Mays cried and apologized in addressing the court briefly before learning her sentence.
“I know that there’s no words that I can say that would alter the families’ pain and comfort,” she said. “I don’t ask for forgiveness because I don’t think I could forgive anyone for doing what I did.”
Hospital officials reported the deaths to the VA inspector general and fired Mays after evidence pointed to her.
An interview with Mays after her guilty plea was included in a lengthy report released after Tuesday s sentencing by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General detailing deficiencies at the hospital.
Updated Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.
A former nursing assistant who admitted to murdering veterans at a Clarksburg, West Virginia hospital will spend the rest of her natural life behind bars.
Reta Mays, 46 of Reyondsville, West Virginia, was handed seven life sentences plus 20 years during a sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
Mays admitted in July to seven counts of second-degree murder and one count of assault with intent to murder veterans seeking care at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center. According to prosecutors, Mays unnecessarily injected veterans with insulin, causing sudden hypoglycemic events that ultimately led to the deaths.
During a Tuesday sentencing hearing, Judge Thomas Kleeh heard from family members of victims, attorneys for both the prosecution and the defense, and Mays herself.
Former aide Reta Mays receives seven consecutive life sentences in murders of veterans By
Reta Mays
A federal judge sentenced former aide Reta Mays to seven consecutive life sentences plus an additional 240 months in the deaths of eight veterans at a VA hospital.
Thomas Kleeh
“Several times your counsel has made the point that you shouldn’t be considered a monster. Respectfully, I disagree with that. You’re the worst kind. You’re the monster no one sees coming,” Judge Thomas Kleeh said to Mays at the sentencing today.
Mays stood to hear the sentencing. When the hearing concluded at noon, she was released to federal marshals.
Monster : 7 Life Sentences for Ex-Hospital Worker Who Killed 7 Elderly Vets With Deadly Injections – NBC4 Washington nbcwashington.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nbcwashington.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By DONOVAN SLACK AND RYAN W. MILLER | USA Today | Published: May 11, 2021 CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (Tribune News Service) A former nursing assistant who confessed to murdering seven elderly patients at a local VA hospital and attempting to murder an eighth will spend the rest of her life in prison. U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh called Reta Mays a monster of the worst kind. You are the monster no one sees coming. During a hearing Tuesday, he sentenced Mays to life in prison for each murder victim, plus 20 years for the eighth victim she tried to kill. Mays is not eligible for probation for the seven life sentences, Kleeh said. She was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims of the families.