Dr. G: Medical Examiner - Season 3, Episode 7 - Life Interrupted - Full Episode | Forensic Files

[MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: An aspiring young soldier is abducted from her army base in the dead of the night.
I was really hoping they'd find her alive. NARRATOR: But prayers for her return go unanswered when police find her tortured body.
TANYA K. PIERCE: It wasn't just a killing. This was an over-killing. It would have been less cruel had he just shot her.
NARRATOR: Can Dr. G deconstruct this savage attack and help bring a murderer to justice?
My stakes are to get the truth. NARRATOR: And then an elderly woman dies just three days after undergoing
a routine knee operation. But as Dr. G soon discovers, the autopsy will be anything but routine.
It's just one of those things that happens. It's a rare complication. NARRATOR: Altered lives, baffling medical mysteries,
shocking revelations. These are the everyday cases of Dr. G, medical examiner. It's another gorgeous day in Orlando, Florida.
And for a change, chief medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia won't be spending it in the morgue.
Today, unfortunately, I have to go to court. A lot of people think the only thing I do
is sit in the morgue all day. And actually, forensic pathology encompasses a lot more than that.
I appear in court minimum once a month, and often, many times more. NARRATOR: Her testimony regarding evidence she uncovers
during an autopsy provides a point of view like no other, especially when it comes to homicides.
JAN GARAVAGLIA: I'm the one that's the voice for the dead. It may be the key point in convicting someone.
NARRATOR: But justice may never be served if Dr. G fails to find crucial evidence
in a suspected murder. These were the stakes in one of Dr. G's most difficult and publicized cases during her early days
at the Bear County morgue in San Antonio, Texas. Back in 1995-- I vividly remember it--
we had a young private abducted from the base in Texas. NARRATOR: The shocking murder captured national headlines,
went as high as the Supreme Court of the United States, and turned into one of the most unpredictable
forensic investigations of Dr. G's career. This is the story of Tracie Joy McBride.
As a young girl, Tracie McBride had a special knack for spreading joy. STACIE MCBRIDE-COX: Always had a smile on her face.
Very energetic towards life, towards people. And she lived her life with incredible purpose.
She liked to bake. And she was a cheerleader for soccer at the high school. And they loved her so much, because every week,
she brought them chocolate chip cookies. NARRATOR: Shortly after graduating from high school,
Tracie made a surprising and life-changing decision. She made the announcement that she
was going to go into the army. We were all completely shocked. NARRATOR: Her parents were uneasy.
Standing barely five feet tall, Tracie was hardly the typical soldier. But she completed her basic training with flying colors.
She just loved it, which is totally in contrast to the girly girl that we knew. [APPLAUSE]
NARRATOR: In early February of 1995, the 19-year-old was assigned as an army private to the Goodfellow Air Force Base
in San Angelo, Texas. IRENE MCBRIDE: She was just a determined young woman. She wanted to be the best--
you know, the best that she could be. That was truly the way Tracie lived. NARRATOR: But only 10 days after arriving on base,
her dreams came to a screeching halt. Tracie disappeared from Goodfellow Air Force Base on February the 18th of 1995 about 9:00 PM.
My first recollection of the case is hearing about it in the news. NARRATOR: According to the reports,
a fellow soldier was walking by the laundry facility when he stumbled into a strange and alarming scene.
He saw Tracie McBride, scared to death, being taken against her will. - Hey! NARRATOR: The soldier immediately
came to Tracie's aid. But in the dark, her abductor was fast and fierce. Knocks him out cold.
NARRATOR: By the time he came to, Tracie was gone. Word of the attack stuns her family.
We tend to think of military bases as very secure. So that didn't even seem remotely a possibility.
Everybody was hoping that she was going to be found alive. NARRATOR: But two weeks later, on March 1,
those hopes are crushed when a former military officer steps forward with a chilling confession.
