Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes,

listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions of poisoning and murder

that some people may find offensive.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

It was a still quiet night in the suburban town of Quincy, Illinois.

But on 18th Street, light from an upstairs unit

pierced the pitch black.

Inside the building, odd smells and sounds

emanated from the apartment of 30-year-old Joseph Michael Swango.

His dingy room was a mess, littered wall-to-wall with dirty clothing and filthy kitchen supplies.

The med school graduate hunched over a table of deadly concoctions,

violent newspaper clippings, and magic spellbooks.

Surringes, needles, and vials of strange solutions surrounded him.

The cabinet above Michael was filled with crudely labeled bottles, boxes of potent chemicals, and insect poisons. A small dose of any of them enough

to kill dozens. It was his own private murder lab.

He grabbed a book emblazoned with a skull and crossbones and flipped to a page about

arsenic poisoning. Reading carefully, Michael pulled out a box of ant killer and

measured several doses of the sugary granules into a bag.

As the sun rose, Michael donned his EMT uniform for the early shift.

Even though he hadn't slept a wink, he had a spring in his step.

In fact, he felt so good he decided to pick up donuts for his coworkers,

...