Leslie Walker Witness Packet

What is your name?

My name is Dr. Lesley Walker.

What is your occupation or profession?

I'm a medical doctor here in the state of Lone Star.

Where do you live?

I live here in Armadillo with my spouse and three adopted children.

What is your educational background?

Well after I got out of high school, I went to Yale University, majoring in biology and

physics. After I got out of there, I went to Lone Star A&M Medical School.

Why did you choose that particular medical school?

After being in Yale for a while, I wanted to be in a school where I wouldn't run into any

drug loving, liberal, hippie, radical, freaky people who just wanted to use their medical

degrees to get rich or get high.

What did you do after graduating from medical school?

I went into a volunteer program called Doctors Without Borders and traveled across the

world treating malnourished and underprivileged people. When I finished doing that, I

was offered and accepted a position at the Mayo Clinic, but donated my salary entirely

charitable causes.

What brought you back to Armadillo?

Well, Daddy's trust fund ran out, and I had to get a real job. So I took a job at a clinic

here in Armadillo where I have a bunch of partners who want to use their medical

degrees to get rich or get high.

Have we asked you to look at the facts and circumstances surrounding the unfortunate

death of David Kitner and to render opinions regarding the conduct of Dr. John Martin?

Yes, and I have done just that.

What did you review in reaching your opinions?

I reviewed the autopsy report, the toxicology report, the prior medical records on Mr.

Kitner, and the depositions of all of the other witnesses in this case.

Based on your review of the autopsy, the toxicology report, the medical records and the

depositions taken in this matter, have you formed an opinion as to whether or not Dr.

Martin's conduct in connection with the treatment of his patient, David Kitner,

constituted a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would

exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the actor's standpoint?

Yes, I have formed the opinion that Dr. Martin's conduct did not constitute a gross

deviation from the standard of care an ordinary person would exercise under all the

circumstances as viewed from the actor’s standpoint, and did not cause the death of

David Kitner, a music legend.

What is that opinion based on, Doctor?

It is based on a plethora of things. Start with the undisputed fact that Kitner, while a rock

and roll legend, had very notoriously quit using cocaine well before his death.

Were you aware that Dr. Martin testified that Mr. Kitner was off of cocaine at the time of

his death?

Yes, I was aware of that testimony, and it is in accord with my personal observations.

What personal observations did you make of Mr. Kitner?

 I personally was at a concert where Kitner was playing about 4 days before his death.

Based on my experience observing people who have been using cocaine, Mr. Kitner was

as sober as a nun.There’s no way he could’ve played songs like “Layla” on stage while

stoned. 

If you had a patient who told you he had quit drugs completely, would you be entitled to rely upon his statements?

Typically you would, particularly if you are in close proximity to him constantly to

observe anything that might contradict that statement. Dr. Martin was in close proximity

to Kitner constantly, and was entitled to rely upon the statements of his close friend,

Kitner, that Kitner had quit using cocaine once and for all. More than just the statements,

Dr. Martin was entitled to rely upon his personal observation of the patient over the

ensuing days. When a person is on cocaine, it's obvious. If Dr. Martin was observing

Kitner on a daily basis and did not see any of the classic signs of cocaine use, he was

entitled to believe that Kitner had kicked the coke. Turns out, of course, that Kitner had

substituted hydrocodone for the cocaine, but Dr. Martin would have to be pretty

observant to spot that.

But hydrocodone use is something that a trained physician such as Dr. Martin could spot

if he was looking for signs of drug use, isn’t it?

Anything is possible. Except Texas A&M surviving in the SEC. That’s not possible.

What in your opinion caused the death of Mr. Kitner?

Well, start with the idea that Kitner was grossly overweight, apparently had high blood

pressure, apparently never exercised, ate poorly and led a rock and roll lifestyle. You add

all these things up, you get a person who's classically at risk for a massive coronary event

from just lifting a fork. Which he did way too much.Add to that the stress of his personal

life, putting up with a thankless child and all the tabloid relationships, and you get stress

that just takes fat old guys like him out. This is really very common, if you just look at

the stats.

Can you say to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that Kitner’s death was the result

of taking Propofol and hydrocodone together?

Because we aren’t allowed to experiment around with a human subject, we will never really know whether Mr. Kitner would have had the same massive coronary episode

absent the administration of Propofol. It is not possible to say, based on reasonable

medical certainty, that the heart attack would not have occurred but for the Propofol.

Was it appropriate to administerPropofol in order to combat shortness of breath, if that’s

what happened here?

The shortness of breath was a sign of anxiety. Combating anxiety with Propofol is

absolutely acceptable medical practice. It is one of the things that the drug is frequently

used for. It has a strong sedative effect.

Can you identify Exhibit 6?

Yes, this is a few pages from the Physician's Desk Reference regarding Propofol and its

uses.

If Mr. Kitner had not been secretly using hydrocodone, would the administration of

Propofol be fatal?

Absolutely not.

Once Dr. Martin was called back intoKitner's room and observed Kitner in a seizure, did

he meet the standard of care of a physician by administering adrenaline?

Yes, the doctor's conduct in administering adrenaline to try to bring Kitner out of a

seizure and a cardiac event was exactly what he should have done. Again, if it hadn't

been for the hydrocodone and Propofol in Kitner's system, his life would have been

saved, not lost.

Are you familiar with Dr. Martin's testimony that he did not personally inject the

medication Propofol into Kitner?

Yes, I am familiar with that testimony and I find it to be credible.

If Dr. Martin did not inject the Propofol, how did it get into Kitner's system?

There are two possibilities. First, given Kitner's long history of drug abuse, Kitner may have injected it into himself, thinking it was some kind of hallucinogen. That's a

common abuse of the drug in the rock and roll world. Second, he could have been

injected by another party, someone who was neither Dr. Martin nor Kitner.

Are you aware of any other parties who were present in the master suite on that date?

Well, Little Kitner was there.

Can you identify Exhibit 7?

Yes, that's a copy of Rolling Stone magazine.

Do you find Rolling Stone magazine to be a reliable source of information as it relates to

the activities of rock and roll stars such as David Kitner?

Yes, unlike supermarket tabloids, Rolling Stone has real reports and they do a real fine

job of getting to the truth. I have found their articles to be extremely accurate. Doctors

who treat celebrities use Rolling Stone all the time to keep up with the habits of their

famous patients. It’s easier than trying to listen to the lyrics and discern what drugs were

involved when they were written.

Was there anything in this particular issue that you relied upon in reaching your opinions

in this case?

Yes, this particular issue had a feature story on David Kitner. In that feature story, it

quotes Kitner as saying that he was particularly fond of hallucinogenic drugs, and loved

to experiment with different drugs and different combinations of drugs. He even

admitted to trying to inject Drano once to see if it would give him a sufficient high.

Apparently somebody talked him out of it because he was still talking when he gave the

interview

How did that information in this learned treatise influence your opinion?

It tells me that Kitner was the type who would inject himself with Propofol just to see if

he could trip out on it.

Trip out?

You know, experience an altered state of consciousness. Become detached from reality.

You weren’t raised in the ‘60s, were you?

No. But that’s not important now. Can you identify Exhibit 9?

That’s a prescription form for hydrocodone, signed by Dr. Rodney Acker, prescribing

hydrocodone for Mr. Kitner, to be taken as needed for pain.

Do you know why Dr. Acker prescribed this instead of Dr. Martin, who was Kitner’s

personal and ever present physician?

Dr. Acker is a well known sports doctor who has a reputation for giving out certain

medications rather freely. Probably why he’s referred to as Roofie Rod. Anyway,

apparently Kitner sought him out and got the medication about 4 weeks before his death