Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Cyril H. Wecht, M.D., J.D. (Pittsburgh, PA), one of the world's leading pathologists, is the author of Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?, Grave Secrets, Cause of Death, and hundreds of professional publications. He has served as president of both the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and has appeared on numerous nationally syndicated television programs including NBC's Dateline, Larry King Live, 20/20, Burden of Proof, and many others.
Greg Saitz (Parsippany, NJ), for many years a crime and court reporter for The (Newark) Star Ledger, now works on the business desk.
Mark Curriden (Dallas, TX) is the lawyer-media strategist for Vinson & Elkins, LLP, and the former legal writer for The Dallas Morning News and The Atlanta Constitution. >.

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MORTAL EVIDENCE

Prometheus Books

Contents

Foreword Dr. Henry C. Lee..............................................................................7Preface.................................................................................................11Acknowledgments.........................................................................................17Chapter One. Teenage Baby Killers? The Truth behind the Death of Baby Boy Grossberg.....................19Chapter Two. A Fallen Beauty Queen: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?.........................................43Chapter Three. Sex, Drugs, and a Dead Casino Magnate: How Ted Binion Died...............................83Chapter Four. The Real Fugitive: Sam Sheppard and His Wife's Murder.....................................121Chapter Five. Shoot-out in Miracle Valley: The Killing of Religious Sect Members........................153Chapter Six. Standing by Her Man: Tammy Wynette's Final Song............................................181Chapter Seven. The Trials of O. J.: The Final Verdict...................................................195Chapter Eight. Robert Berdella: Madman or Just Murderer?................................................239Chapter Nine. Heavy Metal Murder: The Curious Demise of Robert Curley...................................271Afterword...............................................................................................293Notes...................................................................................................295Bibliography............................................................................................301Index...................................................................................................303

Chapter One

The Truth behind the Death of Baby Boy Grossberg

On November 12, 1996, Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson were just two anonymous college freshmen, two teenagers with promising futures from upper-middle-class homes in northern New Jersey. Eighteen-year-old Grossberg, in her first semester at the University of Delaware, was a pretty brunette who liked art. Peterson, her boyfriend since high school, was handsome and athletic and attending Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. But less than a week later, they were the talk of the nation, and much of the world-branded as heartless baby killers. They also were the subjects of an aggressive team of prosecutors seeking a murder conviction and a death sentence.

Eventually, what happened in room 220 of the Comfort Inn in Newark, Delaware, was debated not only by those involved in the criminal case, but also by newspaper columnists, television talk- show hosts, and millions of everyday citizens. Were Grossberg and Peterson two unfeeling animals who, after delivering their infant son in the hotel, viciously murdered him and tossed his tiny body into a nearby Dumpster? Or were they scared and confused young people who panicked after Grossberg gave birth to a blue and seemingly lifeless baby?

The questions touched a nerve with so many people because it was easy for them to imagine Grossberg and Peterson as their daughter, their son, their neighbors, or maybe even themselves. Grossberg grew up in Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, two leafy and affluent neighborhoods in the northeast corner of the state. Her parents, Alan and Sonye, owned a furniture business and worked hard to achieve their success. Peterson spent much of his youth on Long Island before moving to Wyckoff to live with his mother, Barbara Zuchowski, and stepfather, John, who together ran a video wholesale company. The two teenagers met at Ramapo High School, where Peterson was the soccer cocaptain, and they started dating in their sophomore year. They continued to see each other during their first semester of college, which was cut short by their arrests.

Almost immediately, a debate erupted over whether authorities should pursue premeditated, first-degree murder charges against Amy and Brian. But there also was a less well-known debate over the medical issues. Once I consulted with Grossberg's defense team and had a chance to review the available evidence in the case, I was shocked on two levels. One was the single-minded intensity with which authorities pursued their case. The other was the pathological evidence that clearly indicated to me, and several other medical experts, that the baby either was stillborn or died shortly after birth; he had severe congenital problems that made his survival impossible.

Initially, I learned of the case through the media. I read the New York Times every day, and there was a story in its November 18, 1996, edition. Two days earlier, on Saturday, authorities issued first-degree murder warrants for Grossberg and Peterson. Investigators became involved the evening of November 12, after Grossberg suffered seizures and began bleeding on campus and was rushed to the hospital. Medical personnel discovered the undelivered placenta and diagnosed Grossberg as suffering from eclampsia, a serious illness brought on by childbirth that affects not only the mother, but also the baby. However, the baby was nowhere to be found, and hospital workers contacted police. Officers then went to speak with Peterson, who told them he and Grossberg had "gotten rid of the baby." A search dog found the baby's body in the Dumpster about twenty-four hours after Peterson had put it there.

The Times story quoted from an autopsy report, which determined the infant's cause of death to be "multiple fractures (linear and depressed) with injury to the brain due to blunt force head trauma and shaking." The article also quoted a deputy attorney general saying prosecutors would seek the death penalty. And later that night, Delaware attorney general M. Jane Brady was live via phone on Geraldo Rivera's cable television show, Rivera Live: "Based on the information we have and the autopsy results, we believe that the injuries were intentionally inflicted, and in our state, ... those acts constitute murder in the first degree."

I was absolutely stunned at the state's approach. Just five days had passed since investigators found the baby and conducted an autopsy. That was not nearly enough time for them to have completed a thorough investigation by any means, much less to have gotten critical input from other medical specialists such as a neuropathologist. Yet prosecutors seemed to be telling anyone who would listen that they had a clear case of premeditated, first-degree murder.

It is unfortunate, but cases such as these happen more often than anyone would like to imagine. An unwed teenage mother who has hidden her pregnancy from her parents and everyone else gives birth, and through either some sort of neglect or a more intentional act, the baby dies. There's no question the mother or both parents should be held accountable in some way. But first-degree murder, with the penalties upon conviction being at least life in prison, if not the death penalty?

The representatives of the state's case seemed excessive in their statements and premature judgments. I believe that everything in life is relative, including the administration of justice and penalties. So if officials for the state of...