A FORMER hospital nurse, who pretended to care while he was trying to kill, has been given 25 life sentences after being found guilty of murdering two patients and poisoning many more.

Victorino Chua, aged 49, of no fixed address, will now serve a minimum of 35 years behind bars after he was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court today, Tuesday.

Chua, who moved from the Philippines to Warrington to work in a care home, was convicted of deliberately poisoning a series of patients at Stepping Hill Hospital where he worked by a jury on Monday.

Two of his victims, Tracey Arden, aged 44, and Derek Weaver, aged 83, died as a result of the attacks while Grant Missell, aged 41, suffered a catastrophic brain injury.

In most of the poisonings Chua, who flew to the UK on February 22, 2002 after landing a job in Warrington, injected insulin into medical products like saline ampoules and saline bags.

The Filipino-born father-of-two was also found guilty of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm to 21 other patients.

He was also found guilty of eight offences of attempting to cause a poison to be administered.

During a search of his house following his arrest, detectives recovered an autobiographical letter penned by Chua, which prosecutors claimed acted as a confession.

In it he wrote: “I’m a nice person but there a devil in me…I’m evil at the same time angel.”

He added: “So I’m writing this letter in case something happen to me my family can continue my case or can tell somebody to look at it and work out how and angel turn to an evil person. The bitter nurse confession. Got lots to tell but I just take it to my grave.”