Doctor charged with murder after five patients die from overdose of painkillers
A US doctor has been charged with second-degree murder after five of her patients died from a "horrifyingly excessive amount" of painkillers.
Dr Regan Nichols is accused of prescribing more than 1,800 opioid pills to the patients, who in some cases didn't even require them.
The Oklahoma osteopathic physician was on Friday charged with their murders.
All five patients, who were aged between 21 and 55, died within a month of receiving their prescriptions between 2010 and 2013.
"Nichols prescribed patients, who entrusted their well-being to her, a horrifyingly excessive amount of opioid medications," Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said.
"Nichols' blatant disregard for the lives of her patients is unconscionable.
"The dangers associated with opioid drugs have been well documented and most doctors follow strict guidelines when prescribing opioids to their patients."
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's reports confirmed that all five deaths were the result of multi-drug toxicity.
Nichols has since been stripped of her prescribing authority, while she voluntarily surrendered her credentials with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.
A state investigation also found that Dr Regan Nichols prescribed more than three million doses of controlled dangerous drugs from 2010-2014.
She was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on Friday afternoon on a $50,000 bond.
