Former surgeon pleads not guilty in girlfriend's overdose death
eartha...@yahoo.com
patient.
Former surgeon pleads not guilty in girlfriend's overdose death
By Associated Press
December 19, 2005
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) - A former Nashville plastic surgeon who is
charged in the drug overdose death of a Tennessee woman pleaded not
guilty Monday in a Williamson County Court.
Dr. Christ Pete Koulis was arrested Nov. 22 in Wilmette, Ill., on
charges of second-degree murder and reckless homicide in the July 4
death of Lesa R. Buchanan.
Koulis is accused of providing Buchanan, a woman with whom
investigators say he had a six-year romantic relationship, with the
drugs that killed her. Authorities declined to say which drugs were
found in Buchanan's body.
Koulis was visiting Buchanan for the holiday when she was taken to the
Williamson Medical Center and pronounced dead from "acute multiple drug
overdose."
Koulis posted a $250,000 bond two weeks ago and surrendered his
passport.
Koulis has a long history of disciplinary problems for multiple charges
of mishandling drugs as a plastic surgeon in both Tennessee and
Illinois. He eventually lost his Tennessee license in 2004, and
Illinois suspended his license in August, according to regulatory
records in both states.
=====================
http://www.wsmv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4211180
Williamson County
Doctor charged in death of girlfriend returns to Chicago
Dec 7, 2005, 09:03 PM PST
Reported by Dennis Ferrier
wsmv.com
A former Nashville plastic surgeon who is charged in the drug overdose
death of a Tennessee woman has returned to Chicago after posting
$250,000 bond in Williamson County on Wednesday.
Dr. Christ Koulis returned to Franklin on Tuesday from Illinois to face
charges that he provided drugs and syringes that contributed to the
death of his girlfriend, Lesa Buchanan.
Koulis was charged on November 22 with second degree murder in the
death of Buchanan who died of an overdose on July 4, 2005 at her Cool
Springs apartment.
Buchanan's family said Tuesday they were afraid if Koulis made bond he
may try to escape to a family home in Greece. However, a judge
stipulated that if Koulis made bond, he would have to turn in his
passport. Koulis' family had said his passport was missing but it was
apparently found and turned in when Koulis made bond on Wednesday.
Koulis has a checkered past including having romantic relationships
with patients and even talking on the cell phone with women while
operating on a patient. He lost his Tennessee medical license after the
state said he stole his own office drugs and lied about it while
working for St. Thomas Hospital and Baptist Hospital.
The plastic surgeon has also lost his license to practice medicine in
New York, Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois.
Buchanan was a former model, a children's book author, and a promising
puppeteer. Friends say she had no interest in drugs until she met Dr.
Koulis.
================================
Pictures
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/11/23/doc.html
Family Of Doctor's Alleged Murder Victim Talks To 9News
Reported by: 9News
Web produced by: Mark Sickmiller
Photographed by: 9News
First posted: 11/23/2005 6:22:25 PM
Members of a Tri-state family say they've finally found some peace.
Months after Lesa Renee Buchanan's murder, the man accused of killing
her is behind bars.
The suspected murdered: a plastic surgeon who once lived in our area.
Lesa Renee Buchanan died July 4th, 2005. Now, Nashville Police believe
she was murdered by drug injections they say were given to her by her
boyfriend, Dr. Chris Koulis.
Koulis' license had been revoked in numerous states, including Ohio.
Ever since Lesa Renee Buchanan's death, her sister from Dillsboro says
her life turned surreal.
"Dealing with investigators, calling the DA, asking about the
investigation and things that you don't really think happen to you,"
said Tara Bentley.
Bentley says she had her suspicions of Lesa Renee's on again-off again
boyfriend, Dr. Christ Pete Koulis.
"I think we're just very thankful. As we approach the holiday, Chris is
being held accountable for his actions," she said.
Early in their relationship, Tara says Koulis treated her sister well,
even spoiled her -- but then things changed.
