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Diagnosis: More Fuddy Business; Died Three Different Ways And In Three Different Places
Birther Report
2/23/2015
Excerpts:
A Prefabricated Death?!
Linda Jordan | Birther Report
When Hawaii Public Health Director Loretta Fuddy, a central player in the production of Barack Obama’s controversial birth certificate 1, died in a mysterious plane crash 2 those of us who are convinced that the birth certificate was forged 3 suspected foul play. Of the nine souls on board, she was the only fatality 4. Of course we were belittled and maybe rightfully so. Planes crash and people die. But disturbing details, about what occurred after the crash, are enough to cause even skeptics to wonder “What really happened to Loretta Fuddy?”
I thought I knew how Loretta Fuddy died. However, after a review of the public record, I had to think again. And again and again. In these documents, Loretta Fuddy has died three different ways from severe internal injuries 5 to drowning 6 and finally cardiac arrhythmia 7, and in four different places, in the fuselage 8, in the wreckage 9, in the waters off of Molokai 10 and on the island of Molokai 11. That alone calls for some kind of reckoning.
But it gets worse. The Coroner’s Inquest Report was signed the same day as Fuddy’s autopsy, December 13, 2013, and lists the cause of death as “Acute Cardiac Arrhythmia due to Hyperventilation”. It was signed by Maui Police Detective Jamie Winfrey, who is also a Deputy Coroner. But Dr. Lindsey Harle, the Maui Medical Examiner, says she didn’t figure out that Fuddy died from cardiac arrhythmia until several weeks to a month after the autopsy. How did Winfrey know the final cause of death was going to be cardiac arrhythmia?
In my mind that’s called putting the cart before the horse or fabricating a cause of death.
Last month I had the opportunity to ask Dr. Harle and Detective Winfrey to shed some light on exactly when that change was made to Fuddy’s cause of death and why. 12 I also asked Harle to expalin how she came to her preliminary finding that Fuddy had drowned.
The Preliminary Cause of Death. Dr. Harle confirmed that drowning had been her original finding, and that she had passed that finding on to Detective Winfrey.13
A perusal of any number of news accounts containing autopsy results will show that preliminary findings are routinely released. But this one wasn’t. The only way you could have known about it was if you had an inside source 14 or made a public records request to the Maui Police Department (MPD). Harle made light of her preliminary finding to me.15 Like it carried no weight because it was preliminary. I agree that not all “preliminary findings” go on to become the official cause of death, but I do not agree that a preliminary finding means nothing. Particularly when it comes to drowning and I’ll explain why.
A diagnosis of drowning, even a preliminary one, is not made lightly. It is a diagnosis most often made by excluding other causes of death but there are distinctive pathological findings consistent with drowning. 16 17 On the other hand, death by cardiac arrhythmia, unless it’s the genetic kind, is virtually impossible to prove by autopsy.18 It leaves no tell tale sign. 19
In order to make a preliminary diagnosis of drowning on the day of the autopsy, like Harle did, two factors would have been key, how quickly the body was recovered from the water and eye witness accounts.
A body found floating in the water, in a state of putrefaction, with no clue as to how it got there, versus a boy almost immediately pulled from the water after several witnesses saw him flailing his arms and yelling, “Help, I can’t swim”, present themselves very differently at autopsy.
In Loretta Fuddy’s case there were eight eye witnesses to her first 25 minutes in the water, 20 four who gave statements.21 22 There was one eye witness to her apparent death 23 and her body was recovered within about an hour. 24 All of this would greatly help a pathologist’s ability to confirm drowning.
Dr. Harle told me she had based her preliminary finding of drowning on “the historical and scene information” she had available at that time and on her “findings at autopsy.” 25 So let’s break this down.
“Historical” information would mean Fuddy’s medical records and interviews with family members about her health. Fuddy's brother, Lewis Fuddy said that Loretta was healthy,26 not an anxious person, and didn't have any known heart problems. 27 Obviously whatever medical information Harle had on Fuddy the day of the autopsy was not enough to sway her away from her preliminary conclusion that she had drowned.
