The Blood Bank, The Scribe & A Busy Trauma Room: Inside Day 3 Of The Taiganides Manslaughter Trial

By Alric Lindsay

Tensions inside the Grand Court peaked this afternoon, September 9, 2026, as the manslaughter trial of Doctor Paul Anthony Taiganides entered its third day. The prosecution’s case shifted focus from the highly contentious police testimony of Day 2 to the highly anticipated clinical testimony of Dr. Patrice Angus, an emergency room physician who stood at the head of the bed during the chaotic, final moments of Travis Ebanks’ life.

Led by Martin Mulgrew, Crown Counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Angus’s direct testimony provided a vivid window into the initial emergency response. However, a relentless cross-examination by lead defence attorney Ben Tonner KC successfully drove the witness to concede that the scribe’s official, real-time notes were fundamentally more reliable than her own memory of that night.

The Calm Before the Surge: Initial ER Preparation

Taking the stand, Dr. Angus established her professional standing, noting she has served as an emergency physician with the Health Services Authority (HSA) since 2019. At the time of the incident on January 21, 2024, she worked alongside Dr. Teeling at an equal clinical level, with neither physician holding administrative authority over the other.

Dr. Angus testified that upon receiving advance radio notification that a patient with a gunshot wound was inbound, she immediately sprang into action. She contacted Dr. Assrope and started preparations. She added that in a typical trauma situation, she would clear out existing Accident & Emergency (A&E) patients to open up the resuscitation area, and instruct the trauma team to change into full protective gear (PPE).

The Airway Battle: Holding Back a Dying Patient

The court heard that when Travis Ebanks arrived at the hospital, he was awake, talking, and highly agitated. Dr. Angus testified that the victim was complaining of severe pain and explicitly stated that he could not feel his legs. Medical staff placed an oxygen mask over his face.

Positioning herself standardly at the head of the bed to manage the airway, Dr. Angus described a scene of intensifying physical friction. Mr. Ebanks began actively resisting, repeatedly attempting to remove the oxygen mask off his face. Dr. Angus testified that she was forced to physically hold the patient back by holding his hand to keep the mask secured while continuously trying to verbally reassure him. “I was looking into his eyes and talking to him, “Dr. Angus added.

It was during this specific struggle that Dr. Angus recalled checking the vitals monitor. Glancing up for a “split second” while holding the patient’s hand, she noticed his oxygen saturation level was at 93%. Asked whether there was anything that concerned her about the oxygen level, Dr Angus answered “No.”

Dr. Angus admitted that her medical notes indicated she did not call an anaesthetist to the room at that exact moment. When questioned by the prosecution, she explained that under normal circumstances she would have, but at that specific instant, she felt there was “no dire threat.”

Shift in Command: The Arrival of Dr. Taiganides

The court heard that, while Dr. Angus managed the airway, Dr. Assrope—a junior physician—was on the right side of the bed actively inserting a chest tube, with hands-on assistance from Dr. Teeling.

Based on the testimony from Dr Angus, the clinical dynamics changed when Doctor Paul Anthony Taiganides entered the trauma room. According to Dr. Angus, the surgeon briefly stepped out of the room to change into surgical scrubs but returned almost immediately. Upon his return, Dr. Taiganides took a “very commanding” and direct tone regarding the next steps, including required blood.

Dr. Angus testified that the medical team unanimously agreed with the direction of Dr. Taiganides. Feeling entirely comfortable leaving the physical management of the patient to the three physicians now grouped around the torso—Dr. Taiganides, Dr. Teeling, and Dr. Assrope—Dr. Angus decided to step away from the bedside to coordinate the required blood.

Before exiting the room, Dr. Angus addressed a question from Dr. Assrope regarding the anesthetist, stating she would instruct Nurse Maria to make a call. Dr. Angus then ordered a comprehensive suite of urgent diagnostic scans, including CT scans of the patient’s head and neck.  She said she walked directly to her desk to input the orders into the HSA computer system. She remained at her desk until Dr. Taiganides and Dr. Assrope exited the trauma room some time later to inform her they had officially “called it” and pronounced Ebanks dead.

