she was a loving and caring person and goofy. she had a big heart, and we sure do miss her. sonya, where'd you go?

was money the motive or was there another reason? >> everything about this case is nuts. >> turns out this busy doctor also had a busy love-life at home and at work. >> i said, why? she said, it was just sex. >> who has the motive, it is the person who isn't getting

what they want. >> hello, and welcome to dateline. a top doctor known for saving lives found himself fighting for his own after he was poisoned. cups immediately started looking into the women in his life and uncovered more than one relationship. so investigators wanted to know, which one was toxic. >> there is a place in houston, texas they call the mecca of medicine. >> their goal is making cancer history and so the best and brightest work there. >> a hive of top-tier physicians researching. >> i was never just a patient,

it was a human being. >> what happened when one of their own became dangerously ill? >> i was shocked. crazy things were happening. >> not with cancer but still something lethal and bizarre. >> it was the worst kept secret. >> it is unbelievable and that is why it is true. >> it was around midnight january 27th, 2013, a 48-year- old man wobbled through the doors, slurring his words. ryan is a reporter with nbc station keep your ctv in houston >> perhaps just where he felt safe. >> and his office was also

there. >> maybe he felt safe there because the sick man was a doctor specializing in neck, head and lung cancer. like many of his talented peers dedicated to researching and curing cancer, his life seem to revolve around his work. >> he did not talk about anyone he was dating. >> now this very private man was at md anderson to research his own symptoms. and friends urged him to go straight to the e.r. >> it was tough to even coax him into the emergency room. >> george's girlfriend shot this video on her cell phone as they sat outside the e.r. she wanted to show george that he was not acting normally and convinced him that he should check himself in.

video later would be crucial. to see the usually articulate dr. like this was a strange sight. sandy is a friend and former assistant of george. >> he is very charming, he is a great guy. >> she says george was professional, friendly and always had a good bedside manner . >> just the way he greeted you was very respectful. patients to call me and make comments about him that he is a great doctor. >> now the doctor was the one in need of care. his research partner, a doctor named anna maria gonzales was with him outside of the e.r. and had seen him at the office that day and later at a business dinner. that cell phone video describes

his symptoms. >> he was a little slurred. >> finally, george agreed to be examined and in the small world of md anderson, word had spread fast that one of their esteemed doctors checked into the e.r. >> the first thing, is it high blood pressure, is he having a heart attack, is he stressed? >> doctors suspected that george might have suffered a stroke but his mri was clear. whatever was wrong, it was getting worse. just a few hours after arriving at the e.r. the doctor was unconscious and his organs were failing. he was rushed to the icu. >> there seems to be concerned he would not make it. >> through the night george leads near death as his loved ones stood vigil outside of the

room. and his colleagues wondered how he had ended up here. it wasn't long before police were wondering the same thing. >> as doctors work to save one of their own, someone notices something strange. >> they started doing tests and that's when they started finding crystals. >> when dateline continues.

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in the early morning hours after he was admitted to the e.r., dr. george blumenschein lay unconscious. he was in critical condition in the icu in the very hospital where he practiced edison. >> were you praying that he would come through this? >> of course. he is a great person. >> no one was sure why this perfectly healthy man in his 40s was working one day and on the brink of death the next. >> no one knew exactly what it was. they knew there was kidney failure. they started doing tests and that is when they found these crystals. >> crystals in his system? it could be a sign of anything from dehydration to kidney stones. but looking at the crystals under a microscope, one of

george's doctors made a startling discovery. an unusual chemical formation, it was the toxic ingredient in antifreeze. it damages the heart, attacks the kidneys and half a cup can kill you. this must be a shock to everyone when they realize that this top-notch doctor has taken ethylene glycol. >> absolutely. you are a doctor that knows everything that goes into your body. >> george was being kept alive on dialysis. and now that doctors knew what was making him sick, they called investigators to figure out how it happened. >> it is a poisoning case that is very rare. >> nathan hannigan and his partner had to consider every possible way that poison got into george's system. >> he wanted to find out if

this was a mistake. and he would have preferred that than to know that someone did this to him. >> accidental poisoning is not so far-fetched. ethylene glycol is used in labs all over md anderson. it is colorless and odorless but after checking out the accident . it seemed unlikely because george had not been in a lab. >> lieutenant max sosa was a police officer that was part of the investigative team. the former houston homicide detective took his job at the medical center is a quiet gig. >> you would deal with things like stolen lunches in the communal fridge or a missing dolly. not exactly houston homicide. >> they have their own forms of crimes but nothing on the same

