Replies

I agree, supercat, However, in this particular case, I think we are going to see an extremely edited and benign cause of death listed on the certificate. Cardiopulmonary failure is an extremely commonly used one.

The rest of the "contributory causes" will be the original injury (anoxic cortical atrophy) due to (cardiac arrest) contributed to by (hypokalemia( and on and on with bulemia, maybe the fall, maybe a calcium lack, causing the fractures, heck, they might even work osteoporosis into it, citing bulemia.

One thing for sure, there is going to be NO mention of any foul play involved. MS is going to look like an angel in this whole thing. That being said, I have spent this whole agonizing period trying to be objective (that's hard) and think logically about "what happened", and I keep coming back to the "crime scene" scenario. My big question is that nobody knows, or is talking about, or has really investigated just what the heck happened in that house prior to the 8AM 911 call. All that remains is hearsay, and the Paramedic report. There is no timeline, and no proof, and no way, of obtaining, after all these years, any evidence about what really happened.

Dis MS "just hear a "thud"? If so, there is a whole lot of missing time unaccounted for for this severe anoxia.. IF he was the "caring, loving husband", he would have made a 922 call and been trying one-person CPR at the same time.

So, speculating here, we have a long period of time with an anoxic brain, not just hypoxic, the circulation had stopped, and no O2 was getting to the brain.

I just can't figure out why the local LEO's weren't on this as suspected abuse from day 1. There sure seems to be enough people who made claims that abuse was occurring. NOw, I realize this was in '90, and there wasn't the same instant domestic violence arrest statutes that are on the books today, but I am rather astounded that no red flags went up.. The years of obfuscation and stonewalling are NOT the actions of an innocent person, but then, that is just IMHO, and everyone's opinion may vary.

That being said, I still think that a crime was committed, that crime being Murder (although, if MS or whoever were finally charged, it probably would be knocked down to manslaughter). and in a perfect world, a whole bunch of people would be charged as accessories after the fact.

Of course, I don't have all the facts, or all the documents, or notes, over all these 15 years, so my hypothesis is necessarily flawed. I just don't want to work on emotions, but provable data. My Religious beliefs, and my Moral Beliefs, are one thing, but to prove a crime, one can't go by those alone. It sure would be nice for them to be admissible, but they aren't....It's hard to separate one from the other, though. I have a real problem doing so!

Greg

I don't really see how a manslaughter charge would fit (beyond the fact that unless there are special rules for incapacitated victim who never recover the statute of limitations would have expired for a 1990 battery resulting in eventual death). If Michael did batter Terri in 1990, that would imply very strongly that he committed numerous frauds upon the court(*) for the purpose of having her put to death. I would tend to expect that the felony murder rule should apply if one commits a fraud upon the court with the knowledge and intention that such fraud will result in the death of an innocent person.

(*) Likely with Judge Greer's knowledge and consent

My personal belief is that if the state got a really good prosecuting attorney, it should be possible to nail Michael with a conviction for First Degree Murder; there are a few routes to such a verdict, and even if not all of them were proven I don't think a jury would begrudge the ones that weren't unless the prosecutor messed up badly. One of the keys to a successful prosecution, IMHO, would be to establish a sufficient prima facie case that Michael was forced to testify on his own behalf. Given that Felos would not be able to answer questions for Michael (as he has done on TV interviews) I would think a good prosecutor should be able to trip up Michael on many key points, including:

What really happened the night of Terri's "collapse", and why he has told so many different and inconsistent stories.
When he knew about Terri's wishes, why other people seem to think he had clearly indicated that he didn't, and indeed why his own testimony never suggested any such thing until he received the "malpractice" award.
Whether his actions as guardian after 1993 were motivated by claimed love for his wife, given that by that time he had already deliberately destroyed her wedding rings, an act which--unless done for the purpose of making replacement rings--is universally recognized as an act of divorce.
Whether his actions as guardian after 1997 were motivated by claimed love for his wife, given that by that time he had pledged to marry another woman, another act universally recognized as being an act of divorce.
Whether he had sought to provide Terri with the legally-required care and therapy from 1993-2005, and whether any felonious failure to do so contributed to Terri's "PVS" diagnosis.
Whether he could have reasonably believed Terri to have really been PVS, or whether he knew that she wasn't and tried to conceal this fact.

I would say that there is an extremely strong prima facie case that Michael Schiavo performed numerous felonious actions which contributed in foreseeable fashion to the death of Theresa Marie Schindler (Schiavo). Although I would fear that an inept or crooked prosecutor could easily botch the case, I see no reason to settle for anything less than capital murder.