Dr. G: Medical Examiner - Season 2, Episode 16 - Deadly Consequences - Full Episode | Forensic Files

[MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: A man with full blown AIDS is hospitalized for a week with a minor infection.
DR. G (VOICEOVER): He's in the hospital, because he's not feeling well. He goes and he ends up with candida, or yeast infection
in his mouth and his esophagus and they tune him up. NARRATOR: But only hours after his release,
he collapses suddenly and dies. Oh my god. The paramedics all around him, they say he
stopped breathing on his own. NARRATOR: Did the hospital miss this man's killer?
DR. G (VOICEOVER): I don't know how well they treated him? How well did he get over?
Did they miss something at the hospital? I mean, he'd just gotten out. NARRATOR: And then, a former drug addict
with end stage kidney disease is found dead in a pool of his own blood. It was a lot of blood, that's all I can tell you.
It was a big pool of blood. NARRATOR: Did he end his own suffering? Or did someone take his life?
DR. G (VOICEOVER): When you see a fellow dead in a pool of blood, could it be a homicide?
What's causing his wound? What's going on? NARRATOR: Altered lives, baffling medical mysteries,
shocking revelations. These are the everyday cases of Dr. G, Medical Examiner. Chief medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia is only
one week away from her wedding. And she's relieved to have finally found a dress.
Finding a dress has got to be the worst part of the whole preparation. Because it kind of sets the tone of the wedding.
And at first, I really didn't think I cared. And I was even gonna wear a dress I had.
I actually have a beautiful black dress. But my mother said, doggone it, she was not gonna come to my wedding if I had a black dress on.
Did they say-- What does your dress look like? Kind of girly. I looked. I found one.
I found-- tried two of them on. One of them fit right and I bought it, right off the rack.
But the dress looks like kind of Lucille Ball-ish, kind of strapless and then kind of flares.
So it's an off-white dress that hit right below the knee that had some embroidery on the--
the top, the bodice, with no sleeves. And then, I found a beautiful matching little wrap that--
that matched the dress. And I felt I was ready to go. I got his little nephew and my little niece,
who's only 18 months, like-- Throwing. Throwing the rose petals. Oh, wow. And then, you start feeling really special trying
on these really frilly things. And-- and really-- and I can see why women like doing it.
I can see why women go out and buy these fancy dresses. It was a lot of fun. NARRATOR: But Dr. G can't spend too much time fretting
over her wedding dress. She has a full docket of unexplained deaths waiting for her in the morgue.
Dr. G's first case today is a 45-year-old man named Ricky Hawthorne, who died suddenly yesterday evening.
Well, today, we have a man that just gets released from the hospital in the morning and he's dead in the afternoon.
And he's sitting at the local bar and collapses off his bar stool. NARRATOR: Before she begins her external examination,
Dr. G consults the investigators' report and Ricky Hawthorne's medical records to learn
more about his unexpected journey to Orlando's District Nine morgue. According to the victim's case file,
Ricky Hawthorne suffered from full blown AIDS and apparently was not regularly medicated.
His family adds that he was a smoker with a history of both cocaine and alcohol abuse.
He just happened to have a drug and a alcohol habit, you know? But he was still my brother and I
loved him the same, no matter. My love didn't change. Dr. G's investigators' report also
states that only one week prior to his death, Ricky was hospitalized with intense pain.
We know a week earlier, he'd gone to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain, chest pain,
difficulty swallowing. They do a complete workup on him. A CAT scan of his abdomen, CAT scan of his chest,
all the lab tests, EKGs. They even get a specialized consultant. And they determine that all of his symptoms
are due to esophagitis, inflammation of the tube where his food goes down. NARRATOR: During his hospitalization,
Ricky is treated for a fungal throat infection. But doctors detect no other medical problems.
They test him from his head to his toe, I mean, everything. NARRATOR: Six days after being admitted for treatment,
Ricky is well enough to be released from the hospital. Before leaving, he receives a flu shot
and then returns to the home he shares with his sister Carroll. But he doesn't stay long.
