Man pleads guilty in 'Angel of Death' case

LOS ANGELES -- A respiratory therapist who called himself the "Angel of Death" struck a deal to avoid the death penalty Tuesday, pleading guilty to murdering six elderly patients with drug injections.

He also pleaded guilty to attempting to murder a seventh patient.

Efren Saldivar, 32, agreed to seven consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole. He will be sentenced on April 17.

Nearly inaudibly, Saldivar answered "guilty" to each count.

Saldivar killed the six patients in 1996 and 1997 while working at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, injecting them with a muscle relaxant that stopped their breathing.

He told police in 1998 that he might have contributed to "anywhere from 100 to 200" deaths and actively killed up to 50 patients by giving drugs or withholding treatment. He spent nine years as a hospital worker.

He later recanted in television interviews, saying he fabricated his statements because he was depressed and wanted to die.

The decision to accept the plea "avoids a lengthy, costly trial and more importantly, ensures the public that the defendant will no longer be a danger to society," District Attorney Steve Cooley said during a news conference after the hearing.

Deputy Public Defender Verah Bradford said her client didn't plead guilty to avoid punishment, "but rather to accept responsibility, and of course, finally now to, in his mind, make peace with God."