1 00:00:08,245 --> 00:00:18,205 Speaker 1: School of Humans. We've all seen episodes of CSI where 2 00:00:18,285 --> 00:00:21,245 Speaker 1: murders get solved in an hour or less. But the 3 00:00:21,285 --> 00:00:24,445 Speaker 1: truth is that in America today, if you put a 4 00:00:24,485 --> 00:00:27,645 Speaker 1: gun to someone's head, you have about a fifty percent 5 00:00:27,765 --> 00:00:32,405 Speaker 1: chance of getting away with murder. In many areas, the 6 00:00:32,485 --> 00:00:37,765 Speaker 1: murder clearance rate is a lot worse. On September ninth, 7 00:00:38,205 --> 00:00:42,405 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty nine, sixteen year old Janie Ward collapsed during 8 00:00:42,445 --> 00:00:44,645 Speaker 1: a high school party at a cabin in the woods 9 00:00:44,685 --> 00:00:48,565 Speaker 1: near Marshall, Arkansas. Some friends put her in the back 10 00:00:48,565 --> 00:00:51,725 Speaker 1: of a pickup truck and drove her into town. They 11 00:00:51,845 --> 00:00:54,445 Speaker 1: ended up at the Bank parking lot, where Janie was 12 00:00:54,445 --> 00:00:58,445 Speaker 1: pronounced dead at eight forty five pm. It could have 13 00:00:58,485 --> 00:01:02,445 Speaker 1: been an accident. That's the official story. But the closer 14 00:01:02,525 --> 00:01:05,005 Speaker 1: I look at the case, the more questions I have. 15 00:01:05,925 --> 00:01:10,885 Speaker 1: Did someone get away with murder? I'm Catherine Townsend, and 16 00:01:10,925 --> 00:01:48,685 Speaker 1: this is helen gone. In many cities in America, experts 17 00:01:48,685 --> 00:01:51,205 Speaker 1: say that a lot of people are afraid to speak 18 00:01:51,245 --> 00:01:55,005 Speaker 1: out about what they witnessed, and fear of retaliation. Doesn't 19 00:01:55,045 --> 00:01:58,285 Speaker 1: just happen in big cities with gang problems. It happens 20 00:01:58,325 --> 00:02:02,965 Speaker 1: in small towns too. Small towns also struggle with death investigations. 21 00:02:04,005 --> 00:02:06,725 Speaker 1: A lot of police forces lack the experience and the 22 00:02:06,725 --> 00:02:10,405 Speaker 1: budget to deal with complex murder cases. As a result, 23 00:02:10,845 --> 00:02:14,365 Speaker 1: mistakes are made and valuable evidence can be lost forever. 24 00:02:15,725 --> 00:02:18,885 Speaker 1: In many counties, the person who examined you after death 25 00:02:19,005 --> 00:02:22,645 Speaker 1: is not a medical examiner, but the coroner, who often 26 00:02:22,725 --> 00:02:26,805 Speaker 1: has no medical training. In Arkansas, you just have to 27 00:02:26,805 --> 00:02:30,325 Speaker 1: be eighteen years old and not a felon to be coroner. 28 00:02:30,925 --> 00:02:34,685 Speaker 1: In Janney's case, Tom Martin was coroner of Cercy County. 29 00:02:35,285 --> 00:02:37,405 Speaker 1: He's the one who pronounced Janeye dead at the bank 30 00:02:37,445 --> 00:02:41,325 Speaker 1: parking lot. The medical examiner who performed the autopsy was 31 00:02:41,365 --> 00:02:44,765 Speaker 1: doctor Fawmy Mallick. He was the chief medical examiner for 32 00:02:44,805 --> 00:02:47,605 Speaker 1: the whole state of Arkansas and located in Little Rock. 33 00:02:48,165 --> 00:02:51,085 Speaker 1: Some coroners are working to get additional training and to 34 00:02:51,165 --> 00:02:54,805 Speaker 1: change the system from within to explain what happens when 35 00:02:54,845 --> 00:03:00,045 Speaker 1: someone dies under mysterious circumstances. Here's an Arkansas corner. My 36 00:03:00,125 --> 00:03:03,845 Speaker 1: name is Joseph. Joseph Blake is the coroner in Stone County. 37 00:03:04,685 --> 00:03:08,165 Speaker 1: He's twenty two, making him the youngest coroner ever elected 38 00:03:08,165 --> 00:03:11,845 Speaker 1: in Arkansas. He's very open about the fact that many 39 00:03:11,885 --> 00:03:15,365 Speaker 1: corners have no medical expertise and stresses the importance of 40 00:03:15,365 --> 00:03:18,525 Speaker 1: additional training. He says that his job starts with a 41 00:03:18,565 --> 00:03:21,165 Speaker 1: call from the sheriff. It all starts normally from the 42 00:03:21,165 --> 00:03:24,005 Speaker 1: Sarf's office. They call me. Let's say it's just a 43 00:03:24,085 --> 00:03:27,925 Speaker 1: regular home unattended death, which that means that nobody was 44 00:03:27,965 --> 00:03:30,205 Speaker 1: present of thee walked in the house and pounce on 45 00:03:30,325 --> 00:03:32,925 Speaker 1: man on the floor. So the Sheriff's office is gonna 46 00:03:32,925 --> 00:03:36,485 Speaker 1: call me, and then I'm gonna check in the radio 47 00:03:36,565 --> 00:03:38,925 Speaker 1: and be in that out. Normally, by the time I 48 00:03:39,005 --> 00:03:41,845 Speaker 1: get there, there's normally an officer that's already made it there, 49 00:03:42,165 --> 00:03:46,165 Speaker 1: or CID guy that's made it there, or both, and 50 00:03:46,205 --> 00:03:50,485 Speaker 1: they're they're they've kind of done there an investigation part. 51 00:03:51,165 --> 00:03:55,645 Speaker 1: I'm normally the last person call for anything nine times 52 00:03:55,685 --> 00:03:58,005 Speaker 1: out of ten. That's that's how it's gonna be the 53 00:03:58,045 --> 00:04:02,245 Speaker 1: cause they like to do their investigation first. When talking 54 00:04:02,285 --> 00:04:05,245 Speaker 1: to Joseph, I get a sense that the relationship between 55 00:04:05,245 --> 00:04:08,925 Speaker 1: the Coigner's office and police departments hasn't always been the best, 56 00:04:10,045 --> 00:04:12,885 Speaker 1: and while he's been the Stone County corner, repairing that 57 00:04:12,965 --> 00:04:15,725 Speaker 1: relationship has been one of his top priorities. This is 58 00:04:15,725 --> 00:04:18,045 Speaker 1: getting a lot better since I've took office. But there's 59 00:04:18,045 --> 00:04:21,805 Speaker 1: not been a good relationship between corners and police officers. 