Jose Alfaro was an 82-year-old male patient at Glendale Adventist Medical Center who died while hospitalized with severe pneumonia, emphysema, and chronic pulmonary and arterial disease. His death was first recorded as cardiorespiratory failure, a conclusion the family accepted until allegations of an Angel of Death in the respiratory-therapy unit led to a review of multiple in-hospital deaths.

Investigators later linked the deaths to Efren Saldivar, a night-shift respiratory therapist. Exhumation and toxicology testing found the paralytic drug Pavulon in six of 20 bodies tested, including Jose Alfaro’s remains, and his cause of death was revised from natural failure to homicide by pharmacological paralysis. Saldivar was arrested and charged in connection with six murders, one count naming Alfaro.

Cecilia Alfaro, the victim’s widow, spoke publicly condemning the killing.