scale as municipal law enforcement. >> lieutenant sosa looked at george's case and found it puzzling. if this was not an accident there were other possibilities. suicide came to mind. >> did you ask him if he tried to take his own life? >> i did ask him and there was no history of any mental health issues. >> he said no, i take it? >> yes, ma'am. >> there was only one conclusion left, someone tried to kill george. it is starting to look like a prominent doctor was poisoned. what does your gut tell you? >> at first all we could do was narrow down who was around the doctor. >> the first person they wanted to talk to was george's live-in girlfriend. >> the woman in charge of the emergency room had concerns of yvette. >> she told us that we needed

to look into yvette. >> yvette told lieutenant sosa that she didn't have a clue why someone would want to hurt him. she suggested that it was a random act. >> she was throwing out all kinds of hypotheticals. she actually said, maybe he was an unintended victim of a psycho waiter that wanted to hurt a lot of people. >> none of yvette's theories made sense and investigators wanted to know more about yvette and her relationship with george. they found out that the couple dated on and off for about a decade. they had broken up and they recently had her move back in. >> she had real issues with the fact that he didn't want to commit and the remedy for that was they would have a baby.

>> now that they were trying to start a family, george was talking about marriage. yvette once called herself george's common-law wife and investigators wondered if she had anything to gain financially if she was killed. >> he is worth several million dollars and that fact alone is motive. >> they pressed that lead, pulled insurance papers and requested his will. >> would she have been entitled to his money if you died? >> no. everything was left to his brother on the insurance policies. >> lieutenant sosa put in a request to do surveillance on yvette and george's house. >> did you ask yvette tony if she had anything to do with this? >> i did and she said absolutely not. she offered to submit to a polygraph. >> she even turned over the

bottle of wine she and george drink and tests on the bottle came up clean. a lieutenant decided to call off the surveillance. the cooperative, mild-mannered girlfriend hardly seems like a killer. so if not yvette tony, who in the world wanted george blumenschein dead. >> were you worried that there was someone else out there? >> yes. if they did not succeed, they would try again. >> at that point we did not know if any would would attempt to go in his room. >> you were concerned about a second murder attempt. >> s, ma'am. >> the plot started to thicken. >> i think people started to

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two weeks after he was poisoned dr. george blumenschein was still suffering . after digging around in his personal life, investigators were no closer to figuring out who wanted george dead so they turned their attention to his professional life. but to the investigators surprise, many of the brilliant

scientists at md anderson were less than chatty. these doctors are very private people. very intelligent. >> yes. >> were they eager or willing witnesses? >> no. no one wanted to be a part of this case. >> but dr. ana gonzalez-angulo , the coworker who was by his side as they checked into the e.r., a fellow workaholic, she knew the details of his life at the hospital. how often were they together working? >> it seems like all the time. they traveled together, they worked either in his office or her office. >> dr. gonzales was a fast rising star in breast cancer medicine. >> i truly believed that she helped find a cure for women

around the world. >> she has this compassion and understanding about the disease and the women she treats. >> dr. conzalez also treated nadine. >> i was never a number , or just a patient, i was a human being. >> did she immediately put you at ease? >> she absolutely did. she was really small in stature but she was feisty and she said that we are just going to go after this. and i said yep, you and i will get along just fine. >> ana met george years earlier and then multiple studies followed and the were invited to lecture around the world. >> i knew she was trying to get his career going, helping with

grants and to get promoted. he was not the most organized person. >> ana really had an impact on george's life. was he very grateful? >> i think he was. >> how eager where you to talk to dr. ana gonzalez-angulo ? >> very eager. >> she told the lieutenant that they worked in their offices and attended a business dinner that evening. she witnessed his condition slowly worsen and even drove him to the hospital around midnight. every minute you can account for, i would imagine helps you put together that crucial timeline. what did she tell you? >> i asked her for an account of the week prior to him going into the hospital.

