When Dr. Erik Mitchell arrived at a Lawrence residence on the morning of July 28, 2004, he already knew there was a possibility a woman had been strangled.
Lawrence Police had called Mitchell, the Douglas County coroner, because they found small, pinpoint bruises in the eyelids of 46-year-old Mary Miller. It was an indicator of possible strangulation.
But it also was possible that during the night Miller had suffered a heart attack.
"The police had a higher degree of suspicion than I did," Mitchell said this week about the 2-year-old case.
During an autopsy, Mitchell found the woman's heart to be healthy. It wasn't until he found a 1/8-inch-wide, 1-inch-long bruise on her neck muscle as well as other small bruises on her voice box and scalp that Mitchell became confident he had a murder victim.
"It was the only thing that made sense," he said of the beginning of an investigation that resulted in Miller's husband, Martin Miller, being convicted of first-degree murder.
Growing caseload
Mitchell has been the Douglas County coroner since 1996. He also is the coroner for Shawnee, Lyon and Chase counties. He is the deputy coroner for Wyandotte and Johnson counties.
Dr. Erik Mitchell has been the Douglas County coroner for 10 years.
A forensic pathologist, Mitchell, a Syracuse, N.Y., native, came to Kansas after working as a medical examiner in Syracuse, Chapel Hill, N.C., and Dade County, Fla. He won't say what launched him into a career of performing autopsies and conducting death investigations. He says only that it was a series of coincidences.
"It happened. There was no master plan," he said. "A little thing here. A little thing there."
Nor is he specific about what he likes about the job.
"I've never worked a day in my life," he said. "Whatever I'm doing I'm enjoying. I cleaned septic tanks. That was enjoyable. It's a matter of attitude."
Mitchell also is a private forensic pathologist who helped start the firm Frontier Forensics in Topeka after arriving in Kansas in 1994. His partner in the business since 1997 is Dr. Don Pojman, also a forensic pathologist.
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In addition to coroner duties, Mitchell and Pojman, through Frontier, are called on by rural county coroners to conduct autopsies for unattended deaths or homicides. As many as 50 Kansas counties call on them for help.
In 2005, Mitchell and Pojman did a total of 818 autopsies, including 71 for Douglas County. Mitchell did about 500 of those. Mitchell routinely does about 60 to 65 percent of the autopsies, Pojman said. So far this year, the two have conducted more than 450 autopsies, of which 41 were for Douglas County. Many times, but not always, they will go to a crime scene, they said.
The length of time it takes to do an autopsy varies considerably, Mitchell said. Some chief medical examiners he's worked under encouraged him to "hit the high points and go on" because of the workload, he said. But in addition to checking a wound or injury, Mitchell said he also prefers to make as complete of an examination he can on other disease or medical problems a person might have.
How is an autopsy performed?
In many deaths, an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death or to assist in a police investigation. Here is the process a coroner, such as Dr. Erik Mitchell, uses to determine these causes:
REVIEW previous medical records of the deceased. This allows the pathologist to take into consideration previous diseases or injuries that may exist on the body. EXAMINE the outside of the body. Any tattoos, scars or other marks help with confirming the victim's identity. Ears, eyes, nose and mouth also will be checked. DOCUMENT what the body looks like. Thorough records are kept in order to assist the coroner in his or her final ruling on the death. COLLECT any visible evidence and take photographs or X-rays. Trace evidence, blood samples or tissue samples all assist in providing the coroner with an accurate view of how the individual died. EXAMINE the body internally. In a surgical fashion, the coroner examines the interior of the body to assist in the determination of cause of death.
Sources: Dr. Erik Mitchell, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine
"As I get older, I'm making sure we cover all the bases for the good of human welfare," he said. "It also depends on the time and resources."
In addition, Mitchell and Pojman testify in court about their investigations.
That is a tremendous caseload, considering the National Association of Medical Examiners recommends that one person do 250 autopsies a year. Frontier has been looking for six months for a third partner to ease the caseload, Pojman said.
More time to spend on paperwork as well as the investigations would be nice, too, Pojman said. When Pojman came to Frontier, Mitchell was without a partner.
"He basically was working 24 hours a day," Pojman said.
Propaganda tool
At 55, Mitchell says that he is slowing down and that some of the work takes longer. But he doesn't complain.
"I still see my wife every day," he said.
One thing Mitchell doesn't like, however, is the plethora of popular crime scene investigation and medical examiner shows on television. He doesn't watch them.
"They are absolute fabrications that are convincing the public of complete falsehoods," he said.
The shows make it look easy to solve a crime through forensics and exaggerate what can be done, he said. Juries, therefore, are looking for definitive or exact evidence that convinces them of someone's guilt without doubt, instead of without a "reasonable doubt," Mitchell said.
He noted the O.J. Simpson murder trial as an example.
"If the average prosecutor had one-tenth of the evidence that existed in the O.J. trial they'd be happy," he said.
"TV is a propaganda tool of incredible power," he said.
