Autopsy

In rejecting PSA screening for prostate cancer, an influential federal panel has chipped a cornerstone of preventive medicine, declaring that it's not always best to catch cancer as early as possible. "At best, PSA screening may help only 1 man in 1,000 avoid death from prostate cancer," the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said Monday. "Most prostate cancers found by PSA screening are slow growing, not life threatening, and will not cause a man any harm during his lifetime.

I am writing regarding the Dec. 2 report by staff writer John Woestendiek on the difficulties the Montgomery County coroner is experiencing in having autopsies of AIDS victims done on deceased persons. Many pathologists and hospitals refuse to do these cases under any circumstances. I believe that with the escalating numbers of AIDS cases it will be difficult to maintain this policy in the future since there are questions such as the nature of suspected infections and medical-legal problems such as accidental deaths, homicides, suicides, contributory negligence and so forth that cannot be solved without an autopsy.

A Delaware County mother whose body was found in Camden in July had taken several drugs before her death, authorities announced Tuesday. However, an autopsy failed to determine conclusively what caused the death of Jenna Lord, 23, of Collingdale, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. Lord was reported missing by relatives on July 5 after she attended a Fourth of July barbecue in Collingswood and never returned to her home in Pennsylvania. She was found July 18, her body badly decomposed.

Opinions in the autopsy report on slain jogger Kimberly Ernest have haunted prosecutors and were the focus of testimony yesterday in the trial of the two men charged with her murder. The most troubling one refers to sperm found in the victim as "further evidence of sexual assault. " These words were blown up on a poster and underlined by lawyers for defendants Herbert Haak and Richard Wise. And under defense questioning, Assistant Medical Examiner Bennett Preston said he stood by the "sexual assault" theory as his "number one opinion.

An autopsy indicates that Shanea Burton, the 3-year-old found in Ridley Creek on Friday, died of drowning, but police still need to determine whether her death was accidental. Investigators with the Delaware County Medical Examiner's Office said yesterday that the office views her death as a case of drowning because the autopsy performed Friday afternoon revealed no evidence of assault or external injuries. And a series of X-rays, routinely done in cases of juvenile deaths, shows no indications of bone fractures or abuse.

West Philadelphia restaurateur Richard J. Cellini, whose sailboat was adrift in the Atlantic for more than three days, died of asphyxiation after becoming entangled in the line that controls the main sail of his 22-foot boat, a Virginia medical examiner said yesterday. An autopsy revealed that Cellini, 46, who left his summer home at 5 p.m. July 9 on a solo sail from Townsends Inlet, N.J., had been struck in the chest, probably by the boom of his boat. He then became entangled in the mainsheet, the line that controls the sail, and died of asphyxiation, said Faruk Presswalla of the Virginia State Medical Examiner's Office in Norfolk.

A Winslow Township man whose body was found in a shallow grave in Wharton State Forest on Sunday died of a single gunshot wound to the back left side of his head, Gloucester County officials said yesterday. Prosecutor Richard E. Hickey 3d said an autopsy showed that Clifford Cordero, 29, of New Brooklyn Road, died of the gunshot wound, but Hickey declined to comment on allegations that Cordero was tortured before his death. "All of this is still being actively investigated," Hickey said.

The autopsy of a 33-year-old Philadelphia man who died in police custody Wednesday night will not be made final until toxicology reports are completed later this week, Cumberland County authorities said yesterday. Arthur J. Marchand, Cumberland County prosecutor, said the autopsy on the body of Brian Simmons revealed no internal signs of trauma. "There was a small cut over one of the man's eyes," the prosecutor said. "The investigation remains open. " Law enforcement officers familiar with the investigation said the remains of two small glassine bags were found in Simmons' body during the autopsy.

The Montgomery County coroner said yesterday that he does not plan to seek an additional autopsy on Graterford Prison inmate Gilberto Barretto in light of a state police investigation that has concluded his death was accidental. Coroner Theodore A. Garcia had said Monday that, because of complaints from prison officials and the inmate's family, he was attempting to arrange a complete autopsy. Although Barretto had AIDS, a limited autopsy had indicated that he died from head injuries.

A 79-year-old woman whose body was found in her Paulsboro home Monday evening was the victim of a homicide, Gloucester County officials said today. A daughter who went to check on Thriza Sweeten discovered her mother's body about 6 p.m. in her single family home at 1562 South Delaware Ave. Sweeten was last seen alive at 10 p.m. on Sunday, authorities said. Officials said she had suffered multiple injuries and an autopsy is being conducted today to establish the cause of death.

Investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy scheduled for today for a body found in the Schuylkill. The severely decomposed remains were found in the river in West Norriton on Sunday afternoon, said Kevin Steele, Montgomery County first assistant district attorney. More details are expected after the autopsy.  

A fire at a Levittown apartment complex has left one person dead, according to Middletown Township police. Bucks County Coroner Dr. Joseph Campbell identified the victim as Beverly O'Boyle, 74, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death was fire-related, Campbell said,. An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday. The fire happened at Foxwood Manor Apartments at 2180 Veterans Highway. Fire crews responded shortly before 11:45 a.m. Friday, according to reports. Rescuers found O'Boyle dead on a smoldering coach.

SEVERAL prescription medications were found in Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua's body at the time of his death, but the Montgomery County coroner won't know for a few weeks whether those drugs matched prescribed levels. Walter I. Hoffman yesterday unveiled the preliminary results of his autopsy of Bevilacqua. Hoffman also warned that results may be inaccurate due to the body having already been embalmed when the test was taken. He said testing would be completed with two weeks. An autopsy was ordered by District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman because of the odd timing of Bevilacqua's death, one day after a ruling ordering him to testify in a sex-abuse trial against two priests and a monsignor.

Leslie Carter 's mysterious death Tuesday has kicked off a round of rumors, speculation, and wild guesses. TMZ cites Anonymous Sources , who say Carter's family thinks the 25-year-old singer, sister to Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter and singer Aaron Carter , was addicted to prescription drugs and died of an overdose. The family has yet to comment. In a statement Wednesday, they said that "our family is grieving right now and it's a private matter.

Pennsylvania State Police from the Embreeville barracks are continuing to investigate the death a man found yesterday in a burning car in Charlestown Township. Troopers responding to a reported vehicle fire at 5:18 p.m. Wednesday at 3285 Phoenixville Pike found a 2005 red Ford Focus "fully involved in fire," police said. Inside the vehicle they saw the body. The decedent has not been identified pending an autopsy, and the probe into the cause of death and the origin of the fire is continuing, police said.

Special Victims Unit investigators are awaiting an autopsy report in the death of a 7-month-old girl found unresponsive at a Center City day-care center late Wednesday afternoon. Police have no indication that the infant's death was suspicious, a department spokeswoman said. The unit investigates all sudden infant deaths unless they are ruled homicides. The child was reported to be unconscious in her crib at the Apple Blossom Learning Tree Day School at 16th and Lombard Streets.

REVIEWING the wreckage of the Eagles' 24-23 collapse to the 49ers while wondering how many hours Juan Castillo plans to go without sleep this week:   By the numbers *  LeSean McCoy, who entered Sunday's game as the league's second-leading rusher, had just just nine carries against the Niners and only four in the second half of a game in which the Eagles had a 20-point lead. Andy Reid, who repeatedly has said over the years that he likes to run the ball in the second half after getting a lead, denied that yesterday.