A female doctor has been charged with aggravated assault after putting a toxic chemical in the coffee of her lover, a fellow doctor.
According to an affidavit obtained by the Houston Chronicle, Dr. Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo, a breast cancer oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, had a “casual sexual relationship” with her colleague Dr. George Blumenschein, a lung, head and neck cancer specialist.
On Jan. 27, Gonzalez-Angulo reportedly served Blumenschein coffee that tasted sweet, something he questioned her about because he drinks his coffee black.
The 42-year-old woman said she had added Splenda to it and urged him to keep drinking.
In reality, Gonzalez-Angulo had mixed in ethylene glycol, a sweet-tasting toxic substance, according to the complaint.
Blumenschein drank two sweet-tasting cups of coffee. Four hours later, his speech started slurring and he experienced poor balance as well as a loss of fine motor skills, the affidavit said.
Medical records showed that Blumenschein was taken to the hospital 16 hours after drinking the coffee. He was found to have cardiopulmonary complications, central nervous system depression and renal failure and had to undergo dialysis.
The complaint was filed by a UT police officer on May 29, and Gonzalez-Angulo was booked on May 30. She was later released on $50,000 bail, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“She is a distinguished citizen and scientist, and these allegations are totally inconsistent with her personal and professional life,” Gonzalez-Angulo’s lawyer said.
Gonzalez-Angulo has denied the charge, and her lawyer Derek Hollingsworth said she is “completely innocent.”
“She is a distinguished citizen and scientist, and these allegations are totally inconsistent with her personal and professional life,” Hollingsworth told the Houston Chronicle in a statement.
Ethylene glycol, which is used in antifreeze and medical research, is available at the labs where the two doctors work, according to the complaint. It can be deadly in large quantities, and a toxicology report from the Texas Poison Center indicated the substance does have a sweet taste.
MD Anderson officials told the Chronicle that Gonzalez-Angulo was on paid administrative leave but declined to comment future.
[NYDailyNews]