A Texas neurosurgeon wrote about becoming “a cold blooded killer” before deliberately botching spinal surgeries, maiming several patients and leaving two dead, it is claimed.
Christopher Duntsch, 44, is accused of “intentionally, knowingly and recklessly” causing harm to people who he treated for sore necks and bad backs.
Prosecutors allege that his hands were a “deadly weapon” because he used them to improperly insert medical devices and screws into patients.
He allegedly operated on the wrong part of one patient’s spine, damaged nerves and left a one reliant on a wheelchair. Police said that during another surgery he caused a patient to lose a dangerous amount of blood. She later died from a stroke.
He has been arrested on five counts of aggravated assault, causing serious bodily injury and of injuring an elderly person. His lawyer said Dr Duntsch denied the charges, saying that he had made “honest mistakes”.
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The surgeon allegedly wrote an email to a colleague, which prosecutors say signalled his state of mind. “I am ready to leave the love and kindness and goodness and patience that I mix with everything else that I am and become a cold blooded killer,” it said.
If convicted, he could face up to 99 years in prison for each assault charge. He also faces several civil law suits.
The Texas Medical Board revoked his licence in December 2013, saying he had failed to follow proper procedures with six patients, including one who haemorrhaged to death.
At the time, the medical board suggested that “impairment from drugs or alcohol” was part of the cause.