"He would take care of her, and buy her things, expensive things. But
he was also very possessive over her, and very controlling," Bentley
said.
"He had the white knight syndrome. He wanted to be able to go in and
make her better. But in order to make her better, he had to bring her
to a point where she had to be made better," said Lesa's brother in
law, Mark Bentley.
In 2002, Koulis faced felony charges in Boone County for drugging
Buchanan. That's when her family began to learn more.
"We were very, very surprised that she associated with him after that.
But he obviously had a big hold on her emotionally," Mark said.
Lesa Renee's family now holds tightly onto her modeling pictures, and
her writings, saying she had recently discovered her talent and love
for writing children's books.
"We have pretty much everything she had written and it's our hope that
some day we can get those published for her," said Tara.
Lesa Renee grew up in the Dayton area.
Her modeling brought her to Cincinnati and eventually to Nashville.
The doctor had since moved to Chicago, where the FBI i arrested him on
homicide charges Tuesday.
cro...@earthlink.net
he's going down, big time.
<eartha...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1135056808....@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
eartha...@yahoo.com
Ex-doctor charged with murder in woman's overdose death
By MITCHELL KLINE
The Tennessean
FRANKLIN - A former plastic surgeon who once practiced in Nashville
has been accused of murdering a Franklin woman who died of a drug
overdose.
Police have charged Christ Pete Koulis, 38, with second-degree murder
and reckless homicide in the death of Lesa R. Buchanan. Police said
Buchanan, 35, died on July 4 as a result of a drug overdose. Buchanan
and Koulis had been in a romantic relationship for more than five
years, according to Franklin Detective Eric Anderson.
While law enforcement officials refused to say what drug Buchanan had
consumed, Anderson said Koulis is being held "responsible for that drug
overdose." District Attorney General Ron Davis said there is a state
law that allows prosecutors to charge a person with second-degree
murder if he or she provided illegal drugs that caused a death.
"It's not necessarily that they intended to murder the person," Davis
said. "What matters is if the death resulted from drugs they possessed.
They can and will be prosecuted in (Williamson County)."
Koulis is in federal custody and could not be reached for comment.
Koulis was arrested yesterday by FBI agents in Chicago, where he's
lived for at least two years and where he earlier earned a medical
degree from the University of Illinois. He is being held in federal
custody in lieu of posting $250,000 bail and until an extradition
hearing is scheduled, police said. If he does not fight extradition,
Koulis could be transferred to Franklin within a week, Davis said.
Anderson said Koulis called 911 the night Buchanan died and reported
that she was not breathing and was unresponsive. Emergency personnel
went to Buchanan's apartment at 101 Gillespie Drive and took her to
Williamson Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Police observed what Anderson called "suspicious items" in the
apartment. Koulis was questioned at the scene but later refused to talk
to detectives.
Evidence, including the results of a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
lab analysis and the state medical examiner's report, were presented to
a Williamson County grand jury on Nov. 14. The grand jury returned a
sealed indictment against Koulis.
Koulis, who completed his plastic surgery residency at Vanderbilt
University Medical Center in 1999, had his medical license suspended in
May 2002 and permanently revoked in November 2004, for unprofessional
and unethical conduct, according to state records. He was accused of
entering into a romantic relationship with two patients and stealing
the painkiller Demerol for personal use.
The state of Illinois later granted Koulis a medical license and also
placed him on probation from December 2003 until Aug. 22, 2005, when
his license was suspended for violating the terms of his probation.
Koulis was not supposed to see patients alone, but he had been,
according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation.
In 2003, Koulis pleaded guilty to dispensing a controlled substance
unlawfully in Kentucky, court records show. He was sentenced to
probation.
Buchanan was a model and an aspiring artist, police said. She had been
working on a children's book. ·
eartha...@yahoo.com
cro...@earthlink.net wrote:
> "promising puppeteer?" now, THAT is strange.
> he's going down, big time.
