STILL NO TRIAL DATE FOR PERRY DOCTOR CHARGED WITH MURDER

WARNER ROBINS - It's been nearly a year since a suspended Perry doctor was
indicted on felony murder charges in the deaths of six people. But still no
trial date has been set.

Dr. Spurgeon Green, 66, of Warner Robins, is free on a $300,000 bond.

Houston County District Attorney Kelly Burke said the case against Green is
not "your average murder case." He said he had always expected that it
would take some time to prepare for trial.

"It's a very complex case, and we'll proceed with it as carefully as we can
and as thoroughly as we can," Burke said.

He said a trial date may be set for the fall of this year.

Green was indicted July 13, 2004, by a Houston County grand jury on the
murder charges.

A certified pain specialist, Green is accused of prescribing various pain
medications to the six people without a legitimate medical purpose,
resulting in their deaths. Felony murder is when someone dies in the
commission of another felony. Burke said that the underlying felony is
prescribing pain medications without a legitimate medical purpose.

O. Hale Almand Jr., a Macon attorney representing Green, could not be
reached for comment last week. Almand previously told The Telegraph that
"Dr. Green's treatment of his patients is consistent with acceptable
medical practices as will be clearly demonstrated at his trial on the
indictment."

Green is accused of killing Wayne Barbari, 40, of Jesup; Elmer Lee Teal
Jr., 46, of Warner Robins; Belinda Kay Maya, 46, of Houston County; Melissa
Marl Allen, 29, of Savannah; James Eugene Carr, 49, of Macon; and Thomas
Edward Bacigalupo, 44, of Warner Robins.

Green also had faced a felony murder charge in Wayne County in the death of
Barbari, but that charge was dropped there because it was consolidated with
the case being prosecuted in Houston County, Burke said. Wayne County
originally charged Green on July 22, 2003.

Green's license to practice medicine was suspended by the the Composite
State Board of Medical Examiners on July 24, 2003.

Burke said he has not reached a decision on whether he will seek the death
penalty in Green's case.

In addition to the criminal case, two separate civil matters involving
Green have been filed in Houston County.

A judge has issued a ruling on the forfeiture of $800,000 in cash,
cashier's checks, money orders and jewelry that sheriff's deputies seized
from Green's Warner Robins home in January 2003. But the order has been
sealed, Houston County Superior Court Clerk Carolyn Sullivan said.

Burke said a criminal case and a civil case can be so intertwined, as in
this case, that information might be revealed that would prejudice a jury
trial. As a result, it's not uncommon for the ruling in such a civil case
to be sealed or for the civil case to be continued until after the criminal
trial, he said.

The other civil matter involving Green is a medical malpractice suit filed
against Green in connection with the death of a Knoxville woman. The
lawsuit accuses Green of causing or contributing to the death of Evon
Harper, 43, of Knoxville, by over-prescribing narcotic and other
medications. The lawsuit, which seeks in excess of $10,000 in damages, was
filed by Harper's parents, Raymond and Lucille Zuback, on the behalf of
their daughter's minor child, in Houston County Superior Court on Dec. 22,
2004. Raymond Zuback declined to comment. David L. Mincey, a Macon attorney
representing the Zubacks, also declined to comment.

Almand filed a response Feb. 16 to the lawsuit in which Green denied any
negligence and seeks dismissal of the suit.

The death was not included in the six deaths that the Houston County
indictment was based upon. Burke declined to comment on the civil case or
whether the district attorney's office was investigating or had
investigated this death.