Ep 8-The Alpine Manor Murders: A Healthcare Horror Story (Part 2)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, hello, hello, amanda, how are you?
I'm good.
How are you Good?
Welcome back from Pennsylvania.
Thank you so much.
Did you have a good conference?
It was amazing.
You know when you go to aconference and then you just
want to like come back andyou're empowered to change the

(00:23):
world that's right, girl.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yeah, changing the world one ear at a time, that's
you know.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
I think what was cool about that conference is
parents and children who aredeaf and hard of hearing were
also able to attend, and so wegot to hear from them.
So it's interesting like younever really knew who you were
going to be sitting by.
It wasn't just audiologiststhere, and that is parents would
ask questions at the end of thepresentation.

(00:52):
So it was kind of cool to seetheir perspective and hear their
questions and yeah, that's good.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Oh, for sure yeah, oh good, I'm glad you made it.
Thank you, yep.
Welcome back to lovelyMinnesota kidding spring weather
, because we're about to have amassive winter storm and people
are out in shorts today, I know.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
And that's exactly how it was.
Well, we didn't have a massivestorm this last weekend, but it
was like 78 degrees on Fridayand then this weekend was
miserably cold.
Today is gorgeous and we'regonna have a blizzard on
wednesday, but okay, this istotally not to do with anything
but the weather.
Have you heard the wives taleof three snows on a robin's back

(01:39):
, and then it's spring no, but Ikind of love that.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
So wait, does that mean we get more than just
wednesday?

Speaker 1 (01:48):
no, I think wednesday is the third snow.
I mean, I wasn't super lookingfor robins, but I knew that they
were present, and I think ourlast snow storm was the second
snow on the robin's back.
So it's like a wives tale thatwe get three snows on robin's
back and then it will be spring.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
Oh yeah, okay, well, I'm gonna go with that.
I'm gonna go with that.
This is the last.
I hope so, because I'm ready tobreak out open toe season.
I really I am my feet, love asandal moment um, just a minute
ago we were talking aboutwhether or not we had a
corrections corner.
Um, I don't know if you do, butI have a corrections uh section

(02:32):
.
What you got.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Uh, um, well, when, remember when we were last week
like pretending we knewsomething about sports yeah, I
remember that big moment becauseI had to ask my husband like,
am I in Pennsylvania?
Are there two teams here?
What's happening right now?
And he's like, yeah, somestates have two teams, like New
York, and I was like, oh my God,yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah.
So there's me spouting off asif I'm, you know, so clever.
I've never watched a hockeygame in my life, but I did
manage to blurt out that therewere the Pittsburgh Flyers.
And I've never watched a hockeygame in my life, but I did
manage to blurt out that therewere the Pittsburgh Flyers and
I've been corrected it's thePhiladelphia Flyers.
So I'm so sorry to the Flyersfans everywhere.
So I don't know how often we'regoing to venture into the world

(03:19):
of sports.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
I'm honestly surprised we made it there in
less than 10 episodes because Ididn't foresee us ever really
tapping into there, but we did.
There's a reason why weshouldn't.
I mean, with that, I'm guessingwe're going to head there again
someday, but not intentionallyyou know, we like to live
dangerously please correct usabout sports as long as we don't

(03:43):
get living in Minnesota.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
We don't get the packers and the viking I had to
think about it.
The packers and the vikingsmixed up.
Oh boy, yeah.
I'm gonna stop right now beforeI dig it further.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Um um, what else?
I don't think I had anycorrections, so I think we're
just ready to hear about theseslime balls.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh great.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
No time like the present, you know yeah let's
right.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
I mean honestly, I'm ready to be done with these two.
It's been a deep dive into avery depressing place.
So, all right, buckle up.
Here we go, Episode eight.
This is Nefarious Nurses, theLethal Lovers of Alpine Manor
Nursing Home, and then I kind ofhad a little subtitle Kathy

(04:37):
comes clean, we'll see.
So last week we talked about agenuinely horrifying case
involving two nurses' aides whoturned a Michigan nursing home
into their personal huntingground, preying on vulnerable
patients who couldn't fight backor speak up in one of health
care's most disturbing crimesprees.

(04:58):
As you may recall, alpine Manorwas a 207-bed nursing home in
Grand Rapids, michigan, housingelderly patients with various
conditions, including dementiaand mental health disorders.
Two nurses aides namedGwendolyn Graham, who was 23 at
the time, and Kathy Wood, 24,met there in 1986 and quickly

(05:21):
began a toxic romanticrelationship that led to
multiple murders of vulnerablepatients in 1987.
Victims were carefully selectedfor being non-verbal or having
memory issues making them unableto report attacks.
The murder method involvedsuffocation with washcloths,
leaving minimal evidence behind.

(05:41):
Both women had concerningbackgrounds Graham with abuse,
history and anger issues, woodwith manipulative tendencies and
fascination with crime.
Their relationship becameincreasingly toxic and
codependent, with Woodencouraging extreme behaviors.
So today we're going to talkmore about the events leading up
to the murders, the murdersthemselves, the victims and the

(06:05):
aftermath.
But first I have a triggerwarning for those who need it
this episode will containmentions of elder abuse, sexual
abuse and murder.
The primary source for today'sshow is Lowell Coffiel's book
Forever and Five Days.
The remaining sources will belisted in our show notes.
Okay, so we're back in 1986.

(06:26):
Kathy.
Kathy separated from herhusband and kicked him and her
daughter out of her mother'shouse where they'd been living.
She then convinced Gwen to movein with her bragging that she
never paid her mother rent andthat they could split utilities.
Gwen agreed, and this is whenthe relationship turned romantic
.
They didn't see much of eachother initially because Kathy
worked the third shift and Gwenworked the second.

(06:48):
The time they did spendtogether was spent listening to
old records and talking.
They told each other abouttheir pasts.
Kathy told Gwen all about howKen was abusive to her and that
he wouldn't buy her any clothes.
So Gwen took her shopping forclothes any clothes.
So Gwen took her shopping forclothes.
They would play board games andother dares and wagers in which

(07:09):
the odds were always stackedagainst Gwen so that Kathy would
win.
One day at work.
Kathy stormed into an emptypatient room where another
nurse's aide named Angie wascleaning and started raging and
screaming at her how dare yousleep with Gwen?
Angie was astonished.
Kathy had set them up herselftelling Angie that Gwen was
besotted with Angie and wantedher to leave her husband for

(07:31):
Gwen.
They had slept together oncebefore Gwen and Kathy became
roommates.
A co-worker named Tony Kubiakdescribed the culture at Alpine
Manor amongst the staff,explaining that they would all
go out to a bar named Carouselafter work, and soon the group
grew to include more and morestaff ending up at Kathy's house
.
Quote the scene at Kathy's wascrazy.

(07:53):
Girls were out in the middle ofthe street making out.
There was a lot of noise andpeople were fighting late at
night in the yard A lot ofyelling.
It was usually over somerelationship that Kathy was
involved in, whether it was Dawncheating on her or Kathy
cheating on her.
Still, usually it was somebodydoing something wrong to Kathy.
Kathy was more dominant.

(08:14):
Gwen was more of a passiveperson.
He said One time Angie sleptwith Gwen and Kathy found out
about it.
I watched them have this realbig fight.
First Kathy said how could youdo that?
She looked like a puppy dog.
It was her way of trying tobutter Gwen up and make her feel
sorry for her, but really itwas cold.
Some people can see throughthat and some people can't.

(08:35):
Like I was saying, she had thatpuppy dog image.
Then suddenly she was shootingoff of the mouth.
When Gwen tried to get awayfrom Kathy, kathy literally
grabbed her by the hair on herhead and pulled her back into
the bedroom.
They were in there fighting andscreaming and slapping.
Kathy had the upper hand.
The next day I looked in theroom and there's this nice big
hole in the wall like 12 inchesacross.

