Physician's slaying could go unpunished

A Chicago dermatologist was allegedly killed by a former patient who believed a drug had caused his impotency.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Sept. 10, 2007.

The son of slain physician David Cornbleet, MD, said he will continue to urge the French government to extradite a former patient sought in the killing.

Hans Peterson surrendered to French authorities on the island of St. Martin on Aug. 6 and allegedly confessed to the slaying of the Chicago dermatologist. The late doctor's family members and two U.S. senators asked the French government to extradite Peterson, but officials rejected the request in late August because Peterson is a French national, said Jon Cornbleet, the doctor's son.

Cornbleet said that doesn't mean the battle to extradite Peterson is over. "It's going to be a war for a long time. I don't give up easily."

Dr. Cornbleet was fatally stabbed in his downtown office on Oct. 24, 2006. He had treated Peterson for acne with Accutane (isotretinoin) in 2002. Cornbleet said that when Peterson later became impotent, he blamed the doctor.

After Dr. Cornbleet's death, Peterson traveled to St. Martin in the West Indies, officials said, and later obtained a French passport. Former roommates in the U.S. contacted Chicago police to report their suspicions that Peterson had been involved in the killing. In June, a warrant was issued in Cook County for his arrest.