Regarding the body parts that you mentioned they found in Berkland’s storage unit, the Kansas City Star reported in 2012 (https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article308205/Former-area-medical-examiner-charged-with-keeping-body-parts-in-storage-unit.html) that “Before going to Florida, Berkland was fired in 1996 as a contract medical examiner in Jackson County in a dispute over his caseload and autopsy reports. Investigators found eight undissected brains when they reviewed files and specimens handled by Berkland, indicating he had fabricated autopsy results, authorities said.”
This was so serious that he lost his medical examiner’s license in Missouri and for a time lost it in Florida as well. And guess what? If you look at the autopsy report Berkland filed in Lori Kaye Klausutis’s case (https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/medical-examiner-s-report-on-the-2001-death-of-lori-klausutis/4d82c16d-d9c5-4022-9580-2325b9774cf2/), he claimed to had to have sectioned Lori’s brain. But did he? That’s the same sort of claim that got Berkland run out of Kansas City for falsely reporting that he’d sectioned brains that were later found to be unsectioned.
Then there’s the fact that Lori was reported by those who knew her to be a runner. An article (https://www.nwfdailynews.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/09/from-archives-stories-from-2001-related-to-scarborough-aide-klausutis-death/16869123007/) compiled from material that appeared in print in 2001 states that “Klausutis' former neighbor, Barbara Cromer … snip … wasn't aware of Klausutis having any serious health problems. ‘She was a runner,’ Cromer said. ‘Every morning, I would see her run while I walked. We'd wave to each other as we passed.” Other people backed up that claim. “Paul Lux, director of public relations for Emerald Coast Young Republicans … snip … said he believed that Klausutis was in good health and ‘if she wasn't working or in school, she always seemed to be out running.’ ‘I assumed she was in good health, and if she had any kind of debilitating injuries or illnesses, she didn't share them with us,’ he continued.” That seems strange, if she had a Mirtral Valve Prolapse (MVP) problem that would lead to cardiac arrhythmia.
First of all MVP is pretty rare. You mention 5% of population having it, but I found numerous articles stating 2-3%. And according to this report (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8070466/), the probability of sudden cardiac death (SCD) compared to the general population is only 0.2 - 0.4%.
This article (https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.118.010584) states notes that of reported SCD cases, “cardiac arrest occurred during situations of stress in 47%” of the cases. It seems to me that running marathons like Lori was reported to do would have therefore made it likely that her MVP would have been diagnosed beforehand. Indeed, this source indicates that 44% of the cases of SCD had prior symptoms like dizziness, syncope, chest pain and palpitations. And 14% of SCD cases reported a positive family history (but apparently there was none in Lori’s case).
Thanks, I didn't know all of Berkland's back story. Lori was very athletic, which pretty much disputes the idea that she had MVP. It is weird that Joe Scarborough and her widower both disclosed that she had health problems right out of the gate--but that does not seem to be true. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is very rare to nonexistent in young people with no cardiovascular issues. And MVP is not that serious--it needs to be fixed but it doesn't set a young person on the road to circulatory collapse and death. The best thing about arrhythmias for medical examiners is there is no trace of them in an autopsy. It's a diagnosis of exclusion. The fact that the Twin Towers attack occurred the next week all but wiped the story out of the news.
I'm always suspicious when the next of kin does not want an investigation. That occurred with Seth Rich, Mary Jo Kopechne, Tafari Campbell, and others. I know if someone I loved died under mysterious or even just unexplained circumstances, I would want to know what happened. I always think people are credibly threatened, but, of course, that can't be proven. It's just odd.
Regarding the body parts that you mentioned they found in Berkland’s storage unit, the Kansas City Star reported in 2012 (https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article308205/Former-area-medical-examiner-charged-with-keeping-body-parts-in-storage-unit.html) that “Before going to Florida, Berkland was fired in 1996 as a contract medical examiner in Jackson County in a dispute over his caseload and autopsy reports. Investigators found eight undissected brains when they reviewed files and specimens handled by Berkland, indicating he had fabricated autopsy results, authorities said.”
This was so serious that he lost his medical examiner’s license in Missouri and for a time lost it in Florida as well. And guess what? If you look at the autopsy report Berkland filed in Lori Kaye Klausutis’s case (https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/medical-examiner-s-report-on-the-2001-death-of-lori-klausutis/4d82c16d-d9c5-4022-9580-2325b9774cf2/), he claimed to had to have sectioned Lori’s brain. But did he? That’s the same sort of claim that got Berkland run out of Kansas City for falsely reporting that he’d sectioned brains that were later found to be unsectioned.
Then there’s the fact that Lori was reported by those who knew her to be a runner. An article (https://www.nwfdailynews.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/09/from-archives-stories-from-2001-related-to-scarborough-aide-klausutis-death/16869123007/) compiled from material that appeared in print in 2001 states that “Klausutis' former neighbor, Barbara Cromer … snip … wasn't aware of Klausutis having any serious health problems. ‘She was a runner,’ Cromer said. ‘Every morning, I would see her run while I walked. We'd wave to each other as we passed.” Other people backed up that claim. “Paul Lux, director of public relations for Emerald Coast Young Republicans … snip … said he believed that Klausutis was in good health and ‘if she wasn't working or in school, she always seemed to be out running.’ ‘I assumed she was in good health, and if she had any kind of debilitating injuries or illnesses, she didn't share them with us,’ he continued.” That seems strange, if she had a Mirtral Valve Prolapse (MVP) problem that would lead to cardiac arrhythmia.
First of all MVP is pretty rare. You mention 5% of population having it, but I found numerous articles stating 2-3%. And according to this report (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8070466/), the probability of sudden cardiac death (SCD) compared to the general population is only 0.2 - 0.4%.
This article (https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.118.010584) states notes that of reported SCD cases, “cardiac arrest occurred during situations of stress in 47%” of the cases. It seems to me that running marathons like Lori was reported to do would have therefore made it likely that her MVP would have been diagnosed beforehand. Indeed, this source indicates that 44% of the cases of SCD had prior symptoms like dizziness, syncope, chest pain and palpitations. And 14% of SCD cases reported a positive family history (but apparently there was none in Lori’s case).
On top of that, people with Mitral Valve Prolapse are said to benefit from aerobic exercise (https://www.verywellhealth.com/mitral-valve-prolapse-and-exercise-3120093), making it even more unlikely that Lori would not have experienced SCD, even if she had MVP.
But I’m not saying she didn’t. I'm not a doctor. This is just more data to consider.
Thanks, I didn't know all of Berkland's back story. Lori was very athletic, which pretty much disputes the idea that she had MVP. It is weird that Joe Scarborough and her widower both disclosed that she had health problems right out of the gate--but that does not seem to be true. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is very rare to nonexistent in young people with no cardiovascular issues. And MVP is not that serious--it needs to be fixed but it doesn't set a young person on the road to circulatory collapse and death. The best thing about arrhythmias for medical examiners is there is no trace of them in an autopsy. It's a diagnosis of exclusion. The fact that the Twin Towers attack occurred the next week all but wiped the story out of the news.
I'm always suspicious when the next of kin does not want an investigation. That occurred with Seth Rich, Mary Jo Kopechne, Tafari Campbell, and others. I know if someone I loved died under mysterious or even just unexplained circumstances, I would want to know what happened. I always think people are credibly threatened, but, of course, that can't be proven. It's just odd.
Thanks!
Hmmmmm...