Mental patient kills nurse in Port St. Lucie

By Colleen Mastony

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

PORT ST. LUCIE -- A mental patient who said he was sent by God to rid the

world of bad people is accused of beating a nurse to death with his fists

and

injuring two other patients as he was being involuntarily committed to a

hospital early Tuesday.

An orderly said he had left nurse Alda Ellington, 47, alone with Alberto

Serrano, 34, of Stuart after being called away to quiet a disturbance in

another part of Savannas Hospital & Treatment Center.

When the orderly left, Serrano was calmly eating a tuna fish sandwich. Ten

minutes later another nurse saw him wandering the hallways. The orderly

returned and found Ellington in a pool of blood inside the ward for severely

disturbed patients.