60 00:04:21,845 --> 00:04:24,805 Speaker 1: There's not really. If you was a corner, you thought 61 00:04:24,845 --> 00:04:27,205 Speaker 1: police officers were done. If you was a police officer, 62 00:04:27,245 --> 00:04:29,325 Speaker 1: you thro all the corner. So it was kind of 63 00:04:29,325 --> 00:04:33,165 Speaker 1: that hand. But now it's gotten a lot better with 64 00:04:33,365 --> 00:04:35,725 Speaker 1: me after developed a good relationship with their guys here 65 00:04:35,885 --> 00:04:39,965 Speaker 1: just don't county, and so they're normally there. They take pictures, 66 00:04:40,205 --> 00:04:43,205 Speaker 1: get a lot of information, and I get there. My 67 00:04:43,485 --> 00:04:47,685 Speaker 1: job is I'm kind of the missing pieces kind of guy. 68 00:04:48,365 --> 00:04:51,485 Speaker 1: I look and make sure that anything that they didn't miss, 69 00:04:52,165 --> 00:04:55,165 Speaker 1: I get pretty much the same information they get. Who 70 00:04:55,285 --> 00:04:59,845 Speaker 1: found them, down their normal bedtime schedule, just kind of 71 00:04:59,885 --> 00:05:04,405 Speaker 1: gathering information to my corner report. And then I pronounced 72 00:05:04,445 --> 00:05:09,085 Speaker 1: them is legally dead at that point, and then we 73 00:05:09,125 --> 00:05:13,685 Speaker 1: asked the family from there if if everything lo file 74 00:05:13,805 --> 00:05:16,965 Speaker 1: place affected. When I asked the family, you know which 75 00:05:17,005 --> 00:05:19,525 Speaker 1: funeral home they want to choose, and it goes from 76 00:05:19,525 --> 00:05:26,285 Speaker 1: the natural. That's very easy, and it don't sound like 77 00:05:26,325 --> 00:05:30,685 Speaker 1: a lot. Every death, every death I'm you moved to 78 00:05:30,725 --> 00:05:35,005 Speaker 1: the nursing home. Every death is like that. As a 79 00:05:35,005 --> 00:05:39,285 Speaker 1: homicide until proven otherwise. Every death is looked at as 80 00:05:39,285 --> 00:05:44,365 Speaker 1: a homicide until proven otherwise. But in Jennie's case, Ron 81 00:05:44,445 --> 00:05:47,365 Speaker 1: said that coroner Tom Martin didn't even bring up an 82 00:05:47,365 --> 00:05:52,085 Speaker 1: autopsy until Ron insisted. Tom instead just asked which funeral 83 00:05:52,125 --> 00:05:56,365 Speaker 1: home the family wanted to use. This is odd given 84 00:05:56,365 --> 00:05:59,445 Speaker 1: that the paramedics had already said it was a suspicious death. 85 00:06:04,405 --> 00:06:10,725 Speaker 1: Janie's funeral on September fifteenth. After Janie's death, Ron starts 86 00:06:10,765 --> 00:06:15,045 Speaker 1: recording and taking notes everywhere he goes. The funeral was 87 00:06:15,085 --> 00:06:19,245 Speaker 1: no exception. What have you have? A word of Mars 88 00:06:20,045 --> 00:06:26,885 Speaker 1: that's Saturday came the math at age sixteen. He wrote 89 00:06:26,925 --> 00:06:30,285 Speaker 1: down that five hundred people attended the funeral and said 90 00:06:30,325 --> 00:06:32,685 Speaker 1: that a lot of them looked into the open casket 91 00:06:32,845 --> 00:06:45,085 Speaker 1: and sought injuries on Janie's face and body. We read 92 00:06:45,085 --> 00:06:49,045 Speaker 1: in one of his notebooks more trauma showed up on 93 00:06:49,085 --> 00:06:51,965 Speaker 1: her body, things that were not noticed the night of 94 00:06:51,965 --> 00:06:55,245 Speaker 1: her death. What showed up on Jannie's wrists were what 95 00:06:55,325 --> 00:06:58,805 Speaker 1: appears to be restraining marks and bruises on the back 96 00:06:58,845 --> 00:07:02,005 Speaker 1: of her hands, and a splinter about a quarter of 97 00:07:02,045 --> 00:07:06,605 Speaker 1: an inch long under her right thumbnail. Ron had photos 98 00:07:06,605 --> 00:07:09,925 Speaker 1: taken of Jennie at the funeral to document what he saw. 99 00:07:10,365 --> 00:07:13,125 Speaker 1: When we talked to Janie's sister Crystal and her mom, 100 00:07:13,205 --> 00:07:17,525 Speaker 1: Mona Cristal also remembered additional injuries on Jennie. One thing 101 00:07:17,525 --> 00:07:21,125 Speaker 1: I'll never forget and I was eleven when I saw 102 00:07:21,205 --> 00:07:24,565 Speaker 1: Jannie there the first time in the coffin, and I 103 00:07:24,765 --> 00:07:27,245 Speaker 1: pointed this out to Dad. Jenny had claw marks in 104 00:07:27,285 --> 00:07:33,085 Speaker 1: her face. She had nicks different places that were claw marks. 105 00:07:33,365 --> 00:07:35,645 Speaker 1: You don't get that from falling off of port roofs 106 00:07:35,685 --> 00:07:37,805 Speaker 1: all the way down. She had bruises down it was 107 00:07:37,885 --> 00:07:41,325 Speaker 1: fingernails where Nag had clawd her scratched her face and 108 00:07:41,405 --> 00:07:44,805 Speaker 1: that's cat fine. Oh. Yes. She had a splinter under 109 00:07:44,845 --> 00:07:48,245 Speaker 1: her thumb half an inch long. Also. That was never 110 00:07:49,245 --> 00:07:55,205 Speaker 1: spoken of or addressed in the autopsy, but we saw 111 00:07:55,245 --> 00:07:58,605 Speaker 1: it in the cast at a funeral. I saw it, 112 00:07:58,765 --> 00:08:01,965 Speaker 1: Ronnie saw it. We all commented on it. Why was 113 00:08:01,965 --> 00:08:07,685 Speaker 1: that not in the autopsy. The state's chief medical Examiner, 114 00:08:08,045 --> 00:08:11,925 Speaker 1: doctor Fawmy Malick, performed Janey's autopsy at the State Crime 115 00:08:12,005 --> 00:08:15,285 Speaker 1: Lab in Little Rock on September eleventh, two days after 116 00:08:15,325 --> 00:08:18,565 Speaker 1: she died. The cause of death was listed as an 117 00:08:18,645 --> 00:08:21,645 Speaker 1: upper spinal cord and neck injury from landing on the 118 00:08:21,645 --> 00:08:24,325 Speaker 1: back of the head. The manner of death is listed 119 00:08:24,365 --> 00:08:29,805 Speaker 1: as undetermined. The autopsy mentions a single small bruise bluish red, 120 00:08:30,125 --> 00:08:33,725 Speaker 1: circular in shape with a cleared center on Jane's lower back, 121 00:08:34,365 --> 00:08:37,205 Speaker 1: but says nothing about the injuries Ron says that he 122 00:08:37,405 --> 00:08:42,365 Speaker 1: and others saw at the funeral. Doctor Malick wrote, the 123 00:08:42,485 --> 00:08:46,045 Speaker 1: neck is loose, but no apparent external injury is present. 