NASSAU, Bahamas - Internationally acclaimed forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht was retained by Anna Nicole Smith to perform a second autopsy on her 20-year old son, Daniel Wayne Smith, who died under suspicious circumstances last week.But when the brilliant ex-coroner of Allegheny County met with reporters to answer questions regarding his preliminary findings, he seemed distracted by the Federal criminal charges pending against him in Pittsburgh stemming from alleged misuse of resources of the coroner's office. At times he lapsed into stock responses culled from a lifetime of celebrity autopsies.
"I have grave and significant suspicions about the role that the so-called Memphis mafia played in the death of this overweight, over-the-hill rock 'n roll star," Wecht said. Reporters exchanged confused glances but then one of them asked if Wecht had determined whether foul play could be ruled out. Wecht stated: "Well, I think there clearly is insufficient evidence to rule out the Ramseys or other family members as possible perpetrators." He added: "I mean, let's face it, Sonny von Bulow was a walking pharmacy, and there is every indication that she overdosed herself."
Wecht was asked if he felt the official government autopsy was in any way flawed. "If you're asking me about the Warren Commission report, my opinion is that it is absolute nonsense." He proceeded to launch into a diatribe about how the President's brain had not been preserved from the autopsy. "What manner of incompetence was involved here? And I unequivocally refute that this single 'magic' bullet could have caused the injuries I examined today. I submit that to find the cause of death, you need to look to the grassy knoll."
Wecht concluded the press conference by noting that "the patient I observed today in this 'Alien Autopsy' was anything but human."
Anna Nicole Smith thanked Wecht and told reporters that retaining him "was money of mine well-spent." Wecht said that the final results of his autopsy would be released in two weeks, and he promised some startling revelations about Sirhan Sirhan.