Defence Probes Blood Bank Logs and Memory Gaps

The tone in the courtroom shifted heavily during cross-examination as Ben Tonner KC focused on the critical logistical delays surrounding the patient’s treatment—specifically, the administration of blood.

Tonner KC pressed Dr. Angus on why blood products had not been ordered in advance of the patient’s arrival. Dr. Angus defended the omission, stating that because the initial radio reports were vague, the trauma team did not yet know the full extent of the injuries they were dealing with. She explained that she only left the trauma room to sign off on an emergency “universal donor” cross-match protocol because the patient’s blood pressure was failing to rise.

The defence then introduced an HSA computer audit log to trace the exact timeline of the blood bank’s operations. The records revealed a stark gap:

* 04:47 AM: The patient’s blood specimen collection was officially recorded.

* 05:50 AM: The blood product was finally logged by the lab as “verified.”

Tonner KC forcefully suggested that based on these timestamps, the vital blood products only became available after Mr. Ebanks had already succumbed to his injuries. Dr. Angus resisted this conclusion, testifying that the automated layout and specific unit numbers on the computer document did not assist her memory. She explained that completed blood packages bypass her desk entirely and travel straight to the trauma room via medical staff, making it impossible for her to verify the exact arrival time.

Scribe Notes Deemed “Definitely” More Reliable

The defence further chipped away at the accuracy of Dr. Angus’s independent recollection of the night. When asked to provide a precise timestamp for when Dr. Assrope had asked her to call back the anesthetist, Dr. Angus turned and said, “I am so sorry, [I cannot].”

Furthermore, Tonner KC asked if an anesthetist had confronted her after the failed resuscitation to state that anesthesia should have been called down to the trauma room much earlier. Dr. Angus replied, “I don’t recall.”

The pivotal moment of the cross-examination came when Tonner KC focused on the role of the emergency room’s medical scribe, who is tasked with manually logging every vital sign, medication, and clinical intervention as it happens in real-time.

“Is her note more reliable than your memory?” Tonner KC asked plainly.

“Definitely,” Dr. Angus conceded.

Absent Witnesses: Statements Read Into Record

Because several vital medical and emergency personnel were not present to give live testimony, the prosecution read their formal, signed statements into the court record to establish the broader chain of events:

* Ernesto Bodden (EMT): A veteran paramedic with 28 years at the HSA and an EMT for almost 40 years, Bodden’s statement detailed responding to King Road on the night of January 20, 2024. He noted that while the patient initially appeared calm and complained only of his legs, emergency crews discovered a critical second gunshot wound on the patient’s neck. Bodden accompanied the victim directly into the trauma room and left.

* Nurse Rodriguez (RN): Her statement noted that when Mr. Ebanks arrived at A&E, he was sitting completely upright and was coherent enough to state his name and date of birth. Ebanks was moved from one trolley to the next, with assistance. However, Ebanks was hyposensitive with bottoming blood pressure. Rodriguez noted that the patient rapidly lost consciousness, prompting CPR, at which point she observed blood aggressively backing up into the medical tubing before resuscitation was halted.

* Oneil Ricards Brown (RN, ER Specialist): Brown’s statement corroborated the frantic scene inside the room, noting that two uniformed police officers were present in the immediate area. Brown recorded seeing Dr. Assrope inserting the chest tube with Dr. Teeling’s help. According to Brown, Doctor Sandia arrived around this time with an x-ray or x-ray machine. 

According to Brown’s statement read out in court, gradually, the patient became less responsive.

Crucially, Brown’s statement noted that Dr. Taiganides then inserted an endotracheal tube into the patient’s throat and attached a manual bag to assist with breathing. Reportedly, following a consultation between Dr. Taiganides and Dr. Teeling, the time of death was officially declared.

Looking Ahead

Before adjourning today, Justice Richards informed the jury that court proceedings will resume on September 10 at 10:30 am, with the next live witness scheduled to take the stand on September 11 at 9:30 am.