CARROLL (VOICEOVER): He was impatient. He ready to get out. He want to talk with his friends.
He wanted to see the fellas that he hang out with. NARRATOR: Only hours after leaving the hospital,
Ricky walks to his neighborhood bar to visit friends. It is the last time his sister Carroll will see him alive.
CARROLL (VOICEOVER): I was sitting on the porch. And one of Ricky friends come up the street from the trail.
And she's just screaming and calling my name. Carroll, Carroll, you're got to hurry up.
Come on. Put your drink down. CARROLL (VOICEOVER): And she said, come on. Come on. Ricky, Ricky, Ricky.
NARRATOR: Carroll rushes to the bar and finds her brother strapped to a stretcher.
[INTERPOSING VOICES] CARROLL (VOICEOVER): They were giving him oxygen then. They say he stopped breathing on his own.
I told him, I said, please, please, don't let my brother die. At the same time, this paramedic,
was looking at his watch. And he was talking about how the blood pressure was going down
and that his heart had stopped. NARRATOR: Carroll watches helplessly as the paramedics
try to save Ricky's life. I go, please, please. And I kept trying to get closer to him.
And they kept telling me, I couldn't come any closer. I said, it's my brother. [INTERPOSING VOICES]
NARRATOR: Ricky is rushed to the hospital in full cardiac arrest. But after numerous attempts, doctors
are unable to revive him. Then, they walked in. And he say, we couldn't save him.
He's gone. NARRATOR: Ricky's sudden death leaves his sisters with many questions.
For Dr. G, the list of possible answers is long and complicated. So he had a myriad of problems, any one of which
could lead down a road that could've killed him, you know something to do as acute alcoholism.
I don't know how much he was drinking that day. I mean, he could have fallen off the bar
stool associated with being drunk and then broken his neck. Something to do with his crack cocaine habit, something
to do with his AIDS, certainly. He certainly wasn't well controlled. He didn't like to take his medicine.
It certainly could be some natural disease. I don't know how well they treated him.
Or did they miss something at the hospital? I mean, he'd just gotten out. Maybe it is nothing related to his hospitalization.
Maybe it does. Maybe they released him too soon. I don't know. NARRATOR: And Ricky's sisters have their own suspicions.
They worry that since Ricky suffered from AIDS, he should not have received the flu shot at the hospital
and fear that it may have provoked a fatal reaction. They're worried that a flu shot may have killed him.
That's impossible. That flu shot did not kill him. They're recommended for people with AIDS.
So we're just gonna have to look elsewhere. NARRATOR: And Dr. G has plenty of other places to look.
There are so many possibilities on this fellow that we couldn't wait to get in there and see what happened.
Well, I'm viewing the body. he looks like very thin, not very well cared for man.
He looks older than his stated age of 45. And he had reported that he had recently lost a lot of weight,
which is not unusual if you have AIDS and you don't want to take your medicine. You're gonna get a wasting disease.
NARRATOR: Dr. G notes the personal items found on Ricky's body by her death investigator.
A condom, candy, spare change, and evidence of his cocaine habit, a glass pipe. She also notes the stabilization collar around Ricky's neck,
a precaution taken by the ambulance crew in case Ricky broke his spine in the fall from the bar stool.
However, after a thorough external examination, Dr. G finds no clues as to the cause of Ricky sudden death.
Apparently, the key to his killer lurks somewhere within. But if so, why did the hospital miss it?
I didn't know if they'd missed something or not. NARRATOR: Coming up next, Dr. G opens Ricky Hawthorne's body
and finds the astounding cause of his death. DR. G (VOICEOVER): I mean, this is an acute event.
This is an acute event that occurred, probably just prior to him collapsing. NARRATOR: And later, a man is found dead in his kitchen,
sitting in a pool of blood. Did he take his own life or was he brutally murdered?
Which one of these plays a role in his death, we're not sure. NARRATOR: When "Dr. G, Medical Examiner" continues.