124 00:08:47,485 --> 00:08:51,685 Speaker 1: To Jane's parents, this doesn't make sense. How could someone 125 00:08:51,725 --> 00:08:55,445 Speaker 1: have such a catastrophic injury falling off a portstep that 126 00:08:55,565 --> 00:08:59,685 Speaker 1: was less than ten inches high. Also, Jane's body was 127 00:08:59,725 --> 00:09:02,525 Speaker 1: clean when it arrived in Little Rock. There was no 128 00:09:02,645 --> 00:09:05,765 Speaker 1: mention of the dirt or debris or any ante sort 129 00:09:05,765 --> 00:09:10,245 Speaker 1: of why her body could have been wet. Today is 130 00:09:10,525 --> 00:09:15,445 Speaker 1: Friday's twenty seventh, nineteen eighty nine. This tape is Ron 131 00:09:15,485 --> 00:09:18,085 Speaker 1: Ward at the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock 132 00:09:18,125 --> 00:09:22,205 Speaker 1: with his friend Robert on Friday, November twenty seventh, nineteen 133 00:09:22,245 --> 00:09:27,245 Speaker 1: eighty nine. Ron had requested the autopsy report after several 134 00:09:27,285 --> 00:09:30,405 Speaker 1: months of waiting. He said all he received was the 135 00:09:30,405 --> 00:09:35,005 Speaker 1: first few pages determine. Ron heads to Little Rock to 136 00:09:35,045 --> 00:09:40,165 Speaker 1: get the report himself, get help us, get a coffee 137 00:09:40,205 --> 00:09:45,045 Speaker 1: of the roapopture. Well, how are you kneing an autopsy 138 00:09:45,125 --> 00:09:47,605 Speaker 1: report on? He isn't one who needs it. It's w daughter, 139 00:09:47,685 --> 00:09:53,965 Speaker 1: my daughter, okay, And what's your NA award? I'm sorry, 140 00:09:54,125 --> 00:09:58,085 Speaker 1: Ronald Ward Ron. And what's your daughter's fame? Her name 141 00:09:58,125 --> 00:10:02,325 Speaker 1: was Olivia Jane. It was listed I think probably as 142 00:10:02,365 --> 00:10:05,285 Speaker 1: your records as in Janie. When Ron shows up at 143 00:10:05,325 --> 00:10:08,485 Speaker 1: the office, he's told by the receptionist that doctor Malik 144 00:10:08,565 --> 00:10:10,805 Speaker 1: is in the middle of an autopsy elsewhere in the building. 145 00:10:11,885 --> 00:10:14,445 Speaker 1: She motions for him to sit and wait for doctor 146 00:10:14,445 --> 00:10:17,045 Speaker 1: Malick to get back so he can authorize the release 147 00:10:17,085 --> 00:10:20,845 Speaker 1: of the autopsy report. Ron sits in the tight waiting room. 148 00:10:21,845 --> 00:10:29,365 Speaker 1: Then the phone rings, move on and like, okay, I'll go. 149 00:10:32,845 --> 00:10:34,645 Speaker 1: I don't know if you ever talk pay or what? 150 00:10:34,885 --> 00:10:42,245 Speaker 1: Let me kick Yes, come. Doctor Malik invites Ron back 151 00:10:42,285 --> 00:10:44,885 Speaker 1: to his office to explain the autopsy results. I will 152 00:10:45,045 --> 00:10:51,485 Speaker 1: pretend you all to them, to do a lot of 153 00:10:51,605 --> 00:10:56,685 Speaker 1: things for you. Ambo I have for the body. If 154 00:10:56,725 --> 00:10:59,805 Speaker 1: you're left to see if I see it shortly, you don't, 155 00:10:59,925 --> 00:11:05,245 Speaker 1: don't you will see it? Sure? Yeah? Doctor Malick shows 156 00:11:05,325 --> 00:11:08,005 Speaker 1: Ron and photographs and an X ray of Jennie's spine. 157 00:11:08,125 --> 00:11:14,525 Speaker 1: Let's part the junction between the skull and the bone 158 00:11:14,925 --> 00:11:19,725 Speaker 1: then become loose, and the believing was here when she landed. 159 00:11:20,125 --> 00:11:22,565 Speaker 1: The cause of death is an upper spinal cord and 160 00:11:22,685 --> 00:11:29,205 Speaker 1: neck injury. High put extension studn HYGHT extension can snap 161 00:11:29,285 --> 00:11:33,165 Speaker 1: her neck like that. Doctor Mallick clarifies it's a hyper 162 00:11:33,205 --> 00:11:36,965 Speaker 1: extension injury. He says that the next snap back and 163 00:11:37,005 --> 00:11:40,005 Speaker 1: then snap forward with enough force to cause hemorrhaging in 164 00:11:40,005 --> 00:11:44,685 Speaker 1: the upper neck. He says it's severe whiplash and compares 165 00:11:44,725 --> 00:11:46,725 Speaker 1: the injury to one you'd get if you were rear 166 00:11:46,845 --> 00:11:50,765 Speaker 1: ended in a car. When she lived, what would happen? 167 00:11:50,925 --> 00:11:56,405 Speaker 1: Not lucky if she lived? A record with me? Why 168 00:11:56,525 --> 00:12:00,445 Speaker 1: does undertaining Let me explain this to you, because I 169 00:12:00,525 --> 00:12:03,925 Speaker 1: wanted the head for the first hand. Before that, Doctor 170 00:12:03,965 --> 00:12:07,485 Speaker 1: Malick explains why he left. The result is undetermined? Is 171 00:12:07,565 --> 00:12:15,765 Speaker 1: this uh game? As a game? Feeling her own nobody 172 00:12:16,005 --> 00:12:21,965 Speaker 1: touch it could be an extent or that. But if 173 00:12:21,965 --> 00:12:28,845 Speaker 1: somebody just push the ther it can't to change the story. 174 00:12:31,325 --> 00:12:35,005 Speaker 1: Uh As maybe homicide and homicide different. It's a bit 175 00:12:35,045 --> 00:12:38,285 Speaker 1: hard to make out, but here doctor Malick is explaining 176 00:12:38,445 --> 00:12:41,805 Speaker 1: that if someone intended to harm Jenney, that's homicide, but 177 00:12:41,885 --> 00:12:45,805 Speaker 1: there could also be negligence intend to harm her, maybe neighbors, 178 00:12:45,885 --> 00:12:49,205 Speaker 1: and you see what I mean. So he had the 179 00:12:49,365 --> 00:12:56,445 Speaker 1: difference between accident and homicide just a little thin line. 180 00:12:56,685 --> 00:13:00,365 Speaker 1: The difference between accident and homicide is a thin line. 181 00:13:00,645 --> 00:13:07,765 Speaker 1: And because I don't know, I can't U yes, so 182 00:13:07,925 --> 00:13:12,725 Speaker 1: I can't throw it either way. The bottom line is 183 00:13:13,445 --> 00:13:16,685 Speaker 1: he can't rule it either way. He also couldn't tell 184 00:13:16,765 --> 00:13:20,005 Speaker 1: Ron about the missing