Rolla and Braun worked straight through until about 0630 and 0700 respectively on July 21st [411,517], the day after VWF's body was found, and they confirmed with Dr. Beyer that the autopsy would not be performed until the morning of July 22nd (Thursday), but the autopsy was moved up to Wednesday morning, the day after the body was found [86] at the specific request of the WH [89,411,517,551,825].
This apparently had to be done because the plan was to have VWF's funeral in LR on Friday [616]. Dr. Beyer was relatively alone in his belief that the autopsy was not moved up [215, R28].
Since Rolla and Braun had been on duty for about 17 straight hours straight when they knocked off work on Wednesday morning the 21st at about 0630 [411], moving the autopsy from Thursday morning to Wednesday morning made it unfeasible for the two investigators (or anyone else who had been at the body site) effectively to attend the autopsy [414]. This is contrary to the customary USPP practice. The autopsy commenced at 1000 on Wednesday, July 21 [212].
Since no one who was present at the body site the night before attended the autopsy (contrary to the usual practice), the autopsy was potentially compromised from the start.
The Autopsy and the X-Rays
The USPP sent four individuals to the autopsy, Investigator Morrissette, Sergeant Rule, and two ID technicians [1276] (none of them had been present at the body site at FMP park).
A USPP report on the autopsy mentioned Dr. Beyer's comments about the X-ray results [95]: "Dr. Beyer stated that X-rays indicated that there was no evidence of bullet fragments in the head [95,2128]." Dr. Beyer had no explanation for the statement in the USPP report other than stating firmly that no X-rays were taken. It certainly does not sound like a casual misunderstanding: Dr. Beyer stated that no X-rays were even taken, let alone showed the specific result clearly stated in the USPP report.
As the records stand now, either the USPP Officer who attended the autopsy (one of four USPP officers there) and wrote the USPP report on the autopsy is incorrect or Dr. Beyer is incorrect. There can be no middle ground. Someone made a mistake, but who?
Dr. Beyer's autopsy report has a check mark indicating that X-Rays were taken [94, 95] and the doctor testified that he anticipated taking X-Rays although none were in fact taken because the new X-ray machine was not producing readable X-rays [see also 213]. Dr. Beyer stated that taking X- rays was a requirement in the case of penetrating (slug retained in the body) gunshot wounds but not in the case of perforating (through-and-through) gunshot wounds such as VWF's.
In contrast, Dr. Beyer stated in his FBI interview that taking X-rays was preferred in the case of all gunshot wounds [584].
Thus there were two reasons Dr. Beyer testified that X-rays of VWF's head were not taken: 1) The machine was not working and 2) There was no medical or forensic requirement to do so. Although the new machine was apparently under warranty, no attempts were made to have the machine serviced and Dr. Beyer testified that "I have no X-rays in my files between July 6 to the 26."
Given the X-ray machine had been broken for two weeks and the fact there was no medical or forensic requirement to take X-rays, one is certainly entitled to ask why Dr. Beyer checked the line on the autopsy form that X-rays were taken. One would not think the line was checked out of habit since the new machine had not produced readable X-rays for two weeks (which he said he knew).
Note that Dr. Beyer did not state this explicitly, he merely indicated that his files contained no X- rays for the period between two weeks before and five days after the VWF autopsy. One might be curious whether copies of the appropriate autopsy reports done within that twenty day period indicate that X-rays were or were not taken and whether any of those files contain X-rays.
In the course of his testimony Dr. Beyer indicated both that 1) "I saw no need to take an X-ray" and 2) "I had anticipated taking them" [X-rays].
Even the casual reader should notice the contradictory nature of these two statements, especially were he to remember that Dr. Beyer stated that the X-ray machine had not been working for two weeks. These discrepancies could be the result of some misunderstanding, but the record does not indicate that the four USPP autopsy attendees were ever interviewed (including the writer of the report covering USPP attendance at the autopsy) to clarify this important point.
Later on in his testimony [96] Dr. Beyer stated "Some days we would get a partial readable X-ray," but this statement does not jibe with his statement that his files contained no X-rays at all between July 6 and July 26. Dr. Beyer was asked, "But in this case, if it were working, you would have done an X-ray?" He responded "Yes sir," despite his earlier testimony that an X-ray was needed only in the case of a penetrating gun shot wound, not a perforating gun shot wound, such as VWF's.
Remember that Rolla's initial impression at the body site was that the slug was still in the head. Remember, too, Dr. Haut's comment that VWF's wound appeared to have been caused by a low velocity weapon.
A Senator inquired, ""You were not able to do the X-ray because this machine sometimes works and sometimes didn't. It did not when it needed to in this case and you forgot to remove the check mark. . ." Dr. Beyer replied "That's correct [97]."
