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The former Mount Carmel anesthesiologist faces 14 counts of murder after prosecutors say he ordered excessive doses of painkillers that hastened the deaths of patients.

Pharmacist questioned during second day of Husel trial

Matthew Rand
/
WOSU

The trial of former Mount Carmel doctor William Husel continued today in Columbus.

During the second day of testimony, the prosecution questioned pharmacist Talon Schroyer, who worked with Husel at Mount Carmel West.

He described the pharmacist’s role, which included verifying or objecting to medication orders to ensure patient safety, operating various pharmaceutical equipment, and described specific instances where he approved medications prescribed by Husel.

At one point, he told prosecutors about a time he questioned one of Husel's orders.

"I asked something to the effect of 'Hey, doc, I got this order for fentanyl here. Did you add an extra 01 or something?' And he said, 'Nope. We're doing a procedure up here. That's what I ordered.' I said, 'Okay' and I hung up and verified the order," said Schroyer.

Husel was originally indicted on 25 counts of murder, but that was reduced to 14 after the prosecution dismissed 11 of the charges following a December hearing in which Husel’s attorneys honed in on the standard that prosecutors used to decide when fentanyl doses became lethal.

Matthew Rand is the Morning Edition host for 89.7 NPR News. Rand served as an interim producer during the pandemic for WOSU’s All Sides daily talk show.