D.A. to Seek Death Penalty for Former Tyler Nurse Charged with Murder

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County District Attorney Jacob Putman will seek the death penalty for William Davis, the nurse accused of murdering patients at CHRISTUS Owen Heart Hospital. According to our news partner KETK, the next hearing is scheduled for April 24th in the 114th District Courtroom. Davis, 36, faces multiple counts that include capital murder, first-degree murder and aggravated assault.

Davis has been in the Smith County Jail on a $6.75 million bond since his arrest in August 2018. The murder trial has been scheduled for September. He was a registered nurse for CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital, but was fired back in February 2018 for “falsification of care events and his unethical practice related to failure to disclose interventions provided.” On March 16, 2018, the Texas Board of Nursing issued a Temporary Suspension Order against Davis, citing cases in which the Board determined Davis was a “continuing and imminent threat to the public welfare.” An arrest warrant alleges that Davis intentionally introduced air into the patients’ arterial lines, causing death and “permanent and debilitating” injuries.