“Findings at autopsy” is pretty straight forward. Harle found evidence in Fuddy’s lungs and other parts of her body that were consistent with drowning. 28 She also did not see any obvious signs of heart disease or other organ failure that would strongly indicate a cause of death other than drowning.
“Scene” information would mean the location of death and any eye witness accounts of the ocean landing and rescue.
United States Coast Guard(USCG) rescue swimmers have said that Fuddy was found floating in the water, in her life jacket. 29 We also know the weather was relatively calm that day. 30 But you can’t conclude someone drowned simply because they were found in the water.
What other “scene” information would be critical? Eye witness accounts. Did a fellow passenger in the water with Fuddy share information with Dr. Harle that would support her conclusion that Fuddy had drowned? Like, “ I saw her struggling as she went under for the third time and then she became unresponsive.” No. There are no eye witnesses who say they saw Loretta Fuddy drowning. Quite the opposite.
Only three of the eight fellow passengers on the plane with Fuddy were interviewed by the MPD. These interviews were conducted on December 11, 2013, the day of the ocean ditching, by Detective Winfrey. Two didn’t even mention Fuddy. No one says they saw Fuddy in any distress or drowning or injured. 31 32 Dr. Harle had access to Detective Winfrey and these interviews before the autopsy.33
There were two eye witness accounts that were widely reported in the news 34 on December 13, 2013, the day of the autopsy. Dr. Harle may have read these reports.
Clyde Kawasaki, the pilot and Phillip Hollstein, a passenger, say that Fuddy exited the plane just fine and was floating in her life jacket. That she had no obvious signs of injury. They were with her for the first twenty five minutes in the water and did not see her drowning or sinking or struggling. When the plane began to sink and the group drifted apart, Fuddy floated off with her co-worker and Deputy Director, Keith Yamamoto. Kawasaki 35 and Hollstein 36 have said they were surprised and shocked when they heard later that Fuddy had died because she had been fine when they last saw her with the group.
The one person who could have provided the most valuable “scene” information to Harle was Keith Yamamoto. He was the last person to see Fuddy alive and the only person to have witnessed her apparent death. But the MPD didn’t think that fact was important and never interviewed him. 37 The MPD also never conducted an investigation into the death of Fuddy, as required by HRS 841-3 whenever there is an accidental death.38 39 40 41 42 43
There was a second hand news account on the day of Fuddy’s autopsy in which Yamamoto purportedly told the Reverend Killilea that he had been holding Loretta’s hand, helping her to relax, when she became “un-responsive” and “let go of his hand”. 44 Yamamoto did not say he witnessed Fuddy sinking under the water, or that her head was under water, or that she was floating face down, or struggling to breath, or choking, simply that she became “un-responsive” and let go of his hand. By the time the USCG swimmers got there, Fuddy was already dead. 45
So, absent any witness to the Fuddy drowning, the only “scene” information Harle could have used to support a drowning cause of death was the fact that she was found in the water, albeit it floating in a life jacket.
Substantial Weight. The Medical Examiner is not required to establish a cause of death, preliminary or otherwise, the same day as the autopsy. Harle could have mulled it over and waited on further test results if she was unsure. But she did not. 46 This is a critical point, because, in conjunction with the fact that eye witness accounts contradicted drowning, it lends substantial weight to the autopsy evidence. Harle came to her preliminary conclusion based on strong evidence she found during the autopsy. Evidence so convincing that she would make that preliminary finding, that day, without waiting on lab results. The pathological evidence of drowning outweighed the medical history Harle had on Fuddy, outweighed strong witness statements that contradicted a drowning death 47, and outweighed her other autopsy findings. None of them were enough to overcome a preliminary finding that Loretta Fuddy had drowned. I don’t think you can just make all that go away and replace it with cardiac arrhythmia. Unless the cause of death was arbitrarily changed.
....................................
A word of caution. While I have legitimately focused on inconsistencies within the record, I don’t have access to the whole story. I can’t get to the bottom of it or point to the wrongdoing of any specific person. That’s what a law enforcement investigation is for. I am convinced that enough legitimate questions have been raised concerning the death of Loretta Fuddy, to warrant such an investigation.
.................................................. ...
