Posted on 06/18/2005 9:35:23 AM PDT by churchillbuff
Michael Schiavo's account of the time his wife collapsed in 1990 has varied for years. He has said it was as early as 4:30 a.m. and as late as 6 a.m.
But on one point he has always been consistent: He called 911 right after finding Terri Schiavo unconscious in their St. Petersburg home.
"I have consistently said over the years that I didn't wait but "ran' to call 911 after Terri collapsed," Michael Schiavo said in a statement released Friday.
Still, Gov. Jeb Bush was troubled enough by the time discrepancies to request Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe sort out the varying reports. McCabe has agreed to look into the matter.
It's unclear what McCabe could uncover 15 years later, but it seems unlikely he will find anything that will discredit Michael Schiavo's claim that he dashed to the phone that morning.
"We don't have any reason to doubt that," said Bill Pellan, the chief investigator in the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office, which conducted the autopsy of Terri Schiavo's body. "Can we prove that occurred? No. It goes back to the same lingering issue: It's 15 years ago."
Several facts seem to back Michael Schiavo:
The issue never arose during a hotly contested malpractice trial in 1992 in which Michael Schiavo successfully sued his wife's doctors. If there was evidence he delayed calling for help, the doctor's attorneys likely would have used it to discredit the lawsuit.
Medical experts are astonished Terri Schiavo's vital signs returned that morning after the 911 call was placed. It seems unlikely she would have lived had her husband delayed calling for help.
The question did not come up in the 2000 trial in which Michael Schiavo was first given permission to remove his wife's feeding tube over the wishes of her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler. Though the Schindlers' attorneys sought to discredit Michael Schiavo in that trial, court transcripts reveal their lawyers spent little time questioning what happened the morning Terri Schiavo collapsed.
Schindler family members also have given different times for various events that morning. During the recent autopsy investigation, they could not recall exact times.
Michael Schiavo has said he was not wearing a watch and did not look at a clock that morning. He has previously testified he isn't good at recalling dates or times.
Still, the Schindlers are suspicious because the autopsy found no definitive reason for Terri Schiavo's collapse. They have suspected Michael Schiavo abused his wife, an accusation he vehemently denies and which the autopsy does not support.
The autopsy found her heart was strong, essentially ruling out a heart attack. There also was no evidence the collapse was caused by an eating disorder, which had been the leading theory and the jury's conclusion in the malpractice case.
"What we're trying to get a handle on is what really happened that night," said David Gibbs III, the Schindlers' attorney. "Why did a healthy, 26-year-old girl collapse like this? And there's only one witness to the event. And with all these inconsistencies, we're trying to get some answers."
Michael Schiavo has said he was getting out of his bed when he heard his wife collapse in the hallway. Most doctors say she slipped into a persistent vegetative state, a nonrecoverable state in which she was unaware of her surroundings.
Her parents fought Michael Schiavo's efforts to have her removed from a feeding tube. Her tube was removed in March and she died 13 days later at age 41.
Gibbs sent a letter to Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin in April that presented his own time line of what happened that morning. Gibbs said the time line was based on court records, interviews of family members by investigators with his office and independent detectives.
Gibbs identified one as Mark Fuhrman, the former Los Angeles detective best known for his role in the O.J. Simpson case. Fuhrman is writing a book on the Schiavo case that is due out later this month.
Gibbs' time line puts Terri Schiavo's collapse at 5 a.m. and says this is the time "used in all depositions, trials and media reports."
But it's not.
Admitting records at the hospital the day of Terri's collapse say it was about 6 a.m. During a malpractice trial in 1992, Michael Schiavo said it was about 5 a.m. In a TV interview in 2003 he said 4:30 a.m., which he repeated during the autopsy investigation.
Gibbs's time line also says Michael Schiavo called Bob Schindler between 5:38 and 5:40 a.m., though the Schindlers couldn't remember specific times in their interview for the autopsy.
Thogmartin met with Bush this week before the autopsy was released. When Bush learned of the time discrepancy, his office tracked down McCabe.
The governor sent a formal letter to McCabe on Friday asking for a broader investigation than just the time issue. It mentions the possibility of drugging or poisoning, among other things.
McCabe's chief assistant, Bruce Bartlett, said he could not comment on the letter. McCabe is out of town and could not be reached for comment.
Bush's request was immediately criticized by some state lawmakers.
"Enough is enough," said Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton. "I don't want to see it on TV anymore, I don't want to hear politicians talk about it. Let her be at peace."
Bush defended his request.
"I'm not asking for an investigation, what I'm asking for is the state attorney, based on new information, review that information so there can be closure," he said.
