Question of Murder First , 1st P Edition by Wecht M.D. J.D., Cyril H., Kaufmann, Dawna (2009) Hardcover

by Cyril H. Wecht

No one has performed more autopsies in high-profile cases than Dr. Cyril Wecht. During the past four decades, he has dissected more than 16,000 bodies to determine how and why they died. He has testified in hundreds of trials and exhumed dozens of corpses. He’s investigated the deaths of presidents and princes, coal miners and Hollywood stars. From the tragic homicides of Laci Peterson and Nicole Brown Simpson to the mysteries that surround the deaths of JonBenét Ramsey and Natalee Hollaway, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, the New York Times, and others, call upon Dr. Wecht to provide his expert analysis.The expertise of one of the leading forensic pathologists in the world and accomplished true-crime journalist Dawna Kaufmann come together to present five fascinating cases in this riveting page-turner filled with many details available nowhere Who or what killed Anna Nicole Smith? Who or what killed her young son, Daniel Smith? Was his death associated with Anna Nicole’s own demise just months later? Dr. Wecht—who was hired to do an independent autopsy on the body of Daniel Smith—considers whether someone attempted to get one or both of them out of the way. Who killed twelve-year-old Stephanie Crowe, who was found stabbed to death in the hallway of her home? Dr. Wecht’s acumen helped straighten out a baffling whodunit that had left local law enforcement going down the wrong path. Should David Westerfield be on death row for the murder of his seven-year-old neighbor, Danielle van Dam? What were the mistakes and victories in that dramatic trial? During the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, did medical professionals at a distinguished New Orleans hospital purposely inject elderly patients with heart-stopping medications? What does the evidence say?

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Science

Hardcover

First published October 21, 2008

Reviews

[Barbara Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I purchased this book through BookBub.
The word autopsy means “to see for one’s self.”
Doctor Wecht has performed more than 16,000 autopsies, consulting on others worldwide.
He speaks of how they must learn to maintain a certain emotional distance, which I’d say is necessary to withstand all they see and do.
I am fascinated the work of coroners, medical examiners, and forensic pathologists.
Their search for cause of death: clues from the colour and condition of the skin, stomach contents, decomposition, insects, etc.
Weather the cause of death is trauma or disease, or sometimes both.
The five choices for the manner of death: homicide, suicide, accident, natural, or undetermined.
I learned the word “cremains” instead of remains, a term I’d not heard before.
One third of the book is about Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniels’ death. Sometimes providing much more insight into their lives and legal details than I cared to read. It was both sad and shocking that her son Daniel was found deceased the morning after Anna Nicole gave birth to her daughter. Seven prescription drugs were found in his body.
Within five months, Anna would also be deceased in much the same way.
He states that two of every five coroner cases that he encounters these days are what would be called “acute combined drug toxicity” or accidental overdoses.
The next two cases are that of children: Stephanie Crowe and Danielle van Dam.
He takes the reader through the steps he took to decide whether murder was committed and to present forensic science at its most exhilarating. Though I did find a bit too much legal detail at times.
The last chapter deals with the what happened at the Memorial Medical Center after the hurricane Katrina. The investigation of the pharmaceutical drugs that took the lives of some patients.
I liked the book but sometimes felt it presented far too much legal detail. Some may like that more, I just sometimes felt a bit bogged down.

[Alan Smithee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I looked forward to reading this book. The work of forensic pathologists fascinates me, and Dr. Wecht is one of the top practitioners. Unfortunately, I had to struggle to finish this book. The chapter on Anna Nicole Smith went into great detail about her life and dysfunctional lifestyle. It seemed interminable. The pathology angle? We learned that Dr. Wecht concurred that Anna died of a drug overdose. The final chapter, dealing with deaths at New Orleans Me oriel Hospital during and following Hurricane Katrina was more interesting, but it dragged on.

[Hiredoddavadi Raju · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, I being a Forensic pathologist ,I had an opportunity to work with him in US Model Anna Nicole Smith 's son Daniel Smith's death in Nassau Bahamas,where in I conducted the first official autopsy on the dead body of Daniel Smith and in the same case Dr Cyril Wecht conducted the second private autopsy.
Dr H.C GOVIDARAJU Professor and Head Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology EAST POINT COLLEGE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH centre Bangalore 560043EAST, KARNATAKA, INDIA,
Tel: Mobile +91 7406519056

[Heloise Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my word this was boooooring! I am always riveted to anything forensic but this book is in a class of its own. To future readers skip chapter 2. Its half of the book and very little forensic. The last chapter was very interesting but again it held so much information that is totally not needed if you are interested in what did the forensics do and deliver.

