HOUSTON – A witness in the trial of breast cancer researcher Dr. Ana Gonzalez-Angulo testified Tuesday that after her lover was poisoned, she suggested her romantic rival was responsible.
Gonzalez is accused of poisoning Dr. George Blumenschein by spiking his coffee with ethylene glycol, a chemical used in anti-freeze and commonly found in medical labs. Blumenschein was living with his longtime girlfriend, Evette Toney, and the couple was trying to have a baby.
Dr. Mark Gilbert testified that after Blumenschein was poisoned in January 2013, Gonzalez-Angulo raised the suspicion that Toney had done it.
"So she indicated to you Evette Toney did this to him?" prosecutor Justin Keiter asked Gilbert in court.
"It was raised as a possibility," Gilbert said.
One of the doctors who treated Blumenschein said she had a similar suspicion early on and shared it with a detective from the University of Texas Police Department.
"And in fact when you spoke with Detective Sosa, after having interviewed these folks, you shared a suspicion that you had about someone he should look up, did you not?" the prosecutor asked.
"Well, Evette, yes," Price said.
But Price changed her opinion after she said she was contacted several times by Gonzalez-Angulo.
Gonzalez-Angulo told her she'd been attacked at her home about a month earlier by two men, one of which she'd allegedly learned was related to Evette Toney.
"This person was supposedly a cousin of Evette Toney," Price said.
She said Gonzalez-Angulo also called her from Spain, concerned that she might be accused of conflicts of interest because she and Blumenschein were working on a grant funded by GlaxoSmithKline, which also employed Toney, and which she said Blumenschein refused to disclose.
Months after Blumenschein was poisoned, Gonzalez-Angulo revealed to Price that on the day he was stricken, the two shared shots of vodka.
Price: The vodka coming up later is disconcerting to me because I would have thought that would have been disclosed up front.
Prosecutor: Were her statements inconsistent?
Price: Yes.
Prosecutor: Did that bother you?
Price: Yes.
Prosecutor: On a scale of one to 10, how much did it bother you?
Price: Ten.
Earlier in the trial, the defense showed that Gonzalez-Angulo tried repeatedly to get Blumenschein to go to the hospital the night he was stricken.
Defense attorney Andy Drumheller says the evidence doesn't support the aggravated assault charge Gonzalez-Angulo faces. Drumheller told jurors the prosecutions case is based on guess work.
Gonzalez-Angulo faces up to life in prison if she's convicted. The trial is expected to last about two weeks. Blumenschein is expected to be called to testify.