[11] Several of his friends recalled him going to work after a night of doing drugs, with one of them saying he would never allow Duntsch to operate on him. Donald Duntsch was a gridiron football standout in Montana, and Christopher was determined to follow in those footsteps. Before he was "Dr. Death" on Wondery's hit 2018 podcast, disgraced former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was a student at Colorado State University. With Brown still in the ICU, Duntsch took another patient into surgery that morning. Duntsch is the first physician sentenced to life in prison for his actions while practicing medicine. The surgical disasters of neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch led to his jailing in 2017, setting a legal precedent. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. From 2011 to 2013, dozens of patients in the Dallas area woke up after their surgeries with horrible pain, numbness and, paralysis. An MRI revealed that multiple bone fragments in his spinal canal were compressing and adhering to his S1 nerve and that Duntsch had installed the hardware incorrectly. No diagnostic imaging studies were ordered, and no reasonable explanation was offered for his condition. But, she never reported Duntsch up the ladder or told anyone about the horrors she witnessed in the operating room. As a result, Summers lost almost 1,200 mL of blood. [18] Despite this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. Kirby warned him again that it was only a matter of time. Your trust is important to us. When he woke up, he was a quadriplegic with incomplete paralysis. Former teammates later said that, while Duntsch trained hard, he lacked talent at the game. They didn't have enough evidence to stop him because he hadn't done anything wrong yet. He felt that anyone with a basic knowledge of human anatomy would know that he was operating in the wrong area of Efurd's back. Texas man recalls losing his wife to 'Dr. Death' in shocking doc: 'My Christopher Duntsch. Duntsch did not respond to messages from the hospital for a few hours, then the next day scheduled an elective surgery on Efurd rather than care for Brown. Now, his time at the university . 2-Dr.Randall Kirby, a hero. When Morgan asked Duntsch about the woman in his house, he said she was just his secretary and friend. Through it all, Duntsch was able to lure patient after patient under his knife was his extreme confidence. She was dancing at a strip club in Memphis, and Duntsch's issues with his business, DiscGenics, grew more severe. Dr. Death season one review: a true crime podcast is even scarier - Vox Christopher Duntsch was a neurosurgeon who radiated confidence. She had suffered from lower back pain for years and was referred to Duntsch by her pain management doctor. His mother, Susan, was a school teacher. A spill of more than 500,000-gallons of crude oil from the Keystone Pipeline in December in Kansas was caused by a combination of a faulty weld and "bending stress fatigue" on the pipe, the . They argued that Duntsch was motivated to continue operating because the salary of a neurosurgeon would solve his vast financial issues. 'Dr. Death' Peacock Review: Stream It Or Skip It? - Decider Although she didn't think much of it and assumed Morgan was helping with research. The story of Dr. Death, Christopher Duntsch, feels like something out of a movie or book. 1-Christopher Duntsch and then girlfriend, Wendy Young. [10][7], Duntsch completed his residency having participated in fewer than 100 surgeries. Christopher Duntsch, once a supremely confident neurosurgeon with a solid rsum and a wealth of potential, fled town in disgrace last year under a scalding cascade . He might have been fired from the Institute but was still a surgeon at Baylor Plano. For 33 patients of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, it was a reality. Evil Lives Here: Shadows Of Death is investigating the numerous crimes of former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, who was nicknamed Dr. Death after causing pain, suffering, and even death to multiple patients over the course of two years. "It's on the butt cheek of his scrubs. No one can pay to remove ratings. The two went back to Duntsch's home and danced under a disco ball he had in his office. Baylor officials took Summers' accusation seriously and ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. They met with an assistant DA but got little traction. Then, on December 6, 2011, he operated on seventy-four-year-old Mary Efurd. After the operation, Brown woke up and seemed fine, but early the following day; she lost consciousness. On December 30, 2011, Duntsch operated on Lee Passmore. Dr. Rimlawi called Baylor Plano and advised them against continuing a relationship with Christopher Duntsch, but this fell to deaf ears. Soon afterward, he severely maimed Jeff Glidewell after mistaking part of his neck muscle for a tumor during a routine cervical fusion, severing one of his vocal cords, cutting a hole in his esophagus and slicing an artery. Those are the words that Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a Dallas neurosurgeon, wrote to his girlfriend in 2011 in the midst of a two-year period that left 33 of his 38 patients maimed, wounded or . A deranged surgeon runs amok, maiming and killing multiple patients, unhindered by a medical community sworn to police itself. His father, Donald, was a physical therapist and Christian missionary. Jurors convicted Duntsch Tuesday of injury to an elderly person in the botched July 2012 surgery that put Mary Efurd in a wheelchair. That's why it really shined down to me," Kissinger said in an interview. Dr. Christopher Duntsch's patients ended up