RD, I believe what Belling was saying is that the finding by the coroner was rather quick given the circumstances. That this would not have been the case for someone less renowned in the community. He was supported in this by several callers, including some who claimed to be in law enforcement. I don't believe he was being disrespectful of the Quadraccis, but was questioning how civil authorities were handling their responsibilities. Belling has a skeptical, perhaps cynical, view of the world. This also turns me off at times, but he can raise interesting questions.
I don't think it was quick. From my understanding, the coroner had the body a full day. I would imagine, if he (or whomever on his staff) is the least bit competent, it didn't take long to do the autospy if drowning was the obvious cause of death. It also only takes minutes to run most blood and urine screening tests which would have ruled out any large doses of drugs/alcohol - there would also have been indications of this on autopsy either in the stomach or changes to other organs. Therefore, I think the coroner came to the only reasonable conclusion. You know...if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck,...etc. Absent any obvious extenuating factors, anything else would have been pure speculation.
Was Harry Quadracci's autopsy given priorty over the average Joe on the street- undoubtedly - he's a high-profile individual. What I'm wondering, is what is Belling insinuating - what other circumstances? There was absolutely no sign of foul play or anything untoward???
To digress to the Belling "thing"...my husband said he was ranting the previous day about Lance Armstrong "cheating"...IMHO Belling has become a conspiracy theorist (with NO facts to back up his statements)...my theory being his ratings are falling and he's desperate for a "juicy" scoop of some sort, or he's just too lazy to really research a topic. Until there's any HARD evidence that poor Mr. Quadracci suffered anything more than an unfortunate accident, regardless of precipitating factors, I'll believe the coroner. Having listened to Belling for years and knowing absolutely many of the things he's said have had no basis in fact, and from everything I know of and have worked with in the medical field, the coroner's conclusion makes more sense than Belling's insinuations. It may make interesting talk radio, but without any proof, it is IMHO disrespectful.