>> ana told him all about george's week, the details of his busy schedule. she was sharing lot but as lieutenant sosa listened he had a hunch that she might be listening something out. so he went back and pressed their colleagues for more information. >> sosa starts to find out that there may have been something more than just a working relationship. >> the plot started to thicken. >> people started to realize and put pieces together. >> even though the folks at md anderson were not so keen on speaking to investigators, it did not stop them from speaking amongst themselves. >> did ana know people were gossiping? >> i'm sure she did . >> lieutenant sosa asked ana point-blank, where she and george having an affair?

he asked george the same thing and george also said no. but the investigator was not convinced. now, weeks since he was poisoned, george was out of the hospital, feeling stronger and back at work. the investigator invited him out for a drive and in the car he finally confessed that he and ana were partners in more ways than one. >> with a quick trysts or was it a deep emotional connection? >> i not -- never got the indication that it was a deep connection. >> george told the lieutenant that it was an affair that went on for a year and a half. it was a casual thing but sometimes they would share a room, sort of coworkers with benefits. ended the day he got sick he had stopped at ana's after

work. >> he carried her up the stairs. that sounds kind of romantic. >> they were having some sort of casual romantic, sexual thing going on. >> to investigators this prestigious hospital was looking more and more like the setting of a soapy daytime drama. trauma that changed the shape of the investigation. >> any time you have a love triangle, the different vertices is what you will look at. you have evette toney and then you have the other woman. >> and that led investigators right back to his private life, giving them a dramatic new theory. >> the doctor who is both prominent and very private just had his affair revealed. one secret is out but there are

many more. coming up -- >> who has the motive? it is the person who isn't getting what they want, who has to have what they know they can't. >> when dateline continues. lin

i am richard louis with a news update. a judge in d.c. paused trumps election interference case while special counsel jack smith considers next steps. it is likely he will drop the criminal case and possibly file in court. and elon musk joined a phone call between donald trump and vladimir zelensky. he was not part of a sensitive conversation between the two leaders but his close involvement in trump's campaign raises questions about his role in the new administration. back to dateline. welcome back.

a houston dr. poisoned nearly to death admitted a dark secret. but, did his affair have anything to do with the attempt on his life? backwards fatal attraction. >> the first big break in the investigation into who poisoned george blumenschein came when the doctor finally admitted he was a teacher -- cheater. he was carrying on an affair with his esteemed research partner while going home to his girlfriend, evette toney. >> evette did have a motive. her guy is having an affair with another doctor. >> the thing about evette is that she did not know about the affair until after he was poisoned. >> she was so naove to what was going on, she says, there is

nothing going on they are just really good friends. >> she told investigators that george only confessed to the affair a few weeks after being poisoned. so with evette essentially being cleared again, investigators turn to dr. gonzalez. as he tells it, in the weeks before the poisoning ana's affections intensified. even started buying the same things he owned. >> buying the same car he has and the same car and luggage. >> after he was hospitalized george believed that ana may have been behind the poisoning. george broke off the affair with her but never told her why. instead he decided to secretly

record their calls. >> i feel that, you know, i helped you a lot and i was so completely betrayed. the fact that you and i, you know, we slept together, it, it's the friendship that hurts. because i trusted you. that is what hurts. >> george gave the recordings to investigators and in those calls they heard a woman distraught over the lover she couldn't have and jealous of the woman who had him. >> it's just not worth it anymore, it is too late. as i say, she won. you know, go, have a kid, have a good life. i'll leave. >> you listen to that and you can hear it in her voice. she says, she won. she won. >> she needed dr. blumenschein

to consider the research. >> little did dr. blumenschein know how special that bond was that she wanted. it is the person not getting what they want. she wanted more. >> it turns out that prosecutors thought ana had opportunity, to which he had access to ethylene glycol in her lab and she had been with george the whole day before he got sick. on may 29th, 2013, police arrested ana on charges of aggravated assault. ana's patients did not believe it . >> i did not understand it. that was devastating to me. >> she is incapable of that. she heals people.

>> the trial began and her courtroom was filled with family and friends. >> she is so accomplished and she is about 100 pounds. were you worried that the jury would have a hard time convicting someone like her? >> we worried about it everyday. this is a doctor. who in their right mind can look at her and think it is someone capable of doing such unimaginable things. >> prosecutors told the jury how this so-called casual affair with george blumenschein was not so casual to ana. >> it led to an absolute obsession. >> a string of colleagues testified that ana could not contain her feelings for george. >> it seemed like ana is very infatuated with dr. blumenschein. >> whenever we discussed any

topic his name would come up. she loved him. >> the affair was the worst kept secret at md anderson. >> did you ever get the impression that there was more than just a work relationship? >> i heard rumors, yes. >> she also said that her and ana were not good friends. >> she told me a little bit of information about their intimacy. >> another doctor testified about a curious conversation with ana the morning after george was hospitalized. ana told her that george was poisoned. the only problem, this was hours before doctors confirmed it. >> she told me george was very sick and he was in the icu and add ingested ethylene glycol. >> she told you that monday morning?