Maybe he had some-- a bit of need to get it off his chest. NARRATOR: The man, Louis Jones Jr. claims he kidnapped
and murdered Tracie McBride. He claims he killed her with a tire iron. NARRATOR: He then leads police to
a muddy, blood-stained culvert under a highway bridge about 20 miles from town. There, they find Tracie's dead body.
He admits to killing her and leaving her there. NARRATOR: Although the body was found outside of Doctor G's
jurisdiction, officials immediately send it to the San Antonio Bear County Medical Examiner's Office.
The case suddenly gets personal for Dr. G. I would be doing that autopsy. And I knew that was going to be a huge job.
NARRATOR: Every shred of evidence she finds will be critical in making sure Jones pays for his crimes.
And Tracie's family believes he should pay the ultimate price. The first thing my husband had said
when they found Tracie was that he wanted them to go for the death penalty. NARRATOR: While they're eager to win a conviction that they
believe fits the crime, US attorney Tanya Pierce is concerned they may not win any conviction at all.
And you can't just depend on the confession. NARRATOR: Defense attorneys could suppress the statement,
argue that he was mentally insane, or claim he was desperately seeking attention
for the sensational crime. The confession alone is not enough. TANYA K. PIERCE: His confession, in my opinion,
was not complete. It was a challenge, that you only have two people that know what happened during this crime.
One's dead. The other one doesn't always have to tell the truth. NARRATOR: And the confession is all the prosecution has so far.
Unfortunately, investigators have yet to find the murder weapon or any other physical evidence that
actually ties Jones to Tracie. As elementary as it sounds, we still have to prove that it happened at the hands of Louis Jones.
Now, they're counting on Dr. G to find that proof in autopsy so they can convict him in trial.
But to win capital punishment for Tracie's family, they'll need even more evidence, proving
that Jones killed her in an unusually cruel and heinous manner. We've got to show the jury the reasons that this man
deserves the death penalty. Things like rape, the viciousness of the crime-- that was, to me, the biggest fight we had.
NARRATOR: Though Dr. G is not a proponent of the death penalty, politics have no place in the morgue.
My personal views of the death penalty do not come into this. Whether I like the death penalty, whether I think
he deserves the death penalty, I'm not emotionally involved in that. NARRATOR: Instead, she must approach her mission
as an objective scientist. We're going to come up with the facts, what the body is telling us.
Did he kill her immediately after kidnapping her, or was beating with a tire all he did to her?
Could have strangled her? Could he have also drugged her to keep her quiet? I want to know everything!
NARRATOR: Once at the gurney, the rest of the world recedes. My mind is spinning, thinking, OK, what can I tell?
What is she going to tell me? Looking just very carefully at the body. I don't touch a thing.
I just examine it. NARRATOR: And on a first glance, the very state of Tracie's body
screams out to her, this was no ordinary murder. I was almost shocked at what I found.
NARRATOR: As Dr. G begins to examine the body of Private First Class Tracie McBride, she immediately notes
the young girl's massive head injury. Part of her skull was just crushed in. She has severe head trauma.
NARRATOR: Some of this she expected from the news reports. But she never could have imagined the condition
of the rest of her remains. I knew she was coming in. So I had obviously some preconceived notion
that I was going to find this disheveled, decomposed young girl. NARRATOR: On the contrary, Tracie
is fully clothed in US Army battle dress that's stunningly pristine. Her buttons were all buttoned.
Her shirt was tucked in. Her belt was buckled nicely. And I thought that was very odd.
NARRATOR: But despite the puzzling condition of the body, Dr. G must stay focused, inventorying everything
she sees in the external exam. You don't know what may turn the case. NARRATOR: First, she catalogs Tracie's possessions,
each a heartbreaking glimpse into her. Life In her pocket, she had a US Marine--
obviously a man's ring on a chain. Tracie did have a boyfriend who she cared for tremendously.
In fact, we were quite confident that they would have been married within the near future.
