Evette. Who wanted the doctor dead . Who has the motive . Its the person who isnt getting what they want. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres Andrea Canning with fatal attraction. Reporter there is a place in houston, texas, they call the mecca of medicine, m. D. Anderson cancer center. Their goal is making cancer history. And so the best and the brightest work there. Reporter a hive of toptier physicians researching, saving lives. I was never a number. I was never just a patient. I was a human being. Reporter but what happened when one of their own became dangerously ill . I was shocked. Its crazy things happening. I never imagined that that would happen to anybody that i know. Reporter not with cancer, but still something lethal and bizarre. It was the worst kept secret at m. D. Anderson. Hollywood couldnt write this script. Its unbelievable. And thats why its true. Reporter it was around midnight, january 27th, 2013. A 48yearold man wobbled through the doors of m. D. Anderson, slurring his words, disoriented. Keep in mind, he didnt go to the emergency room at a standard hospital. Reporter Ryan Korsgard is a reporter with nbc station kprctv in houston. He went to a cancer hospital. Reporter perhaps just where he felt safe . Perhaps. And his office was also there. Reporter maybe he felt safe there because the sick man was George Blumenschein jr. , a doctor specializing in neck, head and lung cancer at m. D. Anderson. Like many of his talented peers dedicated to researching and curing cancer, dr. Blumenscheins life seemed to revolve around his work. The people who worked with him said he revealed very little about his personal life. He didnt talk about anyone he was dating, anything along those lines. Reporter now, this very private man was at m. D. Anderson not to be examined but to research his own symptoms. Friends at the hospital urged him to go straight to the e. R. And it sounded like it was tough even to coax him into the emergency room. So im sorry, but im in a little drama. Reporter georges girlfriend, evette toney, a scientist, shot this video on her cell phone as they sat outside the e. R. She wanted to show george that he wasnt acting normally and convince him that he needed to check himself in. The video would later be crucial to solving a mystery. Ive gotten progressively discoordinated. Reporter to see the usually articulate doctor like this was a strange sight. Sandy molina is a friend and former assistant of georges. Whats george like . Very charming. Hes a great guy. Reporter she says that george was professional, friendly and always had a good bedside manner. Was it just the way he greeted you . Yeah, the way he greeted you, i thought he was very respectful, caring. Patients did call me and make comments about him that hes a great doctor and theyre so glad hes their doctor. Reporter but now the doctor was the one in need of care. Georges research partner, a doctor named ana Maria Gonzalez, was also with him outside the e. R. Ana had seen him at the office that day and later at a business dinner. That cell phone video documents her describing his symptoms. He was a little slurred. For people that know him, hes still slurred. Reporter finally, george agreed to be examined. And in the small world of m. D. Anderson, word spread fast that one of their esteemed doctors had checked into the e. R. Whats your gut telling you, though, when youre thinking about what he could be sick with . First thing was like, oh, my gosh, is it his high Blood Pressure . Is he having a heart attack . Or you know, what is it . Is he stressed . Reporter doctors suspected george might have suffered a stroke, but his mri was clear. Whatever was wrong, it was getting worse. Hes deteriorating quickly. His health is going downhill. Reporter just a few hours after arriving at the e. R. The doctor was unconscious, his organs failing, and he was rushed to the icu. There seemed to be concern that he might not make it. Reporter through the night, george lay near death as his loved ones stood vigil outside the room. Inside, the medical staff wondered exactly how had their colleague ended up here. And it wasnt long before police were wondering the same thing. When we come back, as doctors work to save one of their own, someone notices something strange. They started doing tests. And thats when they found these crystals. Youre a doctor. You know everything that goes into your body. How was this introduced . Reporter 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 of the very hospital where he practiced medicine. I was worried about him. Reporter were you just really praying that he would come through this . Oh, of course. Hes a great person. Reporter no one was sure why this perfectly healthy man in his 40s was working one day and on the brink of death the next. It was a race against time because no one knew exactly what it was. They knew that there was kidney failure. Reporter did they just start running a battery of tests . They started doing tests, and thats when they found these crystals. Reporter crystals in his system . That can be a sign of anything from dehydration to kidney stones. But looking at those crystals under a microscope, one of georges doctors made a startling discovery, an unusual chemical formation, a deadly one. It was Ethylene Glycol, most commonly known as the toxic ingredient in antifreeze. It damages the heart, attacks the kidneys, and just a half a cup can kill you. This must be just a shock to everyone when they realize that this topnotch doctor has taken Ethylene Glycol. Absolutely. Youre a doctor. You know everything that goes into your body. How was this introduced . Reporter george was in and out of consciousness and being kept alive on dialysis. Now that doctors knew what was making him sick, they called in investigators to figure how it happened. Its a poisoning case, which are very rare. We dont see those very often. Reporter assistant District AttorneyNathan Hennigan has a background in science and medical crimes. He and his