(08:58):
Both Angie and LaDonna would getdivorced while working at
Alpine Manor and Kathy had a lotto do with that.
After Kathy divorced Ken, whatbetter way to get back at
everybody than Kathy tellingthem their husbands were no good
or they were not loving themenough?
Kathy meddled she would callAngie's husband this or that,
then turn around and tell himall kinds of bullshit about

(09:19):
Angie.
Kathy would go that extra stepto make sure things were going
the way she wanted them to go.
She's crazy, but she's verybrilliant.
What is it?
They say that there's a fineline between genius and insanity
.
Before I left, she accused meof ruining one of her 45s.
It was left out on a table orsomething and she was just all

(09:39):
pissed.
She said I owed her for that.
She made a big scene out of thewhole thing, way bigger than it
should have.
It could have been anybody.
Tony explained that he leftAlpine Manor a few days after
that.
He noted that Kathy alsomeddled in his relationship,
trying to convince each partnerthat the other didn't care for
them.
Tony goes on to say Later Ifound there were people who she

(10:02):
would get even with In the breakroom.
She supposedly rattled off alist of people and I was one of
the people.
Angie was also on the list, andhere it was going through my
head what did I do for someoneto hate me so much?
At Alpine I found myselflooking behind my back,
wondering about everything I wasdoing.
What puzzled me was how she wasalso able to turn everyone

(10:24):
against you.
I just wondered what Kathy hadon them.
It was crazy that someone wouldlet them control them the way
she did.
End quote.

Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yikes In October Messy.

Speaker 2 (10:35):
Nice gal right, absolute chaos.
In October that year severalaides witnessed a patient named
Jane steal a brownie fromsomeone's plate.
Jane was a diabetic and in awheelchair.
She was on a restricted diet.
She quickly wheeled herself outof the dining room with the
brownie and was discovered deadin the room minutes later.

(10:56):
She choked on her brownie.
There were pieces in her throatand bits of brownie wedged in
the straw on the drinking glasson her bedside table.
So when a patient died at Alpinethe routine was to notify
families in advance of death ifa patient was expected to die
soon, so that the family couldbe at their bedside if they
wanted to.

(11:16):
Families were also allowed toview the body before the
patient's doctor was called.
The physician released the bodyto the mortuary, later signing
a death certificate.
June's death certificate madeno mention of choking.
It was signed october 15th by alocal physician, the day after
her death.
The cause was listed as cardiorespiratory arrest, but the

(11:38):
certificate described her demiseas natural.
I don't know how natural it isto choke on a brownie and die.
Yeah, you know, that's notwhat's unnatural natural, you
know.
So.
Physicians seldom examinednewly deceased patients.
At alpine manor doctors rarelyexamined the dead in nursing
homes like they did in thehospitals at alpine.

(12:01):
A supervising nurse handled theduty.
Doctors then based theirfindings on chart notes, often
signing death certificates afterthe body was embalmed or
cremated.
Autopsies were as rare asmedical exams.
This was common knowledge toeveryone that worked there,
including Gwen Graham and KathyWood.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
I hate that.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
So here's a chart note.
Chart note Welcome to the chartnote.
Chart note welcome.
Yeah, you know, someday,someday it'll all come together
yeah, not today that's part ofthe whole.
Pod is our little jingle, butnot today don't get your hopes
up, um, but anyway, this iswhere we learned about something

(12:45):
in medicine and and in healthcare.
So I was like, how can they notdo exams?
So I can't look up every stateor every country.
So I just looked up minnesota.
But in minnesota, when apatient dies in a nursing home,
the requirement for a medicalexaminer's examination prior to
this position depends on thecircumstances surrounding the
death.
So according to the MinnesotaStatute 390.11, certain types of

(13:11):
deaths must be reported to themedical examiner or coroner for
evaluation.
So these include sudden,unexpected deaths, or they may
result from factors other thannatural disease processes.
So specifically reportabledeaths encompass, but aren't
limited to, unnatural deathslike those resulting from
homicide, suicide or accidents.

(13:31):
Deaths due to fire orassociated with burns, chemical,
electrical or radiationinjuries.
Deaths under suspicious,unusual or unexpected
circumstances.
Deaths of individuals whosebodies are to be cremated or
otherwise disposed of, renderingthem unavailable for later
examination.
That's good Right.

Speaker 1 (13:51):
I think that's excellent, that's smart.

Speaker 2 (13:54):
And that didn't happen here, and, as someone
who's you know, my plans are tobe cremated, like, certainly,
let's exam first and questionlater.
I don't know, let's exam firstand question later.
I don't know, but I think thatis.
That obviously wasn't the casein Michigan in the 80s.
So, and then let's see Deathsunattended by a physician

(14:16):
occurring outside of a licensedhealthcare facility or licensed
residential hospice program, andthen deaths of individuals not
seen by their physician within120 days preceding their demise.
So, looking at all of thosequalifications, it seems like a
most people would you know,unless you're in a nursing home
with regular doctor's visits Idon't know, um, it seems like a

(14:40):
lot of people should be gettingexams, um, before they're.
A lot of people should begetting exams before they're
laid to rest.
If a death falls into any ofthese categories, it must be
promptly reported to the medicalexaminer or coroner for
evaluation.
The medical examiner will thendetermine whether an exam or an
autopsy is necessary before thebody can be released for final

(15:01):
disposition.
However, if the death is due tonatural causes and doesn't meet
any of the reportable criterialisted above, the medical
examiner's exam is typically notrequired.
It's important to note thatnursing homes are obligated to
report deaths to the medicalexaminer, and this ensures that

(15:23):
any death meeting the reportablecriteria is properly evaluated
before disposition.
So it seems like there's somechecks and balances there, which
is comforting.
So, in summary, not all nursinghome deaths in Minnesota
require a medical examiner'sexam prior to disposition, but
the necessity for such an examis contingent on the specific

(15:43):
circumstances of each death,particularly if it falls under
the categories that mandatereporting and evaluation by the
medical examiner or coroner.
Good job, minnesota yeah let'shope everybody else is following
suit, or more.
All right back to the case.
Kathy's ex-girlfriend, dawnMale, continued to hang around

(16:05):
Kathy.
Even after Kathy and Gwenbecame an item.
All three had a habit ofcruising around the neighborhood
drinking and finding things tosteal.
Sure, with your besties, theyeven stole a lawnmower one time.

Speaker 1 (16:20):
I mean, that's an interesting target.

Speaker 2 (16:22):
But okay, yeah, but also difficult.
Difficult like I don't know.
Yeah, I don't know how you justsneak off with a lawnmower
don't mind me maybe she turnedit on and was like actually
mowing oh, maybe it was a rightyou.

Speaker 1 (16:36):
And then, wait, maybe it was a rider lawnmower.
I was like picturing a pushmower and I'm like how do you
sneak away with that?

Speaker 2 (16:42):
but yeah, maybe they room roomed off a rider.
They're like oh bless, somebodycome came to mow our lawn.
Wait wait, wait, a second followthe trail of grass clippings.
Oh, um, don later said thatkathy would flirt with don when
the two of them were alonetogether, and then glenn would

(17:04):
later tell her that kathy saiddon was bugging the crap out of
her tail is all the time.
Yeah, all right, we've all metsomeone like this that loves to
stir.
Well, I hope we haven't metsomeone this dastardly.
But um, gwen and don beganphysically brawling in the
streets on multiple occasions.
One time, dawn pulled out asteak knife and pinned Gwen down

(17:28):
on the ground, readying herselfto stab.

Speaker 1 (17:30):
Gwen, that feels pretty premeditated too, because
who walks around with a steakknife?

Speaker 2 (17:35):
Am I right?
I mean, I might have a cheeseknife, but I'm not going to have
a steak knife.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
I mean, you never know when you're going to run
into a cheese board right, Iknow you might.

Speaker 2 (17:45):
You know there might be a wheel of brie rolling down
the sidewalk.
I'm an opportunist, we love acheese wheel Anyway.
So Gwen shouted Kathy wouldn'tlike this, would she?
If you really love her, you canbe fair.
So Dawn stopped, tossed theknife away and then Gwen beat up
Dawn.
So I mean beat up Dawn, oh, Imean none of this is fair.

Speaker 1 (18:06):
No, no, don't do this , but I'm going to beat you, oh,
okay.

Speaker 2 (18:10):
Yeah.
A mutual friend named LaDonnawitnessed Gwen throwing Dawn
against a large boulder during asubsequent brawl.
Ladonna panicked and suddenlyturned to hear giggling and
laughing from behind her.
Kathy was standing in theshadows delighted to be fought
over.
This has to stop.
Ladonna said no, let them go,kathy pleaded.
Ladonna forced herself betweenthe two women, wrestling them

(18:33):
apart.
Boy, you're so strong, kathysaid, drawing out the word God,
I hate her so much.
Meanwhile, kathy and Gwen beganworking more and more shifts
together, often doubles.
In 1986, alpine Manor was notedto have a turnover rate of 66%.
Boy that is high, she high.

