Davis

A radiologist said Tuesday that he immediately recognized air in the blood vessels when viewing scans of the brains of four patients a former East Texas nurse is accused of killing.

William George Davis, 37, of Hallsville, is accused of introducing air into patients’ arterial systems while he was a nurse at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital in Tyler, causing their deaths, according to 2018 and 2021 indictments.

He is charged with capital murder of multiple people in connection with the deaths of John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenaway and Joseph Kalina. His trial began Sept. 28.

On Tuesday, Dr. Charlie Crum, a radiologist at Tyler Radiology Associates, testified the scanned images of Greenaway, Kalina, Clark and Lafferty’s brains were rare to see.

Crum, who specializes in neurological radiology, testified that each scan among the victims showed a similar pattern of air in the brain. That air’s presence led to parts of the brain dying.

He testified his first thought was to talk to one of the nurses who cared for the patients.

Greenaway and Kalina’s brains were similar or almost exact in having air inside, Crum testified.

Greenaway died after having a neurological event while he was having a routine recovery on Aug. 4, 2017. Kalina experienced a similar event on Jan. 25, 2018, and became severely brain-damaged. He died two years later.

Crum testified the air could not have been placed into the brain accidentally.

While he is compensated to help the Smith County District Attorney’s Office for the trial, Crum testified that his opinions have not swayed since he first saw the brain images years ago.

Crum testified Lafferty and Clark’s brains shared similar patterns of air and injury inside. Lafferty died around June 16, 2017, and Clark died around July 26, 2017, both due to air being introduced into their arterial systems.

Crum spoke about scans of others’ brains, including Pamela Henderson and another possible victim.

Judge Austin Reeve Jackson of the 114th District Court allowed the state to use the testimony despite the defense’s objection to bringing extraneous offenses.

The state agreed there wouldn’t be an extensive amount of time dedicated to these alleged victims, and Jackson told the jury this information couldn’t be used to determine Davis’ character.

Davis is also charged with aggravated assault from accusations of causing injuries to Gary Parker, James Wages, Henderson and Rickie Glenn, other patients at the hospital who were at times in Davis’ care, according to indictments.

Dr. Jennifer Shupe, a neurologist at Christus Trinity Mother Frances NorthPark Medical Plaza — Tyler, reviewed medical documents related to Greenaway and told the jury his CT scan was very abnormal.

She testified it was very unusual for Greenaway, who had heart surgery and was recovering well, to have a neurological event. She couldn’t believe Greenaway had air in his brain.

“I had a hard time making the pictures fit the patient. None of us could make the air fit the situation,” Shupe said. “I had no way to understand why this patient would have air in their head. There was no way air should have gotten into the closed spaces of the brain.”

She testified during her analysis, she saw Greenaway had no evidence of hypotension or low blood pressure, which could cause a stroke. Shupe said once the analysis showed air may have been put into the arterial line, the answer to what happened was clear.

Brandi Holcomb, an acute care nurse practitioner at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Louis & Peaches Owen Heart Hospital, testified about how she reviewed Greenaway and Kalina before and after their heart-related surgeries.

Holcomb said Greenaway, 47, was young and had a strong family history of heart disease. She considered him a low-risk patient and noticed him recovering well before she left for the day.

“He was fine. I went to the bedside and I saw him and he was like, ‘When can I have a steak?’ I expected to discharge him Monday,” she said. “He was doing so well.”

Holcomb became emotional when she talked about what happened to Greenaway overnight that led to his death.

“When something does happen, I take it to heart,” Holcomb said.

In her notes about Kalina, 58, Holcomb said he considered Kalina a low- to moderate-risk patient and said he had come to the Tyler hospital for heart disease-related surgery.

She had noted Kalina was a smoker and a diabetic who used alcohol daily and used tobacco. He was considered a low- to moderate-risk patient. Holcomb said Kalina was beginning to recover well post-surgery.

The next day, she learned Kalina had complications and was back on a ventilator with multiple IVs.

She reviewed records to see what happened overnight to Kalina, and encouraged leaders to look further into what occurred.

“I was frustrated. He was normal. What happened to him? I couldn’t accept it. It needed to be looked at deeper,” Holcomb said.

Davis has been in the Smith County Jail since his April 2018 arrest on bonds totaling $8.75 million.

The trial will continue Wednesday morning.