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November 20, 1987 - Image 26

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1987-11-20

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

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Continued from Page 24

them. From an emotional im-
pact, I don't know how I was
able to work. It was a job go-
ing to sleep at night.
"The need to handle
fragments of people did not
affect me. They are objects.
They are dead. They cannot
feel. But I am not a man of
steel. Working with the
families was highly emo-
tional and upsetting."
Because visual identifica-
tion was impossible for all but
two of the 156 victims, Spitz
and his team often needed the
families' assistance. "We ask-
ed the families if there was
anything that could help pro-
duce identification, such as
broken bones or abnor-
malities. One child was iden-
tified by the scar on his chest
after learning that he had
open heart surgery. A man
was identified after learning
that his wife had painted one
of his toenails with red nail
polish.
"About 80 percent of the
victims were identified by
dental records. Some were
identified by fingerprints.
Every identification made by
physical property had to be
confirmed by another means
so there was no chance for er-
ror?'
Spitz is proud that the hor-
rendous task was accomplish-
ed in record time. "The
human element comes first,
but from an economic stand-
point, the faster it is done, the
less it costs. No one has
unlimited funds or unlimited
time. Also, the healing pro-
cess for the families can begin
as soon as they receive the
bodies."
Appraising Spitz and his ef-
forts after the crash, Wayne
County Executive Edward
McNamara said, "Dr. Spitz is
to be commended for the ex-
traordinary job he did follow-
ing the airline disaster.
Wayne County is very for-
tunate to have someone of his
caliber employed here."
He is also proud of the
sound reputation his depart-
ment enjoys. "I came to
Detroit in July of '72," Spitz
said. "This office did not have
a good reputation. Now it is
recognized favorably both
here and abroad."
His specialty, forensic
pathology, is the pathology of
injury. "It involves medical
investigations of deaths and
how they are related to the
law. One of our duties is to
determine cause of death,
whether from natural causes,
homicide or suicide."
Although Detroit is often
described as the murder
capital of the world, Spitz said
crime is not indigenous sole-
ly to Detroit. "It is all over the
country, in all the big cities.

We have the fourth or fifth
largest volume in the country.
We investigate between
10,000 and 11,000 cases a
year We bring in about 5,000
bodies for further examina-
tion. Approximately 2,700 get
autopsied."
According to Spitz, most
murders his department in-
vestigates, are narcotics
related. "Every day, murders
require reconstruction of
what was going on." Over the
years, Spitz said, he has ac-
quired a "legal type think-
ing." He enjoys testifying
before a judge and jury and is
often called out of state to
share his expertise.
"I testified in the Chappa-
quiddick case (involving
Senator Ted Kennedy) on
behalf of the Kopechne fami-
ly, and in 1978 I was a

"The only thing I'm
unable to cope
with is boredom!'

member of the House of
Representatives Committee
on Assassination in-
vestigating the deaths of
President Kennedy and Mar-
tin Luther King."
Why is the legal aspect so
intriguing to Spitz? "As
criminals get more
sophisticated and additional
laws protect the civil rights of
people, it is more restraining
for pathology to come up with
evidence. It is more of a
challenge for me to utilize
what I have scientifically to
outwit and out mastermind
the perpetrators."
It is, in fact, the challenge
that Spitz describes as the
best part of his job. "It can be
very rewarding," he explains.
"When you look at a body
there is a hidden answer in
front of you. It is like putting
together a puzzle. Every piece
must be in its place. I have to
put together a case in such a
way that no one can reverse
it.
"Every time the phone
rings it is something poten-
tially explosive. It always in-
volves a medical type in-
vestigation on which the
future of many people can de-
pend. Many of the decisions
made here have an impact on
a lot of living people.
"Most of what we do is on
dead people, but it is all done
with the aim of benefiting liv-
ing people, not only in terms
of establishing identification
of people and getting facts
necessary for a successful and
just follow up through the
courts, be it criminal or civil
litigation, but it also enables
progress to be made in terms
Continued on gage 28

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