Davis

The East Texas nurse accused of injuring patients at a Tyler hospital has been indicted on a charge of murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. 

William George Davis was indicted by a Smith County grand Jury on June 21, according to Smith County judicial records. 

Davis, a nurse at the Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital, was arrested in April and charged with murder related to the August death of Christopher Greenaway, 47, who was recovering from a heart procedure at the hospital.

Davis also is suspected of injuring at least six other patients, one of whom died, according to an arrest affidavit in the case. The incidents date back to June 22, 2017, with the most recent occurring Jan. 25.

Officials believe Davis intentionally injected air into arterial lines of patients recovering from heart surgery, causing them to have stroke-like symptoms. 

Davis worked for Christus Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler for five years and was terminated Feb. 15, about a week after hospital officials went to police with their concerns. Prior to that, he worked for Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview from 2011 to 2013. All the incidents included in the arrest warrant affidavit occurred at Christus Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler.

The affidavit indicates Tyler police investigators looked at staffing and payroll records and determined that Davis was the only nurse assigned to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at the date and time of each incident. They also reviewed hospital security footage pertaining to the seven incidents and observed Davis entering the room of three patients who suffered episodes within minutes of him leaving their room.

Davis has remained in the Smith County Jail since his arrest with a bond set at $2 million.

As of late Tuesday, copies of the indictments were not available. 

A spokesman for Christus Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler said the hospital has received about 200 phone calls to the hotline that was established after Davis’ arrest. The hotline remains open. 

Since news of Davis’ arrest broke, families of three of the patients cited in the arrest affidavit have retained lawyers. 

The Longview law firm of Sloan, Hatcher, Perry, Runge, Robertson & Smith is representing the family of Greenaway and the family of a man identified by the Tyler Police Department as John Doe 4, who suffered severe and permanent personal injuries.

Crosley Law Firm in San Antonio is representing Joseph Kalina, 58, who was treated at the hospital after suffering a heart attack while driving through East Texas. He remains paralyzed and unable to feed himself, his family said at a news conference in April.