Genene Jones

On the morning of May 21, 1981, 15-month-old Christopher James Hogeda died from [[cardiac arrest]]. The baby had been hospitalized at Bexar for six months prior to his death due to [[congenital heart problems]], [[pneumonia]] and [[diarrhea]]. In a similar pattern to several other deaths, Jones showed a strong emotional reaction to the boy's death, crying and holding the child's body in her arms, and reaffirming that Hogeda was "her boy". Four months later, on September 16, 1981, two-year-old Rosemary Vega suffered a sudden decompensation and died after having a massive cardiac arrest while awaiting preparations for a common and unrisky operation in the heart. The girl's mother, Rosemary Cantu, was 18 years old at the time and worked in the housekeeping department of Bexar. She testified that Jones came into the room and injected the girl with an unknown substance as Rosemary sat on her mother's lap. When Cantu asked Jones what the drug was for, she responded that it was a medication for the girl "to [get] rest". Rosemary Vega entered into a sudden and unexplained shock shortly after Jones left the room, displaying symptoms of irregular breathing, which activated the PICU [[code blue]]. Confused by the child's abrupt crisis, doctors administered different [[Agonist-antagonist|reverse mechanisms]] in the emergency resuscitation procedures. These attempts failed and Rosemary Vega died within minutes.{{cite news |last1=Elkind |first1=Peter |title=Suspected Texas Serial Killer Charged With Death of Second Baby |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/suspected-texas-serial-killer-charged-with-death-of-second-baby |access-date=November 26, 2025 |work=[[ProPublica]] |date=June 21, 2017}}

On the morning of May 21, 1981, 15-month-old Christopher James Hogeda died from [[cardiac arrest]]. The baby had been hospitalized at Bexar for six months prior to his death due to [[congenital heart problems]], [[pneumonia]] and [[diarrhea]]. In a similar pattern to several other deaths, Jones showed a strong emotional reaction to the boy's death, crying and holding the child's body in her arms, and reaffirming that Hogeda was "her boy". Four months later, on September 16, 1981, two-year-old Rosemary Vega suffered a sudden decompensation and died after having a massive cardiac arrest while awaiting preparations for a common and unrisky operation in the heart. The girl's mother, Rosemary Cantu, was 18 years old at the time and worked in the housekeeping department of Bexar. She testified that Jones came into the room and injected the girl with an unknown substance as Rosemary sat on her mother's lap. When Cantu asked Jones what the drug was for, she responded that it was a medication for the girl "to [get] rest". Rosemary Vega entered into a sudden and unexplained shock shortly after Jones left the room, displaying symptoms of irregular breathing, which activated the PICU [[code blue]]. Confused by the child's abrupt crisis, doctors administered different [[Agonist-antagonist|reverse mechanisms]] in the emergency resuscitation procedures. These attempts failed and Rosemary Vega died within minutes.{{cite news |last1=Elkind |first1=Peter |title=Suspected Texas Serial Killer Charged With Death of Second Baby |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/suspected-texas-serial-killer-charged-with-death-of-second-baby |access-date=November 26, 2025 |work=[[ProPublica]] |date=June 21, 2017}}

By late 1981, the hospital registered an unusual [[death rate]] at the PICU. The facility's authorities had suspicions that Genene Jones could be harming babies, but their investigation proved inconclusive. The report alleged that even though ten baby deaths had occurred under Jones's watch, they could have been product of a coincidence, while not fully discarding the possibility of negligence or wrongdoings by Jones. Despite the concerns, Jones continued to work at Bexar's PICU as more children suffered unexplained and abrupt health crises. Rumors began to spread among the nursing staff; Jones's colleagues began calling her shift the "Death Shift", though most – except for a nurse named Suzanna Maldonado – believed that it was "bad luck" instead of deliberate acts of harming children.{{cite news |last1=Elkind |first1=Peter |title="I Really Did Kill Those Babies" |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/genene-jones-i-really-did-kill-those-babies |access-date=November 27, 2025 |work=[[ProPublica]] |date=April 18, 2018}} On October 10, 1981, six-month-old Jose Antonio Flores died after suffering from an uncontrollable bleeding. Despite a 52-minute attempt to resuscitate him and the unusually violent nature of the baby's death, no autopsy was conducted on Flores's body. A handwritten record from the day of the boy's death highlighted that Genene Jones was present during the emergency brain scans immediately after the child decompensated, and that his health worsened even further shortly afterwards. On December 22, 1981, Doraelia Rios, a 25-month-old girl, died soon after Jones took up the PICU shift. The baby was recovering from a [[gastrointestinal surgery]] when she abruptly decompensated. On the day of the girl's death, Jones left a note on the nursing book, addressing Doraelia directly and wishing her a [[Merry Christmas]].

By late 1981, the hospital registered an unusual [[death rate]] at the PICU. The facility's authorities had suspicions that Genene Jones could be harming babies, but their investigation proved inconclusive. The report alleged that even though ten baby deaths had occurred under Jones's watch, they could have been the product of a coincidence, while not fully discarding the possibility of negligence or wrongdoings by Jones. Despite the concerns, Jones continued to work at Bexar's PICU as more children suffered unexplained and abrupt health crises. Rumors began to spread among the nursing staff; Jones's colleagues began calling her shift the "Death Shift", though most – except for a nurse named Suzanna Maldonado – believed that it was "bad luck" instead of deliberate acts of harming children.{{cite news |last1=Elkind |first1=Peter |title="I Really Did Kill Those Babies" |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/genene-jones-i-really-did-kill-those-babies |access-date=November 27, 2025 |work=[[ProPublica]] |date=April 18, 2018}} On October 10, 1981, six-month-old Jose Antonio Flores died after suffering from an uncontrollable bleeding. Despite a 52-minute attempt to resuscitate him and the unusually violent nature of the baby's death, no autopsy was conducted on Flores's body. A handwritten record from the day of the boy's death highlighted that Genene Jones was present during the emergency brain scans immediately after the child decompensated, and that his health worsened even further shortly afterwards. On December 22, 1981, Doraelia Rios, a 25-month-old girl, died soon after Jones took up the PICU shift. The baby was recovering from a [[gastrointestinal surgery]] when she abruptly decompensated. On the day of the girl's death, Jones left a note on the nursing book, addressing Doraelia directly and wishing her a [[Merry Christmas]].

=== Final months at Bexar Hospital (1982) ===

=== Final months at Bexar Hospital (1982) ===