Misc. cases I

[Lady Cop]

re post #152

interesting.






CORONADO, Calif. (CBS 8) -- A renowned forensic pathologist said Sunday that injuries on the top of the head of Rebecca Zahau described in her autopsy are unexplained by the circumstances of her hanging death, which was officially ruled a suicide by the San Diego County Medical Examiner.

Pathologist Cyril Wecht reviewed Zahua's entire autopsy report, obtained Friday by News 8.

"She has subgaleal hemorrhages; those are hemorrhages on the undersurface of the scalp. I see no reason why she should have those." Dr. Wecht said. "You get those when your head strikes something or is struck by something."

Wecht said the scenario described by investigators where Zahau used a rope to tie her own hands, feet and neck before rolling off the balcony of her boyfriend's Coronado mansion leaves many unanswered questions.

"Even if (her) scalp hit bushes, that kind of impact would not produce subgaleal hemorrhage," Wecht said. "We're talking about contusions on the top of the head. So, even as the body is falling down – let's say there are branches – how do you get bruises on the top of the head as the body is falling vertically downward?"

The autopsy report describes four hemorrhaging injuries under Zahau's scalp:

"On the right superior parietal scalp there is a 2 x 1 inch subgaleal hemorrhage. On the right lateral frontal scalp there are two subgaleal hemorrhages measuring ³⁄₄ x ¹⁄₂ inch and ¹⁄₂ x ¹⁄₄ inch. On the right lateral frontotemporal scalp, there is a ³⁄₈ inch diameter subgaleal hemorrhage."


On Friday, investigators with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department closed their criminal investigation into the case, saying there is no evidence of foul play in Zahau's July 13 death, a conclusion questioned by Dr. Wecht.

"I don't have enough to come right out and say this is a homicide. As a medical examiner, as a coroner, in my opinion the manner of death should have been left as undetermined. Sometimes we can't be sure and sometimes you leave it as undetermined because more investigation is to be conducted," Wecht said.

Wecht said Zahau's head injuries – which caused bleeding underneath her scalp – would have occurred while she was still alive or in the minutes shortly after her death. He said it is impossible to determine whether Zahau's head traumas would have rendered her unconscious.

"A blow or blows sufficient to produce subgaleal, subscalpular hemorrhage could be sufficient for someone to be knocked out, just temporarily, not to produce any damage to the brain, not to cause any prolonged unconsciousness; but one cannot say," Dr. Wecht said. "They are clearly indicia of some kind of blunt force trauma. So, for someone to say there is no evidence whatsoever of any kind of a struggle is not correct."

Wecht, 80, is a former president of the American Academy of Forensic Science who has consulted on numerous high profile death investigations, including the murder of JonBenet Ramsey and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

He also questioned why, according to the autopsy report, sticky tape residue was found on the legs of Zahau. Investigators have said Zahau used rope, not tape, to bind her feet.

"Where is the tape and what was it used for?" Wecht asked. "Let me give you two scenarios. One could say maybe she was going to bind her feet with duct tape and she switched to the rope. Well then, where's the duct tape if that's the case?"

"And, the other scenario is maybe somebody else was attempting to put duct tape around her feet, or maybe did put duct tape around her feet when she was being subdued, and then took it off."

"Those marks – clearly from tape like duct tape – where do they come from? Why are they there?" asked Wecht.