Turning the switch
The first day working on a cadaver in medical school will determine whether someone is able to work with dead bodies, Mitchell said. Emotions have to give way to business, he said.
"When I was faced with that, something within me was turned off," he said. "It was just like you've gone over to the wall and turned a switch."
There are some cases that have bothered him, he said.
"You can't say what it is or when it will grab you, at least momentarily," he said. "You just walk away and let someone else handle it. But that's pretty rare."
Comments
smitty 6 years, 10 months ago
JW....
PROS, CONS OF PATHOLOGY Monday, February 24, 1997
Douglas County Coroner Dr. Erik Mitchell offered the following advice for for college or first-year medical students contemplating forensic pathology:
"As far as getting into it, there is opportunity.
"It's a young field. In this country, forensics is poorly developed and there is a lot that can be done to make a significant addition to what is already there.
take note "On the negative, we have an extremely adversarial system in this country, both in the legal and medical system that exists."
He also said there have been many technological advances in the field. But, as with any new technology, it costs money to obtain and utilize it.
CURIOSITY CAPTIVATES 60-COUNTY CORONER Sherry Pigg, Journal-World Writer
Here is how Mitchell got involved...where's the mrs now? Sunday, October 8, 1995
Douglas County's new coroner spends her days unraveling the mysteries of why and how people die.
Seated in a conference room with her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, Dr. Jill Gould looks like any other mom.
But rather than just solving the daily trials of her now full-grown household, this mom spends most of her hours tending to corpses in search of the causes of unexplained, unexpected and sometimes felonious deaths. It's what she has been doing since becoming board-certified in forensic pathology in 1986.
While most of her professional colleagues have moved to large cities, Gould is working out of Topeka. She's foregoing the amenities and conveniences of a state-of-the-art big city office to run her own business, Frontier Forensics. Her 60-county service area stretches from the northern to the southern borders of the state and from Kansas' border with Missouri to Salina.
In April, Gould added Douglas County to her service area when she was appointed county coroner. She replaced Dr. Carol Moddrell, who had served as coroner since 1989.
The profession is a family affair, with Gould's husband, Dr. George Thomas, serving as Shawnee County coroner since 1993. The couple moved to Topeka from Denver when Thomas was hired. They met on the job while Gould was completing her residency rotation in the Denver coroner's office, where Thomas was the coroner.***
smitty 6 years, 10 months ago
These changes in coroners came after much controversy about the coroner corruption in the police shooting and justifiable homicide ruling in the Sevier case(adverse legal system?). A change in the Kansas corner laws created by Solbach and Winters happened after a local activist's meeting with Solbach. Does Mitchell still think the system is advesary?
JW do your home work and another story that is more representative of the adversarial conditions that exist.
I have often wondered if Mitchell would have drawn a bullet path from the 5th intercostal on the right side, grazing the right side of the liver and through the hepatic flexure of the large colon as Modderll did. She drew it as a path from the 5th intercostal to the lower breast bone, almost a 90 degree difference that the way the bullet path was described in the autopsy done by old friend and school mate, ME Kris Sperry.
Or the bullet path from the 4th rib at the 4th rib by thebreast bone to the left rear side of the 10th rib. Moddrell drew it from the 4th rib to the left axial area. That's the arm pit, another 90 degree misrepresentation of the bullet path by two LPD officers in the boguus justifiable homicide of Gregg Sevier.
Now what was that we were saying about an adversarial legal system? Oh yeah, it's a great big freaking conspiracy before Mitchell but what about now?.
jayhawks71 6 years, 10 months ago
Kearney, regarding CSI, you are mistaking the people on the police force with the coroner. If you ever watch CSI (the original) the coroner is an older, balding man who has difficulty walking. But anyway, its TV, so it's all irrelevant anyway.
reginafliangie 6 years, 10 months ago
I don't think he has difficulty walking, he is just very bow legged. You know Kearney they also don't solve crimes in 60 min either, who would of thunk it?? :)
reginafliangie 6 years, 10 months ago
Yeah, nothing I like better than wading through the swamp in my good high heels, looking for evidence. And the humidity would just ruin my hair!
smitty 6 years, 10 months ago
Medical Examiner Kris Sperry from Atlanta did the autopsy, Carol Moddrell drew the diagram of the bullet paths.
The jury only saw the diagram by Moddrell, not the words of Sperry.
The paths of the bullets were drawn parallel to the floor if Sevier had been standing uright but in fact the bullets paths were a sharp downward angle if he were standing upright. The jury only saw CORONER Moddrell's diagram and did indeed return a justifiable ruling in the police killing of Gregg Sevier.
The jury also returned a note to DA Flory with the justifiable ruling expressing concern over the way the inquest was held.
The autopsy was not filed at the clerk's office until after the inquest was held. The autopsy was not a part of the inquest evidense presented, just the grossly altered bullet paths in the body diagram.
