.
At first there were reports of six victims, although this figure was quickly revised to focus on just one -- an elderly man named Vincent Fraser, who was suffering from multiple severe health issues and whose condition had already been deemed terminal by no less than five physicians in the weeks before he finally died.
Nevertheless, one arresting officer reportedly threatened Adams with the gas chamber the day she was first taken in to custody, while another addressed her as "the murderess." Even then Nevada Governor, Robert List, who one would think would have been inclined to downplay the whole scandal and keep perceptions as neutral as possible until such time as any of the allegations could be substantiated, was quoted as saying that he "would like to think the whole thing a figment of somebody's imagination" but that "there seems to be a good deal of smoke and fire."
In reality, there was really very little of either. Tune in tomorrow for our understanding, decades after the fact, of what actually happened.