white pinstriped shirt or why Janie's 185 00:13:20,005 --> 00:13:22,645 Speaker 1: body was wet and covered with sand and dirt. This 186 00:13:22,885 --> 00:13:27,485 Speaker 1: mighty pedipus to show you in order to listen to Roma. 187 00:13:27,685 --> 00:13:30,765 Speaker 1: Here he's saying he doesn't notice any bruising that would 188 00:13:30,765 --> 00:13:36,205 Speaker 1: indicate that someone attacked Jennie. Nobody again seeing and submediate 189 00:13:38,165 --> 00:13:42,285 Speaker 1: the girl landers and had that and snap their neck. 190 00:13:43,525 --> 00:13:46,525 Speaker 1: There are some stretches in the back, as he noted, 191 00:13:46,565 --> 00:13:53,405 Speaker 1: but otherwise no, no, nobody a doctor. Melick seems very 192 00:13:53,445 --> 00:13:57,005 Speaker 1: polite in the tape. He's sympathetic to Ron when Ron 193 00:13:57,045 --> 00:14:00,605 Speaker 1: says he hasn't been getting information from the police. But 194 00:14:01,685 --> 00:14:06,125 Speaker 1: see they haven't told him anything, and he'll ask, I 195 00:14:06,165 --> 00:14:09,405 Speaker 1: mean tell him that he can't, and they say you 196 00:14:09,445 --> 00:14:12,365 Speaker 1: don't need to know that. Well, for me is a 197 00:14:12,525 --> 00:14:14,765 Speaker 1: sorry way, you know, and a way he is a 198 00:14:14,925 --> 00:14:17,405 Speaker 1: father he should he has. Uh, That's why we came 199 00:14:17,445 --> 00:14:20,085 Speaker 1: down here literally, Miss Silver. Let me tell your sense 200 00:14:20,125 --> 00:14:26,125 Speaker 1: against school, the law, the way hit just anything is 201 00:14:26,125 --> 00:14:30,165 Speaker 1: there's some cruel people do as they tell you. The 202 00:14:30,325 --> 00:14:34,805 Speaker 1: uthopic is up confidential, but I'm my father, I don't. 203 00:14:34,845 --> 00:14:37,685 Speaker 1: That's why I do it her if this happened to 204 00:14:37,725 --> 00:14:39,845 Speaker 1: why I would left to know you see what that 205 00:14:39,965 --> 00:14:41,965 Speaker 1: you I do know some people just stick to the 206 00:14:42,005 --> 00:14:44,245 Speaker 1: law and tell the law. But we should be human 207 00:14:44,325 --> 00:14:49,765 Speaker 1: as the child. You know. I know that at that 208 00:14:49,885 --> 00:14:53,845 Speaker 1: funeral home. I know when you saw her she looked 209 00:14:53,845 --> 00:14:57,485 Speaker 1: this way. When I saw her, they had different short arms. 210 00:14:57,725 --> 00:15:00,485 Speaker 1: Ron asked if you could take one of the Autosi photos. 211 00:15:00,925 --> 00:15:04,725 Speaker 1: May may I have this? Doctor Mallick hesitated, but said 212 00:15:04,765 --> 00:15:11,925 Speaker 1: yes you w Later Ron wrote in his notebook that 213 00:15:11,965 --> 00:15:13,725 Speaker 1: what he walked out of the crime lab wod that 214 00:15:13,805 --> 00:15:17,045 Speaker 1: day would become very significant toward helping piece together the 215 00:15:17,085 --> 00:15:19,925 Speaker 1: events of nine nine eighty nine in the death of 216 00:15:19,925 --> 00:15:24,405 Speaker 1: his daughter, sixteen year old Olivia Jane Ward. We'll be 217 00:15:24,525 --> 00:15:37,525 Speaker 1: right back. I'm pouring over autopsy reports trying to find 218 00:15:37,565 --> 00:15:41,285 Speaker 1: similar cases that could explain what happened to Janey. The 219 00:15:41,285 --> 00:15:44,525 Speaker 1: photo doctor Mallet gave to Ron shows a dissection of 220 00:15:44,605 --> 00:15:48,005 Speaker 1: Janey's spinal column. The column is made up of thirty 221 00:15:48,005 --> 00:15:52,525 Speaker 1: three vertebra protecting the spinal cord around the neck. There's 222 00:15:52,645 --> 00:15:55,005 Speaker 1: less space between the bone and the nerves, making it 223 00:15:55,125 --> 00:15:59,965 Speaker 1: much more vulnerable. An arrow points to the injury. Doctor 224 00:16:00,005 --> 00:16:05,245 Speaker 1: Malick examined Janie's stomach. He wrote, the stomach contains ten 225 00:16:05,285 --> 00:16:09,285 Speaker 1: hoursnces of digested food matter, in which tomato particles are encountered. 226 00:16:09,925 --> 00:16:14,525 Speaker 1: No oranges are noted. He mentioned oranges because that's the 227 00:16:14,605 --> 00:16:17,245 Speaker 1: fruit that the party host, Jay had soaked in rubbing 228 00:16:17,245 --> 00:16:21,285 Speaker 1: alcohol for the PGA punch. People at the party saw 229 00:16:21,365 --> 00:16:24,765 Speaker 1: Jane chewing on orange slices, but the contents of the 230 00:16:24,765 --> 00:16:27,605 Speaker 1: stomach were not tested, So if Malach only made a 231 00:16:27,645 --> 00:16:30,965 Speaker 1: visual inspection, it hits me that orange slices soaked in 232 00:16:31,005 --> 00:16:35,765 Speaker 1: red punch would look exactly like tomatoes. He noted that 233 00:16:35,845 --> 00:16:38,485 Speaker 1: it didn't appear that she had any other medical condition 234 00:16:38,605 --> 00:16:42,725 Speaker 1: that would have caused her to drop dead suddenly. Janey's 235 00:16:42,765 --> 00:16:46,405 Speaker 1: blood alcohol level was point zero five, or the equivalent 236 00:16:46,485 --> 00:16:50,365 Speaker 1: of around one shot or glass of beer. No trace 237 00:16:50,405 --> 00:16:53,685 Speaker 1: of drugs was found in her system, which means that 238 00:16:53,725 --> 00:16:55,845 Speaker 1: at least some of the rumors can be put to rest. 239 00:16:57,165 --> 00:16:59,885 Speaker 1: The evidence points to the fact that it wasn't an 240 00:16:59,925 --> 00:17:04,405 Speaker 1: overdose of drugs or drinking that killed Jane. According to 241 00:17:04,405 --> 00:17:08,405 Speaker 1: the rology report, Janney was not pregnant and no blood 242 00:17:08,485 --> 00:17:11,845 Speaker 1: or seamen were found. But there are still so many 243 00:17:11,885 --> 00:17:16,125 Speaker 1: things that are unexplained, like why didn't the crime lab 244 00:17:16,205 --> 00:17:19,405 Speaker 1: test the residue on Jane's body, which Ron insisted was 245 00:17:19,445 --> 00:17:23,525 Speaker 1: from the creek bed. Also, one of the paramedics on 246 00:17:23,565 --> 00:17:26,885 Speaker 1: the scene put a bag around Jannie's hands. This is 247 00:17:26,925 --> 00:17:29,925 Speaker 1: normally done so the material underneath the fingernails can be 248 00:17:30,005 --> 00:17:33,805 Speaker 1: tested later for DNA, but in Janney's case, this was 249 00:17:33,885 --> 00:17:38,005 Speaker 1: never done. This seems to be a huge oversight because 250 00:17:38,005 --> 00:17:41,765 Speaker 1: fingernails can give all kinds of clues. They can point 251 00:17:41,805 --> 00:17:44,445 Speaker 1: to the cause in a natural death case, and they 252 00:17:44,445 --> 00:17:47,045 Speaker 1: can also show if there is DNA from a fight. 