THE REAL KRISTEN GILBERT

‘THE ANGEL OF DEATH’

By Katherine Hole

OUR PLOT• OUR PLOT IS BASED ON THE REAL PSYCHOPATH, KRISTEN GILBERT.

ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT STICKING COMPLETELY TO HER LIFE EVENTS, WE ARE BASING OUR FEMME FATALE ON HER AND MANY OF THE HORRIFIC THINGS THAT SHE HAS DONE IN HER LIFE.

EARLY LIFE OF KRISTEN GILBERT• KRISTEN WAS BORN ON THE NOVEMBER 13TH IN 1967.

• SHE GREW UP IN MASSACHUSETTS AND LIVED WITH HER PARENTS WHO WERE MARRIED, BUT DISTANT AND UNAFFECTIONATE TOWARDS HER.• WHEN SHE WAS AT SCHOOL, GILBERT PHYSICALLY AND

VERBALLY ABUSED HER BOYFRIENDS, AND SHE WAS A NOTORIOUS LIAR. • ONE OF HER LIES WERE THAT SHE CLAIMED SHE WAS

RELATED TO MURDERER LIZZIE BORDEN.

• KRISTEN GILBERT GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE EARLY, WITH VERY HIGH GRADES. • THEN SHE WENT TO BRIDGEWATER STATE UNIVERSITY, AND THEN

TRANSFERRED TO GREENFIELD COMMUNITY UNIVERSITY SO THAT SHE WAS CLOSER TO HER BOYFRIEND GLENN GILBERT. • SHE GRADUATED WITH A DIPLOMA IN NURSING. SHE THEN MARRIED GLENN

GILBERT IN 1988. THEY HAD TWO CHILDREN.•  SHE BEGAN DISPLAYING VERY ODD, EVEN CRUEL BEHAVIOUR. GILBERT

WORKED AS A HOME HEALTH AIDE WHERE SHE BURNT OVER 60% OF A MENTALLY DISABLED CHILD’S BODY WITH HOT BATH WATER IN 1987. 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 CENTRE IN MASSACHUSETTS.• IT WAS HERE THAT SHE WAS GIVEN THE NICKNAME “ANGEL OF DEATH” AS SO

MANY PEOPLE DIED WHILE IN HER CARE. • AROUND THIS TIME, KRISTEN WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR. 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 KRISTEN’S 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.

• IT IS NOT OBVIOUS GILBERT’S MOTIVES FOR THE KILLINGS. GILBERT WAS A HIGHLY SKILLED NURSE, AND A POPULAR AT THE MEDICAL CENTRE. • SHE WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH HOSPITAL SECURITY GUARD JAMES

PERRAULT. IT IS BELIEVED THAT GILBERT WOULD PUT HER PATIENTS IN EMERGENCY CONDITIONS, BECAUSE HOSPITAL SECURITY ALWAYS CAME RUSHING AT AN EMERGENCY.• THIS MEANT THAT SHE COULD SHOW OFF HER NURSING SKILLS AND FLIRT

WITH PERRAULT. GILBERT LEFT HER HUSBAND AND KIDS FOR PERRAULT• THE KILLINGS THE METHOD OF KILLING GILBERT KILLED HER VICTIMS BY

INJECTING THEM WITH THE DRUG EPINEPHRINE, WHICH CAUSED THEM TO HAVE HEART ATTACKS AND DIE.

• THREE SUSPICIOUS CO-WORKERS 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.• PEOPLE ALSO NOTICED THAT 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.• 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.