Doctor found guilty of fatally poisoning wife in NYC
A doctor from Washington state accused of poisoning his wife during a trip to New York City was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter on Thursday.
A Manhattan jury agreed with prosecutors that Dr. Jeffrey Harris used a dietary supplement on his ailing wife during a 2018 visit to New York, where they had come in search of a holistic doctor.
Tammy Harris, 55, was hospitalized on Feb. 22, 2018 after falling unconscious at the Lott New York Palace hotel on Madison Ave.
The veteran nurse died six days after arriving at Lenox Hill Hospital, with NYPD detectives launching a lengthy investigation in which they interviewed family, friends and other doctors to build a case against Jeffrey Harris.
An autopsy by the city Medical Examiner found Tammy Harris had eight times the normal amount of Selenium, a dietary supplement, in her system.
“Tammy Harris was full of joy and loved by many before her husband took her care into his own hands and killed her with his reckless, unethical treatment over the course of many excruciatingly painful months,” Manhattan District Attorney Bragg said in a statement.
“Jeffrey Harris ignored the pleas of doctor after doctor and prevented Tammy’s family and friends from getting her the care she truly needed,” he added. “I thank the members of the jury for their service on this case, which required them to digest extremely disturbing images and testimony about the final years of Tammy’s life. Now, we will seek a prison sentence appropriate for this horrific crime.”
The Selenium treatment began shortly after another doctor treating the ailing wife suspected she was suffering from lupus, officials said. The victim’s husband refused to believe that was the correct diagnosis and began dosing her with Selenium supplements, according to prosecutors.
Harris was remanded after the verdict.
