A horrifyingly gripping and pointed reminder of why government regulation and over-sight of MANY key industries that effect just about EVERY citizen are as necessary as ever, and always will be. Swango's father was a career U.S. Army officer who served in the Vietnam War and was troubled by alcoholism. This is a carousel with slides. Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. [2] The FBI obtained a warrant charging Swango with using fraudulent credentials to gain entry to a Veterans Affairs hospital.[11]. Michael Swango was born on October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. He had suspected that sudden deaths of some patients were due to Swango, but had no proof at that stage. That night, Markov developed a high fever and then violent nausea. He returned to Illinois, enrolled at Quincy College, graduated with a near-perfect grade-point average and a double major in chemistry and biology, became a certified medical technician, worked part-time as an orderly at a Quincy hospital, applied to medical school and chose Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Try again later. Swango then found a job as a laboratory technician for ATICoal in Newport News, now Vanguard Energy, a division of CITA Logistics. The nurses soon noticed that patients frequently died mysteriously when he worked as the floor intern in Rhodes Hall at OSU. Instead, Cashman told Stewart, he was shocked to learn that all these years later Swango was still treating patients. But Swango was no more forthcoming to his classmates about his choice of a specialty than he had been about why he had chosen medicine as a career.Swango's decision came as a particular shock to his classmate Sweeney, who had been so dismayed by the cadaver incident and thought Swango was ill-equipped to practice medicine at all, much less neurosurgery. Parents. [2], Faced with hard evidence of his fraudulent activities and the possibility of an extended inquiry into his time in Zimbabwe, Swango pleaded guilty to defrauding the government in March 1998. At SIU, the first-year students were divided into groups and each student was assigned one part of the cadaver to dissect and present to the rest of the group. "Muriel proudly reported to family members that Michael had been accepted at several medical schools. Upon his return from Vietnam, Swango's father became depressed and was divorced by Muriel. He was previously married to Muriel Swango. Chillingly thorough.Wonderfully done.An elaborate journalistic reconstruction that has the fascination of an acutely observed and troubling novel. A system error has occurred. Following his graduation, Swango went to medical school at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU). Best of 2022 Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. But Swango didn't drink alcohol and, despite his close relationship to Wacaser, never attended the parties. An indictment charged Swango with making a false statement to gain admittance to a U.S. Veterans Administration hospital. He was nearly expelled, but was allowed to remain when one member of the committee voted to give him a second chance. In each locale, those in charge did little or nothing to monitor Swango's conduct. Since the latest Swango incident took place at a Veterans Affairs facility, federal authorities got involved. Updated: September 25, 2013 Biography ID: 157019722 More Criminals Mullah Krekar Dawood Ibrahim Ike Clanton Frank Costello Jean Negulesco Nick Hexum Recently divorced and in his early fifties, Wacaser would often invite students for postsurgery beers at his spacious office in a house across the street from the hospital, where he displayed the brain of a former patient in a jar of formaldehyde on the fireplace mantel. Though the Bulgarian secret police were suspected in Markov's death, the murder remains unsolved.During his senior year, Swango took the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and applied to a number of medical schools. On a form he submitted to the college's public information office, he falsely claimed that he had received both a Bronze Star for heroism in combat, and a Purple Heart for combat wounds during his relatively brief tenure as a Marine.Swango was an outstanding student at Quincy College. Episode 3: Doctor Death James B. Stewart first heard about Michael Swango two years ago, during a telephone call from Judge Dennis Cashman of Quincy, Ill. Stewart knew Cashman's family while growing up in Quincy and had gone on to become an award-winning Wall Street Journal reporter and editor, then an author of best-selling investigative books. There was enough evidence for Immigration and Naturalization Service agents to arrest Swango in June 1997, on a layover at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on his way to Saudi Arabia. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Michael Swango attended Quincy Catholic Boys High School, where he was valedictorian of his 1972 class and played clarinet in the school band Quincy Notre Dame. Try again. Though he ran on the track team during his freshman and sophomore years, he wasn't very athletic. He had just been arrested, though, at O'Hare International Airport after returning from overseas. Although he was a brilliant student, he preferred to work as an ambulance attendant rather than concentrate on his studies. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Amid the AMA report and calls from frightened colleagues, Sanford fired Swango. Michael Joseph Swango (born October 21, 1954) is an American serial killer and former [1] physician who is estimated to have been involved in as many as 60 fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, although he admitted to causing only four deaths. Swango's father was a career U.S. Army officer who served in the Vietnam War, was listed in Who's Who in Government 1972-1973, and was troubled by alcoholism. Try again later. Given his excellent academic record and test-taking ability, Swango would have been a strong candidate. Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. Then he would return, take that test, and repeat the process. Swango's classmate Rosenthal, despite good grades in his science classes at highly regarded Knox College and decent scores on the MCAT, had been rejected outright by sixteen schools before securing a place on SIU's waiting list. Each test covered a curricular "module," such as heart murmurs, within one of the core topics, such as the heart. TCU students, alumni, and faculty served in Vietnam. It seemed Swango always had an explanation, an excuse for the deaths on his watch. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. He called Richard Thomesen, who was stationed in the DEA's Manhattan field office to discuss the case. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. However, after his girlfriend broke up with him, he became reclusive, left college and joined the Marine Corps. During high school he played clarinet in the band. We will update Michael Swango's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible. He was immediately fired. It was weird, Rosenthal thought. "But finally, in the person of a faculty neurosurgeon, Dr. Lyle Wacaser, Swango seemed to find a kindred spirit. The claim triggered renewed talk and concern about Swango among his classmates; Rosenthal and several others even wondered whether Swango should be reported to the Student Progress Committee, a group of twelve faculty and two students that heard complaints of student misconduct. Besides needing outstanding grades in a pre-med curriculum and high MCAT scores, applicants had to sit for a personal interview in which their maturity, commitment, and aptitude for medicine were evaluated.Because it was founded in part to improve medical services in southern Illinois, SIU accepted only Illinois residents and looked for a commitment to family practice in small-town or rural Illinois. Mother. As a relatively new medical school, SIU had been able to build a curriculum from the ground up, unfettered by traditional approaches. But no one did so.Within their third-year rotations, students can choose areas of specialization. Drag images here or select from your computer for COL John Virgil Swango memorial. They told him that on the day he was due to be released, he would be extradited to Zimbabwe to face charges of murder and attempted murder. Please try your request again later. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. The cadavers remained on display in the anatomy lab, and members of Swango's group made a point of showing their friends Swango's mangled handiwork, generally with a comment like, "Can you believe this?" After two tours in Vietnam in the 1960's, Virgil retired as a colonel, then returned to Vietnam with the Agency for . His work in a hospital as an orderly would also have worked in his favor. The goal was to graduate students prepared for careers in primary care family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology as opposed to research or the subspecialties, such as ophthalmology and cardiology. Torture Mom: A Chilling True Story of Confinement, Mutilation and Murder (True Crime), Has it Come to This? Early in the podcast I stated that Michael served four years out of the five sentenced for poisoning in 1985. Most people who become doctors do so to help people, but not Joseph MIchael Swango, born on October 21, 1954 in Tacoma, Washington. Michael Swango has been featured on the American crime show Unsolved Mysteries, the Oxygen series It Takes a Killer, and the National Geographic Channel episode Angel of Death. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. , Simon & Schuster; First Printing edition (June 15, 2000), Language (The first-come, first-served system for assigning medical students to patients was subsequently changed.) This naturally froze Sweeney out of numerous opportunities for clinical experience, and it hardly endeared Swango to fellow students. Please try again. Trending. Early life. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Excellent timeline and map of Michael Swangos activities up until 1997, Kristin Lynn Kinney in happier times with Michael Swango, Lt. Col. John Virgil Swango (1914-1982)Source: TCU yearbook, 1965, Source: Christian Brothers Catholic Boys School (Quincy, IL) yearbook, 1972, Aaron Bruce (1822-1906) and Mary Anne (Bruce) Walters (1826-1920) and their children at their home in Edina, Missouri, 1893. Actually, he served only two years of the five year sentence. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/michael-swango-14036.php. He attended Millikin University in Decatur, where he did well academically. -- Lance Morrow , , Stewart won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his reporting on the stock market crash and insider trading. Bob and John were educated at public schools, but largely at the . Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Swango was lean and muscled at a time when fitness was far from most students' minds. Source: The Odessa American (TX), 6 Feb 1994. Rosenthal and Swango were partners, and at Rosenthal's suggestion, they chose to discuss the repair of certain defects through open-heart surgery. Died on 29 Jan 1982. Swango claimed she suffered heart failure; he had killed her by giving her a potassium injection that stopped her heart. Eventually, prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty and extradition off the table in return for Swango accepting a sentence of life in prison without parole. Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2022. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. [10], Kinney's mother, Sharon Cooper, was horrified to find out that a person with Swango's history could be allowed to practice medicine. They feared that if they could not find enough evidence to convict Swango, he was likely to kill again. , ISBN-13 Finally, Stewart had an epiphany. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. In the process, he exposes the arrogance and the fraudulent professional courtesies that allowed Swango to move ahead unchallenged. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. son of John Harvey and Ada Hamilton Swango Military Service: Storekeeper, 2nd Class, United States Naval Reserve USS General G. O. Squier [AP130, supply ship] 9/11/1943 to 5/17/1946-----Family Members. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Swango was cleared by a cursory investigation in 1984. He'd been in the Marines, and his name was stenciled on the military garb he usually wore to class. Swango had a girlfriend before Kinney, Rita Dumas, who defended Michael. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. So, how much is Michael Swango worth at the age of 68 years old? Michael Swango attended Quincy Catholic Boys High School, where he was valedictorian of his 1972 class and played clarinet in the school band Quincy Notre Dame. A daughter of John Harvey Swango and his wife, the former Ada Alma Hamilton, Mary Grace Swango and Stephen J. Vahlkamp wed 18 June 1931. The sentencing judge ordered that Swango not be allowed to prepare or deliver food, or have any involvement in preparing or distributing drugs. A few years later, his mother divorced his father, who had become alcoholic and suffered from depression upon his return from Vietnam. Pathology, which includes toxicology, the study of poisons, seemed particularly to fascinate Swango. Michael Swango has appeared on the American television show 'Unsolved Mysteries,' the Oxygen series 'It Takes a Killer,' and the National Geographic Channel episode 'Angel of Death.' Estimated Net Worth The net worth of Michael is $10million. [12], Since the latest Swango incident took place at a Veterans Affairs facility, federal authorities got involved. Valery was called by the FBI to discuss holding Swango. Sometimes, at breakfast in the cafeteria, they teased him about his uniforms and military bearing. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Father became depressed and was divorced by Muriel in attempts photo ( s again... Deaths on his watch podcast I stated that Michael had been able to a. 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