[Forgetfulone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. The author, Cyril Wecht, a pioneer of forensic pathology, who has been consulted on many prominent cases including those involving celebrities and other infamous people such as Jon Benet Ramsey, Laci Peterson, Nicole Brown Simpson, John F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley, and Kurt Cobain, to name a few. He has examined thousands of bodies and testified in hundreds of titles. In this book, he and his co-author, true crime journalist Dawna Kaufmann, share five cases he has worked on.

First is the case of Daniel Wayne Smith, Anna Nichole Smith's 20 year old son. The second was Anna Nicole Smith's death. They occured within months of eachother, so these two parts are connected in many ways. Were drugs in their system that could have caused their deaths, or was something more sinister happening? The third case is about 12 year old Stephanie Crowe who was stabbed to death in her own bedroom. The fourth case is that of Danielle Van Dam whose neighbor David Westerfield is serving time for, but did he really do it? There is disagreement among experts.

The last case was eye-opening to me because I remember it happening, and it occurred in one of our neighboring states, Louisiana around the time Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. A doctor and two nurses have been accused of purposely killing many elderly patients who they felt they were going to be unable to evacuate. It is really sickening, if true, and Wecht, who consulted on the case, knows quite a bit more than the general public about what happened at Memorial Medical Center. Statistics show a higher percentage of death among the elderly than other similar hospitals, but you can read and evaluate the evidence to determine your own opinion.

I liked how the authors spent time building their characters, especially toward the beginning of the book. They humanize and describe them well. For instance... "And while women of Marilyn's era seldom got tattoos or body art, Anna's body was a virtual canvas..." They are also very specific in describing the medical point-of-view. For example, "an extensive sive blood clot along the wound tract. Wound I was in the left anterior axillary fold, or under the armpit..."

I do have to say that Dr. Wecht is arrogant. Maybe he has the right to be! But he states that he does double the number of autopsies a day than his counterparts. He also writes... "I had written a book on the case several years ago and instantly recognized what few in the media or the Boulder district attorney's office seemed to be thinking-that Karr was a false confessor." Instantly recognized! I also don't like how the book is written from his point-of-view, his expertise, his knowledge, so when he occasionally refers to his co-author, I think it's just to remind the reader that he is superior. Perhaps he is. He's a doctor, lawyer, cornoner, pathologist, expert witness, and the author of 32 books.

He says this about one of his contemporaries: "Dr. James Young, former chief coroner of the province of Ontario, Canada, who was the current president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, a post I had held some years before. He likes to toot his own horn. Take this for example: "As word got out that we five were working on the Memorial Hospital pital case, someone good-naturedly referred to us as "The Forensic All-Stars..."

Even so, it is a good book. There is some medical jargon, but he tends to explain it as he tells the stories, and I like that it was divided into 5 manageable sections. As of now, Wecht is 90 years old and still practicing forensic pathology.

[Stacey Shackelford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

I was aware of most of these cases. However, what shocked me the most was the disaster in New Orleans, regarding Mermorial hospital. The deaths of innocent, helpless patient's, that was profoundly infuriating.

[Peter R Wetton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love true crime and thought a book on autopsies would be interesting. This has to be the most boring book ever. Anna Nicole Smith had her life documented in so much detail I’m surprised the author didn’t mention when she broke wind. I gave up on the end.

[Donna Wilbor · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting

Scrolling through my library wondering what to read this popped up. Glad I read it as it’s an interesting read although I found that the author goes on abit. Still an interesting one though

[Ryan Hannay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot more about both Hurricane Katrina and Anna Nicole Smith than I really bargained for.

[Irene Dutchak · Rating 4 out of 5]

For people who are interested in true crime and in investigative procedures, this is an excellent read.

[MKF]

DNF - I found it boring.

[cryssie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tabloid Reading

Too tabloid-y or gossipy. Could not be compelled to finish the book. Not quite what I was looking to read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as interesting as I thought it would be.

[Jo Ann Sturgeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very educational

If you wonder how crimes are solved you'll like this book. But don't expect answers. Only facts. Enjoyed for most of it

[Bernice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and informative

[Cierra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate that this was such a bore. Difficult to push through.

[Zia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best detective writings on present decade cases...what really happened!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected to like this book more than I actually did.

