Cape doctor surrenders medical license

Dr. Ann Gryboski, the 51-year-old Barnstable physician charged with fatally shooting her husband of nearly three decades, has surrendered her medical license.

According to police reports, Gryboski admitted shooting Patrick Lancaster, 50, but said she did so while intervening in a volatile dispute between Lancaster and their son and after having endured years of abuse, including a battering the night before the killing.

Gryboski, whose face appeared bruised in a Barnstable courtroom Monday, voluntarily agreed to stop practicing medicine by signing an agreement Tuesday with the state Board of Registration in Medicine, which licenses physicians.

The state board seeks voluntary license surrenders in cases in which "there is sufficient concern about public safety," said Russell Aims, a spokesman.

He would not comment specifically on the case.

"When there are serious allegations, whether it's sexual misconduct or something more serious . . . it's not uncommon for us to seek a voluntary agreement," said Aims, adding that murder charges "are serious allegations, certainly."

Gryboski's agreement not to practice medicine will remain in effect until the board decides she can resume practicing or pursues more permanent licensure action.

Gryboski, who graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine, is out of custody on $50,000 bond. It was an unusually low bail for a murder suspect and was agreed to by Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe, who said her appearance suggested there might be mitigating factors in the case.

Her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, has suggested Gryboski might use a "battered women's" defense, which Massachusetts courts have upheld in the past.

Gryboski had been a primary care doctor based in South Yarmouth and affiliated with Cape Cod Hospital. Officials at Cape Cod Hospital said she had more than 2,000 patients and had recently helped the facility review its quality care policies. Gryboski had a spotless medical record, state records show.

Lancaster was found dead at the couple's Barnstable home on Sunday about 12:30 p.m., after Gryboski called police. According to the police report, on Saturday night Lancaster had attacked Gryboski while the two were driving on the Cape with their 2-year-old grandson.

The fatal confrontation began the next day, after their son, Christopher Lancaster, saw his mother's battered face and approached his father, Reddington said. Gryboski, in an interview with police, said she shot her husband after she tried to intervene.