From I have understand there is also the option to choose "undetermined". IMO, the possibility of her having a psychotic attack, at least publicly, are no further substantiated than before. I believe the coroner's office and LAPD need to have tangible forensic proof in that they cannot explain any of this beyond her having a history of bipolar disorder. I do not want to rehash the mental health argument anymore. IF a full psychological autopsy was completed, I would be fine with the conclusion. This means that they would have interviewed family and friends as witnesses to her diagnosis and poured over police investigation reports along with her medical condition. I do not get the sense this was done. For all I know, they simply read her Tumblr. Not likely, but I think in a bizarre case like this, they could provide a bit more detail without being disrespectful.
Really at this point logic is a moot point as their is no logic involved in what she purportedly did, right? So all we really have to go on is the coroner's opinion, and I think that the division here centers on how we all feel about authority.
Determining cause and manner of death is fairly subjective and the conclusion is based on limited evidence present at the time of death. When members here discount a lack of evidence for foul play do you ever consider that nearly two weeks passed while she was in that tank. How extensive do you think this investigation went beyond searching the hotel and checking her cell phone? Given that a common response by LAPD was "I don't know" you would think that their academy taught the Ronald Reagan method of investigation.
I also discovered that the only time a body is released back to the family for burial is when there are no signs of foul play. EL was released for burial in early March, so they probably actively investigated for 3 weeks at most after she was found. We know they did not even thoroughly search the hotel. It is well documented that in cases of equivocal death very little of anything is found at the scene, yet the LAPD told the CBC they had evidence she had been harmed or was in danger- this means from her self? What ever became of her cell phone? Fingerprints are seldom viable after one week, but did they even try? With SAR dogs finding no trace of her, they should have been looking for trace evidence like fibers or something. I don't think the roof was ever treated as a crime scene.
The coroner's office itself has a checkered history. The actress Brittany Murphy's autopsy was bungled by the coroner's dept. Both she and her husband died within a few months of one another and both had acute, severe vomiting just days before dying. Ed Winter publicly admitted they collected hair samples but never saw fit to run tests for toxins or poisons! Instead her death was ruled an accident due to pneumonia, anemia, and "multiple drugs" none of them illegal. The case is now re-opened with the coroner and her family in court.
Why is that we should take everything a person whom society has conferred some degree of authority at face value without knowing his professional history or education? The diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder itself is hardly scientific and there is a large margin for error. Many coroners do not pass state boards, not all are medical doctors with some only having a high school education. Los Angeles hired an incompetent apprentice coroner a few years back who failed to disclose he had previously been fired. He was already flailing in his role, and when they found out he lied they still gave him close to a year to get his act together.
http://californiawatch.org/postmortem
I think that due to losing 2 weeks of time, they opted for the easy way out and knew they were going to go with accident all along. Her parents must be in shock. I just hope that if they are not satisfied with this they pursue the truth.