253 00:17:49,565 --> 00:17:52,365 Speaker 1: A few weeks after visiting doctor Malick at the crime lab, 254 00:17:53,005 --> 00:17:55,485 Speaker 1: Ron received a copy of his daughter's X rays in 255 00:17:55,525 --> 00:17:59,605 Speaker 1: the mail, but Ron insisted that the x rays were 256 00:17:59,685 --> 00:18:01,805 Speaker 1: not the same ones he saw at the crime lab. 257 00:18:02,765 --> 00:18:04,645 Speaker 1: The X rays looked like they had been tampered with. 258 00:18:05,645 --> 00:18:09,205 Speaker 1: When we met with journalists Mike Masterson and Janie's mom, Mona, 259 00:18:09,765 --> 00:18:12,965 Speaker 1: this was obviously something that still baffles them. The side 260 00:18:13,085 --> 00:18:15,325 Speaker 1: X ray, the one where they blanked it out all 261 00:18:15,325 --> 00:18:18,085 Speaker 1: the way up her neck, which was not the one 262 00:18:18,125 --> 00:18:19,845 Speaker 1: they showed you when you went to the crime lab, 263 00:18:19,925 --> 00:18:21,885 Speaker 1: which she didn't even have the official stamp of the 264 00:18:21,965 --> 00:18:25,365 Speaker 1: crime lab lie in it, so obvious they were tampered with. 265 00:18:26,045 --> 00:18:28,645 Speaker 1: You know, the very area that was supposed to be 266 00:18:29,805 --> 00:18:33,445 Speaker 1: X ray was white it out. You know what when 267 00:18:33,445 --> 00:18:36,285 Speaker 1: you first saw it, because Ronnie dead, he made the statement, 268 00:18:36,445 --> 00:18:38,885 Speaker 1: that's why killed her? Right there it was separated. So 269 00:18:38,965 --> 00:18:41,125 Speaker 1: what was the purpose of an X ray if it's 270 00:18:41,165 --> 00:18:43,525 Speaker 1: all white it out? The lateral X ray shows the 271 00:18:43,525 --> 00:18:46,485 Speaker 1: side of Jannie's skull, but her entire neck is covered 272 00:18:46,485 --> 00:18:50,165 Speaker 1: by a hazy semicircle basically a white blob in the 273 00:18:50,165 --> 00:18:52,925 Speaker 1: bottom part of the X ray film. The crime lab 274 00:18:53,005 --> 00:18:55,365 Speaker 1: seal is also not on this view of the X ray. 275 00:18:56,845 --> 00:18:59,845 Speaker 1: When we asked Mona about doctor Malick, she made her 276 00:18:59,845 --> 00:19:03,605 Speaker 1: feelings clear and he wasn't very smart. You know he 277 00:19:03,725 --> 00:19:06,885 Speaker 1: wasn't smart at all. He was so confident he didn't 278 00:19:06,925 --> 00:19:10,325 Speaker 1: know what he was doing. It was obvious. It was 279 00:19:10,325 --> 00:19:12,125 Speaker 1: so obvious he did not know what he was doing. 280 00:19:12,765 --> 00:19:15,125 Speaker 1: I just wanted to note in case you didn't know this, 281 00:19:15,845 --> 00:19:19,445 Speaker 1: Fammy Malick, he not only watched my sister's case, but 282 00:19:19,565 --> 00:19:24,045 Speaker 1: many many while he was in the Bill Clinton administration 283 00:19:24,165 --> 00:19:26,245 Speaker 1: while he was the governor of the state of Arkansas. 284 00:19:27,765 --> 00:19:32,085 Speaker 1: Fammi Malick's controversial career in the many botched autopsies during 285 00:19:32,085 --> 00:19:34,925 Speaker 1: the years he ran the Arkansas State Crime Lab or 286 00:19:34,965 --> 00:19:39,085 Speaker 1: the stuff of nightmares. By the time doctor Malick performed 287 00:19:39,085 --> 00:19:42,125 Speaker 1: the autopsy on Janey, he'd been working in the crime 288 00:19:42,205 --> 00:19:45,645 Speaker 1: lab for about ten years. At that point, he had 289 00:19:45,645 --> 00:19:51,205 Speaker 1: performed thousands of autopsies. Ron collected articles about doctor Malick. 290 00:19:52,205 --> 00:19:55,285 Speaker 1: One headline from a yellowed article written in nineteen ninety 291 00:19:55,885 --> 00:19:59,405 Speaker 1: accused doctor Malick of lying on the stand, tampering with evidence, 292 00:19:59,485 --> 00:20:03,365 Speaker 1: and manufacturing convictions, and the words wouldn't be the first 293 00:20:03,405 --> 00:20:07,685 Speaker 1: family appalled by doctor Malix's autops the results. Families joined 294 00:20:07,685 --> 00:20:11,885 Speaker 1: together and formed a group called Victims of Malix's Infuriating Testimony. 295 00:20:12,485 --> 00:20:16,565 Speaker 1: The acronym for that group is vomit. The author of 296 00:20:16,565 --> 00:20:20,605 Speaker 1: that article from nineteen ninety was Rod Lorenzen. I asked 297 00:20:20,645 --> 00:20:24,325 Speaker 1: him what made Malix so problematic. He had no oversight 298 00:20:24,645 --> 00:20:30,485 Speaker 1: from state government. His decisions affected things like insurance payouts, 299 00:20:30,725 --> 00:20:34,725 Speaker 1: you know, on life insurance policies. He was in a 300 00:20:34,765 --> 00:20:40,365 Speaker 1: position to do favors for politicians if they needed something 301 00:20:40,405 --> 00:20:43,245 Speaker 1: done in their district, for example, if they needed a 302 00:20:43,285 --> 00:20:47,165 Speaker 1: decision on an autopsy to go a different way. My 303 00:20:47,245 --> 00:20:51,405 Speaker 1: impression was that that would get done, and so he 304 00:20:51,605 --> 00:20:55,765 Speaker 1: just had a lot of power and freedom in how 305 00:20:55,805 --> 00:20:58,605 Speaker 1: he decided cases. You know. That was the one thing. 