View the complete Birther Report presentation at:
http://www.birtherreport.com/2015/02...ness-died.html
Birther Report
2/23/2015
Excerpts:
A Prefabricated Death?!
Linda Jordan | Birther Report
When Hawaii Public Health Director Loretta Fuddy, a central player in the production of Barack Obama’s controversial birth certificate 1, died in a mysterious plane crash 2 those of us who are convinced that the birth certificate was forged 3 suspected foul play. Of the nine souls on board, she was the only fatality 4. Of course we were belittled and maybe rightfully so. Planes crash and people die. But disturbing details, about what occurred after the crash, are enough to cause even skeptics to wonder “What really happened to Loretta Fuddy?”
I thought I knew how Loretta Fuddy died. However, after a review of the public record, I had to think again. And again and again. In these documents, Loretta Fuddy has died three different ways from severe internal injuries 5 to drowning 6 and finally cardiac arrhythmia 7, and in four different places, in the fuselage 8, in the wreckage 9, in the waters off of Molokai 10 and on the island of Molokai 11. That alone calls for some kind of reckoning.
But it gets worse. The Coroner’s Inquest Report was signed the same day as Fuddy’s autopsy, December 13, 2013, and lists the cause of death as “Acute Cardiac Arrhythmia due to Hyperventilation”. It was signed by Maui Police Detective Jamie Winfrey, who is also a Deputy Coroner. But Dr. Lindsey Harle, the Maui Medical Examiner, says she didn’t figure out that Fuddy died from cardiac arrhythmia until several weeks to a month after the autopsy. How did Winfrey know the final cause of death was going to be cardiac arrhythmia?
In my mind that’s called putting the cart before the horse or fabricating a cause of death.
Last month I had the opportunity to ask Dr. Harle and Detective Winfrey to shed some light on exactly when that change was made to Fuddy’s cause of death and why. 12 I also asked Harle to expalin how she came to her preliminary finding that Fuddy had drowned.
The Preliminary Cause of Death. Dr. Harle confirmed that drowning had been her original finding, and that she had passed that finding on to Detective Winfrey.13
A perusal of any number of news accounts containing autopsy results will show that preliminary findings are routinely released. But this one wasn’t. The only way you could have known about it was if you had an inside source 14 or made a public records request to the Maui Police Department (MPD). Harle made light of her preliminary finding to me.15 Like it carried no weight because it was preliminary. I agree that not all “preliminary findings” go on to become the official cause of death, but I do not agree that a preliminary finding means nothing. Particularly when it comes to drowning and I’ll explain why.
A diagnosis of drowning, even a preliminary one, is not made lightly. It is a diagnosis most often made by excluding other causes of death but there are distinctive pathological findings consistent with drowning. 16 17 On the other hand, death by cardiac arrhythmia, unless it’s the genetic kind, is virtually impossible to prove by autopsy.18 It leaves no tell tale sign. 19
In order to make a preliminary diagnosis of drowning on the day of the autopsy, like Harle did, two factors would have been key, how quickly the body was recovered from the water and eye witness accounts.
A body found floating in the water, in a state of putrefaction, with no clue as to how it got there, versus a boy almost immediately pulled from the water after several witnesses saw him flailing his arms and yelling, “Help, I can’t swim”, present themselves very differently at autopsy.
In Loretta Fuddy’s case there were eight eye witnesses to her first 25 minutes in the water, 20 four who gave statements.21 22 There was one eye witness to her apparent death 23 and her body was recovered within about an hour. 24 All of this would greatly help a pathologist’s ability to confirm drowning.
Dr. Harle told me she had based her preliminary finding of drowning on “the historical and scene information” she had available at that time and on her “findings at autopsy.” 25 So let’s break this down.
“Historical” information would mean Fuddy’s medical records and interviews with family members about her health. Fuddy's brother, Lewis Fuddy said that Loretta was healthy,26 not an anxious person, and didn't have any known heart problems. 27 Obviously whatever medical information Harle had on Fuddy the day of the autopsy was not enough to sway her away from her preliminary conclusion that she had drowned.
“Findings at autopsy” is pretty straight forward. Harle found evidence in Fuddy’s lungs and other parts of her body that were consistent with drowning. 28 She also did not see any obvious signs of heart disease or other organ failure that would strongly indicate a cause of death other than drowning.
