An Inside Glimpse Into Suicide Note From Dr. Van Koinis, Pediatrician Who Said He Vaccinated Kids, But Didn't
CHICAGO (CBS) -- New developments emerged Thursday night in the case of a pediatrician who told parents he vaccinated their kids, but didn't.
Dr. Van Koinis, whose office was in Evergreen Park, committed suicide in a Cook County Forest Preserve in Palos Township on Sept. 10 of last year.
For the first time, we are getting an inside glimpse into the suicide note he left behind.
CBS 2's Chris Tye reported there are hints that something was very wrong with the way Koinis treated patients.
"It was very dark," said Cook County Sheriff's police Detective Lt. Jason Moran. "It was obviously written by somebody who was despondent."
Koinis' suicide note was loaded with self-blame and admissions.
Among them, Lt. Moran said, was that "medical records for a certain period of time were inaccurate."
The note made it clear that Koinis would sign vaccination reports for anti-vax families needing them to get kids in school. Moran had heard of that before.
But what emerged next? It was a lot more than that. In fact, when asked if he had ever had a case like this, Moran said, "Absolutely not."
What the suicide note did not share, and what detectives did not know until later, was that Koinis gave bogus vaccines to parents who actually did want their kids vaccinated.
One mother talked with CBS 2's Tye on Monday. Her son got 20 vaccines from Dr. Koinis over the years, and last week – and she was present when the doctor administered them.
Last week, she had her son tested. None of the vaccines had received were legitimate.
What does she think Dr. Koinis was injecting him with?
"Well, considering there was something that was a liquid – I mean, I'm not a doctor - I would say saline, maybe like, or placebos that are nothing," she said.
The woman's anger was less toward the doctor and more toward the Sheriff's office, who she said dragged their feet five months to reveal the oddities revealed in the suicide note.
"My kid has been in school for five months with a chance he was not vaccinated," she said. "How dare you do this to me?"
Of the criticisms, Moran said: "I'm sorry if families feel that way, but we really were trying to be responsible. All we had to go on was kind of an ambiguous suicide note. We had to learn more. We didn't want to cause panic to thousands of parents without really knowing what happened."
The Sheriff's office thought its timeline was responsible, and while parents may think otherwise, there are new calls every day form new patients who are coming in about the doctor who had been in practice for almost 30 years.
Of the 30 people who reached out to authorities, six said they had their kids tested and the results were similar to those of the mother quoted above.
If Dr. Koinis were alive, the doctor would likely face fraud, forgery, and child endangerment charges.
As it stands, his estate or insurance company may soon be met with a sea of lawsuits seeking deep damages.
