On October 3, 1994, 79-year-old White male Lloyd Angel passed away under suspicious circumstances while admitted as a patient at the Vermillion County Hospital in Clinton, Indiana. His death occurred during a troubling period for the medical facility, which had experienced an inexplicable and dramatic spike in patient mortality rates. In the years surrounding his death, specifically between 1993 and 1995, the small rural hospital saw the number of deaths in its intensive care unit skyrocket, prompting state officials and law enforcement to launch a massive investigation into the quality of care and the conduct of specific staff members.
The investigation centered on a licensed practical nurse named Orville Lynn Majors, who was present for a statistically impossible number of these fatalities. Authorities alleged that Majors, who was later dubbed the "Angel of Death," had been administering lethal injections of potassium chloride and epinephrine to patients he deemed demanding or difficult. While Lloyd Angel was identified as one of the individuals who died during this lethal window, the inquiry into his death was part of a broader probe that examined over a hundred suspicious fatalities at the facility. The investigation involved the exhumation of several bodies to test for toxic levels of drugs, painting a grim picture of a medical professional preying on the vulnerable elderly entrusted to his care.
Orville Majors was eventually arrested in December 1997 and charged with multiple counts of murder following a complex multi-year investigation by the Indiana State Police. Prosecutors argued that Majors acted with a "diabolical" motive, ending lives to lighten his workload. In 1999, a jury convicted Majors of murdering six patients, and he was sentenced to 360 years in prison. Although Majors was never specifically tried for every suspected case, the death of Lloyd Angel remains recorded as part of the dark chapter of events that led to the nurse's incarceration. Majors died in prison of natural causes in 2017, ending one of the most prolific serial killer cases in Indiana history.