maimed and dead, but the real tragedy is that the Texas Medical Board couldn't stop him. They also believed that charge would be easy to prove in court; Duntsch had been told repeatedly that he was not placing the hardware in the correct position and fluoroscopy images from Efurd's surgery proved this. 11:15 PM on Mar 1, 2014 CST. To see the rest of Dr. Christopher Duntsch's murder and maiming spree, and the fight to stop him, you'll need to purchase Peacock premium. There were two names on the top page: Kellie Martin and Christopher Duntsch. [4] Mayfield died of COVID-19 in February 2021; according to his wife, he had been vulnerable to the virus due to complications caused by Duntsch's botched surgeries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Duntsch, https://www.propublica.org/article/dr-death-christopher-duntsch-a-surgeon-so-bad-it-was-criminal, https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2021/10/a-witness-to-dr-death-in-the-presence-of-a-sociopath/, https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2016/november/christopher-duntsch-dr-death/, https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/who-were-the-victims-of-dr-christopher-duntsch, https://www.dallasnews.com/news/investigations/2014/03/02/planos-baylor-hospital-faces-hard-questions-after-claims-against-former-neurosurgeon/, https://www.texasobserver.org/anatomy-tragedy/, https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2015/08/25/7-chilling-thoughts-of-jailed-neurosurgeon-christopher-duntsch/, https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/greg-abbott-enters-fray-in-lawsuits-involving-sociopath-doctor/, https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/02/a-jury-now-controls-the-fate-of-neurosurgeon-christopher-duntsch/, https://www.thedailybeast.com/victim-of-real-life-dr-death-believes-there-are-others-like-him-out-there?ref=scroll, https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/what-happened-to-discgenics-co-founded-by-dr-death-christopher-duntsch, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Morguloff-Complaint.pdf. Duntsch, who had been listed as the founder, president & chief science officer, was being sued by the former chief operating officer and was dismissed from his roles and seat on the board. He recommended fusing two of her vertebrae and the insertion of "hardware" in her spinal area. Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. Mary Efurd: While Brown was dying, Duntsch was operating on Mary Efurd, a 71-year-old anxious to return to her treadmill after surgery to relieve her back pain. In April 2015, Duntsch was arrested again for shoplifting $887 worth of merchandise from a Dallas Walmart. He is not eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74 years old. ", You know in the beginning he talked about marriage. Duntsch told his friends and family that Passmore would be fine in a day or two and to not worry about it. Peacock's new grisly drama tells the real-life story of Dallas-area neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, who killed or maimed more than 30 patients in the 2010s. Due to the debilitating pain, Fennell later had a second operation by Duntsch to relieve it, and was left significantly paralyzed in his legs. Did Christopher Duntsch have a wife and kids? Jerry Summers believed that his best friend Christopher Duntsch was a talented neurosurgeon who would cure his chronic neck pain. [37][4], Over objections from Duntsch's lawyers, prosecutors called many of Duntsch's other patients to the stand in order to prove that his actions were intentional. He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74-years-old. Christopher Duntsch wrote that he was ready to become a "cold blooded killer". Dr. Duntsch said to Cheney, "I don't know why you're this way. His very first operation at the hospital would once again turn deadly. A neurosurgery expert for Duntsch's defense team himself said, "The conditions which created Dr. Duntsch still exist, thereby making it possible for another to come along.". Duntsch initially attended Millsaps College to play Division III college football, and later transferred to Division I Colorado State University. When Henderson opened the freshly made incisions on her, he was appalled. (Dallas County Jail via AP) Gift Article. The two soon began dating and moving in together within three months. "As his victims pile up, two fellow physicians and Dallas prosecutor Michelle Shughart set out to stop him.". [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. He refused to acknowledge anything was wrong, hindering the, This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 04:48. The pressure was building inside her brain. Morgan didn't follow Duntsch after he left, however. Trusty was never told she was participating in an infomercial and believed Duntsch had been selected as the top neurosurgeon in Dallas and was participating in a video about the award. For the last three days, jurors listened to testimony in the . Christopher was raised along with his three younger siblings in a wealthy suburb in Memphis, Tennessee. "Christopher Duntsch, Texas Medical Board license number N8183, is an impaired physician, a sociopath, and must be stopped from practicing medicine." Robin Glidewell also sent a letter . Duntsch was fired after he performed a surgery and immediately left for Las Vegas, leaving no one to look after his patient. "If he wasn't doing research, he was out with Jerry Summers, partying," Morgan said in her deposition. Dallas-based surgeon Christopher Duntsch was also the subject of a Wondery podcast titled "Dr. Death." (Dallas County Jail) The indictment accused Duntsch of wide-ranging malpractice, including . Before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board, he was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 . However, he ignored them and proceeded with his scheduled surgery on Efurd. Death. Homesick, Duntsch left Colorado after a year and transferred to Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis. Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. 3-Jeff Glidewell, another victim of Duntsch's. 4-Michelle Shugart, the woman who brought this all to fruition . He was smart. [38] Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. Cheney recalled wondering why a neurosurgeon with such outstanding credentials would be operating at a lower-tiered hospital on the way to his surgery. It involves the case of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a spinal neurosurgeon who left a trail of dead and permanently disabled . He earned his M.D. Floella Brown went under Dr. Deaths knife in July 2012 and shortly after her surgery, she suffered a massive stroke caused by Duntsch slicing her vertebral artery during surgery. Why do Slipknot wear masks and what do they look like without? But based on documents gathered by the DA, when Duntsch finished his residency, he had operated fewer than 100 times. Prosecutors also faulted Duntsch's employers for not reporting him. Duntsch stuffed a surgical sponge in Glidewell's throat to stanch the bleeding. He thought surgery might give him some relief and stop his need for drugs. Christopher Duntsch was nicknamed Dr. Death due to the injuries he caused his patients. She said she thought that he was going to make millions, Kimberly Morgan's friend once said her attraction to Christopher Duntsch. This time on 53-year-old Mary Efurd. However, it wouldnt be long until Duntschs seemingly perfect career began to unravel. He is very caring and took the time to help me understand my pain issues. As those watching the show know, Christopher was dubbed "Dr. Death" in D Magazine . He Was Also His Victim. Duntsch had also installed hardware into her muscle, not her bone, so loose that it moved when you touched it. The board called in veteran neurosurgeon Martin Lazar to review the case. 5 chilling details about Christopher Duntsch - sportskeeda.com Before working with him, Dr. Hoyle said that he didnt know how to feel about his fellow surgeon. 'Dr. Death' Surgeon Killed or Maimed 33 of His Patients - Peoplemag (The Associated Press) A Texas neurosurgeon branded a "sociopath" by his colleagues could be facing 99 years in prison over multiple charges of intentionally botching . When he called Duntsch's office, he was told it would "go away." [4], Early in his tenure at Baylor Plano, Duntsch made a poor impression on his fellow surgeons. [7] He lasted for less than a week before administrators pulled his privileges after the death of a patient, Floella Brown, and the maiming of another, Mary Efurd. Duntsch boasted to his assistant and mistress, Kimberly Morgan, that he was " 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." ", "Plano's Baylor hospital faces hard questions after claims against former neurosurgeon", "Barry Morguloff's suit against the Baylor Health Care System", "Was Wendy Renee Young Dr. Death's Wife? Just weeks after permanently maiming Morguloff, Dr. Duntsch operated on his lifelong friend and roommate, Jerry Summers. The day after Mary Efurd's surgery, she awoke in excruciating pain and could not turn over or wiggle her toes. At one point, he was only able to eat small bites of food at one time. 0:05. Those words continue to haunt her, and she's tormented by the knowledge that her endorsement caused others to select Duntsch themselves. [13] In 2010, Duntsch moved to Dallas. An anesthesiologist and Dr. Anson Fulton, who assisted with the surgery, warned Duntsch about the blood loss, and he continued to ignore them and operate. The criminal conviction of Christopher Duntsch, MD, PhD, holds important lessons for risk managers. Though he appealed his conviction in 2018, it was denied. Even though he lived in Colorado, he returned to Dallas to see his two sons. Dr. Duntsch assured Muse that the pain was normal and prescribed him, strong pain killers, causing him to spiral into an addiction. His older son had been born back when he was at Baylor Plano. Duntsch operated and flew out to Las Vegas without securing a call physician. It was Duntsch, babbling about his family being in danger. [8] Duntsch returned home to attend Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis). Jerry Summers, who grew up with Christopher Duntsch in Tennessee, was left a quadriplegic after agreeing to let "Dr. Death" operate on his neck. On top of this, he misspelled both Kukekov and Ignatova's names. It was completely unnecessary, didn't relieve her pain, and only set her up for another needed surgery. Shughart argued that Duntsch should have known he would hurt others unless he changed his approach and that his failure to learn from his past mistakes demonstrated that his maiming of Efurd was intentional. According to his lawyers, Duntsch had not realized how poorly he had performed as a surgeon until he heard the prosecution experts tell the jury about his many blunders on the operating table. Death'? Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a motion to intervene in the suits to defend Baylor Plano, citing the Texas legislature's 2003 statute that placed a medical malpractice cap of $250,000, and removed the term "gross negligence" from the definition of legal malice. Baylor Plano again ordered Duntsch to take a drug test. After this look at Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. According to D Magazine, a doctor at the hospital where Duntsch worked said that Duntsch had been sent to an impaired physician program after he refused to take a drug test. Dr. Death in surgery. To avoid the costs of fighting and possibly losing a wrongful termination suit, hospital officials reached a deal with Duntsch's lawyers in which Duntsch was allowed to resign in return for Baylor Plano issuing a letter stating that there were no issues with him. Unfortunately, when Morguloff woke up, he began to experience continuous pain, paresthesia, and loss of sensation in his left leg. This meant Summers could still feel pain, but was unable to move from the neck down. During surgery, he cut a major vessel in her spinal cord. Duntsch moved into a five-bedroom house not far from the hospital. He is a graduate of Evangelical Christian School in the Cordova suburb of Memphis, where he starred in football.[7]. Young had family in Dallas and decided she would go with him if he picked that city. I dont know if hes there to harm me or what his true intentions were, Wendy Young said of the harrowing alleged encounter with Christopher Duntsch. Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. A neurosurgeon in Dallas, Texas, who once described himself as a "stone cold killer" was sentenced to life in prison on February 20 for maiming a woman named Mary . After a fall in her kitchen, Martin experienced chronic back pain and sought out surgery to alleviate it. [15], Duntsch joined Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano (now Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Plano) as a minimally invasive spine surgeon with a salary of $600,000 per year, plus bonuses. Victim statements reveal more gruesome details of botched surgeries - WFAA At the time of their meeting, Young was working as a dancer in a strip club. All the while, the operating room staff questioned whether Duntsch was putting hardware into Efurd in the right places and noticed he kept drilling and removing screws. Duntsch is a former Dallas neurosurgeon who, through . Barry Morguloff, the owner of a pool service company, was left with bone fragments in his spinal canal after Duntsch tried to pull a damaged, Jerry Summers, a longtime friend of Duntsch's, came to Plano to have, Kellie Martin was undergoing a routine back operation when Duntsch cut through her spinal cord and severed an artery. When Kirby learned the details, he immediately asked the doctor who referred the case to him about the surgeon: "Is it a guy named Christopher Duntsch?" WFAA-TVChristopher Duntsch a.k.a. He called Duntsch's fellowship supervisor in Memphis, as well as the supervisor of Duntsch's residency; it was then that he learned about the incident that led him to be referred to the impaired physician program. 0:57. Dr. Death, read about how reckless surgeon Robert Liston killed his patient and two bystanders. Duntsch lasted about three months at MISI. Finally, the board permanently revoked Duntsch's license on December 6, 2013. [7], Henderson later recalled wondering if Duntsch was an impostor; he could not believe that a real surgeon would botch Efurd's surgery so badly. He hoped to play football, but his multiple transfers revoked his eligibility. The databank was established in 1990 and tracks malpractice payouts and adverse actions against doctors, such as being fired, banned from Medicare, handed a lengthy suspension, or having their license suspended or revoked. Where Is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death Now? He Got A - Bustle Robert Lowes. As the trial team put it, the "scary pattern" of Duntsch's actions became apparent to the others in the office, leading the DA to give the green light to take the case to a grand jury. In December 2012, Jacqueline Troy was left barely able to speak above a whisper after Duntsch cut her vocal cords and one of her arteries. When he began at MISI, Duntsch hired an assistant, Kimberly Morgan, and she started on August 29, 2011. The staff told Duntsch that Brown, his patient from the day before, was in critical condition. Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of . Christopher Duntsch Texas True Crime Blog [47] A follow-up docuseries, Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story, was later released on Peacock on July 29, 2021, featuring interviews with some of Duntsch's patients and colleagues, as well as with Henderson, Kirby and Shughart. [7][28][16], Kirby wrote a detailed complaint to the Texas Medical Board, calling Duntsch a "sociopath" who was "a clear and present danger to the citizens of Texas. Lazar was scathingly critical of Duntsch's work. [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. In March, the following spring, police were called to a bank in Northeast Dallas after a man with blood on his hands and face was seen beating on the doors. He was brilliant. However, by the time he met Young, Duntsch was over $500,000 in debt. He later appealed his case, but lost when his conviction was upheld 2-1 in the Fifth District Court of Appeals . Soon after starting Efurd's surgery, Duntsch turned to Kissinger and told him he would be performing a craniotomy on Floella Brown. [36][11][9] For the same reason, prosecutors opted to try Duntsch for Efurd's maiming first. Plano's Baylor hospital faces hard questions after claims against He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74-years-old. Christopher Duntsch - AKA Dr. Death - spent 18 months as a practicing surgeon at multiple Texas hospitals until he had his license revoked in 2013. Young let him buy her an appletini, and they felt a connection; eventually, she went home with Duntsch. When Henderson saw the imaging from Duntsch's surgery, he was certain that there would be legal action, and had the salvage surgery recorded.