PROSECUTION BEGINS TESTIMONY IN FORMER DOCTOR'S TRIAL

FORT PIERCE -- Brenda Edwards recalls the first time she knew she was
addicted to OxyContin.

"The shakes I felt when I didn't take the medication on time," she said.
The shaking and sweats disappeared within a half hour of taking her pills
and she began to realize she had a problem.

Edwards was the first of what prosecutors say will be several patients of
former Port St. Lucie doctor Asuncion Luyao, 63, expected to testify during
her trial on charges of manslaughter, racketeering and trafficking in
oxycodone.

Before testimony began Friday and away from the jury, prosecutors expressed
concerns about a juror they claim is under investigation in connection with
prescription fraud who could become "hostile" to their case as a result.
Defense attorney Joel Hirschhorn accused them of trying to intimidate the
juror through the media.

Senior Judge C.P. Trowbridge already ruled against a motion to exclude the
juror for a different reason, and prosecutors stopped short of asking the
juror be excused Friday. Assistant State Attorney Lev Evans said they plan
to bring the issue up again later in the trial.

Edwards first went to Luyao for help with a bad back in 2000 and was
prescribed OxyContin and Soma, a muscle relaxant. Initially, the medicine
worked well, but months later she realized she was addicted and needed to
get off the pills.

On the same day she first told Luyao she wanted to quit, the doctor
refilled her OxyContin prescription, she said. After one attempt to quit,
which led to her retaking OxyContin within a month, she finally told Luyao
she wanted no more of the painkiller.

"I want off the train is what I think I said," Edwards said.

She eventually was given methadone to help deal with withdrawal, but didn't
quit for good until the day of Luyao's arrest. Edwards dumped her pills
into the toilet and hasn't used the drug since, she said.

During cross-examination, she admitted she found Luyao to be a caring,
sensitive physician who told her she couldn't quit cold turkey, but would
need to be weaned off the drug. Using OxyContin after quitting the first
time was her own decision, not Luyao's, which came after she re-injured her
back, she said.

Prosecutors began presenting their first medical evidence to support their
claim of negligence on Luyao's part, and that testimony will pick up
Monday. The six charges of manslaughter are linked to the deaths of Luyao
patients and jurors heard evidence about three of the deaths Friday.

All three deaths were overdoses and some patients had four to seven times
the maximum dosage of OxyContin and other drugs in their systems. During
cross-examination, Dr. Charles Diggs said there was a possibility of
suicide in one of the autopsies he conducted and if a case is uncertain, he
will list "accidental" rather than suicide in deference to families.

Relatives of four of the six deceased patients testified Thursday and
jurors heard evidence about the remaining two patients Friday.

The sister and nephew of Janice Byers, 40, of Vero Beach, talked about the
final day of her life, in which they found her lying on the floor of her
room with her face buried in a basket of clothes. Lying on the floor near
her outstretched hand was a bottle of OxyContin prescribed by Luyao.

In cross-examination, family members said Byers had been addicted to drugs
for about 20 years and was known to get "wasted" several times a week. Her
nephew testified she was known to sell pills and buy them on the street and
had used crack cocaine.

Gary Poltronieri talked about the death of his girlfriend Rona Kay, 35, of
Pembroke Pines, who sought Luyao's help to kick an addiction to GHB,
commonly referred to as the "date rape" drug because of its incapacitating
effects. She was one of three deceased patients who went to Luyao for
addiction treatment and was found dead in bed after laying down to rest.

Testimony will continue Monday and the trial is scheduled to last about
three weeks.