VICTIMS' FAMILIES SHOCKED BY GREEN'S INDICTMENT

WARNER ROBINS - It was hard enough getting over the death of her
first-born son Elmer, who died of a drug overdose three years ago,
Julia Teal said on Thursday.

But now this. Now she's having to relive those memories and all those
emotions after hearing news reports this week that a Perry doctor who
specialized in the treatment of chronic pain had been indicted by a
grand jury for Elmer's death.

"It's a total shock, a slap in the face," said Teal, 69, of Warner
Robins. "I hadn't gotten over losing him. You see (reports) he was
murdered. You don't know what to think."

Dr. Spurgeon Green is alleged to have prescribed Xanax, OxyContin and
other pain medications without any justified medical reason, to Elmer
and five other victims. The drugs eventually led to their deaths,
according to the indictment.

The names, addresses and birthdays of the alleged victims were
released Thursday by the Houston County District Attorney's Office.

They include:

. Elmer Lee Teal Jr., a disabled, former auto-mechanic, of 211
Sunstede Road, Warner Robins, who died Jan. 19, 2001, at age 46.

. Belinda Kay Maya, a licensed practical nurse, of 135 Elaine Drive,
Red Fox Run Mobile Home Park, Lot 88, in Houston County, who died June
19, 2002, at age 46.

. Thomas Edward Bacigalupo, a disabled man, of 626 Gawin Drive, in
Warner Robins, who died Jan. 14, 2003, at Houston Medical Center at
age 44.

. Melissa Allen, of 201 Quacco Road, Lot 1190, in Savannah, who died
sometime after Sept. 10, 2002 at about age 30.

. James Eugene Carr, of 5405 Houston Road, Lot 38, in Macon, who died
Dec. 14, 2001, at age 49.

. David Wayne Barbari, of Four Seasons Apartments, No. 10, in Jesup,
who died in April 2003 at age 40.

Julia Teal and Belinda Kay Maya's family said Thursday they were never
notified of the Green case and still didn't know what to think.

"No one knows there was an investigation," said Bill Swinford of
Bonaire. He is Maya's older brother and works as a sales manager at
Warner Robins Ford Lincoln Mercury. "I was having my morning coffee,
reading the paper. ... What really caught my attention was one of the
names (of the alleged victims) was the son of an employee, and then I
read on down and read my sister's name.

"To say I was shocked was an understatement," said
Swinford.

Maya took medicine for her severe back pain after she fell a few years
earlier, Swinford said. He said he was unaware of Maya getting
prescriptions from Dr. Green.

"We were all shocked (by her death)," he said. "There was a lot of
question about it. One of my sisters was convinced there was something
to it."

The family was told Maya had had congestive heart failure, Swinford
said. Her death certificate, obtained Thursday by The Telegraph from
the Houston County Probate Court, lists her cause of death as
"morphine toxicity" from an "overdose of medicine."

Swinford had recalled seeing the stories in the newspaper about
Green's first indictment a year ago, but never thought anything about
his sister, he said.

"Obviously, if this has happened, the grand jury indictment, I think
there's some merit to this (case)," he said. "There's no excuse for
abuse on any side."

Maya left behind a grown daughter, who lives in Florida, and a teenage
stepson living in Warner Robins, Swinford said.

According to Julia Teal, Elmer left behind a 21-year-old son of Warner
Robins.

Elmer, she said, had been sick with heart problems when he died, but
she was unaware of his visits with Green. His death certificate,
obtained Thursday, lists his cause of death as "drug intoxication"
from an "ingestion of multiple drugs."

"He was my number one, first-born. That was the way he signed
everything he gave me," Julia said. "I want (Green) off the street."

According to Houston County District Attorney Kelly Burke, Green will
be allowed to turn himself in next week at a bond hearing that has not
yet been set.

It was the death of Barbari in April 2003 that led to Green's first
murder indictment issued in Wayne County. After a lengthy law
enforcement investigation, Green was indicted Tuesday by a Houston
County grand jury on six murder charges and 29 charges of unlawfully
prescribing controlled substances or dangerous drugs.

Green's attorney, O. Hale Almand Jr. of Macon, said Wednesday that his
client is innocent and 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."