Dr. G is about to begin the internal exam of Ricky Hawthorne, a 45-year-old man who died suddenly
at a local Orlando bar only hours after being released from the hospital with a minor throat infection.
She learns from Ricky's sisters that the last few years of his life were marked by a tragic struggle
with both AIDS and cocaine addiction. Dr. G also learns that, despite his health and substance
abuse problems, Ricky's life was filled with kindness and humor. He was the type of person, he would give
you the shirt off his back. You know? And all the older people in the neighborhood,
just crazy about him, loved him. He couldn't do no wrong in their eyes. He was a happy, carefree person.
NARRATOR: Dr. G and Ricky's sisters are concerned that the hospital may have missed a critical diagnosis.
But Ricky has a host of other troubles that may have killed him as well. You know, smokes heavily, uses crack cocaine, drinks heavily,
and he also has AIDS. We can go down each one of those roads on how they can kill you.
NARRATOR: But which road will lead to the truth? Dr. G needs to open his body to find out.
As a first step, she cuts a Y incision from Ricky's shoulder blades to his pelvis.
He's not looking good. I'm gonna need an [INAUDIBLE] on this one. NARRATOR: And immediately, she takes
note of Ricky's declining state of health, particularly in his lungs. This guy is really congested.
So once we look at the body in situ and look at the organs and I see that he's got bad emphysema,
he's got a lot of blackening from the smoking, the anthro-- what we call anthracotic pigment, that black kind of tar
in there. NARRATOR: But while the emphysema may have been the cause of some of Ricky's chest pain,
it did not kill him. Emphysema rarely kills so suddenly. So we don't see this kind of death from emphysema,
where they're, you know, going to the bar and then just collapse at the bar stool.
NARRATOR: Next, Dr. G weighs and dissects each of Ricky Hawthorne's organs, looking for abnormalities.
She starts with the gallbladder. Looking good. Gallbladder-- as long as you don't stick me.
That wasn't on my agenda for today. Thanks. And so he doesn't look so bad. NARRATOR: She then moves onto the spleen.
Here, I'll give you the spleen. Then, you can finish. Everything looks good. Everything looks good.
Yeah. I don't see any acute cause of death yet. NARRATOR: In fact, all of Ricky's organs
are checking out fine. Even his heart seems to be in good shape. Dr. G finds only minor evidence of atherosclerosis,
a 50% blockage in one of his coronary arteries. I mean, in terms of coronary artery disease, if he--
he looked good. He only had one coronary artery, the circumflex, with a 50% narrowing.
That shouldn't have caused him any problems in and of itself. NARRATOR: But just as she's wrapping up
the examination of Ricky's heart, Dr. G makes a stunning discovery. Oh, now. Look at this.
He's got a heart problem? Yes. He's got a heart problem. NARRATOR: And it's clear right away that this is the killer.
He's got acute coronary thrombus. NARRATOR: A coronary thrombus is a blood clot that forms within the vessels of the heart.
If the thrombus is large enough to cut off the blood supply flowing to the organ,
results can be quick and fatal. It's the cause of death. That's indicative of an acute heart attack.
And that's clearly why he died. NARRATOR: A coronary thrombus is sometimes associated with an event called a vasospasm.
A vasospasm is a spontaneous constricting of a coronary artery. This can cause damage to the lining
of the artery, which then can cause a blood clot to form. This is more likely to occur in an area with existing
atherosclerotic plaque. It probably formed, because there's irregularities in that area where
the atherosclerotic plaque is. NARRATOR: Experts are not always certain about the causes
of vasospasms and coronary thromboses. Some people are simply more prone to develop them.
And Ricky may have been one of those unlucky individuals. In and of itself, if I just found his heart
and I didn't know anything about him, I'd say, yeah, this is an unfortunate fella.
NARRATOR: Dr. G believes that Ricky's coronary thrombus was not brought on by his AIDS
or his throat infection. And she knows that the hospital could not have diagnosed the thrombus, because it
didn't exist at the time. He certainly did not have that heart attack when he was in the hospital.