NARRATOR: Next, she thoroughly combs her uniform with a magnifying glass. If she finds trace evidence proving the girl was in Jones's
apartment or car, prosecutors can physically tie him to the murder. Maybe unique fibers from a carpeting,
dog hairs or animal hairs that maybe match a pet where the perpetrator had kept her.
NARRATOR: But strangely, the uniform is forensically as immaculate as it looks to the naked eye.
That clothing was very clean, and really no trace that you could speak of. NARRATOR: The negative findings straight
Dr. G and investigators as the possible sign of a meticulous cover-up. The perpetrator went to great lengths
to clean any traces of him off of her. NARRATOR: No hard evidence could mean no conviction.
To help bring Tracie's killer to justice, Dr. G must now dig deeper in the body for answers,
starting with the head. First, Dr. G externally examines Tracie's head wound, searching for forensic evidence
that confirms Jones's guilt. She had a lot of hemorrhaging on the left side of her face.
Her ear was just lacerated in half, even the cartilage. All of that had a lot of hemorrhage.
NARRATOR: And the deeper Dr. G goes, the more terrifying the truth about Tracie's death becomes.
This is worse than most really high-impact car wrecks. NARRATOR: Dr. G carefully inspects the gaping injury
on Tracie McBride's head. She was definitely alive when she got that blow. NARRATOR: But despite the brutality of Tracie's head
wounds, prosecutor Tanya Pierce is concerned they may not even be able to win a conviction.
Jones has a clean record. He's never been in jail. And as a decorated war veteran with 22 years
serving his country, his character appears flawless. TANYA K. PIERCE: The defense brought
in a lot of different angles. Look at his military record. Look at his lack of criminal conviction.
He had a job. He had an education, a single parent raising his daughter-- all this.
NARRATOR: Now, Pierce needs evidence to convince the jury that this seemingly honorable man killed Tracie and deserves the death penalty.
As a prosecutor, it's my job to see that justice is done. It's not to get a conviction.
It's to see that justice is done. NARRATOR: One look at Tracie and it's clear she
suffered a massive head injury. But as Dr. G examines it more closely, she discovers that the damage isn't from a single strike.
JAN GARAVAGLIA: She's got multiple blows to the head, horrendously severe. NARRATOR: The girl's injuries are heart-wrenching.
But she approaches every one of them with a scientist's eye. I don't deal with emotion when I have the body.
I have to think. NARRATOR: Three wounds on the left side, two more to the rear, another four across to the right.
She's got, at minimum, nine blows to the head with nine separate lacerations-- big lacerations.
So many fractured bones. NARRATOR: And amidst this devastating trauma, she spots a unique fracture.
On closer inspection, Dr. G quickly realizes that it contains a vital piece of evidence--
an imprint of the murder weapon. A long linear object, very powerful. It is consistent with a tire iron
or something small and narrow with a lot of force. NARRATOR: This is a critical finding.
I killed her. NARRATOR: It matches the type of weapon Jones described to police in his confession, a tire iron.
It gave me the evidence that I needed to explain to the jury that she was beaten with some blunt instrument that
is consistent with a tire iron. So what she had to say definitely corroborated what his confession was.
NARRATOR: It's a huge breakthrough for the prosecution. But securing a conviction is one thing.
Determining punishment is another. And now, as Dr. G continues evaluating the wounds,
she must ascertain just how savagely Jones attacked Tracie with the tire iron. She basically-- she has all these openings in her head.
NARRATOR: Not only is this skull smashed, but the fractures are so severe that the dura,
or the cover that protects the brain, is also torn. But in this case, this dura mater
is so lacerated with these blows that the pieces of skull go through the dura into the brain.
I've seen 75-mile-an-hour car wrecks that didn't have head trauma as bad as she has.
These are wounds to her head that are incompatible with life. So these are clearly her cause of death.
It would have been less painful and less cruel had he just shot her. In my mind, justice would not have been served
by him spending life in prison. NARRATOR: Prosecutor Tanya Pierce believes the sheer cruelty of the murder
could help the McBrides in their quest for the death penalty. This is a brutal, brutal, brutal, vicious crime.
