Texas nurse convicted of murdering four patients

A Texas nurse was convicted on Tuesday of capital murder over the deaths of four patients, who prosecutors say she injected with air, the Associated Press reports.

William George Davis was found guilty of murdering multiple victims at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital when he injected them following heart surgeries in 2017 and 2018. 

The jury reached their verdict after deliberating for about an hour. 

During the trial, Dallas-area pulmonologist Dr. William Yarbrough explained that he found air in the arterial system of the victims’ brains. Yarbrough determined the findings had to be a result of oxygen being injected into the bodies while the four victims — John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway and Joseph Kalina — recovered from surgery.

Davis was reportedly the only nurse present at the time of each death, and the patients had been in stable condition following surgery, notes the AP.

During closing arguments for the trial, prosecutor Chris Gatewood claimed that Davis “liked to kill people,” while defense attorney Phillip Hayes argued that Davis was a scapegoat.

Sentencing for Davis begins Wednesday, and prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.