Life and Deaths of Cyril Wecht

Cyril H. Wecht M.D., J.D., is an internationally acclaimed forensic pathologist, attorney and medical-legal consultant who has become famous for consulting on deaths with a high media profile. His expertise has been called upon in cases involving John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Elvis Presley, JonBenét Ramsey, Laci Peterson and Kurt Cobain, the fatal stabbings of the family of Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, the O.J. Simpson slayings, and the Waco Branch Davidian fire, among many others. Jeff Sewald is an award-winning writer and filmmaker who specializes in defining the cultural significance of people, places, things and events. His films include Gridiron & Steel, a documentary focusing on the spiritual relationship that exists between the sport of football and the people of southwestern Pennsylvania; Peter Matthiessen: No Boundaries, about the legendary author and environmentalist; and We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told, which chronicles the history and significance of jazz music in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroductionMy HometownLessons in MalevolenceFederal Trial Part I: Choose a Victim, Invent a Crime“Be a doctor and you will be your own boss”Love and Early SkirmishesThe Golden Rule: “he who has the gold, rules”Federal Trial Part II: Mad Dogs at the DoorTo Sin by Silence: The Assassinations of JFK and RFKMedia DarlingFederal Trial Part III: The AftermathI Did It My WayThe Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and LawWitness for Truth: CaseworkContributorsThe Authors in BriefOther Books by Cyril WechtIndex

“Cyril couldn’t be intimidated if you faced him with a Sherman tank.”—F. Lee Bailey