Trouble Brewing

Doctor's poison coffee charge is straight out of a Lifetime movie: Jilted lover jolts M.D. Anderson

It started out innocently enough. Dr. Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo, an M.D. Anderson breast cancer oncologist, made coffee for her gentleman friend, fellow doctor George Blumenschein, at her West University home. The two were (past tense, presumably) in what has been described as a "casual sexual relationship."

But this wasn't just your average cup of joe. Blumenschein thought the brew tasted too sweet. Gonzalez-Angulo convinced him to finish it and then down a second cup, explaining that she had added a touch of Splenda to sweeten the pot.

Turns out the saccharine source was allegedly actually ethylene glycol, a toxic component of antifreeze that also happens to be present in all M.D. Anderson laboratories. Instead of perking him up, the coffee left Blumenschein with slurred speech, poor balance and a loss of fine motor skills. He ended up in an emergency center with central nervous system depression, cardiopulmonary complications and renal failure. He has since had to undergo dialysis.

The story sounds like something out of a soap opera or a Lifetime movie, but it's what the police believe actually happened in a real life horror. Gonzalez-Angulo has been charged with aggravated assault, but she and her lawyers at Rusty Hardin & Associates deny the allegations.

"Dr. Gonzalez-Angulo is completely innocent," Derek Hollingsworth, the doctor's lawyer, said in a statement. "She is a distinguished citizen and scientist, and these allegations are totally inconsistent with her personal and professional life.

"Although I have all the respect in the world for law enforcement, it is clear to me that the University of Texas Police Department jumped the gun in this case and filed charges that should never have been filed. We now have met with the Harris County District Attorney's Office several times and we have been assured that they are going to take a fresh and careful look at this case."

Gonzalez-Angulo is out on $50,000 bail.

Isn't it about time for Texas to stop making headlines for poison cases?

HuffingtonPost.com

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”