(18:56):
Yeah, there's something goingon there that should be a red
flag moment.
Exactly 112 nurses' aides werehired in the first nine months
of 1986, and by october only 41of them remained a stuffing and
nightmare, and an inspectornoted that once the nurses aides

(19:17):
were on the floor they were ontheir own.
There weren't enough licensednurses to provide oversight.
So so most aides remember theyget that five-day training and
it's like great go, keep peoplealive, bye-bye.
Most aides found the third shiftthe most straightforward shift
to manage.
Three licensed nurses wereassigned to the stations and

(19:39):
then a night supervisor worked a12-hour shift, but she spent
most of the time in her officebetween Buckingham and Camelot
hallways.
The nurses' aides workedbeginning at nine.
The second shift had alreadychanged everyone and put
everyone to bed.
So the third shift at midnightthe aides would pass out water
and take residents to thebathroom.
They cleaned wheelchairs andwalkers.
They watched an average of 10rooms, each checking in on

(20:02):
patients every two hours.
Their rounds took no more than45 minutes, so this was a
relaxing pace compared to theother shifts.
But Kathy and Gwen found thingsto do to occupy their time.
Unfortunately, particularlyKathy, who masterminded many
pranks and practical jokes forGwen to carry out.

(20:22):
For example, to scare newnurses' aides, gwen would ring a
patient's call button and thenslide underneath the patient's
bed and when the aide arrived inthe semi-darkness to turn off
the call light, gwen would grabtheir ankles and terrify them.
The girls would also reversethe patient's positions in bed,

(20:43):
so the patient's heads were atthe footboards.
That's terrible.
Then they began switching thebeds themselves, mixing up
patients from room to room.
One night, kathy dressed up amannequin and parked it in a
chair in the medication room.
Not only did this scare thesocks off the poor RN who
flipped on the light in the room, but it was scary because the

(21:03):
meds room was off limits toaides who were not allowed to
dispense medication.
So how did Kathy get a key?
Some nights Kathy and Gwen usedthe Alpine intercom system to
pipe Christmas carols from amusical teddy bear.
They got a patient to makepointless announcements and make
fun of him.
Somehow these two never gotcaught.

(21:24):
They would jump out of windowsor escape into a patient's room
Cruelly.
They also involved usingpatients to entertain themselves
.
Once they made a trail ofReese's Pieces for a confused
patient who had an oral fixation.
They laid a trail thatzigzagged down the halls and
through the community room whilehalf a dozen aides sat around
and laughed at them.
I'm going to cry, I know.

(21:46):
Sometimes a supervisor wouldcomplain to upper management,
but they were waved off and toldthat the pranks were harmless
and they weren't hazing the newemployees, they were welcoming
them.
Yeah, so no formal reprimandwas ever given to Kathy or Gwen.
Patients also would complain,but they too would be routinely

(22:08):
dismissed as mentally impaired.
Some of the more severelymentally impaired residents
would roam the halls at night.
One was a former policeman whowould make security checks, try
door locks and sometimes findmisplaced keys.
A couple of w world war ii vetswould roam together in the
hallways and stop to announcethe temperatures on the hallway
thermostats, adding themtogether for some total every

(22:30):
night.
Sometimes nurses would turn aradio up to drown out the cries
of pain or delirious outbursts.
Right, so much for mandatedreporters.
Everyone was too afraid afraidof Kathy and Gwen to report
patient abuse.
And woe betide a co-worker thatKathy did not like.
She would sabotage their workby having Gwen do things like

(22:52):
pour water in a patient's bedand report it to the leadership
as that aide neglecting theirduties like they didn't change
that patient, and so that aidewould get in trouble and lose
credibility.
Kathy played mind games insidethe nursing home and out.
Don male was quoted as sayingthe object of the games was not
to see if people would believeyou, but to make it as entangled

(23:14):
as possible.
She liked to play with peoplefor sport.
Next quote every, everybody wasscared of her.
Kathy would fuck with you.
That was just her thing aseveryone knew it.
It kind of made me feel goodbecause she was my girl and as
long as she was my girl nobodywas gonna fuck with me.
Okay, that was gwen.
So even so, gwen didn't have amonogamous gene, so she

(23:36):
frequently hooked up with menand women, sometimes even at
work, I'm stressed.
Early in january of 1987, uhfound gwen's wandering eye
fixated on a new aid, a 20 yearold named robin fielder.

Speaker 1 (23:51):
She was a gorgeous girl with a big smile and
boundless and probably perfectfor those sweet little residents
that actually deserved herright.
Hopefully, I don't know.
I don't know Robin.

Speaker 2 (24:04):
Yeah, no, robin is Robin.
She's not evil.
But she didn't make a greatdecision getting together with
Gwen.
She joined the staff at AlpineRidge while she was studying PT
at a local college.
She was a former cheerleaderand she loved to dance.
Don Mill later said Robin wasjust a very normal girl.

(24:24):
She was real, pretty realpopular.
She was a real nice girl untilshe met us.
We were just so messed up backthen and anybody who came into
contact with us also got messedup.
Kathy took the discovery of Gwenand Robin very hard.
After Gwen and Robin had afling, things changed.
Kathy never again complainedabout Gwen's cheating ways

(24:47):
because she found a way toensure that Gwen would always be
under her control.
She wanted Gwen to kill apatient.
This would prove her love forKathy and seal their future
together.
We already know what happened topoor Marguerite.
But one wasn't enough.
So they began stalking thenursing home, looking to see who

(25:07):
struggled the most.
They did this by pinching apatient's nose to see how a
potential victim would react.
One night they were bothassigned to the same nursing
station.
Abby Lane and Gwen said I'mgoing to do Myrtle loose.
Myrtle wasn't even assigned totheir station, but her room was
206-1, 25 feet away from theirstation with a window

(25:29):
overlooking the courtyard.
Myrtle was discovered on herback, lifeless by an aide named
Sally Johnson.
The signature of the lastperson to treat Myrtle Luce on
the third shift was an attemptedsignature that was
unconvincingly similar to thatof an aide named Pat Ritter who
was scheduled for the thirdshift that night.
But this was impossible.

(25:50):
Pat Ritter was never there thatnight.
She had called in sick.
The night supervisor calledfamily members afterwards
explaining that she had died inher sleep of a heart attack.
Family members were shocked.
Myrtle's heart had always beenstrong.
One family member recalledthinking she was surprised
Myrtle didn't die from choking,because Myrtle sometimes had

(26:10):
difficulty swallowing her ownsaliva.
The family thanked the nursinghome for their excellent care
and planned Myrtle's cremationand funeral.
Her ashes were buried inmemorial gardens and her
obituary detailed her busyfamily tree.
Myrtle was born on February 20,1891.
Her father-in-law had comehalfway across the United States

(26:33):
in a covered wagon.
Two of her five children hadpassed away, as well as her
husband of 65 years, and she had10 grandchildren.
If she'd lived 10 more days shewould have turned 96.
Gwen and Kathy had the habit ofwriting love poems to each
other In one poem.
The author signed it as You'llbe mine forever and two days.

(27:01):
Mae Mason was visited by herdaughter Linda and granddaughter
Stephanie on her 79th birthdayon February 2nd.
She stayed in room 207-1.
Maisie, as she was fondlycalled, had a special and close
relationship with hergranddaughter Stephanie.
From almost the momentStephanie was born Until the
Alzheimer's they'd beeninseparable.

(27:22):
Stephanie and her mother helpedMaisie out of bed and walked
her to the day room.
After a pleasant visit,stephanie noticed that she
thought Nana recognized her andshe saw tears in Maisie's eyes
when they hugged goodbye.
An aide named Sean Doherty wasmaking her 2 am check of 207-1
on February 16th when she foundMaisie awake and very active.

(27:43):
She lay in her own bowelmovements and her hands and
nails were covered with feces.
Sean went to washcloth to beginto clean her up, but Mae became
more active, aggressivelyfighting with the towel.
After cleaning and changing Mae, sean repositioned her in the
bed and rolled her onto her back.
She tucked the covers aroundher and continued with her

(28:03):
rounds.
When Sean returned for 4 amrounds she noticed that Mae had
turned a grayish-yellow color,with her body rigid, still on
her back, but arms at her sideswith the palms facing upwards.
Her eyes were closed and hermouth open.
Her jaw looked like it waspushed down to one side.

