Cancer doctor accused of poisoning colleague heads to trial

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Seven women and five men will decide the fate of a well-respected MD Anderson cancer doctor.

Opening statements will begin Monday morning in the trial of Dr. Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo. The doctor is on trial for aggravated assault.

She's accused in the May 2013 poisoning of a fellow doctor she was dating, Dr. George Blumenschein. The two were colleagues at the world famous cancer hospital. Dr. Blumenschein researched and treated lung, head and neck cancers.

Investigators say Gonzalez-Angulo laced her lover's coffee with ethylene glycol, a colorless and odorless chemical found in anti-freeze. Gonzalez has pleaded not guilty in the case. The defendant's attorney, Derek Hollingsworth with Rusty Hardin & Associates released this statement tonight.

"Dr. Gonzalez has been accused of something she did not do. Our first priority is to make sure the jury has the evidence to see that. We will be trying the case in the courtroom before the jury and not in the press. And Dr. Gonzalez will not be speaking to the press during the trial."

Dr. Blumenschein survived the incident but his attorney says his kidneys are severely damaged and he may never be 100 percent.

One of the big questions during the trial will be whether the judge will allow recordings which prosecutors say they have of the defendant which she claims involvement in the death of two people after a family member was kidnapped.

They say she made statements on the telephone that she's had "people assassinated and that she takes care of things the Colombian way."