>> monday morning. >> the witness also recalled a conversation with ana that sounded like a confession. >> she then told me, while quite tearful, that she had ethylene glycol in her labs. as did most of md anderson. she said, i'm going to get in so much trouble for this. >> knowing the jury would wonder about the other woman in this love triangle, the prosecution called evette toney to the stand. she only found out about the affair after george became sick . >> i felt so stupid because i trusted her and trusted him. >> the prosecution asked her why she was still with him. >> i know the affair with the defendant is not the sum of who he really is. we are still working on our

relationship. it is a work in progress. >> then evette told the jury what happened when she confronted ana. >> did she seem to care? >> no. >> did that hurt? >> yes, it did. i said, why? and she said, it was just sex, evette. >> everything about this case is nuts. you could not write this script in hollywood. it is sex, lies and audiotape. >> coming up, ana is the one on trial but george is the one in the hot seat. >> i was wrong. >> when dateline continues. lin jordan's sore nose let out a fiery sneeze, so dad grabbed puffs plus lotion to soothe her with ease. puffs plus lotion

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understand more with msnbc. make no mistake about this, she is devious, diabolical and dangerously deadly. >> to the prosecution in the trial of dr. ana maria gonzales, it was more than just a lover. >> they argued that ana had been on a downward spiral, doing crazy things to stir up trouble in george's relationship with evette. including sending ana and

unsigned letter. >> the prosecution said the manipulation did not end there. ana told george that evette was behind a series of threatening phone calls she received at her office. according to the prosecutor , those vocals never happen. >> md anderson tracks every single call in their aren't any anonymous phone calls. >> and strangest of all, just a month before the poisoning ana staged an assault on herself. she told anyone who would listen that evette orchestrated the whole thing. >> she said she worked with a private investigator and they traced this person back to louisiana and he was a relative, i believe she said a cousin of evette toney. >> but investigative sosa told the jury he felt they were self-

inflicted. the person who'd seen ana's apparent obsession up close was the object of it. a reluctant george blumenschein took the stand. >> are you a private person? >> i would say yes. >> how private? >> very private. >> the prosecution needed george to rehash the relationship. >> it is hard to say no to her. >> would you often tell her it was a bad idea? >> regularly. >> george recounted how ana initiated their affair one day. >> she said, shut up, let me sit on your knee, it's not a problem. i remember when she said, i'm going to your your. >> but the prosecution did not pretend he was an angel.

>> but you did not stop it. >> no, i didn't. i cheated on evette and it was the wrong thing to do. >> george that he was always clear with ana that he would not leave evette. but ana was still demanding. she went over the top with fancy gifts like gold jewelry from columbia and a $5000 watch. >> she said she could get me the guys version of it. i said i didn't want it and suddenly she bought it. >> and he said that she forced him to take a $12,000 suit. i ended up giving it to goodwill. i felt like it was pushing a boundary. >> would finally push ana over the edge was when george and

evette started talking about babies and marriage. >> she said, you know what, i'd have a kid with you. and i said, that is kind of you to say. and she said, i can have a kid with you and moved to europe for a year. >> the prosecution argued that if ana could not have george, no one could . >> the defendant had a fatal attraction. >> is she glenn close? >> she fits the role. without a doubt. >> in the prosecution at the prosecution tell the jury about the day he almost died. >> the only thing that had been strange was that cup of coffee on sunday. >> that was the key to the prosecution's case. ana served george coffee

during their morning rendezvous. it was the only thing he drink that day. >> ethylene glycol has an intensely sweet flavor. george told the jury that ana served a sweet coffee at home and for more in travel mugs. within hours of drinking it he was lightheaded and slurring. and by that night he was in the icu. >> what is so hard about reliving this part? >> because i almost died. >> to button up their case, the prosecution called a leading expert in ethylene glycol. >> based on the timeframe from when symptoms appear, i would conclude that he ingested the ethylene glycol around sunday morning. >> the only thing he drink that

morning was that coffee and it tasted sickeningly sweet. >> according to the prosecution, ana spent the day with the man she tried to kill, watching him deteriorate and following him as he finally drove his self to the hospital. and the prosecution entered that cell phone video into evidence. ana was right there next to george, smiling and pretending to help when she knew full well what was wrong. coming up, now it is the defenses turn, the case against ana , will the jury see it that way? when dateline continues.