partner, justin keiter, had to consider every possible way the poison got into georges system. He wanted to find out this was all a mistake. Maybe hes accidentally ingested something somewhere else. He would have preferred that than to know that someone did this to him. Reporter accidental poisoning was not so farfetched. In its pure form Ethylene Glycol is used in labs all over m. D. Anderson. Its colorless, odorless and has a sweet taste. But after checking out the accident theory, it seemed unlikely. George hadnt been in a lab recently. We couldnt establish that he had access to Ethylene Glycol at all. Reporter lieutenant mac sosa was a university of Texas Police Officer and part of the investigative team. The former houston homicide detective took his job at the Medical Center as a quiet retirement gig. You would deal with things like stolen lunches from the communal fridge, a missing dolly. Not exactly houston homicide. They have their own forms of crimes, but nothing on the same scale as municipal law enforcement. Reporter lieutenant sosa looked at georges case and found it puzzling. If this wasnt an accident, there were still other possibilities. Suicide came to mind. Did you ask dr. Blumenschein, did you try to take your own life . Yes, i asked him. There was no history of any Mental Health issues or conditions. Reporter he said, no, i take it. Yes, maam. Reporter satisfied that this was neither suicide nor accident, there was only one conclusion left, someone tried to kill george. Its starting to look like a prominent doctor was poisoned. Whats your gut telling you . At first the only thing that we can do is try to narrow down who was around the doctor. Reporter the first person they wanted to talk to, of course, was georges livein girlfriend, evette toney. The woman in charge of the emergency room that night had concerns about evette toney, and she told you that. She indicated that we needed to look at evette. She shared food with him. She shared wine with him the night before any of this. Reporter evette told lieutenant sosa she didnt have a clue why someone would want to hurt george. She suggested that maybe it was a random act. She was throwing out all kinds of hypotheses and hypotheticals. She actually tells detective sosa, well, i dont know, maybe he was an unintended victim and he was the victim of some psycho waiter that wanted to hurt a lot of people. Reporter there wasnt a psycho waiter. None of evettes theories made sense. Investigators wanted to know more about evette and her relationship with george. They found out that the couple dated on and off for about a decade. Theyd lived together, then broken up, and shed recently moved back in. So, dr. Blumenschein is somewhat of a commitment phobe . Dr. Evette toney said that she had real issues with the fact he didnt want to commit, and she said that her remedy for that was they were going to have a baby. Reporter now that they were trying to start a family, george the bachelor was also talking about marriage. Evette had once called herself georges commonlaw wife. Investigators wondered if she had anything to gain financially if george was killed. How much is he worth . Hes worth several million dollars. And that fact alone is motive. Reporter they pressed that lead, pulled his insurance papers, and requested georges will. Would she have been entitled to his money if he died . No, this man didnt even have a will. And everything was left on the insurance policies to his brother. Reporter dead end there. Still, lieutenant sosa put in a request to do surveillance on evette and georges house. Did you ask evette toney, did you have anything to do with this . Yes, maam, i did. Reporter what response did you get . She said, absolutely not. She offered her financials, she offered anything under the sun. She offered to submit to a polygraph. Reporter she even turned over the bottle of wine she and george drank the night before he got sick. Tests on the bottle came up clean. The lieutenant decided to call off the survellance. The cooperative, mildmannered girlfriend hardly seemed like a killer to him. So if not evette toney, who in the world wanted dr. George blumenschein dead . Did you worry there was somebody responsible out there . Yes. Reporter so . And if they didnt succeed, were they going to try again. Reporter thats exactly what investigators were thinking. They placed a guard at georges door. At that point, we didnt know if anyone would attempt to go into his room and try to do it again. Reporter you were concerned about his life . Yes, maam, very concerned. Reporter a second murder attempt . Yes, maam. Coming up behind closed doors at the hospital. The plot started to thicken. I think people started to realize and put pieces together. When dateline continues. You could save energy by weaving your own shoes. Out of flax. Or simply adjust your thermostat. Do your thing, with Energy Upgrade california. Reporter two weeks after he was poisoned, dr. George blumenschein was still suffering, his body ravaged by the toxic chemical Ethylene Glycol. 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 m. D. Anderson were less than chatty. These doctors who you were dealing with are very private people. They are, yes. Reporter and very intelligent. Were they eager, willing witnesses . No. Reporter did they want to be part of this . No one wanted to be a part of this case. Reporter still, one of georges closest colleagues made herself available. Dr. Ana Maria Gonzalez, georges research partner, the coworker who was by his side as he checked into the e. R. A fellow workaholic, ana knew the details of georges life at the hospital. How often were they together working . Seemed like all the time. I mean, they traveled together. They worked either in his office or her office. They were always on the phone. Reporter dr. Gonzalez, who was born in colombia, was a fastrising star in Breast Cancer medicine. Her research garnered international attention. The susan g. Komen Foundation Even produced this video about her work. I truly