>
She was also a shampoo model.
http://www.wsmv.com/global/story.asp?s=4156535
Detectives say Buchanan was a former patient of Koulis, and they had
been dating for about five years. She was a children's author, shampoo
model and aspiring singer.
Even though Koulis called 911 when Buchanan overdosed at her Cool
Springs apartment on July 4, police say he acted guilty from the
beginning of the investigation. They say Koulis provided minimal
information to the detectives and told them to speak to his attorney.
Koulis was arrested Tuesday in Wilmette, Illinois, where he had started
another medical practice. He agreed on Wednesday to return to Franklin
to face second degree murder charges of his girlfriend. Koulis will
return to Tennessee sometime next week.
Dr. Koulis' turbulent history in Middle Tennessee also includes cases
where staff members expressed their concern he was taking syringes,
needles and controlled substances home for personal use. He has faced
investigations by authorities in the state of Tennessee, Illinois and
New York.
eartha...@yahoo.com
http://www.kypost.com/2002/jul/06/kyplastic_07-06-2002.html
Doctor jailed on drug charges
By Shelly Whitehead
Kentucky Post
07/06/2002
A once-promising young plastic surgeon sits in a Boone County Jail cell
today, charged with at least 20 drug-related crimes just months after
Tennessee medical authorities barred him from practicing medicine there
for drug offenses.
U.S. Customs Service agents arrested Christ Koulis, 34, of Walton, two
weeks ago in Chicago as he got off a flight from Jamaica.
The Boone County Sheriff's Department had issued a warrant for Koulis'
arrest following a two-month investigation that investigators said
showed he supplied narcotics illegally to his 32-year-old girlfriend.
Koulis was arraigned Friday in Boone District Court following
extradition to Boone County Thursday. Being held on $200,000 cash bond,
he is charged with:
· Four counts of unlawful prescribing, administering, dispensing or
distributing controlled substances.
· Three counts of first-degree trafficking in controlled substances.
· Three counts of second-degree trafficking in controlled
substances.
· Six counts of unlawful dispensing of a legend drug.
· One count of second-degree wanton endangerment.
· One count of possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of
possession of a controlled substance not in an original container.
The Boone County Sheriff's Department began investigating Koulis in May
after officers said his girlfriend, Lesa Buchanan, was treated at a
local hospital emergency room for a severe infection. They said they
discovered that Buchanan was illegally obtaining an array of narcotics
through Koulis, who lived with her in Walton.
"We allege that he obtained pharmaceuticals for the victim and himself
{hellip} for recreational drug use," said Maj. Jack Banks, director of
the Boone County Sheriff's Department Criminal Investigation Bureau.
Banks said Buchanan's mother told detectives that Koulis had "been
injecting her daughter with narcotics for a prolonged period of time"
without any medical reason. Koulis is prohibited from prescribing drugs
since he is not licensed to practice medicine in the commonwealth,
according to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure in Frankfort.
Banks said the drugs involved included narcotics like Demerol, codeine,
Vicadin, morphine and Ketamine, an increasingly popular street drug
used medically by veterinary doctors.
The Tennessee Board of Health suspended Koulis' medical license in May
following an investigation into his activities with patients in
Nashville.
"There were a number of charges, most of them drug-related and being
unable to take care of his patients because of personal misuse of drugs
and supplying drugs to patients," said Diane Denton, public information
director for the Tennessee Department of Health. "Even after he
surrendered his license {hellip} he tried to go to the pharmacy and get
drugs."
Denton was not aware of any criminal charges filed against Koulis, but
she said law enforcement authorities in Tennessee were aware of the
state board of health's investigation. She said all actions taken by
state medical licensing authorities are reported to a national data
bank as well.
Koulis trained at the University of Illinois in Chicago and completed
his residency in plastic surgery at Vanderbilt University School of
Medicine.
Koulis is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Boone District Court
July 11.
cro...@earthlink.net
was a leg model.
