Ky. Nurse Charged With Giving Lethal Morphine Dose

Authorities say a nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Kentucky has been charged with killing a patient with a morphine injection three years ago.

A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday alleges Maria K. Whitt killed Jesse L. Chain by injecting him with a lethal dose of morphine.

Kyle Edelen, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Lexington, says "there's not a lot of information at this point" but confirmed Whitt had been a nurse at Lexington's VA Medical Center at the time of Chain's death. He was a patient.

An attorney for Whitt did not immediately return a call.

Whitt is due in U.S. District Court on Thursday for a detention hearing.