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The
VA did not say how many deaths are under investigation at the
Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg.
"The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General
has been working with our federal law enforcement partners to
investigate the allegations of potential wrongdoing resulting in
patient deaths," VA Inspector General Michael Missal said in a
statement, declining further comment.
Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said as many as
11 deaths are under investigation and there was a "person of
interest".
Manchin said he was assured by VA officials "that the person of
interest is no longer in contact with veterans at the VA
facility."
"These crimes shock the conscience and I'm still appalled they
were not only committed but that our veterans, who have
sacrificed so much for our country, were the victims," he added.
The VA Secretary's office did not respond to a Reuters email
seeking comment.
USA Today said a federal medical examiner had conducted an
autopsy on the exhumed body of Felix Kirk McDermott. The
82-year-old man died last year from an insulin injection into
his abdomen - which can be lethal to someone who is not a
diabetic, the newspaper said.
McDermott suffered from a number of ailments, including dementia
and heart disease, and was admitted to the hospital with
pneumonia, USA Today said, adding that his condition was
improving at the time of his death.
His death certificate now lists his cause of death as a
homicide, USA Today and other media reported.
"It's not right," Melanie Proctor, McDermott's daughter, told
USA Today. "I thought my dad was safe there."
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; editing by Darren
Schuettler)
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