A grieving widow told today how an NHS worker sent her a letter alleging her husband was deliberately killed during surgery.
Bernard Garcia underwent a routine heart operation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich but died unexpectedly after the procedure.
Less than a month later his widow, Linda Cook, received a letter which alleged that he died because of an "experiment" undertaken by the surgeon.
Following a year-long investigation, it was discovered that Mr Garcia died of a rare complication during the operation, and it is now being alleged that the author of the note made up the story because of a personal feud with the surgeon.
Ms Cook, 59, who retained her maiden name during her marriage, said she had found the time since her 74-year-old husband's death in May last year "unbearable", and the letter made it even harder to cope with the grief.
"Since Bernie died my health has deteriorated and I haven't been sleeping," said Ms Cook, an environmental health officer.
The letter, sent to the couple's Bexleyheath home, alleged that the doctor who had operated on Mr Garcia to insert a stent tube into a narrowing artery had deliberately perforated his heart. It read: "He experiments with human hearts to find out how long it takes to die when their heart is punctured."
A man connected to the hospital trust was arrested in June after police said they had matched his DNA to that found on the letter. No charge has been brought but Mr Garcia's family are pursuing a civil action.
source: thisislondon.co.uk
