Cause of Death: A Leading Forensic Expert Sets the Record Straight

The book is a easy and intreging read. Every chapter is devoted to a different crime, so it never gets boring. This book was highly recommended to me by a friend who works under Cyril Wecht at the Allegheny County Corenors (?) Office and after hearing all the tales he had from his time learning from Dr. Wecht, I had to learn more. I recommend this book as a breather when your in the mist of a tough semester and you to relax

The Foreword by F. Lee Bailey tells of his friendship and admiration for Dr. Cyril Wecht. He also "highlights a truth which most Americans do not readily comprehend: that our legal system is not in its essence 'a search for truth' at all. The system is in reality a search for those truths which at least one of the lawyers want to bring to the fore, and not those truths which are too hot ... for either of them to dare to handle" (p.xvi). The Introduction tells of his personal history, experience, and expertise. "Cyril Wecht is the Sherlock Holmes of forensic science" says Alan Dershowitz. Or a Dr. Joseph Bell?Chapter 1 deals with the assassination of JFK. The single bullet theory, from a scientific standpoint, is a deliberate attempt to cover up the truth (p.22). It was one of the worst investigations of a homicide he has ever seen. The autopsy was done by a inexperienced military pathologists. He attempted to get the autopsy reports, which are public records, for the Garrison investigation; but the Federal government would not allow it! Page 35 tells of his examination of the physical evidence. The preserved brain of JFK was missing. Page 43 points out that the forensic pathologist who disagreed with him had economic dependencies with the Federal government. He tells of a computer program that can analyze photographs to show details not observable by the human eye (pp.51-3). It detected alterations in the autopsy photographs. Dr. Wecht helped to develop the scene in the movie "JFK" that demonstrated why the single bullet theory is silly. He found the attitude of the Kennedy family "completely incomprehensible" (p.74). [Perhaps they were authoritatively advised of a shameful genetic disorder that must be kept secret?]Chapter 2 deals with the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The fatal bullet was most likely the first, which hit him behind hi right ear. The other two bullets were fired into his right armpit. [As if he threw up his right arm as he fell.] Sirhan was shooting from the front, and could not have killed RFK. The appointed defense lawyer never mentioned this. Chapter 3 deals with Chappaquiddick, the accident that killed Ted Kennedy's political future. No autopsy was done on Mary Jo Kopechne. The accident was considered just another weekend car crash (p.94). Any wooden bridge could be slippery with dampness. Page 101 teaches that you shouldn't tell Polish jokes when your judge is Polish; he denied their motion.Chapter 4 deals with a Doctor convicted of murdering his wife. Dr. Wecht says for a jury to find a person not guilty, the jurors must feel that the defendant was framed by the police, or that it is possible that someone else committed the crime. Chapter 5 tells of the case of Jeffrey MacDonald. When a case is tried several years after the crime, the determination of what happened is limited to the evidence collected at the time. Jeffrey started a new life, then his father-in-law started a crusade to convict him. The old sc

Warning, you have to be just a bit morbid to pick up this book. The dust jacket says it all, this author has dug through the autopsy reports of some famous people to find the "real" cause of death. Keeping the tabloid effort of the publisher aside, this is a somewhat interesting book if only from a "looking at an accident" form of macabre curiosity. As far as the writing goes, the author does a good job of keeping the complex medical terminology down to a minimum and when used is careful to explain them in layman's terms. Overall interesting and well-written if you are in to this type of book.

Cyril Wecht is a famous forensic pathologist, or medical examiner. This book contains some stories about cases, some famous, some not, that he investigated or has been involved with.One is the assassination of JFK. ...He discusses some of the evidence that he has seen (of the autopsy and the doctors' testimony). He was responsible for discovering that JFK's brain is missing; it is evidence for the number of bullets and their path. Hidden evidence?The other is the assassination of RFK. The "tattooing" marks on Robert Kennedy's right ear prove that he was shot in the right rear of his head by a gun held about 2 inches from behind. Yet Sirhan was no closer than 4-5 feet from his front. He thinks a better attorney would have gotten him off.Both of the above cases had political effects that continue to affect us to this day. Dr. Wecht was a consultant to the movie "JFK" by Oliver Stone.Dr. Wecht is from the Pittsburgh area, was involved in politics, and held various elected (Democratic) offices as Penna. Coroner and County Commissioner.... The book tells of some of the other interesting local cases that he was involved with. It is entertaining and educational.The book is worth reading because of the chapters on JFK and RFK, and the other stories are educational and entertaining. He also consulted with the Los Angeles medical examiner who was the model for "Quincy, M.E.", a usually entertaining TV series from the early 80's. (I think it was one of the few that realistically showed the "personality conflicts" that occur between allied departments, and because of budgets.)

This book is excellent-I couldn't put it down! I challenge anyone to read this well written, unbiased, and informative piece of work and then say with any degree of certainty that you know who did it.(especially the chapter on the O.J evidence) Cyril Wecht is a genius in my book!