That thrombus was very fresh. And it occurred after he got out of the hospital. NARRATOR: But vasospasms and coronary thromboses
are known to be triggered by a certain external factor, cocaine abuse. And in Ricky's case, this is a real possibility.
Smoked some crack, caused his blood pressure to go up, caused his vessel to clamp down.
The plaque ruptures and a clot forms over it. NARRATOR: The critical step now will be the drawing
of toxicology samples. They will be key in determining whether or not cocaine played a part in Ricky's death.
I-- I don't know for sure. And I won't know for sure, until I test his blood. So I actually am gonna wait until I
get that cocaine level back. Cause the only thing I have that he's smoking crack is the pipe in his--
hey, maybe he's just one of those unfortunate individuals. NARRATOR: Did Ricky Hawthorne's drug abuse
cause the fatal clot to form? Or was it simply a tragic natural event? Coming up next, the toxicology results
arrive and Dr. G finally has the answers she's been seeking. But will Ricky's family accept her conclusions?
To be honest with you, I really didn't want to believe it. NARRATOR: And later, Dr. G investigates
the bewildering death of a diabetic man discovered in a pool of his own blood, challenging her knowledge of a typical homicide.
DR. G (VOICEOVER): I would wonder, well, where's the struggle? You know, nobody's going to let you just come up
and put a knife into me. NARRATOR: When "Dr. G, Medical Examiner" continues. Dr. G has just discovered the cause
of 45-year-old Ricky Hawthorne's death, a coronary thrombosis, or blood clot. But she does not know why the clot formed.
Was it a natural event or was the clot caused by cocaine abuse? I just have to prove that the cocaine contributed to it.
So I actually am gonna wait until I get that cocaine level back. Hey, maybe he's just one of those unfortunate individuals.
NARRATOR: Dr. G can not close the case until the toxicology reports are completed, a long hard wait
for a grieving family. It took so long, to me, you know, that-- for the autopsy, the report.
Basically, they was waiting on the toxicology report to come back, which takes the longest,
you know, to come back. And there was nothing I could do, you know, but wait. If I get the tox back and there's
no cocaine in his blood, I will say that this is just an unfortunate natural event.
If I get his blood back-- and not-- now, I'm not talking the urine, not that he used cocaine three days ago.
I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about acutely using cocaine, which sets up
the process for him to have that thrombus, I will call this an accidental death.
NARRATOR: Several weeks later, the results finally arrive. Cocaine, acutely in your blood,
is sometimes hard to find, because it continues to break down in your blood. NARRATOR: But in the death of Ricky Hawthorne,
the results are obvious. There is cocaine in his blood. We know that he was under the influence of cocaine
at the time he died. And we know that it was used very near the time he died, within hours.
NARRATOR: Despite a long list of suspects, AIDS, trauma, neglect, or natural disease, ultimately,
it was drug abuse that killed Ricky Hawthorne. The lab results provide the last remaining piece of the puzzle.
Now, Dr. G can finally replay the chain of events that led to Ricky's untimely death.
A week before his death, Ricky Hawthorne, a man suffering from AIDS, is hospitalized with intense pain.
When he comes in, he's complaining of abdominal pain, some questionable chest pain,
and not being able to eat. And they do extensive work-up. NARRATOR: After a week of treatment
for a minor throat infection, Ricky is released from the hospital. That evening, he visits friends at a local bar.
DR. G (VOICEOVER): We don't know what happens. But we do know he goes to the bar probably at least
sometime about 5 o'clock. Hold on one second. I'll be back in a second. [INTERPOSING VOICES]
Sometime, in those-- between 5 and 10, he's using cocaine. It sets up a process of some coronary artery spasm,
where the coronaries constrict. It injures some of his epithelial cells on the inside.
And it sets up a process where a clot is formed, so no blood can go through. Yo, can I get another one?