believe that she holds the cure for women in the world. Reporter as patients like Silvia Lieber saw it, dr. Gonzalez was nothing short of a miracle worker. She has this compassion and understanding about the disease and about the women she treats. Reporter dr. Gonzalez also treated nadine eidman. You know, i was never a number. I was never just a patient. I was a human being who had a full life. Reporter did she immediately put you at ease . She absolutely did. You know, shes really small of stature, but shes feisty. And she said, were just going to go after this. And i said, yeah, you and i are going to get along just fine. And we have. Reporter ana met george years earlier when she referred a patient to him. Soon after, she invited him to collaborate on a research project. Multiple studies followed. They were invited to lecture and travel around the world. After working for george, sandy molina took a job assisting ana. I know she was trying to get his career going, writing more grants, and helping him get promoted, and he wasnt the most organized person. Reporter so ana really had an impact on georges life . Yes. Reporter was he very grateful for that . I think he was. Reporter how eager were you to talk to dr. Gonzalez . Very eager. She knew his habits, his schedule, about the timeline that i needed information on. Reporter ana provided valuable details about the day george got sick. She told the lieutenant she and george worked in their offices at m. D. Anderson, then attended a business dinner together that evening. She witnessed his condition slowly worsen and even followed george as he drove himself to the hospital around midnight. And every minute that you can account for i would imagine helps you put together that crucial timeline. Yes, maam. Reporter what does she tell you . I asked her for an account of the week prior to him going into the hospital. Reporter ana told him all about georges week, the details of his busy schedule. She was sharing a lot. But as lieutenant sosa listened, he had a hunch she might also be leaving something out. So he went back and pressed george and anas reticent colleagues for more information. What was up with george and ana . Sosa starts to find out that there might have been something more than just a working relationship between doctors blumenschein and gonzalez. Reporter the plot started to thicken. I think people started to realize and put pieces together. Reporter even though the folks at m. D. Anderson werent so keen to talk to investigators, that didnt keep them from whispering about george and ana among themselves. Did ana know that people were gossiping . Im sure she did, and im sure some of it got to her, too. But she and i never really talked about it. Reporter lieutenant sosa asked ana point blank were she and george having an affair . She denied it. He also asked george the same thing, and george also said no. But the investigator wasnt convinced. The question nagged at him. Now, weeks since he was poisoned, george was out of the hospital, feeling stronger and back at work. The investigator decided to invite him out for a drive, away from his girlfriend and colleagues. In the car, george finally confessed. He and ana were partners in more ways than one. Were these quick trysts that they were having, or was this a deep, emotional connection . I never got an indication from dr. Blumenschein that it was a deep connection. It was just a fling. Reporter george told the lieutenant the affair went on for a year and a half. He said it was a casual thing, but sometimes when they traveled to professional conferences, theyd share a room. A sort of coworkers with benefits arrangement. In fact, the day he got sick, hed stopped at anas on the way to work. They go upstairs. They have a sexual liaison. Reporter he carried her up the stairs. That sounds like kind of romantic, not a casual, im not into this. They were having some sort of a romantic, casual, sexual, romantic thing going on. They split a shot of vodka before they left for m. D. Anderson. Reporter to investigators, this prestigious hospital was looking more and more like the setting of a soapy daytime drama, drama that changed the shape of the investigation. Any time you have a love triangle, the different points, the vertices of that triangle, are going to be the ones you look at. You have evette. Maybe shes mad because shes got a cheating boyfriend, and she wants to get revenge. And you have ana, whos the other woman. Reporter poking around George Blumenscheins professional life had led investigators right back to his private life, giving them a dramatic new theory of the crime. Coming up, one secret is out, but there are many more. Who has the motive . Its the person who isnt getting what they want, who has to have what they know they cant. Reporter the first big break in the investigation into who poisoned George Blumenschein came when the doctor finally admitted he was a cheater. He was carrying on an affair with his esteemed research partner, ana Maria Gonzalez, while going home to his girlfriend, evette toney. Investigators went back to talk to evette. Evette did have a motive. Her guy is having an affair with another doctor. The thing about evette is she didnt know about this affair until after blumenschein was poisoned. Evette toney is so naive and so clueless as to whats going on, she says, yeah, no, no, theres nothing funny going on. Theyre really good friends. Ive asked him before and hes told me no. She doesnt know whats going on. Reporter she told investigatiors that george only fessed up about the affair a few weeks after he was poisoned. So with evette essentially cleared again, investigators turned to the other sharp point of this love triangle, dr. Gonzalez. And george had some interesting things to say. As he told it, in the weeks before his poisoning, anas affections intensified. She called and texted him constantly, showered him with gifts, and even started buying the same things he owned. Buying the same type of car that he has, buying the same type