Shannan Gilbert's Remains

LINative13 said:

I need to get something straight as it is very important to me. I was always under the impression that SG's body was being held and MG was unable to take possession of it so she can have a funeral. Now I am hearing that MG can take the body whenever she wants but has opted not to because she is waiting to get the cash together to have a second autopsy done (she has had a decent amount of time to put the scratch together). Does anyone have a straight answer? This is a very important issue to me; everyones input is apprecciated.

The remains of the missing Jersey City woman whose disappearance sparked searches that led to a human dumping ground off Ocean Parkway -- and the belief that a serial killer is on the loose -- have not been returned to her family, her mother said.

On May 1, two years to the day after Shannan Gilbert, 24, disappeared in Oak Beach, her family and their attorney were told by a Suffolk County Medical Examiner official and homicide detectives that her autopsy was inconclusive.

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mysterymom7 said:

I think the part that begins the confusion is "the medical examiner's decision", I believe that "decision" was referring to the "inconclusive" rather than the "decision" of not releasing the body. That confusion continues with Mr. Ray's statements. If you're assuming it was the ME's decision to withhold the body, then the train of thought with JRs comment is that, "If they would just turn over the report, they could get the body." Knowing that it is about the lack of funds, I read Mr. Ray's statement differently. Now I read it is that he requested from the ME the report... 3 times. Although, what I've recently learned about FOIL requests makes me question Mr. Ray not having the info, yet.

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Seaslug44 said:

There are several sources (both print and video) that we linked here that proved that the family attorney asked that the ME keep her remains to run further testing. There was never any mention of the family paying for independent examinations.

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Seajay said:

The title of the article is "Frustrated Family Seeks Shannan Gilbert's Remains."

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Seaslug44 said:

There are several sources (both print and video) that we linked here that proved that the family attorney asked that the ME keep her remains to run further testing. There was never any mention of the family paying for independent examinations.

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hawkshaw said:

Something doesn't smell right. The attached story speaks for itself. I am surprised that some retired pathologist like Michael Baden hasn't offered his services at a discount. The publicity alone should net him enough money to keep him happy.

Why doesn't Ray pay for the autopsy as an office expense and deduct it from any awards he may get if his charges are proven to be true? Most well heeled lawyers would do that if they see a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Imagine the publicity if another pathologist disagrees with the assessment of the ME? It would put the system back a 100 years.

Why doesn't Suffolk County say enough is enough. Why don't they say if you don't want the body then we will bury it in Potter's Field. I don't think they will be criticized if they did that. What are they going to do, wait 10 years before they dispose of the body?

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LINative13 said:

I agree very strongly with you.

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LINative13 said:

I question MG more than JR.

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LINative13 said:

....MG pretty much said "hang onto my dead daughter for me, I gotta get some money together so I can have another autopsy done."

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LINative13 said:

I agree very strongly with you.

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hawkshaw said:

Something doesn't smell right. The attached story speaks for itself. I am surprised that some retired pathologist like Michael Baden hasn't offered his services at a discount. The publicity alone should net him enough money to keep him happy.
Why doesn't Ray pay for the autopsy as an office expense and deduct it from any awards he may get if his charges are proven to be true? Most well heeled lawyers would do that if they see a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Imagine the publicity if another pathologist disagrees with the assessment of the ME? It would put the system back a 100 years.

Why doesn't Suffolk County say enough is enough. Why don't they say if you don't want the body then we will bury it in Potter's Field. I don't think they will be criticized if they did that. What are they going to do, wait 10 years before they dispose of the body?

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LINative13 said:

I need to get something straight as it is very important to me. I was always under the impression that SG's body was being held and MG was unable to take possession of it so she can have a funeral. Now I am hearing that MG can take the body whenever she wants but has opted not to because she is waiting to get the cash together to have a second autopsy done (she has had a decent amount of time to put the scratch together). Does anyone have a straight answer? This is a very important issue to me; everyones input is apprecciated.

The remains of the missing Jersey City woman whose disappearance sparked searches that led to a human dumping ground off Ocean Parkway -- and the belief that a serial killer is on the loose -- have not been returned to her family, her mother said.

On May 1, two years to the day after Shannan Gilbert, 24, disappeared in Oak Beach, her family and their attorney were told by a Suffolk County Medical Examiner official and homicide detectives that her autopsy was inconclusive.

When Gilbert's remains were found Dec. 13, 2011, in a marshy area behind the gated community she first disappeared from 19 months earlier, former Suffolk police Commissioner Richard Dormer and former Chief of Detectives Dominick Varrone said they believed she had drowned.

The autopsy frustrated Gilbert's mother, Mari, who said publicly that she wanted to have her daughter's remains examined by an independent forensic pathologist after they were released.

But before the body is released, she and her attorney, John Ray, asked the medical examiner's office to preserve Gilbert's body so that further testing could be conducted on the hair and bone marrow. They say those tests were not done. In addition, Ray said they requested testing of clothes and items found with Gilbert's remains to check for foreign substances.

Suffolk police would not comment on the delay in releasing Gilbert's remains to her family, saying it is the medical examiner's decision. Calls to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's office were not returned.

So far, Ray said, he's put in three requests to the medical examiner asking for reports of the autopsy. He's also asked whether further tests were conducted as requested in May and the whereabouts of Gilbert's remains. He said neither he nor Gilbert's mother have heard anything. Mari Gilbert has also requested her daughter's death certificate, which she has yet to receive. "It's not even so much that this time has passed, because time will pass anyway," Ray said. "It's the utter disdain for the family."

The search for Gilbert in the months after her disappearance led to the discovery of remains of 10 other people in heavy brush off Ocean Parkway. They included that of a toddler, an Asian man in women's clothing and body parts belonging to remains found in Manorville in 2000 and 2003. Half of the remains found along Ocean Parkway during the searches have been identified.

Meanwhile, the Oak Beach house Gilbert was seen running from before she disappeared in 2010 is still on the market. Real estate records show the two-story wood-paneled beach house was listed last year for $439,000 in March but was reduced to $399,999 that September. It was re-listed last week for $375,000.

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LINative13 said:

I was under the impression that the ME was holding the body indefinitely without justification (or atleast justification released to MG or us). I knew they wanted additional testing done; I thought they were unable to get the testing done because the ME would not realease the body.

So, from what I gather now......MG pretty much said "hang onto my dead daughter for me, I gotta get some money together so I can have another autopsy done." I am sorry but that is rediculous....any parents here? Any parents here that would do this? If MG didn't have the money or have atleast made some headway in getting it together by now....I question the motivation. I would have buried my child (God forbid I ever have to do that), instead of leaving her in a drawer for 6 months. Sorry for being blunt, but its the truth. If the lawyer really belived in this case.....don't you think he would have fronted the money already? Maybe it helps him to drag it out as well; keeps his name popping up in the paper every few months.

I am extremely dissappointed in myself for not having an issue so big (to me atleast) inaccurate. I was very upset that the ME would not release the body (or the lie I believed) and it drove me to try and help.

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truthspider said:

Maybe in Hollywood they do, but in reality lawyers don't front money. I think you are all jumping the gun on this topic.

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