“Scene” information would mean the location of death and any eye witness accounts of the ocean landing and rescue.
United States Coast Guard(USCG) rescue swimmers have said that Fuddy was found floating in the water, in her life jacket. 29 We also know the weather was relatively calm that day. 30 But you can’t conclude someone drowned simply because they were found in the water.
What other “scene” information would be critical? Eye witness accounts. Did a fellow passenger in the water with Fuddy share information with Dr. Harle that would support her conclusion that Fuddy had drowned? Like, “ I saw her struggling as she went under for the third time and then she became unresponsive.” No. There are no eye witnesses who say they saw Loretta Fuddy drowning. Quite the opposite.
Only three of the eight fellow passengers on the plane with Fuddy were interviewed by the MPD. These interviews were conducted on December 11, 2013, the day of the ocean ditching, by Detective Winfrey. Two didn’t even mention Fuddy. No one says they saw Fuddy in any distress or drowning or injured. 31 32 Dr. Harle had access to Detective Winfrey and these interviews before the autopsy.33
There were two eye witness accounts that were widely reported in the news 34 on December 13, 2013, the day of the autopsy. Dr. Harle may have read these reports.
Clyde Kawasaki, the pilot and Phillip Hollstein, a passenger, say that Fuddy exited the plane just fine and was floating in her life jacket. That she had no obvious signs of injury. They were with her for the first twenty five minutes in the water and did not see her drowning or sinking or struggling. When the plane began to sink and the group drifted apart, Fuddy floated off with her co-worker and Deputy Director, Keith Yamamoto. Kawasaki 35 and Hollstein 36 have said they were surprised and shocked when they heard later that Fuddy had died because she had been fine when they last saw her with the group.
The one person who could have provided the most valuable “scene” information to Harle was Keith Yamamoto. He was the last person to see Fuddy alive and the only person to have witnessed her apparent death. But the MPD didn’t think that fact was important and never interviewed him. 37 The MPD also never conducted an investigation into the death of Fuddy, as required by HRS 841-3 whenever there is an accidental death.38 39 40 41 42 43
There was a second hand news account on the day of Fuddy’s autopsy in which Yamamoto purportedly told the Reverend Killilea that he had been holding Loretta’s hand, helping her to relax, when she became “un-responsive” and “let go of his hand”. 44 Yamamoto did not say he witnessed Fuddy sinking under the water, or that her head was under water, or that she was floating face down, or struggling to breath, or choking, simply that she became “un-responsive” and let go of his hand. By the time the USCG swimmers got there, Fuddy was already dead. 45
So, absent any witness to the Fuddy drowning, the only “scene” information Harle could have used to support a drowning cause of death was the fact that she was found in the water, albeit it floating in a life jacket.
Substantial Weight. The Medical Examiner is not required to establish a cause of death, preliminary or otherwise, the same day as the autopsy. Harle could have mulled it over and waited on further test results if she was unsure. But she did not. 46 This is a critical point, because, in conjunction with the fact that eye witness accounts contradicted drowning, it lends substantial weight to the autopsy evidence. Harle came to her preliminary conclusion based on strong evidence she found during the autopsy. Evidence so convincing that she would make that preliminary finding, that day, without waiting on lab results. The pathological evidence of drowning outweighed the medical history Harle had on Fuddy, outweighed strong witness statements that contradicted a drowning death 47, and outweighed her other autopsy findings. None of them were enough to overcome a preliminary finding that Loretta Fuddy had drowned. I don’t think you can just make all that go away and replace it with cardiac arrhythmia. Unless the cause of death was arbitrarily changed.
....................................
A word of caution. While I have legitimately focused on inconsistencies within the record, I don’t have access to the whole story. I can’t get to the bottom of it or point to the wrongdoing of any specific person. That’s what a law enforcement investigation is for. I am convinced that enough legitimate questions have been raised concerning the death of Loretta Fuddy, to warrant such an investigation.
.................................................. ...
View the complete Birther Report presentation at:
http://www.birtherreport.com/2015/02...ness-died.html