Final Autopsy and Toxicology Report

[Conductor71]

I had been on the fence about sharing the autopsy report but feel since there is still interest in this case, and EL's parents are seeking answers through a wrongful death lawsuit, I am going to post it. I am hoping it will help somehow. Maybe we have some experts out here who can shed light on why so little was done beyond the basics (compare this to Whitney Houston's report).

This is also to aid members here in giving a reference point per a recent mod's comment on forum policy.

 

[Salem]

Bumping! Lot's of info in this report open for discussion.

Salem

Many thanks to Conductor71!

 

[sophiebelle]

Is there a final police report as well? I don't know if they even speculated on what happened here, as far as the sequence of events. This report doesn't want to assign suicide, even though they mention her bi-polar issues. Accidental doesn't explain it either. How does one accidentally go to a rooftop and manage to find an unlocked water tank, and manage to squeeze into it? She may have, and she may have felt her clothes were weighing her down and so she took them off in a panic. But why? If she could see into the tank, she would know she couldn't climb back out with lower water levels.I guess I will wait for others to opine.

 

[Conductor71]

Is there a final police report as well? I don't know if they even speculated on what happened here, as far as the sequence of events. This report doesn't want to assign suicide, even though they mention her bi-polar issues. Accidental doesn't explain it either. How does one accidentally go to a rooftop and manage to find an unlocked water tank, and manage to squeeze into it?.

They address the potentiality for suicide in the report but there is not enough evidence to support that as a manner of death. However, IMO based on the report there is even less support to label this an accident. If they want to write it off as her mental health where is the accompanying diagnosis of bipolar disorder by the doctor who prescribed her meds? From what I have read unless the manner of death is not unequivocally suicide or homicide, a psychological autopsy is conducted. Where is that?

This report raises more questions than it answers. Why were samples collected for a rape kit and fingernail kit but never tested? How can they use the toxicology report when insufficient tissue or blood samples were tested? The most glaring question is why the coroner changed their ruling from undetermined to accidental? Hopefully the wrongful death lawsuit will answer some of these questions.

 

[Conductor71]

Is there a final police report as well?

I requested the police report but the LAPD makes it difficult to get unless you are a relative.

She may have, and she may have felt her clothes were weighing her down and so she took them off in a panic. But why? If she could see into the tank, she would know she couldn't climb back out with lower water levels.I guess I will wait for others to opine.

I don't think her clothes tell us much. If she did take them off it makes the most sense that she removed them before climbing in the tank. If she removed them because she was in a panic because they we're weighing her down then why go through the trouble of removing underwear? My question is why did the police not test the white sand like particulate found all over her clothes?

I think it is more telling that she was wearing her watch and had her room key card on her but not her cell phone, why is that? It implies that she left her room of her own volition and with a purpose or intent. It also implies that she did not intend to be gone long or that she felt particularly threatened otherwise I would think as a savvy young woman traveling alone she would have not left it in the room. This is all pure speculation, of course.

 

[sophiebelle]

I requested the police report but the LAPD makes it difficult to get unless you are a relative.



I don't think her clothes tell us much. If she did take them off it makes the most sense that she removed them before climbing in the tank. If she removed them because she was in a panic because they we're weighing her down then why go through the trouble of removing underwear? My question is why did the police not test the white sand like particulate found all over her clothes?

I think it is more telling that she was wearing her watch and had her room key card on her but not her cell phone, why is that? It implies that she left her room of her own volition and with a purpose or intent. It also implies that she did not intend to be gone long or that she felt particularly threatened otherwise I would think as a savvy young woman traveling alone she would have not left it in the room. This is all pure speculation, of course.

I read everything I could about this case, and watched the videos and I have never had a strong feel for this case. I did think her behaviors in the elevator were a paranoid episode, not hiding or being afraid of someone.
The whitish particles should have been tested and an investigation done as to where sand would have come from. Were these things from the roof top that stuck to her feet/shoes or did she have that much sand in her sandals? Was it already in the water and just stuck to her clothes? MOO

 

[Userid]

They address the potentiality for suicide in the report but there is not enough evidence to support that as a manner of death. However, IMO based on the report there is even less support to label this an accident. If they want to write it off as her mental health where is the accompanying diagnosis of bipolar disorder by the doctor who prescribed her meds? From what I have read unless the manner of death is not unequivocally suicide or homicide, a psychological autopsy is conducted. Where is that?

