Reply #33: They imported some fraud coroner and closed the case [View All]

[chatnoir]

Berkland, it must be noted, has a less than professional record. He was fired from his position as medical examiner in Missouri for making false statements and eventually lost the right to practice medicine in that state (see sidebar). Still, Berkland concluded in the final autopsy report that Klausutis's heart had failed. Moreover, by failing to officially close the investigation, long after they had ceased to interview witnesses, the police prevented the public from learning any facts about Klausutis's death.

Only when the autopsy report was released (and that occurred only because the editor in chief of the Northwest Florida Daily News Ralph Routon's editorial demanded its issuance) did those willing to exercise their rights under Florida's Sunshine Law learn the extent of Lori's injuries.

The autopsy report revealed that Lori had suffered two skull fractures and an additional wound. A 71/4-inch crack all but spanned the top of her head, from right temple to left.

As a likely consequence of that blow, blood poured in from a steadily pumping heart to form a fist-sized hematoma at the left temple. There were separate 11/2-inch eggshell fractures, essentially pulverizing the bone, deep inside the skull behind the right ear. The back of her head was bashed, and her lungs were filled with bloody foam, suggesting that she took a relatively long time to die.

In the final autopsy report, Berkland wrote off all those devastating injuries to heart failure. According to Berkland, Klausutis had fainted from a weak heart and hit her head on the desk, an unlikely scenario considering the massive damage to the victim's skull.

Showing an incredible lack of professionalism, the local press swallowed this story whole, even the seeming contradiction about a failing heart having been capable of pumping more than a half cup of blood to form the hematoma. Medical science suggests that, if Klausutis's heart was so weak that it failed to pump enough blood to her brain to maintain consciousness, that same heart would not pump enough blood to form the hematoma.

With Berkland's confusing-and medically improbable-scenario securely within the official case file, the case was closed. No more questions. No more answers.

More: http://www.larryflynt.com/notebook.php?id=17&