Peacock’s miniseries Dr. Death focuses on a neurosurgeon who has a disturbing practice of mutilating patients. Although the horror story that will be shown on screen may seem familiar, it is actually based on the real-life case of Dr. Christopher Daniel Duntsch. It is an intense, disturbing show that is based on true events.
Christopher Duntsch is the actual name of Dr. Death. Continue reading to find out more about this insane doctor, who, in two years, had injured 33 patients and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Origins of Dr. Death
Christopher Duntsch knew he had a bright future when he was growing up. His drive, determination, and arrogance were evident in his high school and college football careers. He managed to convince the coaches that he was not good enough to be on the team. After realizing that a football career wasn’t for him, he decided to study medicine.
Duntsch enrolled at the University of Tennessee at Memphis College for their M.D./Ph.D. program. He was a hard worker on patents, academic papers, and startups in biotech. After completing his neurosurgery residency, he was awarded a fellowship in spine surgery. This was when his career began to take shape. Duntsch was an admired doctor who appeared to be on the rise, but there was another side to him.
Duntsch’s Lifestyle Problems
Many claims that Duntsch was addicted to substances and had a hard-partying lifestyle. His favorite cocktail was vodka and cocaine, and there were many complaints about his behavior. Duntsch was clever in his escape from trouble. Duntsch enrolled in a program for candidates at high risk of liability. He skipped the drug test entirely.
In addition to the drugs, Wendy Young was also a strip-club dancer. Many women found Duntsch magnetic and attracted their attention. Wendy believed he was a top-notch doctor or lawyer. However, this was false, as Duntsch was still in school. He was a good friend, and they started a relationship. But she didn’t know Duntsch owed half a million dollars to his father and the school.
Financial Incentives
Duntsch had a genuine interest, despite his difficulties, in medicine and was fascinated by research. Duntsch decided to become an ophthalmologist because money was his main motivation, especially considering the debt burden. After completing school, the Baylor Regional Medical Center offered him $600,000. This was his starting salary. He and Wendy then moved to Dallas, where he started his career.
Wendy became pregnant shortly after their move and gave birth to a baby girl. Duntsch was having an affair with Kimberly Morgan, which is not surprising. Duntsch told her that Wendy was a friend and she was his assistant at the hospital. He told Wendy that Kimberly was also a friend. Duntsch’s web deceit only got bigger.
A Look Into Duntsch’s Mind
Duntsch gave Kimberly a disturbing glimpse into his mind during their relationship. He continued sharing his distorted views of the world and his thoughts. He was compared to Einstein and the Antichrist and was called an Empire Builder. These emails showed Duntsch’s egomania. He saw himself as someone with a brilliant vision who could make an impact by killing people.
Murder would have had to wait. But Duntsch found victims to perform botched operations on. His good friend Jerry Summers visited him to relieve his neck pain.
Duntsch’s First Victim
Since Jerry Summers was involved in a car accident, he has had neck pain. Duntsch cut Jerry’s vertebral artery. He bled so severely that Duntsch needed blood clotting gel to stop his bleeding. This also caused Jerry’s spine to become compressed. Worst, Jerry’s head wasn’t secured to his body after the surgery. Duntsch had removed so much bone. He was unable to move.
He was suffering from chronic neck pain and ended up being a quadriplegic. Jerry couldn’t move and was so pained that he wanted to die. Duntsch might have apologized to Jerry for his botched surgery. But Jerry never heard anything from him. Jerry died in 2021 from an infection that was ultimately caused by his quadriplegic status.
Duntsch’s Second Victim
It would seem that Duntsch would suffer after Summers was mutilated. Although there were consequences, they weren’t severe enough. After a psychological evaluation, he was capable of minor surgeries. He couldn’t do major surgery anymore. Kellie Martin was another victim. She had fallen and suffered a herniated disc. Duntsch made it more complicated by cutting one of her major arteries.
Duntsch continued to perform the surgery, and she was able to stitch her up. After waking up in severe pain, doctors had to give her anesthesia again. She died from excessive blood loss, but she didn’t make it. Duntsch should have been severely punished at this stage. Still, all that happened was that he was not allowed to perform surgery at Baylor-Plano.
Starting Fresh
Duntsch eventually resigned from the hospital and had the hospital confirm that he hadn’t done any wrong. Duntsch was able to locate more victims elsewhere by this. They could have fired Duntsch and had him reported. Instead, he started at Dallas Medical Center without any red flags.
Duntsch only spent a week at Dallas Medical Center, but he was able to get to work quickly. Florella Brown, a patient with back pain, came to Duntsch for a cervical fusion procedure. He also cut her vertebral vein and misplaced the fusion screw. Florella was fine the first day, but she fell asleep the second. Duntsch could not reach Florella for hours, and eventually, she ignored her concerns. Florella suffered a stroke that ultimately led to her death.
