By  Seamus McGraw

(Continued)

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Debates and questions over forensics can slow investigations to a crawl

It has become a maxim in American jurisprudence. "You can pay an expert to say anything no matter what side you're on," and though autopsy reports can provide stark and troubling details and even conclude that a death was the result of a homicide, as in Jason's case, they are far from unimpeachable.

In fact, it sometimes happens that comprehensive forensic evidence can slow down an investigation. In the Midyette case, for example, the medical examiners office took five months to complete its autopsy report, much of that time spent soliciting opinions from a group of outside experts, all determining that brittle bone disease, a malady afflicting young children and often used as a defense is such cases, was likely not a factor in Jason's death.

But as Dr. Werner U. Spitz, a noted forensic pathologist who has worked on scores of high profile cases including the Jon Benet Ramsey investigation in Boulder, told Crime Library, the report lacks a critical component for a successful prosecution. It does not offer an opinion as to whether Jason was the victim of an intentional homicide, or whether some other less malignant explanation is possible. In that, Spitz says, the report is "wishy-washy" and incomplete.

But even in cases where autopsy reports draw firm conclusions about the cause and manner of death, and even when the details in them point toward a suspect or suspects, prosecutions can still move slowly.

In many cases, prosecutors say, they must not only review their own medical evidence, with an eye toward identifying potential weaknesses in their case, they must also apply the same critical techniques to the defense's experts.

Often, defense attorneys, trying to avoid or forestall indictment, will present medical evidence to prosecutors, in many cases couching it as a word of warning. In those cases, a responsible prosecutor must launch a potentially lengthy and of course secret analysis. The upshot is that such a probe can make it appear to outsiders as if an investigation has ground to a halt when instead it is continuing.

It is of course, far from certain that has happened in Boulder. The Midyette's attorneys have declined to discuss the matter with the press, and the District Attorney's Office, citing state law, have declined to discuss the specifics of their probe, but have insisted that the death of Jason Midyette remains an active investigation.

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Contact Seamus McGraw at seamusm@ptd.net

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