Ex-girlfriend says LI doc suing for kidney was abusive

The ex-girlfriend of the Ronkonkoma doctor suing to get his donated kidney back from his wife alleges the man is abusive and will testify against him. Pamela Rathburn Ray told News 12 Long Island Tuesday

News 12 Staff

Feb 11, 2009, 12:39 AM

Updated 5,885 days ago

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The ex-girlfriend of the Ronkonkoma doctor suing to get his donated kidney back from his wife alleges the man is abusive and will testify against him.
Pamela Rathburn Ray told News 12 Long Island Tuesday that Dr. Richard Batista physically beat her and mentally abused her when they dated back in the 1980s. She is set to testify against Batista in his divorce trial.
Batista is demanding his wife Dawnell give him back the kidney he donated to her or pay $1.5 million. He also accuses his wife of cheating on him.
Ray says hearing about Batista?s case brought back horrible memories of their relationship.
?He was jealous when there was no reason to be jealous,? Ray says. ?He accused me of cheating when in fact he was cheating. I was threatened that if I did cheat, there would be consequences to my actions.?
The lawyer for Dawnell Batista claims the doctor physically abused his client as well.
Calls to Batista's attorney for comment were not returned.