Long before he faced lawsuits and criminal charges, a North Texas neurosurgeon emailed one of his employees. “I am 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,” Christopher Duntsch wrote. To authorities, the chilling Dec. 11, 2011, email points to Duntsch’s mind-set in the months before he “intentionally, knowingly and recklessly” botched spinal surgeries, severely injuring four people and killing one woman, Floella Brown, who died in July 2012.
Several victims and their families, some of whom held hands, cried and slung their arms around each other during the hearing, expressed relief after the judge’s ruling.
