A former nurse who murdered two elderly patients by injecting them with insulin has been sentenced to at least 27 years in jail. Megan Haines killed 82-year old Marie Darragh and 77-year-old Isabella Spencer at St Andrews Village nursing home at Ballina in May 2014. In the days before Mrs Darragh and Mrs Spencer died, they had made complaints about the standard of care they received from Haines. The 49-year-old was given a maximum sentence of 36 years and will first be eligible for parole in 2041. Justice Peter Garling said Haines abused her position of trust. “Her conduct was deliberate and calculating. It was a gross breach of trust and a flagrant abuse of her power,” he said. “She clearly abused that position of trust. I consider this to be a significant aggravating factor. The court heard that Haines, while watching a crime show with her former partner, had boasted about using insulin to kill a person without being detected.
