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  Wecht, who is also a lawyer, agrees with Cogswell. "There was more=20
than enough evidence of a
  possible homicide to call in the FBI so that (the autopsy could have=20
been conducted) and a gunshot
  could have been ruled out," Wecht said. "The military had a duty to=20
notify the (Brown) family, and if
  the family didn't allow an autopsy, go to another authority to have=20
it conducted. (AFIP) had a duty to
  do an autopsy," the coroner continued.
  Other staff members of AFIP, including Cogswell, acknowledge that=20
they do not have jurisdiction to
  conduct unauthorized civilian autopsies, but point out that it has=20
been customary in mass disasters to
  ask the next of kin for permission to conduct autopsies. After the=20
Brown jet crash AFIP did not take
  such action.
  "I'm troubled," Wecht added. "They did a tremendous disfavor to the=20
families by not conducting
  autopsies." For one thing, he noted, survivors may have been left=20
with weaker legal claims for
  damage.
  ** Circular Hole
  As for the wound itself, Wecht said, "Anytime you have a circular,=20
symmetrical hole, a pathologist
  knows that one of the distinct mechanisms for making such a defect=20
is a bullet.
  "It's not the only one (but) you have to consider it," he added.=20
"The answer lies in the autopsy."
  Wecht discounted Gormley's notion that it couldn't be a gunshot=20
wound because no slug was visible
  in head X- rays and there was no exit wound.
  With the wound at the very top of Brown's head, the coroner said it=20
is possible that a bullet could
  have gone straight down the neck into the body cavity.
  Wecht did not rule out the possibility that a piece of the aircraft=20
could have caused the hole, but
  agreed with Cogswell that such a "perfectly circular" hole would be=20
difficult to achieve with parts of
  the plane.
  Wecht, like Cogswell, said the possibility of a bullet should have=20
immediately been ruled out by
  opening the skull and looking for a bullet track through the brain.
  After analyzing a photograph of the wound, Wecht also identified=20
tiny fracture lines in the skull that
  he said "would not be inconsistent with a gunshot wound."
  Gormley's report described the wound as "inwardly beveling" meaning=20
it grew wider as it went
  deeper and Wecht said this is also consistent with a gunshot.
  The hole clearly penetrated the skull to the brain, which raises=20
additional concerns, he said.
  Most bothersome, Wecht said, was his identification of almost half a=20
dozen "tiny pieces of dull
  silver- colored" material embedded in the scalp on the edge of the=20
circular wound itself and near the
  hole. These "do suggest metallic fragments," he said.
  "Little pieces of metal can be found at, or near, and entry site=20
when a bullet enters bone," he
  explained.
  These flecks should have been collected for further analysis, Wecht=20
said, though he noted they aren't
  by themselves proof of a gunshot. "It just makes it more consistent=20
with one," he said.
  If the metal is from a bullet, he believes the array of fragments in=20
the scalp would indicate a shot was
  fired before the crash.
  ** X-Rays
  Wecht said a review of a photographic image of the first frontal=20
  Cogswell first suggested, "what we say in the jargon of forensic=20
pathology is a lead snowstorm" of
  fragments left by a disintegrating bullet.
  Gormley and AFIP have said the flecks were caused by a defect in the=20
reusable X-ray film cartridge.
  Gormley said new x-rays were taken, and they showed no fragments in=20
the head. AFIP admits that all
  of these new head X-rays are now missing from Brown's case file.
  The images that remain of X-rays, including the one that shows=20
fragments, were taken on
  photographic film for use as slides.
  Gormley also contends that one of these remaining slide images of=20
the X-ray of the side of Brown's
  head shows no fragments. Wecht and others disagree, arguing the X-=20
ray image is "too dense" and
  would not clearly show fragments if they were in the head.
  Wecht jested that the disappearance of the X-rays, which Gormley=20
says would support his
  conclusions, fit what he calls Wecht's Law: "The frequency of lost=20
  documents, autopsy materials and other materials in a medical-legal=20
investigation is directly in
  proportion to the complexity, controversy and external challenges"=20
to a given case.
  In reality, Wecht said, "you'll find it is very, very rare" to have=20
  ** Cause of Death
  "Based on the information available from radiographs and external=20
inspection, the death of Ronald H.
  Brown was caused by multiple blunt force injuries as a result of an=20
aircraft mishap," Gormley wrote
  in his final report on the death, concluding it was accidental.
  Wecht disagrees with the finding, and says photographs, X-rays and=20
Gormley's external examination
  did not prove Brown sustained any lethal injuries that were caused=20
by the plane crash itself.
  Wecht observed that Brown's body was relatively intact. Lacerations=20
on his head were superficial,
  and other damage to his face and body appeared to be caused by=20
chemical burns that probably would
  not have resulted in death. X-rays indicated Brown's bones were=20
generally intact, with a breakage of
  the pelvic ring that Wecht said was survivable.
  "The plane crash may well have killed him," Wecht said, "but you=20
need to do an autopsy" to examine
  the head wound and prove it resulted from the crash, and to identify=20
the internal injuries that may
  have caused death.
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