With the recent case of long-term care nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer, who is thought to be Canada’s first medical serial killer, more light is being shed on the gruesome history behind a very rare and specific type of criminal.
Dubbed “angels of mercy” by criminologists, these killers are usually medical practitioners tasked with providing assistance to patients in a hospital setting, who then use their position to intentionally kill people under their care. Their nickname refers to their tendency to see their position of power as a “saviour” figure of sorts—believing their victims would be better off dead rather than severely ill, and that by murdering them, they’re actually ending the patients’ pain and suffering in an act of mercy.
