Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases [Hardcover]

Cyril H. Wecht (Author), Greg Saitz (Author), Mark Curriden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2003

World-renowned forensic pathologist Dr Cyril Wecht leads you into the heart of nine fascinating investigations, focusing each chapter on a single engrossing drama. He reveals the most startling evidence that shows why JonBenet Ramsey's killer most likely came from within her home, why OJ Simpson probably had an accomplice in the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, shocking revelations about Robert Berdella's grisly torture and sex-abuse crimes against young men, and many intriguing facts about other infamous cases.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this review of nine of his cases, pathologist Wecht gives readers a glimpse into the dark secrets that only the police, lawyers and criminals know about some of America's most intriguing murder cases in recent memory. The prose is crisp, and Wecht, writing with crime reporter Saitz and legal writer Curriden, does an admirable job of explaining technical procedures and scientific evidence in layman's terms. While Wecht's forensic expertise helps shed some light on what really happened in this collection of solved and unsolved cases, the book as a whole points out that forensics is not an infallible method for determining who committed a certain crime. For instance, Wecht's review of the Grossberg and Peterson case (two college freshmen accused of murdering their baby in 1996), on which he consulted for Grossberg's defense, demonstrates the different conclusions that doctors can reach from studying the same autopsies. Furthermore, in two of the high-profile stories mentioned in the book, the O.J. Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey cases, the limitations of forensic science are exposed. Having viewed autopsy records in both cases, Wecht does have compelling theories about who committed these headline-making crimes, but his educated guesses are not proof enough to put anyone behind bars. Still, while some of the cases in this volume are still unsolved, the inherent life-and-death dramatics in each of Wecht's reviews will certainly catch the eye of those who like a good murder mystery or fancy themselves armchair detectives.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...a fascinating catalogue of nine cases, even-handed in tone, gory but never wallowing or stomach-turning...surprisingly informative." -- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 21, 2004

"...can shed light on various techniques provided by forensic pathologists and scientists...pointing out blunders that should be avoided." -- Forensic Science Communications, April 2004

"...enjoyable reading for both the forensic practitioner and the lay reader alike..." -- N.A.M.E. News, Official newsletter of the Nat'l Assoc. of Medical Examiners, Vol.11, No.5, Oct./Dec. 2003

"An intriguing set of scholarly discourses..." -- The Bookwatch, August 2004

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 315 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591021340
• ISBN-13: 978-1591021346
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #970,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cyril H. Wecht, MD, JD, one of the world's leading forensic pathologists/lawyers, is the author or co-author of A Question of Murder, Tales from the Morgue, Mortal Evidence, Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?, Grave Secrets, Cause of Death, and hundreds of professional publications. He has served as president of both the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and has appeared on numerous nationally syndicated television programs, including Dateline NBC, 48 Hours Mystery, 20/20, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Geraldo at Large, Issues with Jane Velez- Mitchell, and many others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, November 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases (Hardcover)

This book explains the author's theories behind nine well known cases. It is well written and easy to understand.

Once I started reading about one of the cases I could not put the book down until I reached the end.

The writer definitely paints a realistic "word picture" making you feel like you are along for the ride with Dr. Wecht in each one of his investigations.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Overview of Cases and Introduction to Concepts, April 11, 2007

By 

Stephen Mccaskill "www.crimesceneblog.com" (South Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases (Paperback)

Dr. Wecht has spent years in various positions within the criminal justice system. During his time he has worked on such celebrated cases as the Chappaquiddick case, which involved Send. Edward Kennedy and more recently on the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

The book follows the investigation and details of the forensics used in nine cases, some of which are new and others which have faded a bit into history. He discusses the obvious cases that seemingly every forensic expert has an opinion on, namely JonBenet Ramsey and O.J. Simpson. But he also goes back farther into time and brings to light things about the Sam Sheppard case. His case was the inspiration for The Fugitive TV show and movie. Dr. Wecht also was asked to look into the death of Tammy Wynette, one of country music's favorite stars and this case gets a treatment as well.

Throughout every case, Dr. Wecht not only gives us some details about the forensics involved, but he also stops and takes the time explain what some of the medical terms used actually mean, in layman's terms. What this gives us is a Cliff's Notes type of medical dictionary that we can take with us as we read more cases, so that we increase our understanding of the terms used in autopsy reports and other medical evaluations.

His reports are clear and concise, with no wasted words. This is not to say he does not fully the cover the material, he just does not drone on about things that do not pertain to the case. I also like his style of writing. he uses a host of medical terms, but never does it seem that he is trying to overwhelm or prove his intelligence. He is, I believe, trying to give us the jargon used in his line of work so that some of the mystery is removed from the legal documents when read in the future.

To me, this book serves two purposes. It offers a glimpse inside some of the most interesting investigations in the past 30 years. But it also serves as a mini-dictionary of forensic terms, so that you can take the knowledge with you into more reading and investigation. I highly recommend this book and look foward to hearing more from Dr. Wecht.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good read, March 12, 2009

By 

Dee from Gary, Indiana (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases (Paperback)

This book was a pretty good read, especially about JonBenet Ramsey. I skipped the chapter on O.J. Simpson. The cases are interesting and especially the chapter on Mr. Berdella, another Jeffrey Dahmer, he even died in prison, like Dahmer, but of a heart attack. It's pretty macabre. I wouldn't buy the book, but got it from the library this time. It was okay, not great, but okay.