Sure. Just a minute. And then, what happens, his heart gets very irritated. He's even-- he's on cocaine, which is--
in and of itself, can cause arrhythmias. Now, part of his heart isn't getting blood.
The blood clot isn't allowing blood to that part of his heart. And it can't pump and he's getting no blood to his brain
and he passes out. NARRATOR: Ricky falls from the bar stool and his heart goes into cardiac arrest.
The damage to his heart caused by the cocaine is irreparable. They can't bring that heart back,
because that heart is dying. Ricky. What's wrong with him? [INTERPOSING VOICES] There's is no blood going to that part of the heart.
And he dies on his way hospital. NARRATOR: For Ricky's sisters, Dr. G's conclusion is haunting.
And they still wonder why the hospital did not diagnose and treat the 50% blockage
in Ricky's coronary artery. Why didn't someone know that he had this blockage? Why didn't someone know--
one of those tests show it? NARRATOR: But Ricky's arteries were only 50% blocked, a problem that does not always pose
an immediate medical threat. That 50% narrowing in that coronary artery, there is a lot of men walking around
with much worse coronary artery disease that have no clue they have it. His coronary arteries probably didn't bother
him until he used the cocaine. Because he's acutely under the influence of cocaine
at the time he had that coronary artery thrombus, this is gonna be ruled an accident.
NARRATOR: In other words, Dr. G believes that Ricky's heart, in all likelihood, would not have killed
him if he had not used cocaine. Unfortunately, her conclusion does little to console
Ricky's grieving sisters. Time don't heal, when you lose a loved one. Time don't heal and I know that, because I
have a daughter that I've lost. It's been years and years and it still hurt. It still hurt.
NARRATOR: Dr. G cannot ignore the intense pain that she sees every day as people lose their loved ones.
But her profession also affords her a unique attitude toward death in general. We can't ignore it.
It's out there. And it's gonna happen to me. And it's gonna happen to people I love.
But when I see it and I go to the morgue and I see death, I think, you know, it hasn't happened to me.
My day is another gift. And I'm very thankful. NARRATOR: Coming up next, when a terminally ill man is found
in a pool of his own blood, Dr. G must determine if he committed suicide or fell victim to foul play.
When you see a fella dead in a pool of blood, could it be a homicide? What's causing his wounds?
What's going on? NARRATOR: When "Dr. G, Medical Examiner" continues. Dr. G's wedding is only two weeks away.
And there are still many plans to arrange, such as car pools. Now, don't pack no big suitcase,
cause I don't have any room. I have to have three outfits. For what? One to drive up in, one for the wedding,
and then one to wear back home. No, because you have to wear-- That's three pairs of shoes.
And my car won't even pull a trailer, so how are we gonna do that? DR. G (VOICEOVER): I think the place
was abuzz with excitement. Of course, you know in the morgue, you tell a lot of your personal life
when you're there cutting bodies. I mean, your morgue techs get very close to you.
Because every day, you're talking about, you know, personal things in your life.
What's with you today? And-- and I think people were just really, really happy for me, because I know--
they knew I'd gone through some hard times with the divorce. And so I think people were very excited.
Take your bathing suit. I will not put a bathing suit on. I would not be caught dead in a bathing suit.
That's not funny. NARRATOR: The district nine staff is also busy preparing for Dr. G's next case, a 40-year-old man
named Peter Hanlon. This is-- OK. NARRATOR: Peter Hanlon, a recovery IV drug user,
died unexpectedly last night after a long battle with end stage kidney disease and a host
of other medical conditions. DR. G: Well, he's got a bad medical history. He's got hepatitis C. He's on a--
he's on dialysis. And he's got a history of IV drug use. NARRATOR: All of Peter's illnesses point
to a natural death, not the typical jurisdiction of a medical examiner. But the reason his case has landed in the district nine
morgue is because his death appears to be completely unnatural. According to the investigators' report,
Peter spends the evening before his death with his wife Allison. He isn't feeling well, a common complaint for people
undergoing life-sustaining dialysis treatment. Dialysis is the artificial cleansing
of the body's blood supply when the kidneys fail to function. It is a vital treatment.