(28:23):
Sean was frantic.
She grabbed a stethoscope tocheck for a heartbeat, but
couldn't find one.
After fetching a nurse toconfirm that May had passed,
sean sat down beside May andcried and prayed.
Another nurse yelled at her notto rub her arm as it could
bruise and the family wouldwonder why she died.
As was customary, the 10 aideson shift that night stopped by
the room to view the body andsay their goodbyes to the

(28:44):
resident.
Kathy and Gwen were on dutythat night, but they didn't stop
in, and they had the next dayoff duty that night, but they
didn't stop in and they had thenext day off.
One day dawn male was hangingout with kathy and gwen at their
place drinking.
One of the two of themmentioned they killed a resident
at alpine manor by smotheringthem with a pillow.
Dawn remembers telling themthey were full of bs and they

(29:05):
both insisted that it was true.
They took dawn to kathy'sbedroom where she'd been, where
she had some shelving over herbed, and pointed to their
trophies, bragging that theytook something from each
incident a sock, a balloon, aknick-knack.
In her drunken haze, dawnremembered, thinking these two

(29:25):
will go too far to play mindgames.
They must think I'm stupid tobelieve such a thing.
So she grabbed another beer andmentally dismissed the incident
.
other.
In one poem the author signedit as You'll be mine forever and
three days Okay, is the daysthe amount of?

Speaker 1 (29:47):
Oh, okay?

Speaker 2 (29:51):
Ruth Van Dyke was suffering from a high fever.
It was flu season and manyresidents had come down with
illnesses and some developedpneumonia.
Ruth had been a resident atAlpine for nine years.
She was deaf and blind and hadto be fed by hand while sitting
in her wheelchair.
When her illness worsened,staff called family to come to
her bedside, fearing that shedidn't have much time left on

(30:12):
this earth.
Her son, al Van Dyke, and histwin sister Lavinia arrived with
their spouses at 6.30 pm onWednesday February 25th.
She had three other children,two of whom lived elsewhere and
one who had died.
Ruth was a strong lady whosemany siblings had lived well
into her into their 90s.
Her son Al recalled a story sheused to tell her kids when they

(30:33):
were young about a time whenhis mom and dad were crossing a
bridge in a wagon with twobabies on board when a wagon
wheel slipped off, threateningto catapult the wagon into the
rushing river water below.
She said she jumped out of thewagon to keep it from falling
and held it up while their dadran to the nearest farm for help
.
I mean, I can just see thiswoman.

(30:54):
That's right, mama.
So family members sat with Ruthfor four hours before deciding
to leave and returning the nextmorning at 2 40 AM, however,
they received a call that she'dpassed.
Her death certificate stated aheart attack as the cause of
death.

(31:15):
other In one poem.
The author signed it as you'llbe mine forever.
In three days Belle Burkhardt,in 112-1, was feeling better and
was on the rebound.
Gwen and Kathy arrived for thethird shift on Thursday February
26th and were working overtimetogether.
Gwen was stationed on the 600and 700 halls of Dover, just a

(31:37):
short distance from the 100 hallwhere Kathy was stationed on
Abbey Lane.
Earlier that day staff hadvisited Belle and found her
smiling and listening to music.
They discovered her congestionhad cleared and her fever was
mild.
There was an entry in her chartfrom 11 days earlier, however,
that foretold what was about totranspire.
On February 15th an aide hadfound Belle with reddish bruises

(32:01):
around her nose, right cheekand temples.
The injuries were reported tothe nursing supervisor and the
family as a routine matter.
Since she had a history ofAlzheimer's and seizures and the
beds had iron railings, theinjuries were considered a
matter of course.
So no further investigation wascarried out.
Kathy had been Belle's aidethroughout the first two weeks

(32:22):
of February and she found Belleexasperating.
Often she would try to turnBelle in bed and Belle would
grab onto the bed, railing andcackle, making it almost
impossible to turn her.
During the 3 am break onfebruary 26th kathy sat at her
station chewing her nails quinngraham, I know approached from

(32:43):
the dover side into the 100 hall.
One sat at the station watchingwhile the other entered room
112, the patient patientintercom linked to the station
to Bell's room.
Kathy later said groans and therustle of sheets sounded over
the intercom speaker.
I heard a gurgling out loudlike dry heave noises.
I heard that for a while.

(33:05):
Minutes later Gwen walked out ofroom 112 and turned away into
the hallway.
As she strolled down Abbey Lanea washcloth hung out of her
back pocket.
Her aide, pat Ritter, soBelle's aide, found Belle during
her 4 am shift.
Pat Ritter was the nurse's aidewhose signature was forged on
the chart the night that MyrtleLuce had died.

(33:26):
Pat found Belle dead.
Before third shift ended, kathyand Gwen were heard in the
staff room spreading rumors.
There were bruises on her armand it was folded underneath her
.
Pat Ritter probably didn't turnher right.
Both Kathy and Gwen had thenext day off.

Speaker 1 (33:43):
Classic.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
Belle had died on her daughter Nancy's 48th birthday.
Nancy gathered family andarranged for bell's cremation
and burial.
She was buried five miles westof saint.
I forgot to look this up.
Ignace or ignace?
I like ignace, let's do that,ignace.
A mile from her old homestead,the 18th century graveyard, was

(34:08):
an ancient indian barrels burialspot by mor Creek, a tributary
that spilled into the surf ofthe Mackinac Straits.
Belle was buried next to herparents' graves.
That's what she'd wanted to beburied in the earth of her
ancestors, the peninsula whereshe was born.
other.
In one poem the author signedit as You'll Be Mine Forever and

(34:31):
Four Days.
Edith Cook was born in Sandusky,ohio.
She was one of three children.
Her brothers were named Vinceand Perry.
She was a middle child.
Her father worked in afurniture store with his brother
.
He died at the early age of 32.
Her mother was born in Ohio andwas of German descent.
She remarried and had a son,frank.

(34:52):
Edith married on January 28,1913, to a salesman named George
Cook.
George died in 1940.
A year before he died they'dstarted a restaurant which Edith
managed for two years after hisdeath and then sold it.
They adopted a child, but thechild tragically died at 14
months of age.
Edith was schooled through thesixth grade and took a year's

(35:13):
course at Millinery School.
Later in life she was active inher local senior citizens group
and she loved bingo.
Edith was quoted as saying thatAlpine Manor was grand and the
food is wonderful and everythingis very lovely.
Edith was a familiar presencein the halls of the manor, often
visiting residents who wereless mobile than she.
She never missed a homeactivity.

(35:34):
In 1985, she'd been diagnosedwith breast cancer and refused
treatment.
By 1987, she could still standand ambulate without assistance
and her cancer was in remission.
In February she survived theawful flu that had been running
around the home.
But one day she was discoveredwith sores on her feet feet
because her feet had been caughtup in the iron bed rails.

(35:55):
By the middle of March her feethad turned black and the smell
of gangrene permeated thehallway outside her room.
She started developing bedsores, which suggested the aides
were squeamish about the smellso they were neglecting her care
.
She lost a ton of weight andduring the second shift Gwen was
assigned to her care the firstweek of April.
On April 5th she sat in awheelchair visiting with her

(36:17):
nephew Edith, maintained somemodicum of independence, keeping
her false teeth in so she couldfeed herself.
She refused to take her teethout, even to sleep.
One night later in April shecould be heard shouting please,
oh please, god help me.
Kathy Wood was the aid on dutywho answered her call.
At midnight on April 7th, thenursing supervisor dropped by to

(36:38):
check on her.
Edith was awake and talkative.
The nurse applied betadine toher toes.
The third shift crew consistedof Gwen Graham, who was working
a double, and Kathy Wood.
At 2 30 am, kathy went to thenursing supervisor and reported
that Edith was dead.
When Edith's body wasrelinquished to the funeral home
, her teeth were missing.

(37:00):
Poem Forever and Five Days.
Kathy wrote.
I can love you, gwen.
I think you are great For thisafternoon.
I cannot wait.
That's when we'll wake up andthat's when I'll kiss you.
That's when I'll hold you.
Oh, gwen, I miss you.
Bunny, hop over here and let melick you on the ear.
I want to get married right now, right away.
Don't make me wait till the day.

(37:21):
And when you're mine.
Oh, please say you'll be mineforever and five days.
Anyone else want to vomit rightnow?
Yes, okay.
So a few days later, kathy,gwen, don and robin were sitting
in kathy's living room drinkingwhen kathy brainstormed a plan.

(37:44):
Kathy'd been leading on a womannamed katherine brinkman who
worked at alpine manor.
She proposed a plan for her tomeet Catherine at Kmart Hill
Sounds real glamorous.
It was literally a hill yeahright, it was literally a hill
overlooking a bluff behind thelocal Kmart, right next to the

(38:05):
blockbuster.

Speaker 1 (38:06):
Oh, but for real RIP blockbuster.
That was awesome.