It wasn't just a killing. This was an over-killing. NARRATOR: But even this level of brutality
may not be enough for the court and a jury to agree to an execution. To win this battle, Pierce may need
to prove that Jones not only killed Tracie, but also raped her. It's the one aspect of the murder he vehemently denies.
He was specifically asked about sexual assault, specifically. He did not sexually assault her at all, according to him.
NARRATOR: Prosecutors suspect he's lying. But evidence of a rape can be very subtle.
And in this forensic exam, Dr. G faces a major challenge-- two weeks worth of decomposition.
JAN GARAVAGLIA: There are spider webs on her. She was starting to mummify on her hands a little bit.
Honestly, in most decomposed bodies, after two weeks, I wouldn't be able to tell that subtle trauma,
especially in the genital region. It bloats. It gets green. NARRATOR: Now, layer by layer, Dr. G
removes Tracie's clothing. And what she discovers underneath shocks everyone in the morgue.
Dr. G removes the strangely clean military uniform from homicide victim Tracie McBride.
Her shirt was neatly tucked in. Her buttons on her fly were completely buttoned and her belt was done.
NARRATOR: Her tidy appearance belies a grim possibility, that the killer, Louis Jones Jr.,
raped her before bludgeoning her to death. And Tracie's family feels he deserves
to be punished for his crime. We believe that, you know, death penalties fit the crime.
NARRATOR: Based on Tracie's mummified hands, Dr. G fears she'll find the rest of her remains
in the same decomposed state. But she's surprised when she removes her clothes. JAN GARAVAGLIA: Her thighs are pristine.
Her abdomen was pristine. She had a beautiful tattoo on her hip that was easily seen.
She was amazingly well-preserved. NARRATOR: Dr. G believes two factors created this paradox--
the recent weather and where the killer left the body. JAN GARAVAGLIA: It was unseasonably cold in Texas.
And she was in the shade. She was protected from the sun, being under a bridge. NARRATOR: These conditions preserved the remains
like a refrigerator, keeping bacterial and insect activity in check. Despite this lack of decomposition,
recovering evidence of sexual assault will be a long shot. It's actually unusual for me to find a lot
of trauma on the rape-homicide. NARRATOR: Often, rapists drug or incapacitate their victims
so they won't resist. Let me get you some ice. NARRATOR: With no resistance, forced sex can leave little
or no discernible trauma. So if she's just lying there unconscious, or if she's not fighting back, probably she's not
going to get as much bruising. NARRATOR: Dr. G turns to the genital area, searching for the slightest hint of brutality.
And immediately, Tracie's body speaks to her loud and clear-- contusions on the labia, a hard scratch
near the vaginal opening. Bruises that are, you know, half an inch by half an inch in the genital area.
She even had a bruise to her cervix at the end of her uterus. To find that much trauma was actually very unusual.
NARRATOR: The injuries are so well-preserved, she can even discern their color. So it looked all fresh, pinkish-blue.
NARRATOR: Based on these findings, Dr. G believes that Tracie was not only raped,
she was fighting back. JAN GARAVAGLIA: It ruled out that he had drugged her. Because there is a lot of trauma.
It looks like she wasn't cooperating. That indicates forceful sex. And that indicates a sexual assault.
NARRATOR: Now, prosecutors have no doubt that Jones kidnapped, killed, and raped Tracie.
They're finally ready to seek the death penalty. But there's one issue they need to be
prepared to address in court. Tracie had a boyfriend. And she may have been sexually active.
We have to anticipate what the defense might be. And easily, a young woman, a defense might be,
maybe she had consensual sex with somebody else. Maybe she had rough sex with somebody else.
NARRATOR: To counter this defense, they'll need irrefutable proof that Jones raped Tracie.
The best thing I could have would be something that we could have some DNA value.
