A nurse at an Australian nursing home who gave lethal insulin injections to two elderly residents who had complained about her was sentenced on Friday to 36 years in prison, the second such case in less than a week.
Megan Haines, 49, was sentenced in the New South Wales state Supreme Court for murdering Marie Darragh, 82, and Isabella Spencer, 77, at St. Andrew’s Village at Ballina in May 2014. She must serve at least 27 years before she is eligible for parole.
The sentencing comes after a staff member at another New South Wales nursing home was sentenced this week to 40 years in prison for murdering two elderly residents and attempting to murder a third with insulin injections.
In sentencing Haines on Friday, Justice Peter Garling described the murders as “deliberate and calculating”, and a flagrant abuse of power.
Haines was convicted by a jury in November after pleading not guilty.