Texas nurse convicted of killing four heart surgery patients with air
10/20/2021 12:22 pm PDT
TYLER, Texas (TCD) -- A former Texas nurse was convicted of capital murder on Tuesday for fatally injecting four patients with air after heart surgeries.
According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, after approximately an hour of deliberation and two weeks of testimony, a Smith County jury found 37-year-old William George Davis guilty.
The prosecution will reportedly seek the death penalty against him. He could also face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Tyler Morning Telegraph says Davis was accused of injecting air into four patients' arteries following heart surgery at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital in 2018. The four victims — John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway, and Joseph Kalina — all suffered unexplained neurological problems and died.
KLTV-TV says Dallas-based pulmonologist Dr. William Yarbrough told the jury that the patients' fatal brain injuries were "caused by the injection of air."
Yarbourgh testified that the air injections occurred after the surgeries because the complications happened in patient recovery.
According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Smith County First Assistant District Attorney Chris Gatewood said in the case of Kalina’s death, Davis was "shoving air into the arterial line" while in the room with the victim.
KLTV reports defense attorney Phillip Hayes told the jury that the hospital had issues and Davis was just a scapegoat who was charged because he was present when the deaths took place.
During closing arguments, KLTV reports that prosecutor Chris Gatewood said Davis "liked to kill people."
Gatewood added, "With the facts that we have, with the evidence that we have, a serial killer being in the hospital is the only thing that makes sense."
The Tyler Morning Telegraph reports that Davis was fired from Christus Mother Frances Hospital on Feb. 15, 2018, for unethical practices and his nursing license was suspended weeks later.
Davis reportedly worked at Christus Mother Frances for five years before his arrest. Prior to starting there, he worked at Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center from 2011 to 2013.
He was booked into the Smith County Jail on April 10, 2018, and charged with multiple counts of capital murder, according to Smith County Jail records.
The punishment phase of Davis' trial began Wednesday.
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