NARRATOR: Now, to search for Jones's DNA, Dr. G completes a full rape kit. I take multiple swabs to collect any fluids
in her vaginal region, in her anal region, even in her oral region. NARRATOR: The samples will go to the Bear
County Forensic Science Center for a full analysis. She's a healthy 19-year-old woman that would have
lived a long life if she had not crossed path with this murderer. NARRATOR: The final outcome of this case
and whether Tracie's family will get the justice they seek may hinge on the results of the rape kit.
More technicians prepare 19-year-old Tracie McBride for transport to the funeral home.
Ex-military man Louis Jones Jr. admits he kidnapped and killed her. Based on Doctor G's findings of trauma,
prosecutors believed he also raped her. What they would like is the DNA to prove it.
We wait for the results of the serology, see if there's any semen. NARRATOR: Only a positive match can prove Jones's guilt
and ensure absolute justice for Tracie. Less than a month later, Dr. G gets the report
on the rape kit samples. And lo and behold, all my specimens taken from the vaginal area, anal area,
oral area come back negative. No evidence of sperm, no evidence of semen. There is no sign of Louis Jones from a DNA standpoint.
NARRATOR: The unexpected blow devastates prosecutors. Without this smoking gun, they fear
the defense could easily argue there was never any rape at all. I was trying to think of every explanation possible.
I had my agents searching for condoms. I had them searching for spermicide-- something
that would explain a lack of evidence, a lack of DNA. As hard as Dr. G may try, no matter
what kind of medical examiner she is, if it's not there, it's not there. NARRATOR: But Dr. G disagrees.
You know, I think they were a little worried that, somehow, I was not going to be able to testify.
NARRATOR: She firmly believes that the negative finding does not undermine the medical evidence of rape.
Keep in mind, there are some people that don't ejaculate. This isn't about sex. It's about violence.
Maybe it was an object that was used that caused that trauma. NARRATOR: In addition, she recalls a detail
about Tracie's genital injuries that just might help prosecutors-- their color. Everybody's seen a fresh bruise.
They're usually pinkish to a little blue. NARRATOR: Over time, the red blood cells break down,
appearing as a shift in hue. Yellow, and then eventually green, and kind of a brown color at the end.
NARRATOR: All of Tracie's bruises were pinkish-blue, proof that she was raped just before her death.
The bruising is on all recent, maybe 24 hours before she died. NARRATOR: The timeline makes it extremely unlikely
that Tracie sustained her genital injuries during consensual sex with someone else.
TANYA K. PIERCE: The 24-hour part is important. Because Louis Jones, he was with her
for the majority of that time period before she was killed. NARRATOR: Police also confirm that Tracie's boyfriend was out
of state when she was kidnapped and could not have caused the bruising. With this final piece of evidence in hand,
US attorneys present their case in court. Louis Jones Jr. should face execution for the savagery of his crimes against Tracie McBride.
Ultimately, Attorney General Reno made the call. And she made the decision that we
could seek the death penalty. NARRATOR: Now the final challenge will be for Dr. G
to convince the jury, without DNA, that Jones committed the rape. You somehow have to try to get the jury to understand you
and to believe you. Because if the jury doesn't understand it, we're kind of lost here.
NARRATOR: October, 1995. Eight months after the autopsy, the trial begins. And Dr. G takes the stand in the media spotlight
as witness for the prosecution. [GAVEL BANGING] I'm testifying to the facts of what
we can say about what happened. NARRATOR: Justice for the senseless death of a young girl
hinges on her testimony. But her personal views on whether the killer deserves the death penalty have no place on the stand.
I only want to tell the truth. I only can tell the truth. NARRATOR: Her autopsy findings include indisputable facts
as to what happened between the time of Tracie's abduction and her death. Now, she pieces it all together for the jury, including details
Jones never told police. He didn't confess to a lot of things. He didn't say the truth, I think, to a lot of things.
