In The News

No murder charge for battered Cape doc
By Jessica Fargen
Boston Herald Health & Medical Reporter
Saturday, August 18, 2007

A bruised and battered doctor who shot her husband to death inside their Cape Cod home acted in self-defense and won’t face murder charges for the shocking Easter Sunday killing, the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office said yesterday.

Nearly 30 witnesses testified in front of a Barnstable grand jury that Dr. Ann Gryboski, 51, was a victim of physical and emotional abuse by her husband of more than 20 years, Patrick Lancaster, who threatened harm if she went to police, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe said in a statement.

“She felt as if she could not say anything as it would only further endanger the doctor and her family,” he said.

Gryboski has been free on bail since April, when she showed up in court with swollen eyes and a bruised mouth. She pleaded not guilty to murder.

Her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, had called her actions “pure and simple self-defense.”

Mary R. Lauby, executive director of Jane Doe Inc., the statewide anti-domestic-violence and sexual assault coalition, said she was “absolutely thrilled,” with the news.

“This was a woman who had been psychologically, emotionally and physically abused for a very long time and she was defending herself and her family,” she said.

Gryboski told police she shot Lancaster, 50, a charter boat owner, after she tried to break up an argument between him and their adult son, who had confronted his dad about Gryboski’s black eye.

O’Keefe said that after Gryboski shot Lancaster, she held his body.

“She went to him, cradled his body, and said, ‘I didn’t want it to end like this, I hope you find peace,’ ” O’Keefe said.

O’Keefe said doctors who examined Gryboski found evidence of previous physical trauma.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Laura Crimaldi contributed to this report.