By Luis Monteagudo Jr.
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 26, 2003
Union-Tribune
Dr. Brian Blackbourne talked about autopsies at the trial of David Westerfield in August.
In his 35 years in forensic medicine, Dr. Brian Blackbourne has rendered his opinion in such highly publicized deaths as those of White House Counsel Vincent Foster and 7-year-old Danielle Van Dam.
He oversaw the identification of 39 bodies in the 1997 Heaven's Gate mass suicide in Rancho Santa Fe.
And his research into accidental child deaths led to changes in the width of slats on cribs.
Blackbourne, San Diego County's medical examiner since 1990, is retiring in May.
He has "been like one of the fathers of forensic examination," said Dr. Joni McClain, immediate past president of the National Association of Medical Examiners.
"I'm going to be turning 65 in August, and it always seemed to me that 65 is a good time to retire," Blackbourne said in an interview last week.
During his time in San Diego County, Blackbourne's office has handled a number of high-profile cases, but it has not been without controversy.
Last year, his office came under scrutiny when one of his employees, toxicologist Kristin Rossum, was convicted of stealing drugs at work and using them to kill her husband. Prosecutors said the 26-year-old poisoned her husband to keep him from telling her employer about her methamphetamine use and an affair she was having with her boss, Michael Robertson.
The parents of Gregory de Villers, Rossum's husband, have sued the county, contending that the Medical Examiner's Office contributed to his death by hiring Rossum, who had a history of drug use, and not testing her for drugs.
Blackbourne said county attorneys have told him not to comment on the case because of the lawsuit. But, he said, the Rossum trial did not influence his decision to retire.
County officials have begun a nationwide search to replace Blackbourne, who is paid $171,000 a year. The department has 50 employees and an annual budget of $5.5 million. It conducts about 2,400 death investigations, including autopsies, a year.
County Chief Administrative Officer Walt Ekard praised Blackbourne, particularly for his work during the Heaven's Gate incident and his court appearances.
"We will miss him," Ekard said. "He's one of the most respected people in his business."
Blackbourne began working for the county in 1990, which was a time of transition for the office.
San Diego was one of the last major metropolitan regions that did not have a physician as a medical examiner. The county had a coroner who was a licensed embalmer and mortician.
Blackbourne, formerly a Canadian citizen, had a medical degree from the University of Alberta. He also had experience in Washington, D.C., and Florida and had worked on high-profile cases, including a 1982 Air Florida plane crash into the Potomac River that killed 78 people.
In San Diego, Blackbourne and his department were thrust into a global spotlight in March 1997 when 39 bodies where found in a Rancho Santa Fe mansion being rented by members of the Heaven's Gate cult.
Identifying the bodies turned out to be an easy task because the people were found with passports or driver's licenses, Blackbourne said. The toughest part was fielding 2,000 phone calls from people who had lost contact with relatives and were wondering if any of their family were among the dead.
A media contingent also camped daily at the Medical Examiner's Office in Kearny Mesa.
"I was busy running around trying to answer all these questions," Blackbourne said. "That was my whole five days."
As part of his work in the van Dam kidnapping and murder investigation, Blackbourne went to the Dehesa Road site where the 7-year-old's body was found. He also testified during the trial of David Westerfield, the former neighbor found guilty of kidnapping and murdering the Sabre Springs girl.
"The frustrating part of that was that the body was so decomposed and altered so much by animals that we did not have the determination of the cause of death," Blackbourne said. "I thought that was going to be a big issue in the case, but it was not."
By process of elimination, Blackbourne and his staff concluded that Danielle died from some form of asphyxia, meaning she was smothered or suffocated. A cause of death, however, was never listed on the death certificate.
Questions raised
After the Westerfield trial came Rossum's prosecution and the questions it raised about his office. It was not the first time Blackbourne or his office faced controversy during his 13-year tenure.
In August 1997, Blackbourne's salary was cut from $135,158 to $117,540, one of 13 cuts made to top managers. Larry Prior, who was the county chief administrative officer, said the cuts were a warning to improve performance or risk being fired.
Two months later, a county audit determined that the office did not comply with county standards, rules and regulations.
For example, the audit found that there were nonwritten agreements allowing the office to do work for San Bernardino and Imperial counties. The audit forced the appointment of a temporary administrator to fix the management problems.
In 1999, state medical authorities accused Dr. Harry J. Bonnell, the chief deputy medical examiner, of negligence and incompetence. They said he ignored medical accidents in two autopsy reports.
Bonnell was later cleared of the accusations. Blackbourne fired him in 2001 and publicly declined to give a reason. (***Note: Bonnell was fired the day after he received an award)
Bonnell, now a consultant, declined to comment on his former boss. "My mother told me if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," he said.
Of the controversies, Blackbourne said, "Criticism comes with the territory."
He has done more than 7,000 autopsies and has received acclaim in national forensic circles.
Foster's death
In 1995, he was asked by Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr to review findings that former White House counsel Vincent Foster committed suicide. Blackbourne determined Foster did kill himself in a Virginia park.
Blackbourne also did extensive research into accidental child deaths, and his findings led to changes in the width of the slats on cribs, said Dr. James L. Luke, former chief medical examiner for Washington, D.C., and one of his former bosses.
The National Association of Medical Examiners is about to inspect Blackbourne's office to renew its medical accreditation. Accreditation is an endorsement that the office provides an adequate environment and provides reasonable assurances that the office or system serves the county well.
The office's accreditation is scheduled to expire June 8. The association will do an on-site inspection in April.
Blackbourne said he might do consulting work after his retirement. But first he wants to travel and take at least a year off to see if he enjoys retirement.
Asked about what qualities his replacement should have, he said the county should find an experienced examiner. And, he added, "You've got to get along with a lot of people."