Speaker 2 (38:10):
I know I miss it.
She suggested that Gwen wouldhide in the bushes while she led
katherine up there.
Gwen would jump out and demandthat kathy go home, making it
seem like kathy was a victim too, and then gwen would beat up
katherine and this would proveher devotion to kathy.
Yes, of course.
Great idea.
Oh yeah, ladies, ladies, uh,don wanted to go along too to

(38:32):
watch, of course.
And then robin and her friendlisa would wait in the k-mart
parking lot in their cars alookout and a getaway car in a
getaway car the evening.

Speaker 1 (38:40):
I wish it was that fun I know, sorry, I had a
swizzle moment, yeah oh, we needmoments.

Speaker 2 (38:50):
This is a rough one, okay.
So the evening went as plannedand gwen knocked a shocked
katherine over and began kickingher in the ribs and beating her
.
Suddenly she stopped andstarted stalking down the hill.
Dawn helped a stunned andinjured katherine off the ground
and they headed down the hilltowards the parking lot.
They met gwen halfway down.
Gwen was crying and apologized,pleading with katherine to

(39:12):
forgive her.
This was the last straw.
She finally realized she wasbeing played and manipulated by
kathy and she'd had enough okay,two more.
Yeah what?

Speaker 1 (39:21):
is it?

Speaker 2 (39:22):
yeah, two more patients.
Two more patients diedunexpectedly before gwen and
robin packed up robin's car andheaded for texas.
Once graham left Wood foranother woman, kathy realized
she lost control over Gwen.
She went to her ex-husband, ken, and confessed that she'd been
the victim of Gwen'smanipulation and that Gwen had
killed patients at Alpine Manor.

(39:43):
Kathy framed.
Kathy framed Graham as the solekiller, portraying herself as a
helpless victim forced to goalong.
I'm a damsel in distress.
Although Kathy manipulated andlied and emotionally abused Ken
over the years, he kept hopingthat she would get help and that
he could be a voice of reasonin her world of insanity.

(40:05):
So he rationalized that if hecould just get her away from it
all, maybe for a long weekend,he could convince her to get
help.
After all, those whom she hadallegedly killed were elderly
and infirm and their familiesweren't missing them and the
police weren't investigating anycrimes.
So Ken took Kathy to Vegas.

Speaker 1 (40:23):
As one does.

Speaker 2 (40:25):
Oh my God.
In Vegas she ended up likeridiculing him in front of
others.
She was totally drunk anddisorderly.
She lost her temper and thenwhen he tried to tell her to
stop, she just became enragedand had a fit.
So after realizing that Kathywould never get help or change,
Ken went to the police.
Yeah, and then Kathy'stestimony became the foundation

(40:48):
of the case against Graham.
Detective Tom Freeman was calledto interview Ken Wood in
October 1987.
The interview took up to 18pages and consisted mainly of
Ken psychoanalyzing hisex-wife's behavior over the last
seven years.
Freeman picked Kathy Wood fromAlpine Manor the next day in his
patrol car.
He headed down to the stationfor questioning.

(41:11):
His partner stayed at AlpineManor with a warrant to obtain
medical records of all thepatients that had died from
January to June of 1987 whileKathy Wood was employed at
Alpine.
Freeman thought it was strangethat Kathy didn't say a single
word or ask a question about whyshe was being detained in
question.
When he eventually got aroundto telling her that Ken filed a
report against her and Gwen, shedidn't react emotionally at all

(41:34):
.
But she looked at Freeman andtold him that Ken was just
trying to get back at her fordivorcing him.
He then brought up MargueriteChambers and Bluff, telling her
that they discovered evidence inher medical record that
implicated her.
Suddenly, Kathy said OK, I'lltell you the truth, and without
further hesitation, almostcasually, flippantly, she

(41:55):
started talking.
She told him that he hadpronounced Marguerite's name
wrong, because apparently hesaid Margaret, and then stated
that she came into Marguerite'sroom while Gwen was suffocating
her with a washcloth over hernose and mouth.
There were several victims, shetold him, and went on to say
that Gwen had killed them all inthe winter, when they both

(42:16):
worked the same shift and Kathywould be the lookout.
Kathy had the habit of talkingin circles, often contradicting
herself, which is so astoundingfor a pathological woman right.
When Freeman called her about it, she answered.
Answered in ways, or tried tocall her on it.
She answered in ways that madeit seem like she was the

(42:37):
confusing one.
He had trouble slowing her downenough to get clarification and
she wouldn't let him record her.
As she stated, she didn't likethe sound of her voice on tape.
She was clever at dodgingquestions and annoyingly would
state that she didn't knowsomething, but then pop in a
compelling or surprising factabout something else.

Speaker 1 (42:54):
But okay, quick answer.
Like people can't decide thatthey don't want to be recorded,
right?

Speaker 2 (43:01):
Well, he didn't.
I don't think he had a warrantyet.
Oh, sure, so she was there ofher own volition.
Sure, sure, sure, Okay.
But yeah, I think once you,yeah, Once you're arrested, and
yeah, you're read your rightsand all that.
She could recall withirritating clarity the dates,
times, shifts and names ofpeople working, but couldn't

(43:22):
remember something as monumentalas the names of several of the
patients who had died.
Freeman asked her how it allstarted.
Kathy said well, I don't knowhow.
I don't know if Gwen broughtthe subject of murder up or what
.
You see, I don't know that.
Well, why did Gwen do this, heasked.
She told him that Gwen felt itrelieved her tensions after she
killed.
She said Gwen told her who shewas going to kill before she

(43:45):
killed them.
Freeman asked how she chosewhich person to kill.
Kathy told him Gwen wanted tospell out murder with the first
initial of each victim's name.
Freeman showed her a list ofthe victim's names.
But that doesn't spell murder,Kathy.
Instead of answering, she askedhim if he was going to take her
to jail.

(44:06):
So Freeman wasn't sure if it wasall a bunch of hooey or Kathy
was telling the truth.
So after three hours ofinterrogation, he found himself
fascinated by her and beginningto believe her.
Oh no, I know, that's the charmof the psychopath, right.
He decided to play good cop andtreat Kathy like a witness
rather than a perpetrator togain her trust and cooperation.

(44:30):
Kathy then told him she had abox of letters from Gwen at her
grandmother's house that mightcontain information about the
murders.
To obtain these letters theyneeded permission and possibly a
warrant from the Kent CountyProsecutor's Office,
specifically the assistantprosecutor, Dave Schieber, who
had secured the warrant for themedical records at Alpine Manor.
Schieber insisted that Freemanand his partner Bill Brown bring

(44:52):
Kathy to the prosecutor'soffice for further questioning
before he made up his mind.
This was irritating to Freeman,who had a shaky relationship
with Sheber at best and foundhim arrogant and difficult to
work with.
Freeman worried that Kathywould clam up once she was in an
imposing government building.
On the way, Brown and Freemanstopped to grab some burger cane
, noting that kathy was not shyabout ordering a ton of food and

(45:14):
then a diet coke listen noshade to the.
I do the same thing.
I don't like regular coke, butI'm happy to order all the fat
stuff in the world.
Just chase it with a diet coke.
Um, they then ate their mealson a conference table in the
halls of Justice, a veryimposing and grand building.

(45:36):
When Kathy was introduced tothe young handsome Sheber, her
whole face lit up.
Wow, she exclaimed you must besomebody really important.
Freeman later recalled that thetwo were bantering away and
almost flirting at the end ofSheever's so transparent.

(46:01):
At the end of Sheever'squestioning he had Freeman read
Kathy her rights again and signan affidavit agreeing to waive
her right to an attorney.
They were then permitted to goand retrieve the letters at
Kathy's grandmother's place.
Sitting in the unmarked policecar outside Kathy's
grandmother's house, she deviseda plan.
She told the officers that hergrandmother and father were

(46:23):
there and that her father was adrunk and they would both freak
out if they knew she wasbringing police to the house.
She proposed that Freeman actas her boyfriend.

Speaker 1 (46:31):
Okay, we didn't talk about this over our burger king
date, like now that we're here,we have to make a plan, okay
when tom agreed to it she saidoh, you're so cute.

Speaker 2 (46:47):
tom decided he would act undercover, so she so, um,
she would, so he could get hishands on the letters he planned
to talk.

Speaker 1 (46:55):
What a badass.
I'm going undercover.

Speaker 2 (46:58):
I know right, go Freeman, he's going undercover.
Listen, he suffers for it laterand you'll see here in a little
bit.
But he thought he was going todo the small talk upstairs with
the family while Kathy wentdownstairsathy went downstairs
to her bedroom to get theletters, but she had other plans
.
As soon as they marched in thehouse, she announced that she
and her boyfriend, tom, weregoing to her bedroom I mean okay

(47:23):
hi family this is tom and we'regoing to my bedroom.