This exchange indicates that Dr. Beyer attempted to take an X-ray of VWF's head wound and it did not "come out." One might wish to confirm whether this X-ray was indeed taken and determine what the medical standard was in this case for not "coming out."
The Chairman made this comment and asked a question of Dr. Beyer [96]:
I take it that report [the Autopsy Report] is two or three pages of which the front page is sort of the checklist of things that you intend to do with respect to this autopsy, and then it is the subsequent pages that, in fact, provide the analysis that you develop in the course of actually performing it, so that you have got to read all the way through to the end to really get to what you determine. Am I right about that?
[Dr. Beyer] Yes sir.
However, shortly before this exchange, in response to a question from another member of the committee, Dr. Beyer stated [95] "To me the autopsy report is the first and second page which includes my findings." An examination of the seven-page autopsy report [364-370] reveals that the front page is not "sort of the checklist of things you intend to do. . ." Dr. Beyer's statement that ". . . the autopsy report is the first and second page which includes my findings" is correct. The Chairman's statement is incorrect, although Dr. Beyer agreed with him.
The pathological diagnosis and the cause of death are listed on the first page of the report. The second page of the report contains the "gross description" of the body. The check mark that indicated "X-rays made" is in fact part of the "Gunshot Wound Chart" that comprises the last page of the autopsy report. If one completed the Gunshot Wound Chart from top to bottom, one would come to the "X-rays made" line only after completing the rest of the chart first.
In passing, it should be noted that the "Cause of Death" listed by Dr. Beyer on Page one of the "Report of Autopsy" was "PERFORATING GUNSHOT WOUND MOUTH - HEAD." However, the Fiske Report section discussing the autopsy report finesses this conclusion and contains the statement "Dr. Beyer certified the death as a suicide.**" [212] and states (in the footnote) "** The complete autopsy report is attached as Exhibit 8."
If the word "suicide" appears in the autopsy report itself, this author has not been able to find it, let alone a "certification" in the autopsy report that Mr. Foster committed suicide. Indeed, no inference can be drawn from the autopsy report that Dr. Beyer certified VWF's death "as a suicide" unless one makes the assumption that all fatal "perforating gunshot wounds mouth - head" are self- inflicted [see also 1132]. They clearly are not.
It is of course perfectly true [77] that Dr. Beyer, under oath one year and eight days after performing the autopsy, agreed with a Senator's statement that Dr. Beyer "concluded that Mr. Foster's death was a suicide," but it is also true, the Fiske Report's footnote notwithstanding, that Dr. Beyer did not "certify the death as a suicide" in the autopsy report signed on July 28, 1993,
In his FBI interview, Dr. Beyer was asked whether there was a place on the autopsy report where the manner of death was written. He responded "We don't have that on the autopsy report." The first page of the autopsy report has a section entitled "Cause of Death" [598]. Thus, the first time Dr. Beyer "certified" VWF's death was a suicide was during the 1994 Senate Whitewater Hearings.
The autopsy reported that VWF was shot through the mouth with the bullet exiting the rear of the skull [212]. There were no other wounds, chipped teeth, or any other indication on the body that a struggle had taken place (or, as discussed above, evidence of any physical damage caused by the powerful recoil of the revolver). Gunpowder residue was apparently found on both index fingers, although more of it was on the right one.
Two days after the autopsy, a news service indicated [618] that "Only one bullet was fired from the Colt revolver, and it was the one found in Foster." Right or wrong, this news story is consistent with the check mark in the autopsy report and the statement in the USPP Report of those attending the autopsy that X-rays were taken. Of course, the USPP Report indicated that Dr. Beyer informed the USPP at the autopsy that the X-ray of the brain did not contain any fragments of the bullet.
Some Background on Dr. Beyer
Information here is taken from Dr. Beyer's deposition at [564-593] unless otherwise noted.
Dr. Beyer was 75 years old when he performed the VWF autopsy (date of birth June 2, 1918).
He served in the US Army medical corps for 14 years. His specialty was surgical research (especially "wound ballistics"), duty with the US Army ordnance and chemical corps regarding the development of new weapons, and the development of body armor.
One wonders if other Federal agencies have made legitimate use of his expertise in wound ballistics in the past.
The Death Certificate And Dr. Haut's Report
According to the Clinger Report (Footnote 2, Page 7; see the heading, "How To Obtain Government Information" above), Dr. Haut signed the death certificate ("Medical Examiner's Certificate") and listed the cause of death as "self-inflicted gunshot wound mouth to head." The death certificate is not part of the "official record" as that term is used in this report (that is, not included in the three Senate Volumes released in January 1995). That could have been an oversight.
It is surprising, however, the Dr. Haut's report of his on-scene activities at FMP the night of July 20, 1993, is not part of the official record. One would have thought that the report of the only medical doctor to view the body in situ would be an important document and therefore included in the official record.