306 00:20:58,645 --> 00:21:02,045 Speaker 1: This wasn't anybody watching the guy, I don't think. My 307 00:21:02,125 --> 00:21:05,125 Speaker 1: impression was that he was not very good at his job, 308 00:21:05,165 --> 00:21:09,205 Speaker 1: to story, and yet he was there for several years, 309 00:21:09,205 --> 00:21:12,645 Speaker 1: mainly just because there was no ower sight of that position. 310 00:21:13,165 --> 00:21:16,605 Speaker 1: In his article, Rod refers to Malik as a tool 311 00:21:16,605 --> 00:21:19,405 Speaker 1: of the state and points out that in Arkansas at 312 00:21:19,405 --> 00:21:23,205 Speaker 1: the time, the medical examiner held the sole power to 313 00:21:23,285 --> 00:21:26,845 Speaker 1: determine the cause of death. This differs from other states, 314 00:21:27,125 --> 00:21:29,885 Speaker 1: where county coroners also have some input in decisions and 315 00:21:29,925 --> 00:21:34,565 Speaker 1: provide evidence of foul play suspected, but in Arkansas, in 316 00:21:34,605 --> 00:21:38,925 Speaker 1: the late eighties, Malik ran the crime lab. No one 317 00:21:39,005 --> 00:21:41,805 Speaker 1: really knew what happened with the evidence Corners gathered and 318 00:21:41,845 --> 00:21:44,365 Speaker 1: sent to the crime lab and if it was ever 319 00:21:44,485 --> 00:21:48,525 Speaker 1: used in making decisions. Rod told me that while he 320 00:21:48,565 --> 00:21:51,165 Speaker 1: was writing about the crime lab, he reached out to 321 00:21:51,205 --> 00:21:54,925 Speaker 1: doctor Malick multiple times, but that doctor Malik always denied 322 00:21:54,965 --> 00:21:58,525 Speaker 1: requests to speak to media. Then, after Rod wrote his 323 00:21:58,605 --> 00:22:03,205 Speaker 1: pieces about Malik, Malik's attorney threatened to sue him. Rod said, 324 00:22:03,205 --> 00:22:05,725 Speaker 1: when he was writing about the crime lab, he got 325 00:22:05,765 --> 00:22:09,645 Speaker 1: creeped out. Malik's employees were kept on a tight leash 326 00:22:10,005 --> 00:22:13,125 Speaker 1: and afraid of speaking out against him. When I was 327 00:22:13,165 --> 00:22:15,485 Speaker 1: an interview on one of one of the guys that 328 00:22:15,645 --> 00:22:20,245 Speaker 1: worked for Malik, they just called themselves Meathollers. This guy 329 00:22:20,325 --> 00:22:24,605 Speaker 1: told me that in some cases Malik would come into 330 00:22:24,645 --> 00:22:28,685 Speaker 1: the lab and he would know something about, say a 331 00:22:28,765 --> 00:22:32,205 Speaker 1: victim that had come into the lab. And this guy 332 00:22:32,285 --> 00:22:35,365 Speaker 1: told me that Malick would already have his mind made 333 00:22:35,445 --> 00:22:39,005 Speaker 1: up about what the cause of death was gonna be. 334 00:22:39,605 --> 00:22:43,445 Speaker 1: Malix's controversial rulings include the June twenty eighth, nineteen eighty 335 00:22:43,485 --> 00:22:46,605 Speaker 1: five death of Raymond p. Albright, a fifty year old 336 00:22:46,605 --> 00:22:48,925 Speaker 1: man from Mountain home, who was found in his yard 337 00:22:48,925 --> 00:22:52,765 Speaker 1: dead of gunshot wounds. Malik ruled the death of suicide, 338 00:22:53,565 --> 00:22:56,645 Speaker 1: even though Albright had been shot five times in the chest. 339 00:22:58,765 --> 00:23:01,365 Speaker 1: One finding the infamous Boys on the Tracks case in 340 00:23:01,445 --> 00:23:07,405 Speaker 1: Saline County was particularly controversial. On October twenty third, nineteen 341 00:23:07,445 --> 00:23:11,365 Speaker 1: eighty seven, seventeen year old Kevin Ives and sixteen year 342 00:23:11,365 --> 00:23:14,285 Speaker 1: old Don Henry were run over by a train near 343 00:23:14,325 --> 00:23:18,085 Speaker 1: the town of Alexander. Doctor Malick ruled that the boys, 344 00:23:18,205 --> 00:23:21,205 Speaker 1: who were best friends, had been smoking pot and just 345 00:23:21,245 --> 00:23:24,085 Speaker 1: happened to fall asleep on the tracks, but a second 346 00:23:24,125 --> 00:23:27,365 Speaker 1: autopsy indicated that Henry had been stabbed in the back, 347 00:23:27,885 --> 00:23:30,325 Speaker 1: that Ives had been struck on the skull, and that 348 00:23:30,405 --> 00:23:33,605 Speaker 1: both boys probably had been placed on the tracks unconscious, 349 00:23:34,165 --> 00:23:38,005 Speaker 1: maybe already dead. The case would later be linked to 350 00:23:38,125 --> 00:23:41,205 Speaker 1: high level cocaine dealing through an airport in Mina, Arkansas, 351 00:23:41,805 --> 00:23:47,885 Speaker 1: involving state officials at the highest level. Two years after 352 00:23:47,965 --> 00:23:52,085 Speaker 1: Janey died in nineteen ninety one, Malik quit among a 353 00:23:52,125 --> 00:23:56,285 Speaker 1: flurry of allegations that he botched autopsies, and after losing 354 00:23:56,285 --> 00:24:00,085 Speaker 1: the support of then Governor Bill Clinton. He applied for 355 00:24:00,085 --> 00:24:03,005 Speaker 1: a position in Guam, but his employment was put on 356 00:24:03,085 --> 00:24:05,485 Speaker 1: hold after officials there found out about all the contents. 357 00:24:07,045 --> 00:24:10,965 Speaker 1: Malick eventually ended up in Clearwater, Florida. He died in 358 00:24:11,005 --> 00:24:20,565 Speaker 1: August twenty eighteen at the age of eighty five. When 359 00:24:20,565 --> 00:24:24,005 Speaker 1: you ask people in Arkansas about doctor Malick, he's considered 360 00:24:24,045 --> 00:24:27,765 Speaker 1: a pariah in a statewide embarrassment. But when we talked 361 00:24:27,765 --> 00:24:31,765 Speaker 1: with journalist Mike Masterson, he had another perspective on doctor Malick. 362 00:24:32,565 --> 00:24:35,725 Speaker 1: He said he was someone that he once considered a friend. Oh, 363 00:24:35,765 --> 00:24:37,365 Speaker 1: I was going to ask you about I know, you 364 00:24:37,445 --> 00:24:39,565 Speaker 1: told me a little bit about your relationship with Fommy 365 00:24:39,645 --> 00:24:41,845 Speaker 1: and how he was good at his job. But then 366 00:24:41,845 --> 00:24:44,405 Speaker 1: something happened. Yeah, But when he came to Arkansas, he 367 00:24:44,405 --> 00:24:49,365 Speaker 1: replaced a medical examiner named Stephen marx Well. Stephen had 368 00:24:49,365 --> 00:24:52,725 Speaker 1: been canned and I think ended up down in Texas. 