Paul Gray’s Widow Testifies in Doctor’s Involuntary Manslaughter Trial

The involuntary manslaughter trial of deceased Slipknot bassist Paul Gray’s doctor, Daniel Baldi, has commenced, and Gray’s widow, Brenna (above) has now testified.

According to the Des Moines Register, Brenna took the stand to assert that Baldi continued to prescribe Xanax — an anti-anxiety medication — to Paul, despite the fact that “it was his drug of choice, that he’d struggled with it.” She also testified that she told Baldi she’d found hypodermic needles in their home, and that she took photos of Paul passed out and showed them to Baldi in an effort to convince him of the seriousness of Gray’s addiction. During cross-examination, Baldi’s defense attorney, Guy Cook, asserted “that medical records included no reference to her sharing pictures of her passed-out husband with Baldi or of her telling the doctor about finding needles,” and “that among the numerous pill bottles police found in the hotel room, only one had contained drugs prescribed by Baldi… those pills were Suboxone, a medication for people trying to break drug addiction.”

That Brenna Gray doesn’t have any kind words for Dr. Baldi isn’t surprising… but that she also holds the other members of Slipknot accountable for Paul’s death is. From the Register:

“She said she called her husband’s bandmates, but none offered to help. Slipknot bandmates Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan are listed as potential witnesses in the trial. ‘One was playing golf two minutes away from our house but couldn’t come,’ she testified. ‘Nobody else cared, nobody was involved. They told me it was my problem.’ Two days later, he was found dead in his hotel room.”

Is it possible that Gray’s bandmates were really so callous? It does seem odd to me that Brenna would appear with the band at a press conference just days after Paul’s death if she really thought they hadn’t done everything they could to help… but I know people’s heads aren’t always on straight during the grieving process, too. Ultimately, the only people who may ever know the truth are Brenna and the eight surviving members of Slipknot.

You can watch video footage of Brenna Gray’s testimony below, and read the Des Moisnes Register’s full report here.

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