This report raises more questions than it answers. Why were samples collected for a rape kit and fingernail kit but never tested? How can they use the toxicology report when insufficient tissue or blood samples were tested? The most glaring question is why the coroner changed their ruling from undetermined to accidental? Hopefully the wrongful death lawsuit will answer some of these questions.

I could be wrong here, but I think the "error" noted in the report was just a typo that was corrected immediately (as the dates indicate).

The most intriguing line for me is the entire report is this: "There was an unsecured metal removable hatch on the top of the tank." Now, my interpretation of that is the hatch was off of the hole, but left in the vicinity of the hole on the top of the tank. Was it like that when the maintainence worker checked the tank? Or is the report just stating what the scene (on top of the tank) was once the body was discovered? The report makes it sound like the lid was un-hinged (removable), which goes against one of the biggest contentions I've possessed in the case. Of course, maybe the report stopped short of getting that specific (whether it was hinged or not).

 

[KristiDFW]

Interesting report indeed. I was curious as to why she was wearing such large sized clothing which one was noted as being male? I can understand having some clothing that I have worn such as shorts and hoodies, but I try to get them to fit me. If her hoody was sized XS and panties S/P, then a man’s size medium shorts and a T-shirt that is large would swallow her. And IMO would not be logical items to pack when traveling for such a long time. But then I Googled Alexander Keiths and found out that it is a brewery in NS which does make me think these were her clothing.

Why was the COD checked Undetermined first before being crossed out and checked as accident?? And whose initials are those that make this change? It doesn’t look like the person(s) who shown finalized the autopsy. (Tovar/Wang?)
I am not a doctor, but wouldn’t drowning cause like a ton of water in the lungs? Plus IMO she would have also swallowed a ton of water so there should have been a lot of water in her stomach too.

From the looks of the toxicology report, she was taking her pills so what would actually cause someone to just walk up to the roof of a hotel that you are not familiar with, climb up a ladder to the top of a water tank, open the hatch, strip your clothes off, and jump in?? I…just…don’t…get…it.

That partial stuff is freaking me out too. They are not going to test that? I understand that there are always partials in water, even in drinking water. If you allow water to settle in a glass long enough, I am sure some stuff will get to the bottom. Maybe the clothing was sunk to the bottom, blocking the water flowing out of the tank causing maybe filtering the water? Hence the low water pressure complaints.

 

[Montjoy]

Why was the COD checked Undetermined first before being crossed out and checked as accident??

Probably because they were awaiting toxicology results to rule out various possibilities, like an overdose, etc., before they could make a further determination.

As for the particles in the water -- I doubt that there is anything unusual there, especially when a foreign object was put into the tank. At any rate, considering her toxicology was clean, this seems to have no bearing on her death.

 

[the_chosen_one]

lungs did contain fluid... if she aspirated water, there would be no reason to ingest it in significant quantities?

question from me is are the edematous/bloodied anus and erythematous tongue and thyroid consistent with drowning and 2-3wk decomposition in water?

 

[Montjoy]

There were no signs of trauma and no signs of sexual assault whatsoever. The condition of the body was entirely consistent with drowning, <mod snip> The autopsy was sound.

 

[thesetup85]

There were no signs of trauma and no signs of sexual assault whatsoever. The condition of the body was entirely consistent with drowning, <mod snip>. The autopsy was sound.

Hi Montjoy! Just wanted to know if you are a medical professional (not being sarcastic here) as you said that the autopsy was sound.

I am NOT a medical professional (have never even opened a biology book) but I would too like to know if the blood pooling around the anus is consistent with decomp in water?

 

[sophiebelle]

Hi Montjoy! Just wanted to know if you are a medical professional (not being sarcastic here) as you said that the autopsy was sound.

I am NOT a medical professional (have never even opened a biology book) but I would too like to know if the blood pooling around the anus is consistent with decomp in water?

You are always welcome to question things and that's what we do! People have differing opinions and some don't always agree and some continue to have more questions. Maybe if we had somebody who knew more about decomp, and how the process works, we could learn more about it. I would also wondering about pooling blood when it's in water.

 

[sabpascu]

You are always welcome to question things and that's what we do! People have differing opinions and some don't always agree and some continue to have more questions. Maybe if we had somebody who knew more about decomp, and how the process works, we could learn more about it. I would also wondering about pooling blood when it's in water.

