MySpace photo (July 3, 2009)
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DENVER -
Kristen Diane Parker, 26, made her first appearance in Denver federal court today. She's the former surgery technician accused of exposing thousands of people to hepatitis C.
Parker faces three counts, tampering with a product, counterfeiting a controlled substance and obtaining a controlled substance through deceit.
Investigators say she used her position at Rose medical Center in Denver and at a similar facility in Colorado Springs to sneak into operating rooms. They say she injected herself with the powerful painkiller, fentanyl, and then refilled the needles she used with saline.
Parker has hepatitis C. According to court documents, she told investigators she tampered with the needles 15 to 20 times between January and April. They say nine people who were patients at the time have tested positive for the disease, and that as many as six thousand patients might have been exposed and are at risk.
On her Facebook page, she says she has a "crazy fascination" with needles and "loves the way they feel." She says she loves her job and the people she works with.
She has since been fired.
She is being held without bond until at least Thursday. That's when a judge will hold a hearing on the issue. She faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted.
The hot-line number for Rose patients is 303-329-7500.
Parker faces three counts, tampering with a product, counterfeiting a controlled substance and obtaining a controlled substance through deceit.
Investigators say she used her position at Rose medical Center in Denver and at a similar facility in Colorado Springs to sneak into operating rooms. They say she injected herself with the powerful painkiller, fentanyl, and then refilled the needles she used with saline.
Parker has hepatitis C. According to court documents, she told investigators she tampered with the needles 15 to 20 times between January and April. They say nine people who were patients at the time have tested positive for the disease, and that as many as six thousand patients might have been exposed and are at risk.
On her Facebook page, she says she has a "crazy fascination" with needles and "loves the way they feel." She says she loves her job and the people she works with.
She has since been fired.
She is being held without bond until at least Thursday. That's when a judge will hold a hearing on the issue. She faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted.
The hot-line number for Rose patients is 303-329-7500.
