Hearing set for Okla. doctor charged with murder
Ponca City Now - January 23, 2014 6:31 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A hearing is scheduled in Oklahoma County District Court for a former doctor facing murder and drug distribution charges in the deaths of patients who died from what authorities say were prescription drug overdoses.
The hearing for Dr. William Valuck is set for Thursday. Valuck was arrested in December in Texas and is being held in the Oklahoma County Jail.
An affidavit says federal and state authorities have been investigating Valuck since January 2013. It alleges the 71-year-old Valuck wrote prescriptions for controlled dangerous substances without a legitimate medical need and that the quantities and circumstances amount to unlawful distribution of the drugs.
Authorities say eight of Valuck’s patients died of overdoses of the drugs he was prescribing to them. Another patient allegedly caused a fatal traffic accident.
