Forensic Pathology News
Dr. Young will post links to news articles that interest him about
forensic pathology, medical examiners, coroners and death
investigation in this section.
Pathology in the News
- Coroner reveals Jamie Lee Metzger's cause of death
- After numerous tests on the body, the Northampton County coroner determined Jamie Lee Metzger's cause of death is homicidal violence. It was undetermined how she was killed. Maes, a possible suspect, died in 2017, but Hendricks believes there is still someone out there with information on the case. "He might have murdered her by himself, but somebody had to help him get her into that tote bag and put her in the basement," said Hendricks. [Note from Dr. Young: "How she was killed" is undetermined, but the coroner somehow knows it was a homicide? How does he know that? Meanwhile, the mother waits for an eyewitness to appear to find out what really happened.]
- New medical opinions that Kathleen Folbigg's daughter wasn't smothered
- Note from Dr. Young: It used to be that multiple unexpected infant deaths in the same family meant smothering as the cause. This, of course, is the Sherlock Effect. Now, some other doctors beside myself are questioning the smothering determination for these deaths.
- Spokane doctor says baby's death is worst case of abuse he's seen, docs say
- The doctor at Sacred Heart said there was no possible accidental or natural cause for the child’s injuries and described it as “one of the worst child abuse cases he had seen in his 23 years of practice,” according to court documents. The baby’s injuries were documented with photographs. [Once more, the Sherlock Effect involving an infant who suddenly and unexpectedly stopped breathing, became unresponsive, and was resuscitated.]
- Father charged with child abuse after allegedly shaking 2-month-old daughter
- Note from Dr. Young: More Sherlock Effect. Two-month-old infants can suddenly and unexpectedly stop breathing for no apparent reason (like what Williams in the story described). Once the baby is resuscitated, the findings look like the shaken baby syndrome.
- CIty Medical Examiner Rebuts PBA Contention About Garner's Death
- Officer Pantaleo, he said, “didn’t apply any pressure” but instead used a so-called seatbelt maneuver to get leverage on Mr. Garner, who had resisted arrest by brushing off Officer Pantaleo's hand when he tried to handcuff him, and take him to the ground. Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson, though, refuted that assessment. "It is false that crushing of the windpipe and fracture of the hyoid bone would necessarily be seen at autopsy as the result of a chokehold,” she said in a statement. [Note from Dr. Young: I agree with Dr. Sampson; however, what I believe is the most important factor in this death given the information is the violent struggle in which the victim chose to engage. He "ran out of gas" struggling with the police. The victim's decision to struggle makes the death an "accident," in my opinion.]
- "Wyatt's Law," online child abuse registry bill, passes through Michigan Senate
- Note from Dr. Young: Those falsely accused and convicted of child abuse and the shaken baby syndrome in Michigan might soon have that accusation follow them for the rest of their lives, thanks to the Sherlock Effect.
- Interested in volunteering? Coroner's office is adding to its Compassion and Care Team
- The coroner is looking for nonpaid bereavement volunteers who will work directly with surviving adult family members who have suddenly and tragically lost a loved one. Chosen volunteers will not be employees of the York County Coroner's Office, and they will not participate in death investigations, according to the tweets.
- Medical examiner: 2-year-old was shaken to death
- Note from Dr. Young: Sherlock Effect. "After an autopsy, the medical examiner reported that the 2-year-old had sustained 'significant trauma' consistent with being shaken, pushed, or struck against or struck with a hard surface. She stated the injuries were not a result of lifesaving efforts." The medical examiner chooses to ignore a witnessed airway obstruction by food.
- The state medical examiner’s office is doing fewer autopsies. What does that mean for the public?
- Under Hull, the office has routinely forgone autopsies in favor of less-rigorous testing to investigate deaths, including some of the hundreds of suspected fatal overdoses across the state.
- Medical examiner: Blow to head killed Granger woman
- Note from Dr. Young: Sherlock Effect, big time. Lots of speculation from the medical examiner, offered to a "reasonable degree of medical certainty" from the witness stand.
- Attorney For EJ Bradford's Family: Our Pathology Reports Prove The Cop Should Face Criminal Charges
- Note from Dr. Young: Example of the Sherlock Effect. Note that there is no mention of the account of the off-duty officer doing the shooting. What is also not commonly understood is that a person can turn in a split second, before the shooter can stop the act of shooting.
- Interviews underway for county’s first Medical Examiner
- STOCKTON — San Joaquin County supervisors conducted a closed-session job interview Tuesday afternoon with an unknown candidate for the newly created medical examiner position, County Administrator Monica Nino confirmed.
- District 2 Medical Examiner's Office releases identities of Hurricane Michael victims
- The District 14 Medical Examiners Office has released the identities of two more casualties resulting from Hurricane Michael. The addition of the two names brings the total number of hurricane victims in Bay County from 21 to 23.
Pathology Links
- ACCPE means Affirming the Consequent for Complex Past Events. It is The Sherlock Effect.
- Whenever an expert states the past events that occurred on the basis of looking only at the physical evidence without reference to eyewitness statements, he or she is Affirming the Consequent for Complex Past Events. This is not only logically invalid and unsound, it never works in practice, Sherlock Holmes, CSI and Bones notwithstanding. Whenever ACCPE is listed in my comments to a news article, recognize one more tragic example of how this fallacy can destroy lives. ACCPE can also be understood as "backward reasoning,""effect-to-cause reasoning," or "abductive inference."
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences
- ForensicScienceDegree.org
- For further information on forensic science.
- National Association of Medical Examiners