369 00:24:53,285 --> 00:24:57,845 Speaker 1: FAMMI started, we became friends. I met him. Pommy started 370 00:24:57,885 --> 00:25:01,005 Speaker 1: telling me about things that he thought, as a journalist 371 00:25:01,245 --> 00:25:05,845 Speaker 1: I should know about involving the medical examiner's office. Well, 372 00:25:06,165 --> 00:25:09,125 Speaker 1: the first one was a girl who had died in 373 00:25:09,165 --> 00:25:13,285 Speaker 1: the Lake Hot Springs. It had been ruled that she drowned. 374 00:25:14,165 --> 00:25:17,725 Speaker 1: He suspected that wasn't true. So I wrote a column 375 00:25:17,725 --> 00:25:19,965 Speaker 1: I'm not called. Back then, I was writing stories. This 376 00:25:20,045 --> 00:25:22,485 Speaker 1: case Mike is describing would end up with the body 377 00:25:22,525 --> 00:25:25,845 Speaker 1: being exhumed and the cause of death change from drowning 378 00:25:26,005 --> 00:25:28,765 Speaker 1: to being shot through the head. And that was just 379 00:25:28,805 --> 00:25:32,165 Speaker 1: the first case that Mike wrote about. Anyway, cases like that, 380 00:25:32,205 --> 00:25:35,205 Speaker 1: there were several, and after they dug up six bodies, 381 00:25:37,165 --> 00:25:39,765 Speaker 1: Bill Clinton said, Okay, we're not going to dig up 382 00:25:39,805 --> 00:25:43,485 Speaker 1: the entire state of Arkansas. Now. I say this only 383 00:25:43,485 --> 00:25:48,965 Speaker 1: because Fomi Malek was at that point struck me very 384 00:25:49,005 --> 00:25:53,005 Speaker 1: much as someone interested in truth and a clean medical 385 00:25:53,005 --> 00:25:58,445 Speaker 1: examiner's office. So another reporter and I after that dug 386 00:25:58,485 --> 00:26:02,325 Speaker 1: into the medical examiner's office and found all kinds of 387 00:26:03,045 --> 00:26:06,805 Speaker 1: stuff wrong with it. Under Stephen Marx Malick seemed to 388 00:26:06,845 --> 00:26:11,485 Speaker 1: be although later in his career he had some pretty 389 00:26:11,565 --> 00:26:15,045 Speaker 1: dark periods until he finally left. During that period, he 390 00:26:15,085 --> 00:26:17,485 Speaker 1: seemed to be trying to help that family, and I 391 00:26:17,485 --> 00:26:20,805 Speaker 1: think he felt for him. He's a father himself. He 392 00:26:21,365 --> 00:26:23,485 Speaker 1: was a smart man. He was from Egypt, but he 393 00:26:23,525 --> 00:26:27,485 Speaker 1: could see the truth this case thinks that I haven't. 394 00:26:27,725 --> 00:26:31,565 Speaker 1: Whatever his motives were, Mike said that doctor Malick inherited 395 00:26:31,605 --> 00:26:35,205 Speaker 1: an already corrupt crime lab, so it's no wonder that 396 00:26:35,245 --> 00:26:39,445 Speaker 1: the Wards would be suspicious of any result. In their eyes, 397 00:26:39,885 --> 00:26:42,405 Speaker 1: Janey's autopsy could be another one that was botched or 398 00:26:42,445 --> 00:26:48,205 Speaker 1: intentionally mishandled to help a political ally. In the years 399 00:26:48,205 --> 00:26:51,445 Speaker 1: that he covered doctor Malick, Rod ended up writing a 400 00:26:51,485 --> 00:26:56,485 Speaker 1: few stories about Janey. I met mister Ward, I guess 401 00:26:56,605 --> 00:27:01,085 Speaker 1: probably twenty years ago at a restaurant, and he's kind 402 00:27:01,085 --> 00:27:04,085 Speaker 1: of showed me a fellow that he had kept on 403 00:27:04,205 --> 00:27:09,445 Speaker 1: his daughter, and he showed me the autopsy photos. And 404 00:27:11,045 --> 00:27:13,685 Speaker 1: it was just very difficult to believe that this girl 405 00:27:14,925 --> 00:27:18,405 Speaker 1: died by falling backwards off a porch ten or twelve 406 00:27:18,445 --> 00:27:23,965 Speaker 1: inches high. I mean, it seemed ridiculous. I remember, really, 407 00:27:24,325 --> 00:27:26,765 Speaker 1: you know, talking with mister Ward, it was he was 408 00:27:26,805 --> 00:27:29,045 Speaker 1: just taunted by the whole thing. I mean, he was 409 00:27:30,245 --> 00:27:32,125 Speaker 1: you could just see in his eyes that he was 410 00:27:32,165 --> 00:27:38,805 Speaker 1: a tortured individual, and he it Goshi. He made an 411 00:27:38,845 --> 00:27:42,485 Speaker 1: incredible effort to try to, you know, see if he 412 00:27:42,525 --> 00:27:45,485 Speaker 1: could he could get it the truth of how his 413 00:27:45,605 --> 00:27:51,845 Speaker 1: daughter died. Before Ron Ward visited the crime lab, he 414 00:27:51,925 --> 00:27:55,485 Speaker 1: knew about doctor Malick's reputation, and when he received the 415 00:27:55,645 --> 00:28:00,045 Speaker 1: X rays, the family grew even more suspicious. So we 416 00:28:00,125 --> 00:28:03,045 Speaker 1: have a medical examiner who some people think is complicit 417 00:28:03,205 --> 00:28:07,085 Speaker 1: in covering up cases for powerful people and Arkansas, and 418 00:28:07,125 --> 00:28:09,285 Speaker 1: we have a crime lab that already has a long 419 00:28:09,365 --> 00:28:13,085 Speaker 1: history of corruption. So here's where Ron made this leap. 420 00:28:14,245 --> 00:28:16,725 Speaker 1: Would doctor Mallick be complicit in a cover up of 421 00:28:16,765 --> 00:28:20,325 Speaker 1: a murder that impacted some of Marshall's elite, like the 422 00:28:20,365 --> 00:28:23,645 Speaker 1: parents of the kids at the party, especially the children 423 00:28:23,685 --> 00:28:26,925 Speaker 1: of the town's doctor, and a judge who delivered Sirce 424 00:28:27,045 --> 00:28:31,685 Speaker 1: County to Bill Clinton. To an outsider, this could all 425 00:28:31,685 --> 00:28:35,285 Speaker 1: sound a little paranoid, But as a great Pi once 426 00:28:35,325 --> 00:28:40,525 Speaker 1: said to me, paranoid people aren't always wrong, especially in Arkansas. 