But for many patients, like Peter, it typically leaves them feeling weak, listless, and nauseated.
DR. G (VOICEOVER): It is not the most pleasant thing to go through. And it's fraught with a lot of problems and complications.
NARRATOR: Later that evening, Allison leaves to visit a friend. Concerned about her husband, she asks her sister
to stop by and check on Peter. But the young woman is not prepared for what she is about to find.
He's basically found dead at his kitchen table, just sitting in the chair, in a pool of blood.
LT. JOEL AGUERO GONZALEZ (VOICEOVER): It was a lot of blood. That's all I can tell you.
It was a big pool of blood. I mean, it's kind of like it;s poured out. You know, that's the way it looked.
NARRATOR: According to Lieutenant Gonzalez, the first to arrive on the scene, Peter is bleeding from an open wound
on his left arm. Oddly, however, Peter's right hand is completely clean. LT. JOEL AGUERO GONZALEZ (VOICEOVER):
The other arm didn't have any type of bloodstains, his hands, his arms, indicating to me that--
that when this happened, he never attempted to apply pressure to actually stop the bleeding.
NARRATOR: Authorities immediately suspect that Peter Hanlon, a dying man dependent on dialysis
for survival, committed suicide by cutting an artery in his arm. For Dr. G, it is certainly a strong possibility.
People with chronic illnesses are at risk for an increase of suicide, particularly on-- there's some articles that
state people who were on dialysis, especially when they first start dialysis, it's very, very
hard to get adjusted to that. It's a total different way of life. You've lost a lot of freedom.
You're hooked to a machine at least two to three times a week for four hours at a time.
Difficult to travel. I mean, it's difficult to do much in life, when you've done--
when you're hooked up to a dialysis machine for so much of the day. NARRATOR: But for Dr. G, even though it seems
a likely possibility, suicide isn't the only potential cause of death she's considering.
The other is homicide. DR. G (VOICEOVER): They don't know. I mean, what's going on?
You know, when you see a fella dead in a pool of blood, could it be a homicide? What's causing his wounds?
What's going on? NARRATOR: At first, Peter Hanlon's death seemed like a likely suicide.
Now, Dr. G wonders if someone else might've slashed Peter's arm. DR. G (VOICEOVER): Which one of these
plays a role in his death, we're not sure. NARRATOR: The only way to get to the bottom
of Peter Hanlon's mysterious death is through an autopsy. Coming up next, Dr. G gets a close look at Peter's wounds.
And it's not what she expected. He's just got arterial blood, basically, pouring out of his arm.
NARRATOR: When "Dr. G, Medical Examiner" continues. At the district nine morgue, there
can be up to four autopsies occurring simultaneously in the exam room. This afternoon, while her staff works on other cases
in the day's lineup, Dr. G prepares to examine the body of 40-year-old Peter Hanlon,
a terminally ill man who was discovered dead in a pool of blood at his home yesterday evening.
Given the massive blood loss, there are two possibilities Dr. G is considering in this case.
Peter opened up his own vein or someone else did. OK. NARRATOR: Starting at the head, Dr. G carefully catalogs
the state of Peter's body and searches for any signs of foul play. DR. G (VOICEOVER): I would look for evidence of a struggle.
If I see a lot of blood and I see some type of trauma, I would wonder, well, where's the struggle.
What-- you know, nobody's going to let you just come up and put a knife into me.
NARRATOR: But after a thorough search, Dr. G finds no clear signs of foul play on Peter's body.
I don't really see much evidence of foul play, as if he was in a struggle with anybody.
NARRATOR: At this point, Peter's death is looking more and more like a case of suicide.
Examining the wound on his arm will tell Dr. G for sure. If he had done this to himself, like with a knife
or with a-- some type of cutting instrument, we would see, forensically, it would be very distinctive.
It would be clear cut edges and clean lines or ragged lines, but very fresh. NARRATOR: However, when Dr. G gets
her first look at the victim's arm, it's not at all what she expected. As soon as I look at him, I see the wound in his left arm.
