Joseph Akin

Serial Killer

Joseph Dewey Akin

Overview

Joseph Dewey Akin is a former nurse from Georgia who became the subject of one of the most widely publicized hospital death investigations in the southeastern United States during the early 1990s. Born in 1956 in Marietta, Georgia, Akin worked at several hospitals in Georgia and Alabama. Investigators and prosecutors alleged that he intentionally caused medical emergencies in patients under his care, particularly by administering drugs that could trigger cardiac distress. He became associated with a series of suspicious "Code Blue" incidents, a hospital term used when a patient suffers a life-threatening medical emergency requiring immediate resuscitation. Although Akin was suspected in numerous patient deaths and medical emergencies, only one patient death resulted in criminal prosecution. Many of the other allegations were never formally charged, and investigators stated that proving homicide in hospital settings was difficult because many patients were already seriously ill.

Hospital Employment and Suspicious Incidents

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Akin worked at multiple medical facilities in Georgia and Alabama, including Grady Memorial Hospital, Georgia Baptist Hospital, North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia, and Cooper Green Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Investigators later focused on an unusual pattern of medical emergencies that allegedly occurred during Akin's shifts. Colleagues reported concerns about an increase in cardiac arrests and emergency resuscitation events when he was working. Authorities also investigated reports of missing cardiac medications and allegations that Akin appeared unusually interested in emergency situations. At North Fulton Regional Hospital in Georgia, investigators examined at least 17 suspicious patient deaths and medical emergencies that occurred during the period Akin worked there in 1990. Despite extensive investigations by local authorities and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, no criminal charges were filed against him in Georgia. ...

Confirmed Victims: (1)

Robert J. Price Age: (32), Date of Death: 1991-03-27

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