Angels of Death: The Male Nurses

Farther East

Daisuke Mori

In 2001 in Japan, Daisuke Mori, 32, was arrested and charged with the murder of Yukiko Shimoyama, 89. He was also charged with four counts of attempted murder of a 1-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, and a 45-year-old man. Mori was a nurse in the Hokuryo Clinic in Izumi Ward, Sendai, and the victims were his patients. Prosecutors say he administered a muscle relaxant to his victims through an intravenous drip, implying that he replaced a bag that was prepared by other nurses with one that contained the lethal doses. The alleged attacks occurred between February and November 2000, yet Mori pleaded not guilty to the charges. There were no witnesses to the alleged acts.

The Clinic became suspicious when some of Mori’s patients’ conditions suddenly deteriorated. Two days after the police began investigations, Mori was fired. When he attempted to leave with his belongings he also tried to take empty ampoules from the clinic. These ampoules were tested, and traces of vecuronium, the primary ingredient of muscle relaxant, were detected.

Sketch: Daisuke Mori in court

Prosecutors say Mori wanted to attract attention by bringing his victims close to death and then performing emergency resuscitation on them. They also say he had complained about his working conditions and the doctors at the clinic.

Mori originally confessed to the crimes, but then recanted, saying he was forced to confess. He also insisted that the clinic invented the charges in a bid to cover up medical blunders. His lawyers claim that whatever happened to the patients was due to side effects from medication.

Prosecutors took an unprecedented three days to make their final arguments. They demanded life imprisonment. As of this writing, the disposition of this case has not been decided.