I was barely aware of Anna Nicole Smith when she was alive, except as a busty blonde publicity hound. I did remember some controversy over her daughter's paternity, but I had forgotten that her son Daniel had died shortly before she did.

Never had heard of the little girls Stephanie Crowe and Danielle van Dam.

And, in the overwhelming disaster that was Hurricane Katrina, it was hardly any wonder that some medical personnel at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans may have forgotten their ethical precepts and over-medicated ("euthanized") several of their helpless patients.

[Deborah Cleaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating variety of stories.

[cat reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I was a child, my mother often had Quincy on in the background, a show about a forensic examiner. When the show first aired, I thought it boring mainly because it wasn't cartoons. In a few years, the show became fascinating. I could finally see why my mom loved this stuff. It's like solving a puzzle, a grizzly one, but the process and scientific means of discovery amazed me. A few years later, as I had become more aware of the world, I could see where this was a show created by people who may be able to write but knew little of actual science, so I moved on preferring non-fictionalized accounts of forensic pathology. More than a decade later I repaid my mom by introducing her to Autopsy Confessions. While still sensational, that show had a good grounding in the pathology of the cases discussed.

Forensics still appeals to me in a wide variety of fields, so I expected this book to satisfy my scientific itch. Alas, this would not be so. First off, the Anna Nichole and David Nichole story took up half the book. Not at all balanced, much like the woman herself. Worst, most of this felt like the novelization of an E! True Hollywood Story. I didn't learn much about the pathology behind the deaths of these two people as great chunks were spent of her bio and the court cases surround her daughter's inheritance. You can save some time and read the wikipedia page instead.

Because half the book was a B-star celebrity bio, I can't in good conscience recommend this to anyone. The second half of the book is better as it's less about capitalizing on celebrity and more about actual cases. Still, it reads like a true crime novel rather than an examination of forensic medicine, but at least it's focused on the crimes that happen.

If you want science presented in an interesting way, Mary Roach is your writer. This? The cases may be compelling, but the book is not.

[Laren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Famed forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht teams with a co-author to tell the true stories of the deaths of Anna Nicole Smith, her son Daniel Smith, Danielle Van Dam, Stphanie Crowe and the hospital in New Orleans where the staff was accused of euthanizing patients without their consent in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The latter story really does well describing the hellish conditions at the hospital, and breaking down the rather complicated case. But they come across as a bit starstruck in the Smiths' stories, and they are oddly sympathetic towards Howard K. Stern, which is even more unsettling given the recent indictment against him in Anna Nicole's case (post-publication to be fair). The other two stories are solid, but lack any controversy which would have made Wecht's telling of any particular interest. In each story, it is clear which side the authors are on regardless of the actual outcome of the story. I found it strange that the co-author only makes appearances in the third person throughout the book. It's a solid true-crime collection, but lacks anything making it stand out over other collections other than the author's personal involvement.

[Mary MacKintosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I will finish it. I thought it would be interesting to read about cases from the pov of a real forensic pathologist, but he led off with the cases of Anna Nicole Smith and her son, and as sad as their deaths were, their lives were even sadder. These two cases lead off the book and take up at least half of its content. Because the following cases are child murders, I think I am done reading. The author, Dr. Wecht, is courtly and kind about the people he slices open, and the people who surround them.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Medical examiner Cyril H. Wecht and his co-author Dawna Kaufman offer insight on several well-known murders and/or deaths, including Anna Nicole Smith, Stephanie Crowe and the Memorial Hospital deaths in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Although the initial chapters regarding Smith and her son do dip into sensationalism a little, by and large the book is written with compassion and even-handedness, offering fairly unbiased insight into cases most of us only know from what we've seen on the news. A pretty good read, overall.

[Vince Gotera · Rating 3 out of 5]

In A Question of Murder, Cyril Wecht and Dawna Kaufmann do a fine job exploring the less (in)famous cases in the book, such as the investigation of alleged euthanasia in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but are entirely too star-struck vis-à-vis his investigations into the deaths of Anna Nicole Smith and her son Daniel. Nonetheless, "compelling" from a technical point of view, with regard to the nuts-and-bolts work of a forensic pathologist.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book as much as his other ones. Most of it talks about Anna Nicole and her son's death. AND- I am over that whole thing.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted something different from this book. but they took the high road and wrote something that would sell books, instead of my morbid curiosity.

[Julie]

Question of Murder by Cyril H. Wecht (no date)