But I know what he did to her. NARRATOR: Just 10 days after her arrival at the base,
Louis Jones kidnaps Tracie at gunpoint. JAN GARAVAGLIA: She's got her army fatigues on.
And she gets abducted. NARRATOR: Then, Dr. G is certain, Tracie endures a violent sexual assault.
JAN GARAVAGLIA: We know she's not drugged. She was probably fighting back. NARRATOR: Describing the injuries from the rape
is sensitive. But she carefully professionally presents the evidence. I was a little hesitant about having to show
some of the genital pictures. But yet I think once you saw those big bruises in those areas, they could see that it
was quite a violent act. TANYA K. PIERCE: In fact, I had to warn the family beforehand.
And as soon as Dr. G hit the stand, I nodded back to the family. And most of them got up and left,
except the father, who looked at me and shook his head no. But he lasted through about one slide.
NARRATOR: Dr. G explains that, from the nature of the bruising, Tracie clearly survives
this part of the violence. We know she's not strangled. He then forces her to help cover up the heinous crime.
He had cleaned her, washed her clothes, made her clean herself with hydrogen peroxide.
She is made to walk on towels so she doesn't pick up his fibers. Hence, I couldn't find any at autopsy.
It was just sickening. [PANTING] NARRATOR: Jones is not about to let her escape alive.
He takes her to a remote location under a deserted overpass. He attacks her with a tire iron.
NARRATOR: He strikes at least nine times, shattering the skull. Shards of bone drive deep into the brain.
The trauma is fatal. You know, your brain is a delicate electrical system sitting there.
And when you have that much blunt force to the brain, it short circuits it and it just shuts down.
NARRATOR: Tracie collapses, dead. But then Jones makes a crucial mistake. He leaves her body in the culvert.
JAN GARAVAGLIA: He obviously went quite a distance to hide the body so it wouldn't be found.
And yet it's ironic that this remote area that he murdered her at is exactly why I could find that evidence
of sexual assault. Because it is in a remote area, protected from the sun, in a culvert that was wet and cold.
And then, just by luck, the temperature stayed cool and preserved the body nicely.
NARRATOR: Dr. G has now done all she can to recover every secret from Tracie's body
and share them with the jury. I want them, truly, in my heart, to understand what I'm saying.
I look in their eyes to try to explain it to them. TANYA K. PIERCE: I think it had a tremendous impact
on the case. She was able to give a voice to Tracie McBride in so many ways, to stand up and say, yes, he raped me
before he did this to me. NARRATOR: Louis Jones Jr. is found guilty. But before his punishment is determined,
a new disturbing piece of information emerges. Louis Jones told his story to a psychiatrist,
and very much in detail about what occurred that night at his house with Tracie McBride there.
NARRATOR: Jones's unofficial confession confirms one of Doctor G's key findings.
He does admit to having sex with her. They said, you were right. He confessed to sexually assaulting her.
NARRATOR: Louis Jones Jr. is sentenced to death for the violent rape and murder of Tracie McBride.
He appeals to the US Supreme Court, but his appeal is denied. Jones was executed March the 18th of 2003
in Terre Haute, Indiana. NARRATOR: It's a bittersweet victory. People have the misconception that we're all sitting
around high-fiving each other. That's not what happens. They've just decided to kill somebody.
And above all, no matter what they decide, the McBrides still don't have their little girl back.
Knowing the hurt he caused both myself and my family, I couldn't imagine them seeking any other punishment.
We felt that justice had been served, and that that group of 12 jurors did their job.
NARRATOR: But even justice is small compensation for their tragic loss. I would go to the cemetery and I would cry
and I would sing until I felt her singing with me. And I could just feel that comfort, that she was there.
I lost my big sister, my best friend in the world. NARRATOR: For Dr. G, too, Tracie's death,
with its raw violence and cruel details, will stay with her for years to come. But even this experience she embraces
as part of her calling. That's my job, to communicate to the jury what happened.