This isn't a fresh wound. It's clearly not something he acutely did. NARRATOR: Peter did not slash his arm
and neither did anyone else. The wound is where doctors had surgically created an arterial venous fistula for dialysis.
One way to access the body's blood supply for dialysis is through the surgical creation of a fistula,
a connection made between a vein and an artery in the forearm. The fistula is done to increase the size of the vein,
to give you access to get your blood in and out for the dialysis machine. Once they surgically connect the vein to the artery,
it causes blood to flow at a higher pressure into that vein and enlarges that vein, because getting
a place to put those two needles is one of the hardest-- one of the biggest problems with dialysis.
NARRATOR: Because the sight of Peter's fistula appears to be infected, Dr. G elects
to dissect it right away. What she discovers takes her completely by surprise. DR. G (VOICEOVER): There is a patch, a synthetic patch,
over the vein. NARRATOR: It appears that Peter's fistula had been surgically repaired.
At some point, doctors had reinforced the vessel with a patch, much like a bandaid.
DR. G (VOICEOVER): These areas have chronic problems. You're constantly putting big bore needles into that vein.
And that traumatizes that vein. And there's many complications that occur. Sometimes they thrombosis.
But sometimes they weaken and the walls of those veins weaken. Sometimes they get infection.
They get infections of the skin, which then go down into the vein. NARRATOR: However, in Peter Hanlon's case, the patch
itself has begun to break down and is leaking. DR. G (VOICEOVER): That patch has eroded through.
And he's got a wide opening. He's got blood continually coming out from the edge of that patch, which
is just kind of falling apart. It's kind of pulled away from the vessel. So he's just got arterial blood, basically,
pouring out of his arm. NARRATOR: Dr. G now knows why Peter died. It's a rare finding that she has never
before encountered firsthand. The man succumbed to an abrupt bleed from his dialysis fistula.
DR. G (VOICEOVER): Yeah. I found the reason why. He died he bled to death, because
of chronic complications of his vascular access for dialysis. It looks like a chronically infected fistula that
tried to be repaired before. And it just continued to break down and it opened up.
The vessel opened up and he bled to death. NARRATOR: Vascular access complications are a major cause
of death in dialysis patients. But someone bleeding to death as a result of a sudden rupture
of a fistula is very rare. Dr. G continues with the autopsy. But regardless of what she finds next,
she is convinced that Peter bled to death. DR. G (VOICEOVER): Whatever I found internally in that body,
could not-- could not trump a hole in your vessel with blood coming out of it with you sitting in a pool of blood.
It cannot trump that. So in this case, no matter what I found on the internal examination,
it would not have changed that cause of death. NARRATOR: Yet before closing the case,
there is one baffling question that remains. If Peter was bleeding to death, why didn't he
attempt to stop the blood loss? Well, my first instinct, if I started seeing blood oozing
through my shirt was to unbutton my cuff and to see what's going on. NARRATOR: Why didn't Peter do just that?
Coming up next, to explain this odd behavior, Dr. G will see clues inside Peter's head.
I did want to see his head, because it didn't make a lot of sense why he wouldn't put pressure on it.
I wanted to make sure something else wasn't going on in his head. NARRATOR: Will she find another surprise when "Dr.
G, Medical Examiner" continues? Morgue technician Arton Monroe opens Peter Hanlon's skull,
so that Dr. G can determine if he had suffered a disabling injury to his brain. Dr. G has concluded that the 40-year-old bled to death
due to the sudden rupture of his dialysis fistula. But why he didn't attempt to stop his own bleeding
remains a mystery. Dr. G is now considering the possibility that he was impaired due to a brain injury.
DR. G (VOICEOVER): Didn't make a lot of sense why he wouldn't put pressure on it.
I wanted to make sure something else wasn't going on in his head. NARRATOR: Dr. G is looking for anything that
might have impaired Peter's brain function, such as bleeding or a bruise. She removes the skull cap and examines the organ carefully.
