Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz, a Texas doctor, was found guilty of injecting heart-stopping poison into IVs at his former medical clinic in North Dallas. A 12-person jury found Ortiz guilty on all 10 counts after nearly seven hours of deliberation. Ortiz showed no emotion when the verdict was read. Several patients suffered cardiac emergencies as a result of Ortiz’s actions, and one patient, Dr. Melanie Kaspar, died after using one of the contaminated IV bags. Federal prosecutors accused Ortiz of committing these crimes in retaliation for a medical misconduct probe.
Surveillance video showed Ortiz placing an IV bag with poison in a stainless steel warmer outside an operating room. Minutes later, another staffer took the bag, and a patient reportedly suffered a heart attack. Dr. Melanie Kaspar took a contaminated IV bag home to rehydrate due to an illness and suffered a cardiac event immediately after inserting the IV into her vein. An autopsy revealed she was poisoned by bupivacaine, a numbing agent. Dr. Kaspar’s widower, John Kaspar, expressed his grief after the verdict, stating that his best friend was gone and that Ortiz had never looked him in the eye.
Witnesses called to the stand during the trial included the anesthesiologist who discovered the tainted IV bags, John Kaspar, and a teen who suffered cardiac arrest during nose surgery. The incidents began shortly after Ortiz was notified of a disciplinary inquiry against him over his handling of a medical emergency. Other doctors noted that Ortiz complained about the center trying to “crucify” him. Thirteen patients between May and August 2022 experienced similar cardiac emergencies, but Ortiz was only charged with causing bodily injury to four patients in August. A judge had ordered Ortiz to be held before the trial, citing a 2015 incident in which he shot a neighbor’s dog in retaliation for the neighbor helping his then-girlfriend obtain a restraining order against him after a domestic violence incident.
Ortiz was convicted of four counts of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of tampering with a consumer product, and five counts of intentional adulteration of a drug. He faces a sentencing in two to three months and could receive up to life in prison. The Justice Department stated that bupivacaine, the poison Ortiz used, is rarely abused and is typically used to alleviate pain during surgery. John Kaspar expressed a mix of emotions following the verdict, stating that he felt flooded with various emotions due to the loss of his wife. Ortiz’s criminal acts had a devastating impact on the patients who were affected and their loved ones.
