Examiner Focused On Thoroughness

LARGO - Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin knows it is unlikely he will ever perform a higher-profile autopsy than that of Terri Schiavo.

That is one reason the results took so long to complete, Thogmartin said in an interview before Wednesday's autopsy release.

As the final arbiter of what happened to a woman whose case has garnered worldwide attention - and debate - Thogmartin said he wanted to review every available medical record and bring in specialized expertise where he felt it necessary.

Thogmartin said much of the autopsy was completed in the weeks after Schiavo's death. However, a brain pathology expert's report was not finalized until this week, and the last of Schiavo's medical records were trickling in as recently as late last month, he said.

In a case where the underlying cause of death happened 15 years ago, Schiavo's medical records and the expert's opinion on the condition of her brain - and any possible cognitive ability - are the crux of the matter, Thogmartin said.

Thogmartin received advance notice of the intense scrutiny his report is receiving.

When news broke that he intended to do an autopsy before signing off on Michael Schiavo's plan to have his wife cremated, Thogmartin's office was inundated with e-mail and telephone calls from the public and reporters.

"They shut us down for 12 hours," he said of the onslaught.

Police agencies investigating homicides and other suspicious deaths could reach Thogmartin and his employees only on their cell phones, he said.

Since then, e-mail messages have continued to flood his in-basket, the medical examiner said.

"I filter them out and put them in a file," he said. The few he read, he said, he read for "entertainment value."

"Pretty much all" of the correspondents wanted both quick results and a thorough job, he said.

"One asked me: "What's taking so long? This is taking longer than the pope.' Well, the pope didn't have an autopsy, but I didn't bother to write back," he said.

Thogmartin said he does not allow any outside influences in his autopsies.

That is why he refused requests from Michael Schiavo and Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, that they be allowed to have their private pathologists present for the autopsy.

"The Florida system is designed for the medical examiner to be independent. I have no relationship to either side," he said.

Public Defender Bob Dillinger said he can vouch for Thogmartin's independence.

The previous medical examiner, who resigned in disgrace before Thogmartin took over in December 2000, was widely perceived as biased in favor of law enforcement and state prosecutors, Dillinger said.

Thogmartin is "a breath of fresh air," the public defender said. "He gives his independent opinion and lets the chips fall where they may."