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Dr Anna Pou is an associate professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans.
On Tuesday, 2006-07-18, Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti arrested Pou (along with two nurses, Cheri Landry and Lori Budo), accused of being "a principal to second-degree murder" in the deaths of four patients at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana in the days following Hurricane Katrina.
The affidavit says Pou and the nurses "intentionally (killed)" Emmett Everett Sr., 61; Hollis Alford, 66; Ireatha Watson, 89; and Rose Savoie, 90, by administering or causing to be administered lethal doses of morphine sulphate (morphine) and/or midazolam (Versed)."
Within the otolaryngology community, Dr Pou is widely regarded as a skilled and compassionate surgeon. Following her arrest, her only phone call was to a colleague to arrange care and coverage for her existing patients. In addition to her clinical expertise, Pou has authored many papers concerning cancer of the head and neck and has been an active teacher of medical students and residents.
In February 2007, seven months after Dr. Pou's arrest, the case against her and the two nurses appeared more questionable after the Orleans Parish Coroner, Dr. Frank Minyard, announced that he had classified the patient deaths at Memorial as "undetermined," which means that on available evidence he cannot classify the deaths as due to homicide or natural causes. Minyard told the media that he had retained some of the nation's leading experts as consultants in the case.
Nonetheless, the coroner's determination does not bar the district attorney from seeking an indictment, and in mid-February 2007, District Attorney Eddie Jordan's office proceeded with plans to impanel a grand jury to investigate the deaths at Memorial. Jordan's office stated that rather than using the grand jury in a perfunctory manner, as is usual in modern practice, it planned to use the grand jury as an active investigative tool and subpoena witnesses. Jordan's office declined to provide information on the grand jury's schedule or how long it expected the investigation to take.
If indicted, the defendants face the possibility of life in prison, or even the death penalty: In Louisiana, second degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole. First degree murder, which under Louisiana law is a killing when the offender has specific intent to kill more than one person (and thus could apply in the Pou case since the accused allegedly killed four people), or a murder of a victim over age 65, carries a sentence of either death, or life in prison without parole.
External links
- Official Bio at LSU
- Support Dr Pou Official Website
References
- Rukmini Callimachi 3 Arrested in New Orleans Hospital Deaths Associated Press July 182006
- James Varney Doctor's drug mix not ideal killer: Evidence in Memorial case called unreliableTimes-Picayune August 062006
- "N.O. coroner finds no evidence of homicide," Times-Picayune, 1 February 2007
- "Grand jury selected for Memorial Medical deaths," KATC-TV, 15 February 2007; "Memorial Evidence To Be Reviewed," Times-Picayune, 16 February 2007
- Louisiana second degree murder statute
- Louisiana first degree murder statute
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