And I'm glad I was able to give a voice to Tracie. NARRATOR: Giving a voice to the deceased
is the primary responsibility of every medical examiner. And it doesn't just stop with suspected homicides.
Such is the case in Dr. G's next autopsy, as she struggles to unravel the mystery
behind an elderly woman's sudden demise just three days after knee replacement surgery.
They discharged her thinking everything was fine, and then she dies suddenly in front of her husband.
NARRATOR: Every year, millions of Americans go under the knife. But as Dr. G knows too well, there is no such thing
as risk-free surgery. Because when something goes wrong, she gets the body. We're talking about total malpractice here.
We're talking about inherent risk for death from the procedure. Surgery is certain.
NARRATOR: But while hospital-related deaths are always tragic, Dr. G's next case is even more unusual than most,
when, three days after a seemingly routine surgery, tragedy strikes. So what we have is an elderly woman that's dead at home.
NARRATOR: According to the investigator's report, 79-year-old Mildred Ferry, a retired shopowner and mother
of two, had been recovering from a knee replacement surgery, and doing quite well.
They discharged her thinking everything was fine, and then she dies suddenly in front of her husband.
NARRATOR: Now, her distraught husband of 55 years is desperate for answers. The sudden decline is especially surprising
because, despite her age, Mildred was extremely healthy. She really doesn't have a strong history.
And she's well enough to go through surgery. So I knew she probably had to be pretty healthy.
NARRATOR: In fact, Mildred and her husband, who lived in Orlando, Florida, were avid walkers.
And she hoped the knee replacement surgery would allow her to stay active for years to come.
And she made it through surgery OK. NARRATOR: Given her age, it is possible that she
simply died of natural causes. But because she was so healthy, Dr. G suspects her death might be related to the surgery.
There's always, you know, the worry about infection-- that, possibly, you get a systemic infection.
NARRATOR: In the US, infections contracted in the hospital kill an estimated 103,000 people each year, as many
as AIDS, breast cancer, and auto accidents combined. Another deadly risk is the formation
of emboli, or blood clots. So certain types of surgery, particularly orthopedic surgery, knee surgery, hip surgery,
you're prone to have pulmonary emboli. You're prone to form clots in your legs that then go to your lungs.
NARRATOR: Recent surgery and immobility both can slow circulation and allow blood clots to form.
Although most blood clots tend to dissolve on their own, a clot can be fatal if it breaks off, travels to the lungs,
and lodges in the blood vessels, cutting off oxygen supply to the rest of the body.
So those are really my two major concerns-- blood clot or an infection too. There's no way we're going to tell without an autopsy.
NARRATOR: Dr. G begins the external exam, first inspecting the surgical wound itself.
Oh. We're going to have to take that off. NARRATOR: If Mildred died of a lethal infection,
it would likely have started there. JAN GARAVAGLIA: Does it look red? Is there pus coming out of it?
All of those things are important to me. NARRATOR: But the knee seems to be healing well.
The wound looks good. It doesn't look infected. It looked great. NARRATOR: With a clean surgery site,
Dr. G is beginning to doubt that an infection killed the woman. And the rest of the exam gives her little else to go on.
The external is pretty much negative. It isn't giving me a whole lot of hints yet.
NARRATOR: Now, she must dig deeper for answers inside Mildred's body. Take a picture and we're ready to go.
NARRATOR: Dr. G opens the torso with the standard Y incision. Same old thing I do every--
it's like "Groundhog's Day" or something. NARRATOR: Her first stop is the lungs.
She slices them open, searching for fatal clots. And here, the case takes an unexpected turn.
This lung is a little bit surprising. I really thought it was going to have pulmonary emboli,
and it doesn't. She doesn't have any blood clots in the pulmonary arteries. NARRATOR: Dr. G continues the exam,
looking at each individual organ for signs of natural disease. And we look at each organ piece by piece and dissect it.
NARRATOR: But incredibly, she finds no evidence of abnormalities in any of the internal organs.
