Dr. Narendra K. Nagareddy, a 57-year-old psychiatrist from Atlanta, GA has been indicted on three counts of murder. As per reports, the drugs prescribed by Nagareddy had killed Cheryl Pennington, 47, and a 49-year-old father named David Robinson. Audrey Austin had died, less than a week after the 29-year-old mother of two left the rehab.
The substances – powerful, addictive pain medications – were allegedly prescribed by Narendra K. Nagareddy, reportedly known for his willingness to prescribe pills to nearly anyone who wanted them. Last week, the doctor was arrested for their deaths.
A Clay County grand jury indicted Nagareddy, known in the media widely as “Dr. Death,” on three counts of murder, and 59 additional counts of unauthorized distribution of pain prescriptions, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Nagareddy has denied the allegations from the outset, according to news reports. Nagareddy is accused in court documents of giving refillable painkiller prescriptions, taboo in the medical community because patients can fill the prescriptions prematurely.
“Unequivocally, we will be ready to defend this matter,” Steve Frey, Nagareddy’s attorney, told the Journal-Constitution after the indictment. “He is innocent of all of these charges.” It’s the latest development in a years-long investigation into Nagareddy’s medical practice.
A probation officer was among the first to flag Nagareddy after she noticed that three people in her caseload who had died were patients of the doctor, according to an AJC investigation. She reported the pattern to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which worked with local law enforcement to build a case that led to Nagareddy’s initial arrest in January.
He was charged with violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act by allegedly prescribing medications that had no legitimate purpose. Nagareddy was later released on a $100,000 bond, the Journal-Constitution reported. One month after his January arrest, the Georgia Composite Medical Board voted to suspend Nagareddy’s license.