Texas jury starts deliberations in poisoned coffee case
By Amanda Orr HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas jury began deliberations on Wednesday in the case of a Houston breast cancer specialist charged with spiking the coffee of her lover, a fellow cancer specialist, with a compound used in antifreeze. Dr. Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo, a 43-year-old oncologist with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is accused of lacing the coffee of Dr. George Blumenschein, 50, with ethylene glycol in 2013. Gonzalez-Angulo is charged with aggravated assault of a family member, which covers domestic violence in dating relationships. According to a criminal complaint, Gonzalez-Angulo had a relationship with Blumenschein, an oncologist at the same hospital who specializes in the treatment of lung, head and neck cancers. Defense lawyers contend that testing was inadequate and there was no way to link Blumenschein's ailments to the coffee he drank with Gonzalez-Angulo. Blumenschein was in a long-term relationship with his live-in girlfriend when he began having an affair with Gonzalez-Angulo. Prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments that they did not have to like Blumenschein but they needed to believe him, according to a representative of the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Blumenschein told investigators that Gonzalez-Angulo served him two sweet-tasting cups of coffee while they were alone in her home in January 2013. Four hours later, he began to experience slurred speech, and a loss of balance and some motor skills. Sixteen hours after ingesting the coffee, he was admitted to a hospital and found to have central nervous system damage, cardiopulmonary complications and renal failure. Blumenschein survived after undergoing dialysis treatments. A senior official at MD Anderson, one of the country's top cancer hospitals, told investigators ethylene glycol was present in all labs at the facility where the couple works. A toxicology report indicated that Blumenschein likely experienced ethylene glycol poisoning, which can be fatal. (Reporting by Amanda Orr; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Eric Beech)
