Terri Eden Maples Rachals is a former nurse from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

who was accused of killing people at

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital is a hospital in Albany, Georgia. History The hospital was created using a donation of $25,000 from Judge Francis Flagg Putney. At his request, the hospital was named after his mother, Phoebe. The hospital ope ...

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

with

potassium chloride Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a sa ...

, a heart-stopping drug. While suspected of killing at least nine of her patients, she was charged with only six murders, three of which she acknowledged possibly committing while in a "

fugue state Dissociative fugue ( ), previously referred to as a fugue state or psychogenic fugue,Dissociative Fugue (formerly Psychogenic Fugue) 'DSM-IV 300.13, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition'' is a rare psychiatric con ...

" in a recanted confession that she made to the

Georgia Bureau of Investigation The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is the state bureau of investigation of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is an independent, statewide agency that provides assistance to Georgia's criminal justice system in the areas of criminal investi ...

. In 1986, Rachals was guilty on one of twenty

aggravated assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result ...

charges. She was acquitted of murder. Rachals was sentenced to 17 years in prison and three years of probation. She served her entire sentence, and was released from prison in April 2003.

References

Living people 1966 births American women nurses American people convicted of assault American prisoners and detainees Health care professionals convicted of crimes American people acquitted of murder Poisoners Prisoners and detainees of Georgia (U.S. state) Suspected serial killers {{Crime-bio-stub