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Dr. X killings

UNSOLVED1965Riverdell Hospital, Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

In 1966, authorities in Bergen County, New Jersey, including prosecutor Guy W. Calissi, investigated nine suspicious deaths at Riverdell Hospital in Oradell. The patients had been admitted for surgery and died of causes unrelated to their procedures. The investigation began on November 1, 1966, after eighteen vials of curare, most nearly empty, were found in a locker assigned to surgeon Mario Enrique Jascalevich. When confronted, Jascalevich said he had been experimenting with dogs. Investigators could not establish a homicide motive at the time, and the case went dormant for a decade.

In the mid-1970s, The New York Times received an anonymous letter alleging that as many as 40 patients had been murdered at a hospital by its chief surgeon. Reporter M. A. Farber pursued the claim, eventually identifying Riverdell Hospital and Jascalevich, whose surgical patients routinely survived while those of another surgeon at the hospital were dying at an unusually high rate. Farber reviewed the 1966 case files, in which Calissi had written "someone is lying," though Calissi and his assistant Fred C. Galda had concluded at the time that hard evidence was lacking. Farber contacted families of possible victims, some of whom learned for the first time that the deaths had been considered suspicious, and made repeated unsuccessful attempts to contact Jascalevich. The Times published Farber's findings in January 1976, referring to the unidentified physician as "Dr. X," prompting extensive coverage by other newspapers. A subsequent independent investigation by Bergen County Prosecutor Woodcock exhumed five bodies; traces of curare were found in three, none of whom had been administered the drug during surgery.

On May 18, 1976, a Bergen County grand jury indicted Jascalevich on five counts of murder involving patients Emma Arzt, Frank Biggs, Margaret Henderson, Carl Rohrbeck, and Nancy Savino, alleging he had injected them with curare. Two counts were later dismissed for lack of evidence. At trial in 1978, prosecutor Sybil Moses faced defense attorney Raymond A. Brown, who subpoenaed Farber's reporting notes on 193 potential witnesses—described by Farber as "the broadest subpoena ever issued to an American reporter." After 34 weeks of testimony, a jury acquitted Jascalevich on October 24, 1978.

In October 1980, the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners revoked Jascalevich's medical license, citing gross malpractice, gross negligence, and failure of good moral character in matters unrelated to the murder charges, including fraudulent operation records and a false cancer diagnosis. In January 1982, New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne pardoned Farber and ordered return of contempt fines levied against him and The Times. Riverdell Hospital, renamed Northern Community Hospital in 1979, closed in 1981 and was demolished in June 1984. Jascalevich returned to Argentina after losing his license and died in September 1984 in Mar del Plata of a cerebral hemorrhage; his death was not publicly reported for several months. The Riverdell deaths remain officially unsolved.

Key facts

Victims
Emma Arzt, Carl Rohrbeck, Edith Post, Nancy Savino, Eileen Shaw, Frank Biggs, Mary Muentener, Ira Holster, Margaret Henderson
Date
1965
Location
Riverdell Hospital, Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey
Case status
unsolved

Case timeline

  1. 1965-12-13

    Carl Rohrbeck, age 73, dies at Riverdell Hospital; later listed as a possible victim.

  2. 1966-03-21

    Nancy Savino, age 4, dies at Riverdell Hospital; later listed as a possible victim.

  3. 1966-04-23

    Margaret Henderson, age 26, dies at Riverdell Hospital; later listed as a possible victim.

  4. 1966-05-17

    Edith Post, age 62, dies at Riverdell Hospital; later listed as a possible victim.

  5. 1966-07-29

    Ira Holster, age 64, dies at Riverdell Hospital; later listed as a possible victim.

  6. 1966-08-27

    Frank Biggs, age 59, dies at Riverdell Hospital; later listed as a possible victim.

  7. 1966-09-01

    Mary Muentener, age 80, dies at Riverdell Hospital; later listed as a possible victim.

  8. 1966-09-23

    Emma Arzt, age 70, dies at Riverdell Hospital; later listed as a possible victim.

  9. 1966-10-23

    Eileen Shaw, age 36, dies at Riverdell Hospital; later listed as a possible victim.

  10. 1966-10-31

    Hospital staff open Jascalevich's locker and find 18 nearly empty vials of curare; findings reported to the Bergen County prosecutor.

  11. 1966-11-01

    Bergen County prosecutor's office formally launches investigation into nine suspicious deaths at Riverdell Hospital.

  12. 1976-01

    The New York Times publishes M. A. Farber's investigation, referring to the unidentified physician as 'Dr. X'.

  13. 1976-05-18

    Bergen County grand jury indicts Mario Jascalevich on five counts of murder.

  14. 1978-10-24

    Jascalevich is acquitted by a jury after 34 weeks of testimony.

  15. 1980-10

    New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners revokes Jascalevich's medical license in an unrelated malpractice finding.

  16. 1982-01

    New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne pardons reporter M. A. Farber and orders return of contempt fines to The New York Times.

  17. 1984-06

    Riverdell Hospital building in Oradell is demolished.

  18. 1984-09

    Mario Jascalevich dies in Mar del Plata, Argentina, of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Emma Arzt

    VICTIM

    Age 70; one of five patients named in the 1976 murder indictment of Mario Jascalevich.

  • Carl Rohrbeck

    VICTIM

    Age 73; one of five patients named in the 1976 murder indictment of Mario Jascalevich.

  • Edith Post

    VICTIM

    Age 62; listed among possible victims of suspicious deaths at Riverdell Hospital, not part of the formal indictment.

  • Nancy Savino

    VICTIM

    Age 4; one of five patients named in the 1976 murder indictment of Mario Jascalevich.

  • Mario Enrique Jascalevich

    ACQUITTED

    Indicted in May 1976 on five counts of murder involving curare poisoning at Riverdell Hospital; acquitted by a jury on October 24, 1978.

  • Eileen Shaw

    VICTIM

    Age 36; listed among possible victims of suspicious deaths at Riverdell Hospital, not part of the formal indictment.

  • Frank Biggs

    VICTIM

    Age 59; one of five patients named in the 1976 murder indictment of Mario Jascalevich.

  • Mary Muentener

    VICTIM

    Age 80; listed among possible victims of suspicious deaths at Riverdell Hospital, not part of the formal indictment.

  • Ira Holster

    VICTIM

    Age 64; listed among possible victims of suspicious deaths at Riverdell Hospital, not part of the formal indictment.

  • Guy W. Calissi

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Bergen County, New Jersey prosecutor who led the initial 1966 investigation into the suspicious deaths.

  • Margaret Henderson

    VICTIM

    Age 26; one of five patients named in the 1976 murder indictment of Mario Jascalevich.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Riverdell Hospital, Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey

40.9615, -74.0210

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
A series of suspicious deaths by curare poisoning at a Bergen County, New Jersey hospital in 1966 led, after a mid-1970s newspaper investigation, to the indictment of surgeon Mario Enrique Jascalevich in 1976. He was acquitted at trial in 1978, and the deaths remain officially unsolved.
Where did the killings happen?
Riverdell Hospital, Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: unsolved.
More cases in New Jersey

Sources

  1. Dr. X killingswikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — Dr. Mario E. Jascalevich obituarynews · The New York Times · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — curare poisoning case referencenews · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · 2026-07-07