Hi there! According to the autopsy report the anus was edematous and showed pooling of blood in the subcutaneous tissues surrounding the orifice. This means that there is blood under the skin around the anal orifice. Page 12 of the .pdf says the rectal tissue was prolapsed.

Now because of the lack of immunity after death, the bacteria in one's intestine begins to multiply uncontrollably and starts to break down the body's cells and produces, among others, gases which cause the abdomen to inflate, increasing the pressure in the abdomen. After a while, the organs will start to burst and the rectum will be pushed out and along with the edema of the anus will cause the subcutaneous bleeding around the anal orifice. Basically it's caused by pressure; pressure is exerted on the vessels and they leak blood.

 

[sophiebelle]

Hi there! According to the autopsy report the anus was edematous and showed pooling of blood in the subcutaneous tissues surrounding the orifice. This means that there is blood under the skin around the anal orifice. Page 12 of the .pdf says the rectal tissue was prolapsed.

Now because of the lack of immunity after death, the bacteria in one's intestine begins to multiply uncontrollably and starts to break down the body's cells and produces, among others, gases which cause the abdomen to inflate, increasing the pressure in the abdomen. After a while, the organs will start to burst and the rectum will be pushed out and along with the edema of the anus will cause the subcutaneous bleeding around the anal orifice. Basically it's caused by pressure; pressure is exerted on the vessels and they leak blood.

Thanks! Your explanation is good enough for me! Most of us know nothing about this kind of thing.

 

[sabpascu]

lungs did contain fluid... if she aspirated water, there would be no reason to ingest it in significant quantities?

question from me is are the edematous/bloodied anus and erythematous tongue and thyroid consistent with drowning and 2-3wk decomposition in water?

The focal erythema of the tongue and thyroid are not consistent with decomposition at all, but they could indicate some sort of underlying pathology such as a thyroid disorder. Even though she didn't take any meds for it and probably wasn't aware of it because of the lack of symptoms she could have still had some sort of thyroiditis. It's a very common disease among women, especially young women and approximately 40% of women in the U.S have some evidence of focal thyroiditis at autopsy.

 

[thesetup85]

@sabpascu
Thank you for taking the time out and responding to the queries people have on this form. Your explanations sound logical.

<mod snip>

 

[the_chosen_one]

The focal erythema of the tongue and thyroid are not consistent with decomposition at all, but they could indicate some sort of underlying pathology such as a thyroid disorder. Even though she didn't take any meds for it and probably wasn't aware of it because of the lack of symptoms she could have still had some sort of thyroiditis. It's a very common disease among women, especially young women and approximately 40% of women in the U.S have some evidence of focal thyroiditis at autopsy.

Thanks sabpascu, was just wondering if this might have been related to forced oral sex (tongue) or some degree of strangulation (thyroid) - obviously not as a cause of death...

Out of curiosity are you medically trained?

 

[sabpascu]

Thanks sabpascu, was just wondering if this might have been related to forced oral sex (tongue) or some degree of strangulation (thyroid) - obviously not as a cause of death...

Out of curiosity are you medically trained?

Hi, yes, I am medically trained. I'm in my last year of medical school and I'm interested in pursuing a career in pathology.

Erythema is not usually consistent with any kind of assault, it occurs in inflammatory processes or infections for the most part. If there was trauma you would've seen bruising - blood in the skin.

The subject of strangulation is a very delicate one, as there can be no external markings, but there could be internal markings such as contusion hemorrhage in the muscles of the neck, fractured hyoid bone or signs of injury to the laryngeal cartilages.

Focal erythema of the thyroid, however, not a sign of strangulation.

 

[Userid]

Hi, yes, I am medically trained. I'm in my last year of medical school and I'm interested in pursuing a career in pathology.

Erythema is not usually consistent with any kind of assault, it occurs in inflammatory processes or infections for the most part. If there was trauma you would've seen bruising - blood in the skin.

The subject of strangulation is a very delicate one, as there can be no external markings, but there could be internal markings such as contusion hemorrhage in the muscles of the neck, fractured hyoid bone or signs of injury to the laryngeal cartilages.

Focal erythema of the thyroid, however, not a sign of strangulation.

Okay...I think you just became my favorite poster. Seriously. Hope you stick around.