Relatives of Sara Werner said they never believed that she took her own life at the Farmers Branch home she shared with her new husband.

While her family knew that the 47-year-old nurse struggled with drugs and alcohol, they said she was entering a rehabilitation program and seemed excited about changing her life.

"Her son Justin was with her the day before she died," said Ms. Werner's mother, Jean Josch of Marble Falls. "He said there's no way she could have committed suicide. She was so upbeat about going into rehab."

On Thursday, Farmers Branch police arrested – for the second time – her husband, Dr. Timothy Werner, and charged him with fatally shooting his wife of 11 months on April 19, 2004.

"It was reported as a suicide, but we suspected foul play all along," said Farmers Branch Deputy Police Chief Mark Young.

Neither Dr. Werner, 55, a family practitioner who is in the Dallas County Jail on $150,000 bail, nor his attorney, Reed Prospere, could be reached for comment.

According to police documents, Dr. Werner shot his wife in the shoulder with a .357 Magnum from less than 46 inches. Then he took a shower and tried to hide his bloodstained clothing.

"We were called to the scene by Dr. Werner," Chief Young said. "He called police and said, 'I think my wife has killed herself.' "

A paid obituary placed in The Dallas Morning News stated that Sara Werner died "from a long-standing disease."

But evidence collected at the Werners' home tells a different story, according to the arrest affidavit.

Investigators found the victim's blood on Dr. Werner's pants and shirt and on the floor of the shower, the affidavit states. The report also says gunshot residue was found on a shirt of Dr. Werner's that police found in a clothes hamper.

Dr. Werner was arrested in 2005 after this evidence was presented to the Dallas County district attorney's office. But the case was never prosecuted.

"He spent some time in Dallas County Jail awaiting trial, but ultimately he was released," Chief Young said. "The case never went to trial. I don't know why."

About 10 months ago, Farmers Branch investigators asked Dallas County prosecutors to re-examine the files on the cold case. Last month, the Dallas County medical examiner's office – which had listed the case as pending – ruled Ms. Werner's death a homicide.

Prosecutors say they found new evidence during their review but will not say what that is.

Farmers Branch police, however, say the information in the old and new arrest affidavits is almost identical.

"Nothing has changed," Chief Young said. "We don't know why it wasn't prosecuted to begin with."

Ms. Werner's family said she was "bubbly and had a lot of friends." She was born in San Antonio, grew up in the Hill Country, and got her nursing degree at the University of Texas at Austin. She worked in intensive care and hospice.

Her first marriage, also to a doctor, ended in divorce after 20 years.

"She was a very kind and gentle person," Ms. Josch said. "But she got on the wrong tracks in terms of alcohol and drugs."

Ms. Werner met Dr. Werner on the Internet, and the two married on May 18, 2003, without any of her family members present, Ms. Josch said. From there, records show, their brief time together was turbulent .

According to the Texas Medical Board, Dr. Werner abused alcohol and experienced depression. He was also accused of giving his wife controlled substances knowing that she had a substance abuse problem. He oversaw her detoxification without documenting the treatment and allowed her access to his prescription pad, the board said. Four months after his wife died, the medical board suspended his license for at least six months for those and other alleged violations.

The suspension was lifted on Aug. 25, 2006. He was then placed on probation for 10 years and required to abstain from prohibited substances, participate in the board's testing program for drugs and alcohol, continue to see a psychiatrist, and attend Alcoholics Anonymous.

Last month, the medical board publicly reprimanded Dr. Werner for failing to comply with some of the terms of that 2006 probation order. The reprimand warned that any future violations could result in the immediate revocation of his medical license.

Jill Wiggins, a spokeswoman for the state medical board, said Friday that even though Dr. Werner's medical license remains in effect, board officials are aware of his arrest and can take action at any time.

"If he's convicted, we can take away his license," Ms. Wiggins said. "And even when there are just charges filed, we can consider revoking his license. We also have the authority to do something that is called a temporary suspension without notice, and we can pull that together in a couple of weeks if we feel there is a need to protect the public in an emergency."

As for the man accused of killing her daughter, all Ms. Josch can say is that "he was different. I didn't have warm feelings about him."

Bond reduced for Farmers Branch doctor accused in wife's 2004 death

10:35 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]


Bail for a 55-year-old family doctor accused of killing his wife was halved Wednesday from $150,000 to $75,000.

Through his attorney, Dr. Timothy Werner had asked to pay a $5,000 bond, the same amount he paid when he was first arrested after the 2004 shooting death of Sara Werner. That murder charge was dismissed in 2006 after the Dallas County district attorney's office chose not to prosecute the case.

Last week, Farmers Branch police re-arrested Dr. Werner and charged him with the same crime after the district attorney's office reviewed the fatal shooting.

Sarah Raza, Dr. Werner's girlfriend of six months, testified during the bail reduction hearing Wednesday that if he's able to pay the bond he would live with her in Richardson.

"He would never hurt anyone," Ms. Raza, 50, said after the 30-minute hearing. She and a family that hired Dr. Werner to care for their son, who is a paraplegic, attended the hearing to offer support.


JIM MAHONEY/DMN
Dr. Timothy Werner, who attended a bail-reduction hearing Wednesday, was re-arrested last week after the DA reviewed the fatal shooting of his wife.
After learning that state District Judge Rick Magnis had reduced Dr. Werner's bail, Ms. Raza quietly clapped her hands. She said she did not want to comment further until she has had a chance to talk to her boyfriend and his attorney, Reed Prospere.

Farmers Branch police investigators have said that they believed all along that foul play led to Ms. Werner's death, even though her husband had reported it as a suicide. Ms. Werner, a 47-year-old nurse at the time, was struggling with drugs and alcohol, but was about to enter a rehabilitation program and was planning to change her life, her family has said.

According to police documents, authorities believe that Dr. Werner shot Ms. Werner in the shoulder with a .357 Magnum from less than 46 inches, then took a shower and tried to hide his blood-stained clothes. There was also gunshot residue on one of Dr. Werner's shirts in the clothes hamper, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Dallas County prosecutors said last week that they have new evidence against Dr. Werner – who was arrested at the Dallas Family Medicine clinic on Skillman Street where he practiced – but they have refused to release details.

Also Online
05/17/08: Doctor accused in wife's death initially reported as suicide

Link: Yahoo! personals profile showing Dr. Timothy Werner
According to the Texas Medical Board, Dr. Werner has a history of depression and alcohol abuse. He's accused of giving his wife controlled substances knowing that she had a drug abuse problem.

Soon after his wife's death, Dr. Werner's license was suspended for six months. In 2006, the suspension was lifted and Dr. Werner was placed on 10 years' probation. Last month, the state board reprimanded the doctor for failing to comply with parts of his 2006 probation.

The Werners met on the Internet and had been married 11 months when the shooting occurred.

A profile for Dr. Werner was posted on the Yahoo Personals dating Web site this week with the title, "Tall Gentle Recovered Widower seeks..."

On the profile, four photographs of Dr. Werner are displayed. One shows him sitting next to a blond woman with her face cropped out of the picture. The profile also includes a description of Dr. Werner and what he's looking for in a mate. He described himself as a "stable medical professional" who likes art museums, movies at small venues and concerts, and would like to take dancing classes.

At the end of the dating profile, it reads: "Best days are yet to come. My career is rebooting and I am like a shuttle on the launching pad. ... Want to come aboard for the ride? It is going to be a great flight. Timothy."