More Hospitals, More Victims
Duntsch also performed a failed surgery on Mary Efurd during his brief time at Dallas Medical Center. However, that was only known much later. Duntsch had to leave due to the Florella Brown scandal. He was only granted “temporary privileges” while there and was not required to be reported when he was let go. He worked in Dallas with temporary privileges.
Jeff Cheney was one of his victims. He lost the right side of his body when Duntsch was finished with him. Philip Mayfield was another victim of Duntsch’s paralysis. Jeff Glidewell was the next to be treated after Duntsch’s mutilation. This was Duntsch’s glory days, but he was also building up a bad name.
Discovering Duntch’s Disasters
Duntsch’s poor reputation was noticed by other doctors. Dr. Kirby performed surgeries with Duntsch starting with Barry Morguloff. Barry was referred to Dr. Kirby for spinal fusion surgery. He discovered that Duntsch wasn’t using the instruments properly. Barry experienced back pain afterward, and Dr. Kirby saw that some of his vertebrae were pressing into his back nerves.
Dr. Henderson was also aware of Duntsch’s bungled jobs after he performed surgery on Mary Efurd at the Dallas Medical Center. Because Duntsch failed to perform his job correctly, she needed another procedure. Henderson could see in Mary’s scans how Duntsch had not done anything to the disc he was supposed to. His coworkers attempted to revoke Duntsch’s license, but it became obvious how incompetent Duntsch was.
Investigating Duntsch
Dr. Henderson believed that Duntsch should be prosecuted for his practice of medicine. After Duntsch’s failed surgery, Henderson decided to document the experience to show how awful Duntsch had done. During Henderson’s corrective procedure, he saw a wrongly placed screw in a nerve and other irregularities.
Henderson was shocked by what he saw. Henderson was so shocked by what he saw that he thought Duntsch was a fraud. Henderson reached out to the program that had trained Duntsch and assumed that Duntsch’s credentials weren’t real. He discovered that Duntsch wasn’t a fraud and was, in fact, worse. Duntsch must have made these terrible mistakes intentionally. This is what a sick person would do.
Action Must Be Taken Against Duntsch ASAP
Dr. Henderson needed to act quickly before Duntsch chose another victim. He set out to remove Duntsch from hospital privileges. Dr. Kirby had to also fix Duntsch’s patient. We have already mentioned Jeff Glidewell, who was seeking treatment for a pinched nerve. He left the surgery with a damaged vocal cord and could not move any part of his body. Kirby was amazed at the sight he saw when he visited him.
Duntsch did a great job on Glidewell. He sliced into his vocal chords and esophagus, as well as his traditional trick of cutting an arterial. Glidewell was so bleeding from the inside that Duntsch had to insert a surgical sponge. He never took it out. It had begun to rot when Dr. Kirby reached it. Duntsch’s condition was now well-known by two doctors.
Making a Move on Duntsch
After Dr. Kirby performed the surgery on Glidewell, he decided to contact the Texas Medical Board and report on Duntsch. He called Duntsch incompetent at this point and compared him with a first-year medical student. Duntsch’s darker side was utterly unknown to Kirby. Dr. Henderson had his own complaints, and the doctors were able to come up with a solution.
The Texas Medical Board finally heard Duntsch’s complaints in 2013. Duntsch had treated many more victims in the interim. Duntsch’s malpractice was especially problematic because Texas laws do not protect patients. Although his surgeries had many problems, they were still classified as accidents. According to the two doctors who brought Duntsch’s case, these were not accidents.
A failure rate of 89%
Duntsch performed 37 operations in Texas. 33 of those were unsuccessful. Duntsch’s 89% failure rate is remarkable, considering that two of his patients died. His former patients, or, more accurately, his victims, were shocked to learn about his history of botched surgeries. They couldn’t believe that he was allowed so long.
After reviewing the evidence, the medical board suspended Duntsch’s license. It found that he did not adequately prepare for his procedures and didn’t properly manage the complications that occurred during surgery. It was a temporary suspension, and only in Texas. Kirby and Henderson worked together to ensure Duntsch couldn’t practice medicine in another state. They remained firm in their beliefs and continued to make their points to the board.
Pushing for a Lifetime Ban
Duntsch was, in fact, a criminal on the run, and Kirby Henderson and Henderson were the only ones to know this. Duntsch lost his Texas license temporarily and later permanently, thanks to their efforts. He could still travel to another state and obtain a new license. The two doctors made sure that this was avoided at all costs.
Duntsch’s personal life was not the only one that changed. After Wendy discovered that Duntsch was not only unfaithful but that he was also committing horrific acts against his patients, they split. She was already pregnant again when she left and moved in with her sister. He was also facing financial pressures and filed for bankruptcy. He moved in with his parents. Duntsch became even more dangerous and unhinged.