Speaker 1 (47:26):
But also, what if he would have stayed upstairs?
It's like, hey, how did you andKathy meet?

Speaker 2 (47:34):
What's your favorite?

Speaker 1 (47:35):
you know anything I?

Speaker 2 (47:38):
don't know shit about her, but yeah Right, that's a
good point.
Although if they were, theywere apparently sitting at the
kitchen table drinking beer andthey were intoxicated, so maybe
they wouldn't have been cleverenough.
Yeah, I don't know, but that'sa good point anyway.
So she got the box and startedrifling through it and he's like
you don't need to go through itnow, just bring the whole damn

(47:59):
thing.
Like he wanted to get out ofthe bedroom.
And then she was like but Ihave to change out of my uniform
, I'm so tired of being in myscrubs.
So tom took the box and hestarted to leave.
But she, she's like no, youcan't go up there, you know my

(48:21):
dad's drunk and so.
And so she had him turn aroundwhile she changed.
Um, he was, he was, he wasfreaking out, he was blushing
all over the place.
He was like this was definitelynot police protocol, um, for
your suspect to be completelynaked while you're down in the
bedroom.
I don't know.
Anyway, he didn't see anything.
He eventually turned around,they left and went back to the
halls of justice.
But it just goes to show howshe manipulated people into

(48:42):
compromising situations soeasily, you know what I mean
mildly yeah.
so back at the hall of justiceshebers looked over the letters
and then he told freeman to tolet Kathy go and concentrate on
a different case.
He waved the letters off asjust a couple of lovers writing
nonsense to one anotherChagrined.
Tom dropped Kathy off at AlpineManor to retrieve her car.

(49:05):
Some of her friends were in theparking lot and she made a big
show of leaning into the windowafter getting out of the car
saying oh Tom, you're so cute.
I had such a good time Makingit look like they'd been on a
date.
Tom later recalled, thinking tohimself okay, two can play
games.

Speaker 1 (49:22):
Bring it Also.

Speaker 2 (49:23):
You sounded so Minnesota, yeah it was cute, it
was so cute.
So cute.

Speaker 1 (49:37):
Oh no, she would have said oh for cute you betcha, oh
you betcha, for sure.

Speaker 2 (49:44):
Um, let's bring your hot dish oh yeah, date or debts
um.
The next day, friedman arrangedanother interview with Kathy at
his office.
She showed up with anintimidating woman in a biker
jacket and leather cap.
Nancy Harris was a formerAlpine aide.
Freeman had Kathy write downher confessions, which described

(50:04):
the murders and added moredetails that she'd not yet told
him about.
She signed it.
In the written confession,kathy wrote that she told her
sister about the murders.
Freeman decided to fact checkand he asked her for her
sister's number.
Her sister answered andconfirmed that Kathy had told
her, but she didn't think it wastrue and she just thought Kathy
was emotionally distressed.
After Freeman hung up the phone,kathy displayed the first true

(50:26):
emotions that Tom had ever seenfrom her.
She began crying, stating thatshe'd lost her best friend, that
her sister was her best friendand would never forgive her.
Now Sheeper then stopped bygiving some information on a
different case that he had beentelling Tom to check into, and
he spied Kathy crying.
He asked her why she was crying.
He then took over Tom's officeand settled in for a nice

(50:49):
conversation with Kathy andNancy and started asking about
lesbian sex.
How did they determine who wasdominant and who was submissive?
Who was in charge of therelationship.
Who was in charge in bed?
What kind of positions did theyget into?
He then told the women that hewas about to get married and
they started giving him sexadvice, telling him to rub
himself down with Vicks VapoRubbefore they consummated the

(51:10):
marriage to rub himself downwith Vicks.
VapoRub before they consummatedthe marriage.
Whoa, but seriously, why wasthis allowed to go on?
Freeman was incensed.
What did he felt the same way.
What did any of this have to dowith?

Speaker 1 (51:19):
the murders.
What a circus.

Speaker 2 (51:21):
So later he showed Schreber the signed confession.
Schreber was not interested,told him to drop the case and
concentrate on a different one.
Freeman was more determinedthan ever to try to get enough
evidence to bring up murdercharges.
It was time to make a trip toTyler, texas.

(51:41):
On October 12th.
Six days after Ken had walkedinto the police department to
tell his story, freeman andBrown secured a search warrant
from a Texas judge for lettersfrom Kathy Wood to Gwen Graham
and any property that might havebelonged to Alpine patients.
They wanted to find thosesouvenirs.
A background check revealedthat Gwen had a misdemeanor
warrant for writing $611 in badchecks in 1985.

(52:04):
Gwen denied any wrongdoing andstated that Kathy was a
fruitcake.
That was her word.
It's is weird.
I mean I thought she'd call hera bee or something worse, yeah
a fruitcake A fruitcake.
It made the whole thing up forrevenge from her leaving.
They arrested Gwen.
They arrested Gwen and wecaught wabbits.

(52:29):
They arrested Gwen on the checkfraud.
Gwen requested a lawyer.
I mean, what is going on withall these?

Speaker 1 (52:38):
w's here wow wow.

Speaker 2 (52:40):
Um, before speaking any further on the case, she
agreed to a polygraph and passedit.
But the examiner said I he feltshe'd passed it because she was
a psychopath with no sense.
Okay, why do the polygraph?
I mean, we all know what is itthat our morbid friends?

Speaker 1 (52:57):
those morbid girlies say A hot dog in a trench coat.

Speaker 2 (52:59):
Yes, a polygraph is as useful as a hot dog in a
trench coat.
Shout out to morbid yeah, okay,all right, well, okay.
So meanwhile, kathy underwentone, but hers was like a two-day
thing because she got a lot tosay, um, and it showed she was
telling the truth.
She said if I'm going to jail,I want it to be for what I

(53:22):
actually did, she said.
She broke down in tears ofrelief when the examiner told
her she quote-unquote passed.
She wanted to be believed.
Uh, six days later, gwen losther job because, uh, I probably
didn't say this, but she wasworking at a local hospital as a
nurse's aide in a newbornnursery good not.

Speaker 1 (53:42):
I hope you all know my sarcasm already.

Speaker 2 (53:45):
Not good yeah how scary is that?
Okay, so 53 days after ken wentto the police department to
tell his story, the local localnewspaper, the Grand Rapids
Press, printed a salaciousheadline Police probe suspicious
death at Walker Nursing Home in1987.
Walker Police Chief WalterSpringer told the paper that

(54:06):
police were looking into rumorsof a possible homicide.
A tipster was reportedlycalling the newspaper and local
TV stations.
A tipster was reportedlycalling the newspaper and local
TV stations.
When Freeman confronted Kathyabout blabbing her mouth, she
told him it was retaliation fromKatherine Brinkman, the aide
that Gwen beat up on Kmart Hill.
Kathy said she borrowed $300from Katherine and hadn't paid
her back.
Katherine would later deny it,but Freeman figured the aide was

(54:29):
probably settling some oldscores.
I think you're right there, ken.

Speaker 1 (54:32):
Kenny.

Speaker 2 (54:33):
Yeah, the news media were a blessing and a curse, but
they did move the case alongand got Sheever's cooperation
finally to focus on the case.
The clock was ticking.
Alpine Manor meanwhile hiredone of Grand Rapids' top PR
firms and a decision needed tobe made about the arrests.
Freeman met with Kent CountyMedical Examiner Stephen Cole.

