Arrest made in N.J. hospital deaths
SOMERVILLE, New Jersey (CNN) -- A person has been arrested in the investigation of several mysterious patient deaths at Somerset Medical Center, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest.
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Forrest said the person is to be arraigned Monday on charges of murder and attempted murder. No details on the suspect, including gender, were released.
Last week, authorities were investigating whether a former male nurse at the medical center was responsible for the death of an elderly Catholic priest, one of several patients given lab tests by the nurse.
The nurse was fired for his involvement with six patients with abnormal lab test results.
Authorities would not confirm that nurse was the one arrested for on the murder charges.
Two of the six patients showed unusually high levels of digoxin, a common heart disease medication, and the other had dangerously low blood sugar levels. Both conditions can be deadly. Four of the patients, including the priest, died after treatment at the hospital.
The medical center launched an internal investigation and ruled out accidental causes, such as faulty equipment or bad batches of medicine. The investigation also showed the only common factor in the six cases was treatment by the nurse in the intensive care unit.
In a statement, the hospital said it "suspected" the nurse was "involved with the abnormal test results," fired him and reported him to state nursing authorities.