But after a thorough search, she finds no abnormalities. Dr. G now knows that Peter's brain
was normal, which leaves her with only one possible conclusion. The bleeding from Peter's ruptured fistula
must have been so swift and massive that he had no chance to respond. It probably bleeds very fast, so quickly
that he passes out very-- within seconds. NARRATOR: At the end of the examination,
Dr. G has the information she needs to close the case on this unusual death. She can now inform the family of her stunning conclusions.
Peter Hanlon is gravely ill. He suffers from hepatitis C, diabetes, and chronic kidney failure.
In order to survive, he undergoes dialysis treatment three times a week, four to five hours each time.
To gain access to his blood supply, surgeons create a fistula in his forearm, connecting a vein to an artery.
The fistula is done for easy access. Because the biggest problem with dialysis is getting
vascular access. NARRATOR: However, within only a year, Peter's fistula develops a complication
and is surgically repaired. You could see a patch, like-- like almost a tire patch put on that vein
where it had weakened before. NARRATOR: Unbeknownst to Peter, the patch itself develops a complication.
It begins to break down. After his wife leaves the house that evening, the patch ruptures unexpectedly.
The blood loss is swift and catastrophic. For reasons Dr. G will never know for sure,
Peter does nothing to stop the blood loss. DR. G (VOICEOVER): I don't know. It looked like he just didn't have the wherewithal
to try to stop the bleeding. It would be actually very difficult to even if he did.
He'd have had to really put a lot of pressure on that. NARRATOR: Peter's body is rapidly drained
of a critical amount of blood. His vital organs, including his heart and brain, are quickly starved of oxygen and Peter dies.
The case of Peter Hanlon leaves Dr. G with conflicted feelings. DR. G (VOICEOVER): Well, I mean, ultimately, we did our job.
I came up with the cause and manner of death. But you know, some of the pieces, I don't always have.
And I don't always come up with a nice, clear, finished puzzle at the end. And I think on that case, I would
like to know that piece of the puzzle of why he didn't try to stop that. But I ultimately, I don't have that last piece of the puzzle.
And that's always-- leaves you a little dissatisfied. But we have enough to know why he died
and the manner of death. NARRATOR: With this tragic and puzzling case behind her,
Dr. G takes a moment to reflect on the deaths she sees every day at the district nine morgue.
DR. G (VOICEOVER): You learn a lot about how unhappy people are, I think, when I'm in this morgue.
I get a very skewed opinion, I think. I see a lot of domestic violence. I see a lot of people who just let themself go.
They don't want to just participate in life anymore. So I see a very skewed population
of very unhappy people. You know, it does-- it makes me-- it makes me want to enjoy life.
I would like more free time. I would like to work less and spend it with Mark.

Ricky Hawthorne, a middle-aged man with a history of AIDS, arrives at his local hospital complaining of chest pains. Doctors perform extensive tests on him but find nothing wrong and release him.

A Florida medical examiner takes viewers through puzzling cases while explaining procedures and conclusions.

Brief Summary

Dr. G investigates the sudden deaths of Ricky Hawthorne and Peter Hanlon, revealing shocking medical causes linked to addiction and chronic illness.

Key points

Ricky's Sudden Death. Ricky Hawthorne dies just hours after being released from the hospital.
Dr. G's Wedding Preparations. Dr. G balances wedding planning with her demanding job as a medical examiner.
The Cause of Death Revealed. Dr. G discovers a coronary thrombus as the cause of Ricky's death.
The Impact of Cocaine. Cocaine use likely triggered Ricky's fatal heart condition.
Dr. G's Unique Perspective on Death. Dr. G shares her thoughts on death and its inevitability, emphasizing gratitude for life.
The Mysterious Death of Peter Hanlon. A terminally ill man is found dead in a pool of blood, leading to a complex investigation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I mean, he'd just gotten out.

Concern about the timing of his death after release.

0:51WatchJun 1, 2021

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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