(54:53):
He predicted the chances offinding the subtle pathological
evidence of smothering were slim, considering the victim's age's
condition and two years ofinternment.
Their best chance ofpost-mortem autopsy was Belle
Burkhart, because she was theyoungest.
But Belle had been cremated andso had Myrtle Luce and Mae
Mason.
So that left MargueriteChambers and Edith Cook.
There were three other womenthat had been mentioned in

(55:16):
Kathy's various rantings LucilleStoddard, ruth Van Dyke and
Wanda Urbanski.
But Kathy had been so unclearabout whether they were victims
or not that the prosecutiondidn't think they could bring
them into the mix.
So Marguerite and Edith'sbodies were exhumed, but the
autopsies didn't bring anyevidence to light to prove
murder.
The lack of definitive forensicevidence meant that Wood's

(55:36):
testimony became the strongestand pretty much only piece of
evidence against Graham.
So this is all circumstantial,she said.
She said Meanwhile the news ofthe exhumations were devastating
to all the families of thevictims.
Some of the families were indenial, others were
grief-stricken and riddled withguilt.
I mean, as you would be, yourfamily was in there and I can't

(56:00):
imagine.
The news also brought morewitness testimony.
One was from a former aidenamed LaDonna Stearns.
She told Freeman she had abrief affair with Kathy after
Gwen left for Texas and thatKathy told her she was holding
something over Gwen's head.
She told rumors of sexual abuseof patients.
She detailed the way both womenwould show up at work with

(56:22):
bruises or scratches.
That's the way they got theirkicks, hurting each other when
they made love, said LaDonna.
She also knew about the shelvesin Kathy's bedroom.
She said they were full of cuteitems like dolls and stuffed
animals, stuff like that anddeath souvenirs, next to
stuffies, I mean.
Anyway, freeman said of the two,kathy and Gwen, who's the most

(56:43):
domineering one?
Kathy?
She answered Gwen's oldroommate, fran, came forward
saying that Gwen came home oneday and told her that she'd been
sexually aroused by one of theold people there.
But Fran also explained thatGwen was heartbroken when she
saw her first patient die.
She said Gwen was two peopleshe could be so gentle and kind
and wanting to help peoplearound her.
She would help anybody, but attimes she was just kind of

(57:05):
violent.
Well, that doesn't make you agood person, okay, on December
4th to 5th 1988, graham and Woodwere arrested and charged with
two murders.
Wood was apprehended in Walkerand Graham in Tyler, texas.
During the trial, wood pleabargained her way to a reduced
sentence, claiming that it wasGraham who planned and carried
out the killings while sheserved as a lookout or

(57:28):
distracted supervisors.
Graham maintained her innocence, testifying that the alleged
murders were part of anelaborate mind game by wood.
Despite the lack of physicalevidence, the jury ultimately
was swayed by the testimony ofgraham's new girlfriend, robin,
who revealed that graham hadconfessed to five killings.
On november 3rd 1989, grahamwas found guilty of five counts

(57:50):
of murder and one count ofconspiracy to commit murder, and
and the court gave her fivelife sentences.
The victims were Mae Mason, 79,edith Cook, 98, marguerite
Chambers, 60, myrtle Luce, 95,and Bell Burkhart, 74.
Graham is housed in the Women'sHuron Valley Correctional

(58:10):
Facility in Pittsfield, charterTownship, michigan.
Wood was charged with one countof second-degree murder and one
count of conspiracy to commitsecond-degree murder.
She was sentenced to 20 yearson each count and has been
eligible for parole since March2nd of 2005.
Wood was incarcerated in theMinimum Security Federal

(58:32):
Correctional Institution,tallahassee in Florida, and she
was released January 16, 2020,and is expected to live with
relatives in South Carolina.
However, as Lowell Coffielddocuments in his nonfiction book
, friends, co-workers, familymembers and others who knew
Graham and Wood told an entirelydifferent story than the one
Wood spun.
As the key witness in Graham'strial knew, graham and Wood told

(58:54):
an entirely different storythan the one Wood spun.
As the key witness in Graham'strial, they described Wood as
both a coercive and seductivepathological liar who delighted
in wreaking havoc in the livesof others.
Forever in Five Days presentsevidence that Wood planned the
first murder after she foundGraham with another woman.
She involved Graham as aninsurance policy to keep her
from ever leaving her otherwoman.

(59:16):
She involved grandma's aninsurance policy to keep her
from ever leaving her.
So there's a tiny silver liningas a result of this horrific
story that this case had onelderly care laws and
regulations.
Their case exposedvulnerabilities in nursing home
oversight, leading to increasedscrutiny, policy changes and
reforms in elder care facilities.

(59:36):
Now there are stricterbackground checks for nursing
home staff.
So before this case, backgroundchecks for nursing home
employees were ofteninconsistent or lax.
This case highlighted thedangers of inadequate screening,
as both women were hiredwithout extensive vetting,
despite Wood's manipulativetendencies and Graham's unstable

(59:56):
background.
There's increased federaloversight and nursing home
inspections.
So at the time of the murders,nursing home inspections were
sporadic and often failed todetect ongoing abuse or neglect.
So the changes that wereimplemented were the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act, orOBRA, of 1987.
It's a landmark elder carereform and was more aggressively

(01:00:19):
enforced after the case.
And the OBRA requires minimumstaffing levels, abuse
prevention policies and stricterreporting of suspicious deaths,
and then increase unannouncedinspections to detect misconduct
earlier.
So after the scandal, manystates began mandating autopsies
and unexplained nursing homedeaths, making it harder for

(01:00:42):
crimes like this to go unnoticed, and then mandatory reporting
of elder abuse and whistleblowerprotections.
So one of the most shockingaspects of this case was that
several employees at AlpineManor suspected abuse but they
didn't report it out of fear.
Some overheard Wood and Grahambragging about the murders but
dismissed it like a joke, and aformer employee finally came

(01:01:04):
forward, leading to their arrest.
But by then several victims hadalready died.
So the changes that wereimplemented are that now there's
mandatory elder abuse reportinglaws requiring health care
workers to report suspicionimmediately, and there's
stronger whistleblowerprotections put in place to
encourage employees to reportwithout fear of retaliation.
Some states have implementedhotlines for anonymous reporting

(01:01:27):
of elder abuse in carefacilities and then better
training regulations for nursinghome staff.
So changes that have beenimplemented, or mandatory abuse
prevention training for nursinghome employees, psychological
screenings for staff who work inlong-term care oh boy, they
could use that in this case.

(01:01:47):
Um, some facilities implementedsurveillance systems and to
help deter abuse, I mean, yeah.
So final impact a more watchfuleye on elderly care.
The Graham Wood murders shockedthe healthcare industry and led
to tighter regulations,increased oversight and stronger
protections for nursing homeresidents While elder abuse

(01:02:09):
still occurs.
This case helped push criticalreforms that improved safety and
accountability in long-termcare facilities.

Speaker 1 (01:02:17):
Wow, that was a lot Good job.
Thank you for bringing us allthat.
That was a lot of research.

Speaker 2 (01:02:27):
Yeah, I just kept going deeper and deeper into it
and, man, I'm glad to come outof it.

Speaker 1 (01:02:35):
it was super depressing but, I think, super
important for all of us tounderstand, no and and all those
good things that did come outof it in the end.
Yeah, it sucks that like reallyshitty things have to happen
for better policies to be put inplace.

Speaker 2 (01:02:52):
Yeah, isn't that crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:02:56):
Um holy shnikes.
Is that what.

Speaker 2 (01:03:01):
Minnesota is saying I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:03:04):
I don't know, I'd love to hear about it.
If it is, um, uh, okay, I guess.
So Kathy got 20 years 20.

Speaker 2 (01:03:14):
Yeah, she got 20 years and um Gwen got life
without any chance for parole.

Speaker 1 (01:03:18):
I feel like Gwen's got to be real pissed, huh, yeah
.

Speaker 2 (01:03:22):
Well, like I know, she actively did everything but
um, as far as we know, true, allwe have is Kathy's word.
She still maintains she didn'tdo it.
But her last girlfriend, robin,was the one who, when she was
questioned by police, said thatGwen would joke about it.
I mean, she would joke about itand say, yeah, you know, I

(01:03:45):
killed six people, like in ajoking way.
But then, when it came down toit, she said, no, it was all a
hoax, but obviously somethinghappened.
There's enough evidence thatthese, you know these patients
like wow it wasn't their time.
He's just out and about yeah,stay away from south carolina.
Sorry about south carolina, myfriends, but just watch out if

(01:04:07):
you're living there and, likeyou know, keep an eye, I guess I
don't know what you do for workafter that.

Speaker 1 (01:04:14):
It's good that people can find work after being
incarcerated, but I mean, whatdo you do for work after you got
charged with that?

Speaker 2 (01:04:24):
I don't know.
I mean, you know what?
I don't really care what she'sup to actually Exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:04:31):
Just look out everyone.

Speaker 2 (01:04:36):
You know it's really sad because I was thinking, you
know, if I lived in southcarolina I'd be extra careful
with loved ones in nursing homes.
But then I was like you knowthey say one of the things they
say in the nursing homes is um,those who get the most visitors
get the best care yeah, yeah,yeah, which also is so sad.

Speaker 1 (01:04:55):
Like there were so many times I thought during this
thing of like these people arehumans, Like it just made me so
sick.