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as the case against dr. ana maria gonzales continued she seemed stoic. her former patient and now friend came to court with her each day. >> she did not want to fall apart in front of her family. but when we get back in the car we would cry and pray and i would scream. >> now it was ana's defense team turned to head back.

>> they called her devious, dangerously deadly, diabolical, fatal attraction. do you think that started to stick with the jury? >> that was clearly what their goal was. i thought the prosecutor's theory of the case was a bit of an overreach. >> certainly the defense told the jury that ana cared for george but not in the outreaches and homicidal way the prosecution claimed. >> this case is about a consenting and consensual relationship between two peers, not a fatal attraction. >> the defense argued that ana was not obsessed . she bought george gifts because she was generous and under cross examination george had positive things to say about ana. >> she was a dear friend.

>> as for her becoming increasingly unhinged, george said that in the days leading up to the poisoning, their casual relationship showed no signs of trouble. >> this was not in a relationship in any type of crisis, was it? >> no. >> nothing had changed in your relationship with dr. gonzalez at this point in time. >> no. >> on the morning that she tried to poison george, he came onto her. >> did you carry her upstairs. >> i did. >> and you had a romantic encounter. everything that happened in your relationship with this woman was consensual, wasn't it ? >> yes, it was consensual. >> ana's attorneys attacked the investigation, saying the

dismissed the most obvious suspects too quickly. >> there could be no doubt that dr. evette toney could be a person of interest and she was never investigated. >> the defense wasn't buying evette story that she had no clue about the affair. >> you are a smart woman. >> thank you for saying that. >> were alarm bells going off in your head? >> i asked him if things work going on and he said no. there was nothing i could do. >> i'm sorry, >> then they flipped the cell phone video on its head. >> when she finally sees the man she is in love with and wants to have children with, she takes cell phone video. she is not sitting with the man, with her arms around him, trying to comfort him. she is

videoing him. >> when it came to ana's behavior on the tape the defense said she did something only an innocent person would do. >> he hadn't had anything except for some coffee and bread. >> don't people run away from the crime scene, clam up and be quiet? but she is on video talking about what happened. >> but the biggest target was the science or lack thereof. they went after the investigation for what they thought was a huge mistake. not testing the coffee cup. >> there is no scientific evidence out of the 22 evidence -- if they are right, this is the deadly weapon that dr. gonzalez used in that case. and you don't bother to test it? give me a break.

>> so they grilled that expert who testified that george could only have ingested the poison sunday morning. it turns out george had been drinking wine and vodka in the days before the symptoms surfaced. they got the expert to concede a big point, alcohol or ethanol can throw off his findings. >> if it was demonstrating that he had been consuming large amounts of ethanol over a long period of time that could change my opinion. >> in their final words, ana's lawyers drove it home. >> what is the state's case missing? it is overly simple but not a shred of direct evidence. and this is nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. >> after eight long days of testimony from experts, friends and the well-respected experts of md anderson, the case was now in the hands of the jury.

both sides paste the halls of the courthouse, waiting, hopeful and anxious. then after five hours of deliberations -- >> i understand the jury reached a verdict. >> we find the defendant guilty of aggravated assault from with home the defendant had a dating relationship. >> she is innocent and she didn't do it. >> in texas a defendant can asked the jury to determine the sentence. >> families filed and with pleas of leniency. >> she saved my life. i have always felt like she would have a saved a whole lot of people's lives. >> she could have been sentenced to prison for 99 years. >> you were sentenced to 10 years in the texas department

of criminal justice. >> ana, once among the top breast cancer doctors was now just another convict in the texas prison system. >> the medical community has definitely lost a giant. >> dr. blumenschein went back to md anderson, treating patients and researching cures for lung cancers. and in prison dr. gonzalez began helping patients and surrendered her medical license. >> she took an oath to not hurt anyone or do no harm. she violated the hippocratic oath in the worst way. she spent -- spun a web of lies and in this case she is paying for it. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. thank you for watching. watchin