Dr. Christopher I. Swalwell -- in consultation with his boss, San Diego County Medical Examiner Dr. Brian D. Blackbourne, and the department's chief deputy, Dr. Harry J. Bonnell -- made the crucial decision to convert the cause of death from accident to homicide.
Initially, after Kristi Miller's body was found on the night of Aug. 23, 1993, in a pasture behind her home in the city of Imperial, Swalwell ruled the 28-year-old woman had died accidentally from numerous head wounds apparently inflicted by an ornery cow.
But five months later, the pathologist formally changed his opinion, calling the death a homicide.
Jeffrey Miller's attorney, Everett L. Bobbitt of San Diego, is blunt in his assessment of the Medical Examiner Office's role.
"They were incompetent," Bobbitt said. "They didn't spend the necessary time to determine what happened. Only after political pressure did they change their minds. They gave him (the sheriff) the opinion he wanted."
Blackbourne said, "That is absolutely not right. I don't think this has any effect on the Medical Examiner's Office."
Swalwell did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Although Kristi Miller's cause of death officially was changed from an accident to a homicide Jan. 28, 1994, her husband wasn't charged and arrested until April 1997.
When the District Attorney's Office repeatedly declined to file a murder charge, the sheriff sought assistance from state and federal officials. Neither the state Department of Justice's Bureau of Investigation nor the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego would prosecute, officials say. Later, a new district attorney was elected and agreed to file the murder charge. The District Attorney's Office declined to comment.