He acknowledged in his letter that an investigation might be difficult.
"I understand that these events took place many years ago, and that you may not be able to collect all the relevant records and physical evidence. However, Mrs. Schiavo's family deserves to know anything that can be done to determine the cause and circumstances of her collapse 15 years ago," Bush wrote. "The unanswered questions may be unanswerable, but the attempt should be made."
Even if Michael Schiavo admitted he delayed calling 911, the statute of limitations would have expired long ago on any crime arising from it.
"I can't imagine what in the world he could be charged with," said Mark Lipinski, a Bradenton lawyer who is not involved in the case but has followed it closely. "So the governor's request sounds more like a political request rather than a law enforcement request because there is absolutely nothing they could do."
Clearwater defense lawyer Denis de Vlaming also predicted the investigation will go nowhere.
"I think absent a confession that he had waited, knowing that she was going into a deep coma or what have you, and deliberately decided to wait, there would be nothing to go on," de Vlaming said. It also seems likely a delayed 911 call would have been discovered in the 1992 malpractice trial.
"If there was any evidence that there was any delay in Michael calling 911, the defense attorneys in our case would have been all over it," said Gary D. Fox, who represented Michael and Terri Schiavo in that case. ... "Of course there wasn't and they didn't and that ought to be the end of the issue. And this is back when it was fresh in everybody's mind."
Fox said if Michael Schiavo delayed calling 911, that would have hurt his case.
"There were people investigating Michael trying to defeat Michael in any way possible," Fox said. "The defense lawyers in that case went out and hired physicians - a bunch of them - to analyze the medical records . . . and none of them said or suggested Michael was in any way responsible for this.
Criminals always try to mess with the timeline. The Clintons tried to mess with the timeline in the case of Vince Foster's death.
It will be interesting to see Fuhrman's book on this case. He is indicating that the timeline is Michael Schiavo's undoing.
No one knows why she collapsed, or why the investigation into attempted homicide at the time was dropped before it was finished. It just stopped cold, like someone dropped the ball.
In my opinion, this was a "Wait until she's really dead" Ted Kennedy moment. He didn't expect or want her to survive. He just got the state to finish the job for him, and now he's as free as O.J. Simpson.
Just one more stupid, baseless attempt to 'win.' That's all it is about at this point. It is not about Terri. It is about a bunch of folks who have been throwing around baseless allegations for years continuing their quest to prove they were right, after their other arguments were discredited.
Exactly.
Sometimes it's just cheaper to settle. It doesn't mean the doctors were responsible. It means they caved. Doctors do it all the time, because the cost of the pay off is passed on to the consumer anyway.
That's how John Edwards became a millionaire! He sued doctors and won even though it was impossible. He just found a really stupid jury.
DUH! What else would a defence lawyer say? Their client was guilty? "Hey look! We found something that would hang our client! Let's use it!"
Sheesh.Who wrote this stuff, anyway?
Judge Greers wife works for the paper.
Sure. He's a genius. That's why O.J. is walking the streets.
I think he delayed calling 911 hoping she would die before the ambulance arrived or die at the hospital. He had it planned she wouldn't make it but his plans failed when she was brought back with severe brain damage. That is when he decided to sue and get money and than finish the job killing Terri which he did. However, I think he hasn't got away with it and he knows it and is scared.
She is at peace or at least anyone with two working brain cells would think so. If it disturbs you, Ron, turn your TV off or turn the channel. But I suppose that, being a Democrat, personal responsibility is beyond you.
By your own previous testimony you called her father first. Whatever the exact number of minutes before you called 911 that fact alone pretty much rules out "running" to make the call.
Not really free. If it can ever be proven that he caused her problems I think he could be tried for homicide and there is no statute of limitations on that.
Yeah, Mikey's about as innocent as Charles Manson. (sarc)
I am sure Mark just seems an idiot when compared to the knowledge of a psychic such as yourself.
And you're an idiot in attacking him before his book is published. That's like a sports columnist commenting on a game's outcome before it's happened.
Next, I'd love to see a Fuhrman book on Chappaquidick (sp?). But let's get the reason for Terri Schiavo's collapse cleared up first.
I have come to realize that any side that you are on is the wrong side. You are the person who consistently demeans our military and the war on terror.
Since the Schiavo's were interviewed many times in the early 90's and made glowing comments about Michael and the care he gave Terri, and admitted under oath that they loved him and realized it was time to move on with his life, their contradictory statements now hold no water for me.
But thanks for the ping anyway. Carry on mis-representing the facts...it's what you do best around here.
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