Speaker 2 (01:05:06):
They're so helpless, so vulnerable and there's just
no dignity at the end of life.
And I mean there can be, weneed to be providing it somehow.
And I mean there can be, weneed to.
We need to be providing itsomehow.
And I don't know.
I was going to say, mom and dad, if you ever get to be too much
to me, I have to go to yournursing home.
I'm visiting your asses on adaily basis.
You're probably going to wantto get rid of me.

Speaker 1 (01:05:28):
It's for your own safety.
Nah, I'll just keep them in mybasement.
Oh wow, that doesn't soundcreepy at all.
It's a nice basement.
Yeah, true, true, daily okay oh, we got something lighter for
us.
I do.
Let's end on this very specialmedical mishap story.

(01:05:50):
So, so can't wait.
This week's story is brought toyou by my very, very sweet
husband, he, he was on the fenceof whether or not he could be
the one to actually share thestory and ultimately, well,
obviously you know his decision,because here we are and he's
not in here, but we do give ourthanks for him to share this

(01:06:16):
tale with us.
Um, thank you.
Obviously, I've heard the storya ton of times, um, so I did
have him sit down with me toretell it in his words.
So this is fresh out of thehorse's mouth.
Last night, um, trigger warningto his mom, who I know is going
to be listening to this and youcan just fast forward to the
end.
Okay, so many, many years ago.

(01:06:40):
Okay, so we're reading fromAdam's perspective now I am Adam
.
Um, adam, oh God, okay, oh God,okay.
Many years ago, I got burnt inan accident which resulted in
second and third degree burnscovering 35% of my body.

(01:07:01):
My injuries landed me in along-term stay at a burn unit in
the Twin Cities.
I was told that I was going tobe there for about eight weeks
and thought, fuck, that I'm notstaying here that long.
As part of my treatment andcare, I had multiple surgeries
which included two rounds ofskin grafting.
After skin I know, did you knowthis about him?

(01:07:23):
No, I didn't.
Um.
After skin grafting and generalwound.
Oh wait, okay.
After skin grafting and asgeneral wound treatment for
severe burns, they cover yourbody or the injured areas with
synthetic skin and then ACEbandages that were secured in
place with staples.
Again, I said I'm not stayinghere that long.

(01:07:47):
So I decided to force myself towalk up and down the hallways
three times a day.
To walk up and down thehallways three times a day After
surgery.
The walks were excruciatinglypainful, which I attributed to
the large third degree burn onmy hip.
The nurses all told me yes,this is normal, it's going to
hurt.
But I said to them I know thisis going to hurt, but the pain

(01:08:09):
is nearly unbearable whenwalking, most specifically with
tearing sensations in the groinslash, hip area, and they said,
yeah, yeah, yeah, we know it'sgoing to hurt.
So after did you look ahead?
Okay, no, I'm just, I'm morefired up Guys.

(01:08:29):
This is so bad so after threedays they went to check the skin
grafting and change thedressings.
The same nurse that had beentelling me, yes, it's going to
hurt, started pulling out thestaples and taking off the ace
bandages.
All of a sudden she got up andleft the room and I thought what
the hell?

(01:08:49):
Where are you going?
Where are you going?
She came back soon after withtears in her eyes and said I
need to tell you something.
When they stapled your acebandages around your legs, they
stapled your scrotum to your legand that is why it hurts so bad
when you tried to walk, oh mygod oh, adam, I can't, I can't,

(01:09:22):
I can't.

Speaker 2 (01:09:25):
I'm sorry, I can't keep it in a home, poor adam
uh-huh.

Speaker 1 (01:09:31):
So he says, oh bless, I can't stop laughing.
I'm sorry, carry on, when hetold my sweet grandma this story
she just lost it.
She was laughing so hard.
So perfectly holistic, I know.

(01:09:52):
So he says, needless to say, mywalks were much quicker once I
was released.
And then he would joke with themedical staff that he was
training for a local marathon,because he was like saying he
was like an Olympian going upand down the halls.

Speaker 2 (01:10:14):
He's like, hey, when things aren't stapled to my
thigh?

Speaker 1 (01:10:18):
I can really move, and so he was released after 21
days.

Speaker 2 (01:10:29):
He's like get out of here, no more office, you and
your office supplies.
I need to go.

Speaker 1 (01:10:36):
So for a silver lining to this medical mishap is
they no longer use staples whensecuring bandages.

Speaker 2 (01:10:46):
Adam.
Think of the scrotums you'vesaved.
Buddy, you're a hero, you're myhero, you're a hero, you're my
hero.
Adam, we love you.
Oh, you know what we love youand, adam, thank you so much for
being brave enough to I can seewhy you tried to make him go on
until he's dead himself?

Speaker 1 (01:11:04):
No, I didn't try to make him, I just said hey, how
cool that we live in the samehouse.
You could kind of be, you know,like our first guest speaker
reading a medical mishap, and hewas like he was really on the
fence.
He kind of thought like, oh,maybe I could do that.

Speaker 2 (01:11:24):
And then it got closer he's like, yeah, I'm not
doing that, I can't blame him.
I can't believe he evenconsidered it.
Bless his heart.
What a hero, first of all.

Speaker 1 (01:11:30):
I mean, being in the burn unit is no picnic I it's
probably one of the most painfulthings I can't imagine every
time I cook bacon and like alittle thing flicks off and like
grease sparks off and gets you,you know, and I'm always like
oh, and then I'm always like Idon't know how you got burned,
how you did, because I can'teven handle this bacon spark.

Speaker 2 (01:11:52):
No, I mean, and then they peel it off and it's
excruciating.
I mean, just bless his heart.
And then, to add insult toinjury, to injury.

Speaker 1 (01:11:59):
Yeah, really.

Speaker 2 (01:12:00):
Oh my God, I crippled a poor guy, oh oh.

Speaker 1 (01:12:06):
Adam, we love you.

Speaker 2 (01:12:08):
Oh, thank you for allowing us to laugh at your
misfortune.
But you know what?
You've just gone so much up.
You were high in my estimationbecause you make my girl happy,
but you're up there now.
He's gone up a couple steps aswell.
Oh yeah, he's a keeper Blessed.
This is going to be a hard oneto tell, I know, I know, it's a

(01:12:28):
good one.
All right people, let's seewhat you got all right, people,
let's see what you got.

Speaker 1 (01:12:38):
See you, see, you guys.
It can be embarrassing too, andyou can still send it to us.

Speaker 2 (01:12:41):
It's okay, right?
I mean, we could be anon-anonymous um hey yeah, hey,
what can our listeners expect tohear next week?

Speaker 1 (01:12:52):
Oh, well, you know, we're just going to mosey on
over into the old cosmetic slashplastic surgery area.
We haven't been there yet.
A lighthearted episode?
Well, you know, I guess Not somuch, probably not, but it's

(01:13:13):
definitely not as bad as thisone.
I mean, you can't say it's notas bad, right?

Speaker 2 (01:13:19):
But it's not as deep it's going to feel like a palate
cleanser after this nightmare.

Speaker 1 (01:13:23):
But yeah, more to come, okay, so until then, don't
miss a beat.
Subscribe or follow Doctrinethe Truth wherever you enjoy
your podcasts for stories thatshock, intrigue and educate
trust after all, is a delicatething.
You can text us directly on ourwebsite at doctoring the truth.
At buzzsproutcom, you cansupport the show by clicking on

(01:13:47):
the subscriber link to thepodcast for as low as $3 a month
.
We will give you a shout out onthis show and are always
looking for ways to bring youmore rewards in the future.
This may include exclusivecontent, early access to
episodes, fun merch and more.
Email us your own ideas,stories and medical mishaps at
doctoring the truth at gmail,and be sure to follow us on

(01:14:09):
instagram and facebook.
At doctoring the truth and Iguess we forgot to say earlier
and this is starting to get long, but we did get a story sent to
us after our last episode, anursing home story.
We did.
Should we read it?
We did.

Speaker 2 (01:14:29):
Um, we, we could do.
You have it.
Okay, you guys will read itnext time.
You know what?
Well, it'll be exclusivecontent.
We'll figure out a way toincorporate that to not such a
beefy episode.

Speaker 1 (01:14:44):
Yeah, you know what.
We've taken enough of your time.
Enjoy your drive, enjoy yourcoffee, enjoy whatever you're
doing today, um, and we love you.

Speaker 2 (01:14:52):
We love you, so don't forget to download, rate and
review so we can be sure tobring you more content next week
.
Until then, stay safe and staysuspicious.
Bye, bye.

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Ep 8-The Alpine Manor Murders: A Healthcare Horror Story (Part 2)

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