Robert Allen Weitzel struggled to hold his emotions in check, clearly devastated even as he spoke about hope.
From his cell block at the Davis County Jail, Weitzel maintained he did the right thing in providing comfort care to five elderly psychiatric patients who died under his care in December 1995 and January 1996. Prosecutors said he was derelict in treating the patients, overprescribing sedatives that caused their deaths.
"But I feel like all I did was do my best to help these people," Weitzel said, his voice echoing off the jailhouse walls Wednesday. "I did the right thing. I stuck my neck out a bit, but I did the right thing."
Jurors disagreed, convicting him Monday of two counts of second-degree felony manslaughter and three counts of misdemeanor negligent homicide in the deaths of Ellen Anderson, Ennis Alldredge, Lydia Smith, Judith Larsen and Mary Crane. In doing so, they rejected the state's request to find him guilty of five first-degree felony murder counts.
Even so, Weitzel said he was shocked at the verdict, which jurors rendered after five hours of deliberation.
"My feeling is that five hours is a little too short a time to deliberate," he said. "If they had read the charts, I think the story would have been very clear. This is not a case of murder. These folks (the patients) were very, very ill.
"Ethically, they've been teaching people ever since I was in medical school that sometimes to prolong life is just postponing death," he said. "Medical technology has made it possible to do all sorts of stuff, but sometimes you've just got to let nature take its course."
Friend and neighbor Christy Bradshaw said she, too, was stunned when the verdict was announced.
"He was at my house at 9 o'clock to see what they'd say on the news," she said. "They announced (the jury) had made their decision, and he darted off so he could be there.
"When they said the jury had reached a decision in five hours, I thought it had to be an acquittal," Bradshaw continued. "There's no way they could get through all those medical records that fast. But when I heard a juror say, 'I'd made my decision early on,' I couldn't believe it."
Bradshaw said Weitzel had been her neighbor for five years and would invite her and her husband over to play Pictionary or to go hiking.
"He's always been very nice to us, very helpful and nice," she said. "He is definitely not a murderer."
Each of the patients had been diagnosed with dementia and was exhibiting combative behavior when admitted under Weitzel's care. And though none showed obvious signs of impending death, Weitzel maintains each suffered an acute, incurable medical crisis. After that, Weitzel said, he did what he thought would ease their suffering as they approached death, what he thought the patients and their families wanted.
Though victims' family members testified during his trial he was inattentive — some said he was rude and intimidating — Weitzel said they were appreciative of his care at the time the patients fell ill.
"I can't imagine how anyone would think I caused the deaths, especially of Ms. (Judith) Larsen," he said. "Ms. Larsen had a (gastrointestinal) bleed. Psychiatric meds do not cause GI bleeds, and she had a bad one. Her family said, 'Let her go; there's no point in aggressive interventions.'
"I did that, and this is what happened."
Now, incarcerated until his Aug. 17 sentencing date, Weitzel said he will try to keep his hold on hope, even in the face of a possible sentence of 33 years in prison. He said he has been treated fairly in jail, and he tries to stay occupied.
"I have some hope. It's a real different world all of the sudden. But I'm going to try to keep a good spirit."
Thinking about his chances for a light sentence, Weitzel's voice softens.
"I have no idea what will happen. I think it's fairly likely from all I hear that I'm going to prison. I'll just try to keep good spirits and be a good guy to the people around me. Some people, they become better people and happier people because of what they went through in prison. I'll just accept it the best I can."
Then, with a strained chuckle, he said, "You know, there are a lot of mentally ill people in jail. I've already done a lot of consults, for guys wanting to know what their medicines are for."
Weitzel said he plans to appeal his conviction, buoyed by a similar case in Kansas in which a doctor's conviction was reversed because the appellate courts determined there were too many conflicting expert medical opinions for a reasonable jury not to find reasonable doubt.
"I hope that would happen here, too," he said.
For now, the days are long in jail, and Weitzel said he spends his time talking with fellow inmates and with friends on the phone, exercising and reading.
The book he is reading, "The Thanatos Syndrome," he selected during his sleepless first night in jail. Ironically, it is about a psychiatrist who, having been released from prison after being convicted of illegally selling amphetamines to truck drivers, returns to solve a medical mystery in his Louisiana home town.
"Funny, isn't it?" Weitzel said, not laughing.
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com