'Rogue' NC Nurse Killed 2 Women With Lethal Insulin Dose: District Attorney

WINSTON-SALEM, NC — A former nurse at a North Carolina hospital was charged with murder this week after authorities said he killed two patients by injecting them with a lethal dose of insulin.

Johnathan Hayes, a former nurse at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, is accused of killing patients Gwen Crawford and Vickie Lingerfelt in January, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill announced at a news conference. Hayes is also charged with attempted murder after nearly killing a third patient using the same method.

During the news conference posted by Fox 8, O'Neill described Hayes as a "rogue nurse."

"All the available evidence indicates that this man acted alone," O'Neil said.

Hayes, 47, appeared in court Wednesday, according to the Winston-Salem Police Department. He was ordered held without bond.

The investigation into Hayes started in March when O'Neill and Winston-Salem Police Department detectives met with Atrium Health officials regarding two suspicious deaths that took place in January 2022.

During the monthslong investigation, police learned Hayes administered a lethal dose of insulin to patient Gwen Crawford, 61, on Jan. 5. She died three days later, O’Neill said. On Jan. 22, Hayes gave another lethal dose of insulin to Vickie Lingerfelt, 62, who died five days later.

A third victim, 62-year-old Pamela Little, was also identified by authorities. According to O'Neill, Little survived despite Hayes' attempt to administer her a lethal dose of insulin in December 2021.

O'Neill said authorities don't believe Hayes knew the victims. They're also unsure of his motive, O'Neill said.

"Johnathan Hayes has forfeited the honor of being called a nurse," O’Neill said. "From this day forward, he will be known as a defendant."

During the news conference, Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center vice president Denise Potter said hospital officials are "deeply saddened" by the deaths.

"When we first learned of these disturbing events we immediately reached out to offer our condolences, our apologies and our support to the patients’ families," Potter said. "As soon as we identified a deviation in patient care as part of our established safety protocols we took immediate action to remove the employee from the patient care environment and terminated his employment."

Hayes was fired March 18 after working at Wake Forest Baptist on multiple occasions over the past 15 years, the Winston-Salem Journal reported, citing a hospital spokesperson. He was employed there through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hayes was also nominated as a nurse of distinction in the Celebrating Nurses of the Triad special section coordinated by the Winston-Salem Journal, News & Record and N.C. Nurses Association, according to the Journal. He was nominated by his wife.

"The biggest takeaway from the pandemic has been to never take your life for granted,” Hayes said in the article. "Always treat everyone the same as you would want to be treated."

Police established a dedicated phone line allowing anyone who may have been victimized by Hayes to speak with detectives. Potential victims are asked to contact the Winston-Salem Police Department at 336-757-0357.

Anyone with any information regarding the investigation should call the Winston-Salem Police Department at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800, or Crime Stoppers en Español at 336-728-3904.