<eartha...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1135057818....@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
cro...@earthlink.net
<eartha...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1135059196.2...@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
eartha...@yahoo.com
And at 37, he might still be paying for his education. What happened
to this guy?
>
> Koulis trained at the University of Illinois in Chicago and completed
> his residency in plastic surgery at Vanderbilt University School of
> Medicine.
>
.
eartha...@yahoo.com
cro...@earthlink.net wrote:
> She must have had beautiful hair...I, myself, was a hand model and my mother
> was a leg model.
>
My girlfriend once entered a contest for best legs and came in first or
second. She's
only 5'2" but all legs. Hand model, eh, you must have long fingers.
Wouldn't pain killers and other drugs affect her hair?
cro...@earthlink.net
hair, etc. It's not quite clear to me how long she was using how many and
which drugs...
well, my fingers are not long, but my hands have even skin, no freckles,
wrinkles, etc., and my nails are, if I say so myself, long and lovely...I
was modeling diamonds rings and got paid in jewelry! very nice!
<eartha...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1135060072.0...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
eartha...@yahoo.com
eartha...@yahoo.com wrote:
> <cro...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > wow, what a fine education...and he turns it to mud...
>
> And at 37, he might still be paying for his education. What happened
> to this guy?
http://www.wsmv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4160546
Lawyer offers insight about doctor facing murder charges
Nov 23, 2005, 05:24 PM PST
Reported by Larry Brinton
wsmv.com
Dr. Christ Koulis' former lawyer is offering some interesting insight
into a controversial doctor who is now facing murder charges.
Koulis was a plastic surgeon who couldn't cut through his many
problems.
The 38-year-old former Nashville physician went from one personal and
professional problem to another. Now he is charged with second degree
murder and reckless homicide in the death of his longtime girlfriend,
Lesa Buchanan.
Authorities say she died of an overdose of drugs. Nashville Attorney
Dan Warlick represented Koulis in a case before the State Medical
Board.
"There were allegations by two former patients that he had
inappropriate relationships with them. And that issue centered around
the issue of whether his dating the woman after he had actually been
their physician," said Warlick.
He also was involved in a $250 thousand dollar lawsuit with his former
business partner, filed for bankruptcy and more before he left
Nashville.
His next stop was Kentucky where he was arrested on criminal charges.
By then he had lost his license to practice medicine in Tennessee and
finally moved on to Chicago. But Koulis didn't seem to be the type of
person who would have so many problems.
"Doctor Koulis was a very bright fellow. He graduated from college when
he was 19, and he got into medical school immediately," says Warlick.
While representing the plastic surgeon, Warlick says Lesa Buchanan was
generally with him at the doctor's office, his home or at Warlick's law
office.
"She was just a lovely person. She was very gentle, easy to talk to,
very personable and very artistic," said Warlick.
The lawyer says Koulis had been treated for drug-related issues.
"I did not think he was on drugs at the time that I was representing
him. I knew he was not on drugs. Toward the very end of the situation,
I do believe he may have been involved with drugs at that time," said
Warlick.
Warlick says he has not been contacted to represent Koulis on the
latest charges.
"I don't know if we will ever know the truth. I don't know if anybody
will. We may know the whole thing before it's over," said Warlick.
As of Wednesday, Christ Koulis was being held on a quarter million
dollars bond in Illinois.
mary, phd.
mary, phd.
<eartha...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1135056808....@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Lorraine
wrote:
>His first name is Christ? weird!!
AND he was a surgeon. Talk about a god complex....
L.
cro...@earthlink.net
escape to Greece, and his passport was seized, apparently. Different
ethnicities/heritages use names in various ways...e.g., the many Mexican
boys named Jesus...
"Lorraine" <remtox...@remyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:kt6gq15eb7pv023o1...@4ax.com...
cro...@earthlink.net
God doesn't think he's a surgeon!
"Lorraine" <remtox...@remyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:kt6gq15eb7pv023o1...@4ax.com...