2. Her Childhood
Born on November 13th, 1967
in
Massachusetts as Kristen
Heather Strickland.
Her parents were married,
but distant and
unaffectionate. In high
school, Gilbert
physically and verbally
abused her boyfriends,
and she was a notorious
liar. She claimed she
was related to murderer
Lizzie Borden.
3. Adult Life
Kristen Gilbert graduated from high school a year
and a half early with very high grades. She went
to Bridgewater State College, then transferred to
Greenfield Community College to be closer to her
boyfriend Glenn Gilbert. She graduated with a
diploma in nursing. She eloped and married Glenn
Gilbert in 1988. They had two children.
4. Adult Life
Kristen Gilbert began displaying very odd, even cruel behavior.
In 1987, she began working as a home health aide where she
scolded a mentally disabled child over 60% of his body with hot
bath water. She was not prosecuted for this. She also allegedly
chased her husband around the house with a butcher knife after
an argument, but she did not harm him. She was employed as a
nurse at Leeds Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Massachusetts,
where she was given the nickname “Angel of Death” because so
many people died while in her care. During an affair that
Kristen was having, her husband Glenn believed that Kristen was
trying to kill him because of the funny tasting food she served
him. A search of the house supported his suspicion: they found a
book titled The Handbook of Poisoning in Kristen’s cupboard.
During the murder investigation, Gilbert phoned in a bomb
threat to the hospital to try and put the investigation on hold. She
was arrested and served 15 months for this crime.
5. The Killings
There were no certain motives for the killings. Gilbert was
a highly skilled nurse, and a “social butterfly” at the
medical center. But, she was having an affair with hospital
security guard James Perrault. It is believed that Kristen
would put her patients in emergency conditions, because
hospital security always came rushing at an emergency, so
she could show off her nursing skills and flirt with
Perrault. Gilbert eventually left her husband and kids for
Perrault
6. The Killings
The Method of Killing
Gilbert killed her victims by injecting them with
the drug epinephrine, which caused them to have
massive heart attacks and die.
7. The victims
All of Kristen Gilbert’s
victims were white male
hospitalized veterans.
These men were perfect
victims-they were all
vulnerable because of
their physical and mental
illnesses. Gilbert was
convicted of four murders.
Their names were Henry
Hudon (age 35), Stanley
Jag0dowski (age 66),
Kenny Cutting (age 41),
and Edward Skwira (age
68).
8. Caught&
Convicted
Three suspicious coworkers of Gilbert came
forward and sparked the investigation that
eventually got Gilbert caught. Gilbert was under
suspicion because there was an unusual amount
of deaths and near deaths of patients that were
under her care, and bottles of epinephrine were
said to be missing. A test of the exhumed body of
one of the victims found that there were traces of
epinephrine in the body that shouldn’t have been
there; the victim was never supposed to be given
epinephrine.
9. Caught&
Convicted
On March 14th,2001 at age 33, Kristen Gilbert was
convicted of three counts of first-degree murder,
one count of second-degree murder, and two
counts of attempted murder, and is suspected of
40+ other deaths. She was sentenced to four life
sentences without possibility of parole plus 20
years. She had just barely escaped the death
sentence.
10. Why are serial killers so difficult to spot?
Serial killers are so difficult to spot because they live
behind a “mask of sanity”. Most often serial killers are
charming, well dressed and successful people. They often
wear disguises, such as a counselor, police officer, or other
successful figure in society. They fool people to gain their
trust. They do not feel sympathy for others, however they
are able to imitate the normal behavior they have learned
from other people.
For example, Kristen Gilbert was an attractive, charming,
and talented young nurse. When one thinks of a serial
killer, that is not the image that comes to mind.
11. What are the four types of serial killer crime
scenes?
1. Organized Crime Scene- is a planned offense in which
the victim is a targeted stranger. Most often the body is
hidden or disposed of. There is very little to no evidence
at the scene of the crime. Kristen Gilbert had an
organized crime scene.
2. Disorganized Crime Scene- victim is selected at random.
The crime scene is sloppy, evidence is left. Sudden violence
on the victim.
3. Mixed Crime Scene- includes characteristics from both
organized and disorganized crime scenes.
4. Atypical Crime Scene- cannot be classified by the
remains of the victim. This crime scene usually pertains to
decomposed remains.
12. What I learned
What surprised me the most was learning that most serial
killers do not appear to be serial killers at all. They are
usually very well kept, organized, intelligent people.
I was appalled that Kristen Gilbert not only killed her
patients, but that her patients were brave men who had
once served our country.
