Cyril Wecht, Pittsburgh-Based Famous Forensic Pathologist, Dies

PITTSBURGH, PA — Cyril Wecht, the rambunctious and nationally renowned forensic pathologist and a fixture in Allegheny County politics, died Monday.

Dr. Wecht, of Squirrel Hill, was 93.

Wecht was a controversial figure in his roles as county coroner, commissioner, Democratic party official and U.S. Senate candidate.

He gained national fame in the late 197os, when he appeared before Congress regarding the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. His testimony attempted to discredit the single bullet theory. He disagreed strongly with the Warren Commission report that contended Kennedy was slain by a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald.

Wecht also offered forensic insights in many cases involving celebrities such as O.J. Simpson, Kurt Cobain and Elvis Presley.

According to Duquesne University, where he served as an adjunct faculty member, Wecht performed approximately 21,000 autopsies and reviewed or been consulted on approximately 42,000 additional postmortem examinations, including cases in several foreign countries.

Dr. Wecht also held various faculty positions at the University of Pittsburgh and Carlow
University, and served as chairman of the Advisory Board of The Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law.

He was the author or co-author of more than 650 professional publications and editor
or co-editor of 48 books, as well as co-author of the popular non-fiction books "Cause
of Death," "Grave Secrets," "Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?," "Mortal Evidence," "Tales from
the Morgue," "Crime Scene To Courtroom" and "Final Exams."

Dr, Wecht also published an autobiography, "The Life and Deaths of Cyril Wecht: Memoirs of America's Most Controversial Pathologist."