Duntsch’s Life Falls Apart
Duntsch was pulled over in Colorado after his car had two flat tires. Two bottles of Mike’s Hard Lemonade were found in Duntsch’s car by the police, one empty and one filled. Duntsch was able to be taken in with that much evidence. He was also arrested in Texas that year for trespassing on Wendy’s house. He allegedly jumped the fence and walked through the open back door, where he took his son.
All this happened while Wendy was in the hospital giving birth to their second child. Duntsch then took Wendy’s son from Wendy, who was looking after him. Duntsch was also caught shoplifting in 2015. He was caught shoplifting at Walmart by security cameras. He was hoping to steal $900 worth of goods he intended to avoid paying for. Duntsch was unable to be freed with all this evidence on his record.
Duntsch faces the District Attorney
The District Attorney’s Office took a while to notice Dr. Kirby’s and Dr. Henderson’s cases. They also needed to be followed up on several occasions to make them take action. Things started to move forward when the DA’s office took over the case. However, it took more time than they might have hoped because of many obstacles.
The case had no precedent, which was part of the problem. Duntsch’s crimes are so outrageous that no Texas person has ever committed them. Anyone who looked at the evidence would see that Duntsch was a crazy man, but it was difficult to prove his crimes. Prosecutors concentrated on a handful of Duntsch’s crimes they could prove. He was finally arrested three months later for shoplifting.
Charged
Duntsch was finally brought to justice, even though it took many years. Duntsch was convicted of the first-degree crime of assaulting Mary Efurd with a deadly weapon, causing bodily injury. There were five second-degree felonies against him. This is one way to put it. It makes sense that surgical tools are classified as deadly weapons.
Duntsch’s defense? Conspiracy and exorcism. His active mind conjured that he was used to being a middleman by people who wanted to make money from the hospitals. Although it is a ridiculous excuse, we can see how someone could believe it. Duntsch’s victims brought many lawsuits against Duntsch’s hospitals.
Going After the Hospitals
Duntsch was allegedly being protected by the lawsuits against the hospitals. Although they may not have been protecting Duntsch, there are strong grounds for suing the hospitals. Duntsch is undoubtedly to blame for his crimes. However, hospitals should have better practices to prevent similar horrific acts from being repeated by their doctors.
Although there won’t be any way to make things right for Duntsch’s victims, the settlement Duntsch’s victims received from the hospitals is a hope of some support. However, one victim refused to settle and signed an NDA. Duntsch’s story, regardless of whether the victims kept it quiet, would soon be the subject of national headlines. People were captivated by the bizarre tale of “Dr. Death.”
The Tale of Dr. Death Goes Public
If you are being tried for crimes like Duntsch’s, a name such as “Dr.” is not a good idea to have a nickname like “Dr. Death” when you are being tried for crimes like Duntsch’s. This nickname was first given to him by D Magazine. It quickly spread, and Christopher Duntsch was relegated to the background.
Duntsch was further damaged by more information. Duntsch’s medical school experience was limited to around 100 operations. This is a far cry from the typical workload of neurosurgeons as students. This alone makes it scary to learn about Duntsch, especially before you discover that he is a murderous psychopath.
A Case Against Duntsch
We mentioned earlier the video Dr. Henderson made while operating on Mary Efurd. It exposed the terrible work Duntsch did on her. This video was crucial evidence to convict Duntsch. Every person in court could clearly see that Duntsch was a criminally negligent and deliberately destructive surgeon.
Other than the footage, Duntsch’s victims gave powerful testimony. Many of them spoke in court. Witnessing a parade of Duntsch’s victims was truly shocking and powerful. Due to injuries, not all could make it to court. Many of them decided to video-call, which was in some ways more impactful. Everyone who was there saw that Duntsch was sick.
Kimberly’s Testimony
Kimberly Morgan, the woman with who Duntsch had an affair in the hospital, gave the strongest testimony. She had plenty of evidence to present to the court, as Duntsch had sent her many disturbing emails. Below is an email Duntsch sent her, in which he explicitly stated that he could become a cold-blooded murderer.
Although it was obvious that Duntsch wasn’t fit to practice medicine, Kimberly’s evidence showed that Duntsch was incompetent and intentionally botched the surgery. The jury took just four hours to decide, and Duntsch was found guilty.
A Life Sentence for Duntsch
We already mentioned that Duntsch’s crimes were unproven. Now, if anyone attempts to do the same thing, there will be a precedent. We hope that nobody will try to repeat such horrible crimes again. If they do, we’ll ensure they cannot continue practicing for so long without being caught.
Duntsch was sentenced to life imprisonment. He is currently serving his sentence in Huntsville, Texas. He will be eligible to receive parole in 2045. He will be 74 when that day arrives, so it is unlikely that he will ever have the strength to harm people. Although he has caused permanent harm to many people’s lives, Dr. Death is finally done with hurting them and others.