Independent autopsy by Werner Spitz, Michael Baden could play key role Patrick Lyoya cases
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An independent autopsy by nationally known pathologists Werner Spitz and Michael Baden is expected to add gravity to any civil cases that might be filed following the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya.
Spitz, a 95-year-old professor of pathology, and Baden, an 87-year-old physician, could play key roles in legal proceedings, while the Michigan State Police also investigate the death.
The pathologists' findings were released Tuesday. The conclusion: Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was shot in the back of the head with a large-caliber bullet and died within seconds of the gunshot.
The case is significant, because, like the George Floyd death in Minneapolis, Lyoya's death was captured on video. It also is one of the latest deaths in which a Black person is killed by a white police officer.
An initial autopsy was conducted by Kent County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Cohle, who announced his report would be completed as soon as the toxicology and tissue test results are in, but not publicly released until the Michigan State Police investigation was concluded.
Both pathologists have extensive experience and credentials, and have testified in cases for decades.
Werner Spitz, famed Detroit doctor
German-born Spitz, who was at the Tuesday news conference at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, is credited with working on the assassination investigations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
He also testified at the trials of Casey Anthony and Phil Spector, and the civil trial of O.J. Simpson, and has been a consultant on the investigation of the death of JonBenét Ramsey.
He started his studies at Geneva University in Switzerland, attended the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and immigrated to America in the late 1950s.
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The former medical examiner in Wayne and Macomb counties has long offered opinions on cases that swirl with conspiracy theories.
He wrote "Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death: Guidelines for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigation," and his son, Daniel Spitz, is the chief medical examiner for Macomb County.
As recently as 2013, Spitz said that Kennedy was hit by two bullets when he was assassinated, the autopsy was botched, and Lee Harvey Oswald was, indeed, the lone gunman.
Michael Baden, HBO series host
Baden, who also is tied to high-profile deaths, has been on TV as host of HBO's "Autopsy" series, which examines forensic case studies.
He was the chief medical examiner of the city of New York in the late '70s, investigated the Kennedy assassination and testified in the Simpson trial.
As recently as 2019, the Washington Post called Baden a "celebrity pathologist," and noted he was hired by relatives of Jeffrey Epstein, a politically connected financier who appeared to have committed suicide in jail, to offer opinions on the death.
According to the Post, Baden was a a self-described "troublesome kid" with contrarian tendencies. He went to City College of New York and then medical school at New York University.
Baden has written a book, "Unnatural Death: Confessions of a Medical Examiner," and estimates that he has performed more than 20,000 autopsies.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Werner Spitz, Michael Baden hired to autopsy Patrick Lyoya's body
