Dr. Cyril Wecht was a longtime forensic pathologist who became a high-profile public official after working on landmark cases like on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), the JonBenet Ramsey (1990–1996) killing, and Elvis Presley’s (1935–1977) death.
- Died: May 13, 2024 (Who else died on May 13?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 93.
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Dr. Cyril Wecht’s legacy
Born in Dunkard, Pennsylvania to Jewish immigrant parents, Dr. Cyril Wecht earned degrees from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and the University of Maryland School of Law. After graduating, he served in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain before becoming deputy coroner of Allegheny County in 1965. Wecht was then elected coroner, serving for a decade beginning in 1970, then took the job again – for another 10 years – from 1996 to 2006.
Wecht first came to national attention when he published a paper criticizing the Warren Commission’s findings on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He argued that the evidence suggested there was more than one shooter, a belief he held throughout the decades that followed. He also consulted on the deaths of JonBenet Ramsey, Anna Nicole Smith (1967–2007), and Elvis Presley, and he made frequent television appearances discussing issues like Michael Jackson’s (1958– 2009) passing and the O.J. Simpson (1947–2024) trial.
Wecht served as president of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American College of Legal Medicine. Over the course of his long career, he had dozens of articles published, plus he authored or co-wrote nearly 20 books on forensic science. He served as a clinical professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and spent time as an adjunct professor of law at Duquesne University.
On dealing with death as part of his job
“It affects me always, and I hope it never stops affecting me as a sensitive and concerned human being. I have strong emotions, which I’m not hesitant to manifest when I see death, particularly deaths of infants and children and tragedies where somebody has been mindlessly killed or young people die in motor vehicle accidents. Those kinds of cases have always upset me, but you deal with them. That’s the nature of the work, and it has to be done.”—Interview with Smashing Interviews Magazine, 2010
Tributes to Dr. Cyril Wecht
Full obituary: CBS News
