Efren Saldivar

Gretchen Hoffman The following are important dates in the saga of convicted mass murderer Efren Saldivar: December 1996: Saldivar, a respiratory care therapist at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, gives a lethal injection of Pavulon to Salbi Asatryan, 75, of Glendale. January 1997: Saldivar gives lethal injections to Eleanora Schlegel, 77, of Pasadena; Jose Alfaro, 82, of Glendale; and Luina Schidlowski, 87, of Glendale . February: Jean Coyle, 59, is revived after Saldivar injects her with Pavulon.

1 Fire and police chiefs, respectively, who led Glendale through the hectic post-Sept. 11 days and terrorist scares ... both are active in many local and professional organizations ... have since taken the city to new levels of domestic preparedness, including a beefed-up Emergency Operations Center. Gray took the reins of the Fire Department Dec. 30. ... came to Glendale in December 1986 from the Pasadena Fire Department, where he started as a firefighter and served as its union president ... leading push to convert the city's fire engines from lime yellow to red ... advocate of Project Safe Place ... helped organize a fund-raising pancake breakfast following the Sept.

Gretchen Hoffman GLENDALE -- Efren Saldivar and Glendale Adventist Medical Center were sued Thursday by the estates of three former patients suspected of dying at the hands of the former respiratory therapist. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday -- the one-year anniversary of Saldivar's arrest -- by the estates of Salbi Asatryan, Myrtle Bower and Balbino Castro. Saldivar is accused of giving fatal injections to six patients at the hospital, trying to kill a seventh victim and possessing drugs stolen from a hospital.

Amber Willard GLENDALE -- A former respiratory care therapist at Glendale Adventist Medical Center now stands to be charged with at least six patient deaths after a nearly three-year police investigation. Efren Saldivar, 31, was arrested early Tuesday on suspicion of suffocating or lethally injecting terminally ill patients. Saldivar at one time allegedly said he killed as many as 50 people. Although Saldivar was arrested by Glendale Police in 1998, his confession was not enough to hold him because police had no physical evidence at that time, officials said.

Gretchen Hoffman GLENDALE -- A former respiratory therapist sentenced to life in prison confessed to police he killed patients at Glendale Adventist and three other hospitals, according to transcripts of a Jan. 9, 2001, interview. Efren Saldivar, 32, was sentenced to six terms of life without parole and one term of 15 years to life for killing six patients and trying to kill a seventh in 1996 and 1997. Saldivar injected the patients with the drug Pavulon, which is often given to patients before surgery to stop their normal breathing.

Amber Willard LOS ANGELES -- For the second time in two weeks, the arraignment of a former hospital worker accused of killing patients at a Glendale hospital was delayed at the request of his attorney. Efren Saldivar, a respiratory therapist charged with fatally injecting six patients at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, will return to a Los Angeles courtroom Friday, when he is scheduled to enter a plea in the criminal case. Saldivar, who lived in Tujunga with his parents, is accused of using the drug Pavulon to stop patients' breathing.

Buck Wargo GLENDALE -- The Glendale family of a man who died at Glendale Adventist Medical Center will be going to court to get the city to release the autopsy report as part of the "angel of death" investigation. Woodland Hills attorney Richard Ferko said Wednesday he will file a motion next week in Glendale Superior Court to find out what police investigators know about the death of Elio Palacios, 29, of Glendale. Ferko said Palacios, who died in February 1997, was one of 20 bodies exhumed by Glendale Police over the summer.

Amber Willard LOS ANGELES -- Prosecutors said Wednesday they are still considering whether to pursue the death penalty in the case against a former local hospital worker accused of killing patients. Deputy Dist. Atty. Al MacKenzie made the statement moments after reading the six murder counts against Efren Saldivar. Saldivar quietly pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Tujunga man, who was a respiratory therapist at Glendale Adventist Medical Center when the alleged killings occurred, was also charged with one count of attempted murder and receiving stolen property.

Amber Willard LOS ANGELES -- The criminal case against a former Glendale hospital worker accused of killing patients is expected to be dismissed so he can instead be arraigned following a grand jury indictment. Efren Saldivar, 32, was arrested in January following an almost three-year investigation by Glendale Police into allegations the Tujunga man gave lethal drug injections to some patients at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. Saldivar was a respiratory therapist at the hospital, as well as at other area medical facilities, for about eight years.