Today, if you were to go to the clerk's office and view the inquest transcript and autopsy you will see something different than what was officially filed at the time of the inquest. You will see that the entire autopsy is filed as part of the inquest transcript. You will also not find a missing page, the cover sheet that the clerk stamps the date and time of reciept. The original cover sheet had a date stamped on it that was earlier than the actual date of filing and the clerk hand wrote the corrected date and initialed it. That page is missing completely now.
So if history looks at this controveersial case in years to come, the official documents are misrepresenting facts. The diagram was the only thing the jury had to consider in the bullet paths but yet the entire autopsy is now filed with the transcript. The cover page with the filing and corrected dates are missing. Different conclusions than the truth can be drawn with the official documents altered after the fact.
Why all the alterations of the autopsy anyway? A freaking conspiracy?
DA Jim Flory
Coroner Carol Moddrell
Chief Ron Olin
Kevin Harmon
Ted Bordman
Jim Phillips
George Wheeler
AS you can clearly see there is more and it contaminates the entire legal system of Lawrence.
And the coroner says the legal system is adversarial.
the blue and the grey take care of their own
jayhawks71 6 years, 10 months ago
regina, the actor who plays the role of the coroner, Robert David Hall has had both legs amputated after an accident between his car an an 18-wheeler. He uses prosthetics. I would say it has nothing to do with being "bowlegged" considering you have to have legs to be "bowlegged."
Also from IMDB: "His disabled-specific role as the coroner on "C.S.I." was initially for one episode, but expanded immediately to a regular role in 2000. Since this monumental success, he has become an impassioned spokesperson on the importance of hiring actors with disabilities. He has testified before Congress, and served as a national board member and chair on the Performers With Disabilities Committee."
Kearney, can't say I have seen any of the NY one; I enjoy the original, mostly in re-runs. The Miami one isn't too bad either. The public rarely uses accurate evidence to come to their conclusions. It is part of the reason why common sense ISN'T a good indicator of "what is"; just because a bunch of people share a conclusion doesn't make it accurate.
Fatty_McButterpants 6 years, 10 months ago
Smitty: Nobody, except for you, cares about the Sevier case anymore. He's dead and whether you like the findings of the review boards or not, it's not going to change. Get over it.
HappyFace 6 years, 10 months ago
I think that he did a good job on the Miller case. Without his findings....a guilty man would still be walking around Lawrence. I was glad to see justice done for Mary. :)
reginafliangie 6 years, 10 months ago
Jayhawks: sorry I thought you were referring to the main guy, William Peterson. I forgot about that guy, sorry about that. The CSI in Miami is horrible! I hate David Caruso, all he does is cocks his head to the side, take off his sunglasses and talk real low and scratchy...annoying! Thank you Fatty, it seems no matter what the topic is he brings that case up. Enough already!!
smitty 6 years, 10 months ago
Well fatty, you are right that Sevier is dead and gone. In fact the familyof Sevier made a confidential agreemment to settle with the city on the death.
BUT....not one citizen of Lawrence has seen justice on the case since. We still have a corrupt police chief who runs a dirty force. The coroner is still practicing medicince as the head of the lab services at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, justice has yet to be served, and no one has proven that Kansas's statute of limitations on police cover up of a murder has expired.
Take note that this is one of the most e-mailed stories for the day. Do you really think it is the info on the coroner that is so popular?
reginafliangie 6 years, 10 months ago
I am fascinated with CSI stuff. I find it very interesting. I am also in the medical field so I found the story very interesting and a nice change from the other stuff they print. So I don't know anybody elses reasons for the popularity of the story.
dthroat 6 years, 10 months ago
Smitty - I know you won't listen to this, but you just provided your OWN argument to give this up.
"In fact the family of Sevier made a confidential agreement to settle with the city on the death"
OK - confidential means they probably didn't share it with you. Obviously, THEY are satisfied with however it came out (they didn't share it with me either).
There will be no "justice" because the CASE IS CLOSED.
As someone else said - get over it. Obviously the people DIRECTLY connected to it have.
lunacydetector 6 years, 10 months ago
any pathologist will tell you that most people die from something completely different than what they were being treated.
trollkiller 6 years, 10 months ago
David Caruso is so out of place. I wish someone would tell him that his attempt to emulate Clint Eastwood doesn't work when he looks like Howdy Doody.
JimmyJoeBob 6 years, 10 months ago
Greg Sevier was a sick individual who tried to take the lives of several Lawrence Police Officers. It is sad that he died but it was better than the cops getting killed Smitty
HappyFace 6 years, 10 months ago
It is amazing how people get off the subject in these commentaries! :)
H_Lecter 6 years, 10 months ago
Any amateur can do an autopsy on a DEAD body.
Kelly Powell 6 years, 10 months ago
(giggle)
eskimopieinKS 6 years, 10 months ago
LOL@Hannibal
you are so scary sometimes
do you ever read anything on CrimeLibrary.com? good site....
course you may already be on there somewhere and we just don't know it
bearded_gnome 6 years, 10 months ago
ahh, h_lecter, but you're no amateur...now are you?
in fact, you've probably got your own toolkit.
what a cut up you are.
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