HOUSTON – Jurors reached a guilty verdict in the trial of a woman accused of poisoning a fellow doctor who was her former lover.
After deliberating Wednesday for several hours, then an off day Thursday, the jury handed down the verdict against Dr. Ana Gonzalez-Angulo Friday morning. Gonzalez-Angulo was accused of poisoning Dr. George Blumenschein's coffee in January 2013. He has permanent kidney damage and health problems caused by ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze.
For the first time in the two weeks of her trial, Gonzalez-Angulo showed emotion in the courtroom. It happened as one of her patients who is fighting cancer took the stand in the punishment stage.
"I've been fighting this since 1995," said patient Silvia Lieber. "I wouldn't be here today without her. And I think, I've always...she's always given me the hope that I could get through this."
Gonzalez-Angulo showed little emotion, however, as the verdict was read.
"We the jury find the defendant Anna Gonzalez Angulo guilty of aggravated assault of a person with whom the defendant had a dating relationship as charged in the indictment," read Judge Katherine Cabaniss.
28265060
As the punishment phase began, two witnesses said Gonzalez-Angulo had paid to have people killed in her native Colombia. They said the claim was disturbing. Then the victim, Dr. George Blumenschein, said he believed the claims as he himself was threatened.
"The defendant told me that she had had people executed in Colombia and I was kind of stunned when I heard that. I kind of kept that in the back of my mind," said Blumenschein.
However, several cancer survivors said Gonzalez-Angulo has saved countless lives through her medical work.
"One of the things we always said was she'll fight her end and I'll fight my end and now I don't think I want to fight anymore," Lieber said.
The jury will return to the court at 9 a.m. Monday to determine Gonzalez-Angulo's sentence. She faces up to life in prison.