You know, things don't look that bad. So we're going to have to definitely look under the microscope here.
NARRATOR: No infection, no pulmonary emboli, no signs of natural disease. As Dr. G concludes the autopsy, she finds herself empty-handed.
Now, she wonders if Mildred's death might be the result of a deadly medication mistake.
There's always that possibility of, she OD-ed on her drugs. She was on some pain medication from that surgery.
NARRATOR: The only way to find out is to take Mildred's blood and urine samples and send them out for analysis.
Dr. G also orders some microscopic slides of tissue samples from the lungs, brain, and kidneys.
Perhaps one of the organs holds a secret invisible to the naked eye. So now we're going to put our hopes on the toxicology
and the microscopics. NARRATOR: Three weeks later, Dr. G gets her slides and the toxicology results back from the lab.
First, she checks out the report. It shows Mildred was definitely on drugs when she died.
She was taking, you know, a lot of pain medication. NARRATOR: But the numbers are well within normal range.
Dr. G concludes that the woman did not die of an overdose. Now, the answer to her death rests on what she
can find under the microscope. At 400 times magnification, she can clearly see the cells.
And among them, she finally discovers an unusual killer. In the lungs and in the brain, most importantly, I see
a little globules of clearness. NARRATOR: These are emboli. But they're not made of blood.
In this instance, it looks like fat. And bingo. I've got my diagnosis. NARRATOR: Mildred's lungs and brain
are flooded with fat emboli, a buildup of fat cells that have escaped from her bones.
We know that it occurs mostly with broken bones or surgery on the bones. Somehow, the pressure or the break
forces this fat in your blood vessels. NARRATOR: Once inside the bloodstream, these globules of fat travel like clots through the heart,
lungs, and brain. Most are naturally absorbed by the body. But if they accumulate, the effect can be deadly.
And that fat goes to your lung and probably goes through the capillaries and gets to your brain.
So the brain's not getting the oxygen it should, and you stop breathing. NARRATOR: Every year, thousands of people
undergo knee replacement surgery without developing fatal fat emboli. But Mildred was one of the unlucky few.
JAN GARAVAGLIA: Fat emboli is a very rare complication. And honestly, most people survive.
Her age probably contributed to having it harder to withstand this. She needed the surgery.
It's just one of those things that happens. It's a rare complication. NARRATOR: While surprising, Dr. G's findings
do help provide a sense of closure for Mildred's surgeon and her husband. Well, it matters to the family.
It matters to the surgeon. He likes to know, you know, what happens to his patients.
But for me, it matters that I was able to get the answer, and get the right answer.
NARRATOR: In the end, Dr. G still believes, like many things in life, the benefits of surgery
far outweigh the risks. If you need the surgery, you get it. If you want to go skiing, go.
I think you have a-- you have a much higher risk driving to the operation and getting killed in a car accident.
MAN: (WHISPERING) Atlas.

During her career as a medical examiner, Dr. G has autopsied thousands of murder victims. In this episode, Dr. G shares her most memorable case.

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

Brief Summary

Dr. G investigates the murder of Tracie McBride and the unexpected death of Mildred Ferry after surgery, revealing shocking truths in both cases.

Key points

A Soldier's Abduction. An aspiring young soldier is abducted from her army base in the dead of night.
The Brutality of the Crime. Dr. G discovers the excessive violence inflicted on Tracie McBride during her autopsy.
The Shocking Confession. A former military officer confesses to kidnapping and murdering Tracie McBride.
The Rape Kit Results. The DNA results from the rape kit come back negative, devastating the prosecution's case.
The Timeline of Tracie's Death. Evidence reveals Tracie was raped just before her death, leading to a murder trial.
Louis Jones Jr. Sentenced. Louis Jones Jr. is sentenced to death for the violent rape and murder of Tracie McBride.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This was an over-killing.

Tanya K. Pierce describes the excessive violence of the crime.

0:31WatchJun 8, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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