Caylee Anthony: Dr. G rips criticism that Caylee’s autopsy was shoddy - Hal

Caylee Anthony: Dr. G rips criticism that Caylee’s autopsy was shoddy
posted by halboedeker on January, 1 2012 9:42 PM

In a TLC special tonight, Dr. Jan Garavaglia blasted the defense’s criticism of her work in the Casey Anthony case.

Garavaglia, the chief medical examiner for Orange and Osceola counties, ripped Dr. Werner Spitz’s complaint that she had conducted a “shoddy” autopsy on toddler Caylee Anthony.

The special, “Dr. G: Inside the Caylee Anthony Case,” noted that the child’s skull fell apart when defense expert Spitz opened it.

“He broke it. He caused a fracture and it fell it apart, and then he has the nerve to call my work shoddy?” Garavaglia asked incredulously.

“There was no reason to open that skull,” Garavaglia said. “We could clearly see in the skull.”

Casey Anthony was acquitted of murder in her daughter’s death. Garavaglia said that she doesn’t deal with guilt or innocence in her work, yet she seemed incredulous at the outcome.

“I don’t understand people who think Elvis is still alive. I don’t understand people who think we never landed on the moon,” Garavaglia said. “I don’t get those people. So I don’t get these people either,” she said of the jury.

The special offered the star of “Dr. G: Medical Examiner” a chance to answer her critics. She was forceful and energetic in her remarks. The program also featured former prosecutor Jeff Ashton, who has announced that he is running for state attorney; attorney Bill Sheaffer, an analyst for WFTV-Channel 9; and Amy Pavuk, a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel. The Anthony defense team was represented in clips, because this was, after all, Dr. G’s forum.

Sheaffer said the defense was not able to shake Garavaglia on the point that the child’s death was a homicide.

“I can tell you it was a homicide,” Garavaglia said as the program ended.

In her work, Garavaglia said she focuses on facts, and she reiterated that the manner of Caylee’s death was homicide because of circumstances. She based that opinion on “everything — the body, the scene, the history.”

She highlighted that Caylee was thrown in a plastic bag and hidden. Garavaglia reminded viewers that Casey Anthony didn’t report the child was missing, then said Caylee was kidnapped and later revised the story to say the child drowned.

“There is no reason for a 2-year-old child to decompose in a field in a plastic bag with duct tape over its face,” Garavaglia said.

Garavaglia said she doesn’t speak for the state, police, lawyers or defendants. “I speak to try to find the truth,” she said.

During the trial, defense attorney Jose Baez complained that Garavaglia’s conclusions were not science.

“The conclusions were scientifically defensible,” Garavaglia responded to Baez in the special. “That is not a principle that I make up. It’s not because this was a high-profile case that I wanted to do a thorough job. This was a 2-year-old little girl that was found in the woods.”

What did you think of the program?

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2012/01/caylee-anthony-dr-g-rips-criticism-that-caylees-autopsy-was-shoddy.html