427 00:28:42,765 --> 00:28:55,325 Speaker 1: We'll be right back. Jane's case is officially closed on 428 00:28:55,365 --> 00:28:59,965 Speaker 1: February fourteenth, nineteen ninety, just five months after she died. 429 00:29:01,405 --> 00:29:04,925 Speaker 1: The prosecuting attorney, H. G. Foster sends a letter to 430 00:29:04,965 --> 00:29:08,205 Speaker 1: the Wards to say that the investigation found no evidence 431 00:29:08,205 --> 00:29:13,085 Speaker 1: of foul play in Jane's death. On November fifth, nineteen ninety, 432 00:29:13,565 --> 00:29:16,965 Speaker 1: the Ward family files affidavits calling for the arrest of 433 00:29:17,005 --> 00:29:20,645 Speaker 1: the prosecutor's assigned to the case, the coroner, the deputy sheriff, 434 00:29:20,885 --> 00:29:27,085 Speaker 1: and doctor Mallick the reason conspiracy, perverting and obstructing justice, 435 00:29:27,085 --> 00:29:30,325 Speaker 1: and helping cover up the facts in Olivia janey Ward's death. 436 00:29:31,445 --> 00:29:35,565 Speaker 1: They also submitted a petition with twelve hundred signatures calling 437 00:29:35,565 --> 00:29:37,965 Speaker 1: for a grand jury and an appointment of a special 438 00:29:38,005 --> 00:29:42,165 Speaker 1: prosecutor to look into the case. Their request is denied. 439 00:29:42,765 --> 00:29:45,805 Speaker 1: The judge writes to Ron, in my opinion, there is 440 00:29:45,845 --> 00:29:48,565 Speaker 1: nothing in the evidence reviewed by me that indicates that 441 00:29:48,725 --> 00:29:56,725 Speaker 1: anyone deliberately murdered her daughter. Two years later, Malick was 442 00:29:56,765 --> 00:30:00,965 Speaker 1: gone from the Arkansas State Crime Lab. Arkansas brought in 443 00:30:01,045 --> 00:30:04,885 Speaker 1: two independent medical examiners to review a dozen of Malick's 444 00:30:04,885 --> 00:30:09,965 Speaker 1: controversial autopsies, one of which was Jennie's and Janey's was 445 00:30:10,005 --> 00:30:12,725 Speaker 1: the only case reviewed where they ended up changing the 446 00:30:12,725 --> 00:30:14,925 Speaker 1: cause of death on the desert teet. Of all the 447 00:30:14,965 --> 00:30:20,165 Speaker 1: cases we looked at, I think I'm not sure what that. 448 00:30:21,085 --> 00:30:23,405 Speaker 1: Ron and Mona spoke with the two pathologists when they 449 00:30:23,405 --> 00:30:27,565 Speaker 1: were in Arkansas, Like he always did, Ron recorded the conversation, 450 00:30:28,205 --> 00:30:32,165 Speaker 1: and over the years this tape sound quality has seriously degreed. Well, 451 00:30:32,205 --> 00:30:35,445 Speaker 1: am I asking to turn what happened? We ask what 452 00:30:35,645 --> 00:30:39,685 Speaker 1: didn't happen? We know he did not offer biopaper in 453 00:30:39,925 --> 00:30:44,165 Speaker 1: course of the pont aug andrew a lot. We know this, 454 00:30:44,725 --> 00:30:46,765 Speaker 1: so we don't have to content with a dull let's 455 00:30:46,765 --> 00:30:50,765 Speaker 1: feel about Okay, we did tell us that what didn't 456 00:30:50,805 --> 00:30:53,605 Speaker 1: happen because we've I didn't know this, so so we 457 00:30:53,645 --> 00:30:56,765 Speaker 1: can go from there. So we want a grand jury. 458 00:30:57,485 --> 00:31:01,725 Speaker 1: We have to know. The Holling me is just all. 459 00:31:03,805 --> 00:31:06,085 Speaker 1: The main thing the family takes away from this meeting 460 00:31:06,725 --> 00:31:10,085 Speaker 1: is that, by looking at the autopsy report, the pathologists 461 00:31:10,245 --> 00:31:14,245 Speaker 1: can't say definitively what killed Jane. They say that some 462 00:31:14,365 --> 00:31:18,045 Speaker 1: of the circumstantial evidence is concerning, like the fact that 463 00:31:18,165 --> 00:31:21,685 Speaker 1: she was wet and the sand on her clothes. They 464 00:31:21,765 --> 00:31:26,525 Speaker 1: suggest that another investigation could yield more answers. The most 465 00:31:26,565 --> 00:31:29,845 Speaker 1: surprising thing these pathologists say is that they are not 466 00:31:30,085 --> 00:31:33,965 Speaker 1: convinced that Jane even died of a spinal injury. Presented 467 00:31:34,005 --> 00:31:35,765 Speaker 1: to me, all the evidence that I have, all the 468 00:31:35,845 --> 00:31:40,165 Speaker 1: autopsis time, the photographs that I've got do not indicate 469 00:31:40,205 --> 00:31:43,205 Speaker 1: the lead that a child dies and techondry, I can't 470 00:31:43,245 --> 00:31:44,565 Speaker 1: tell you that. So you asked me to tell you 471 00:31:44,645 --> 00:31:46,965 Speaker 1: what didn't happen. In the way it looks right now 472 00:31:47,245 --> 00:31:53,885 Speaker 1: that didn't happen okay. Suspicion is that they suggest a 473 00:31:53,925 --> 00:31:57,165 Speaker 1: sudden cardiac event could have been the cause, and they 474 00:31:57,205 --> 00:32:00,445 Speaker 1: say they can't rule out drowning. Drowning is often a 475 00:32:00,525 --> 00:32:03,925 Speaker 1: diagnosis of exclusion. It's not considered a cause of death 476 00:32:04,045 --> 00:32:07,805 Speaker 1: until everything else is ruled out. But Mona and Ron 477 00:32:07,885 --> 00:32:10,765 Speaker 1: are adamant about the X rays. They want to know 478 00:32:10,845 --> 00:32:13,325 Speaker 1: what the pathologists have to say about the lateral view 479 00:32:13,325 --> 00:32:15,925 Speaker 1: of the X ray where Janie's spine looks like it's 480 00:32:15,925 --> 00:32:20,565 Speaker 1: been whited out. First, the pathologists emphasize that they are 481 00:32:20,645 --> 00:32:23,845 Speaker 1: not radiologists, so they are cautious about their opinions on 482 00:32:23,925 --> 00:32:26,805 Speaker 1: the X ray. They also say that the X ray 483 00:32:26,885 --> 00:32:30,005 Speaker 1: images and the photos they received of Janey were photocopies 484 00:32:30,485 --> 00:32:34,845 Speaker 1: and very unclear. But they don't find the white blob 485 00:32:35,005 --> 00:32:36,885 Speaker 1: in the foreground of the side view of the X 486 00:32:37,005 --> 00:32:45,205 Speaker 1: ray suspicious white obstruction there. They suggest the blob could 487 00:32:45,285 --> 00:32:47,685 Speaker 1: just be your shoulder and explain that it's difficult to 488 00:32:47,765 --> 00:32:51,725 Speaker 1: situate a body on an X ray table. Also, they're 489 00:32:51,765 --> 00:32:54,005 Speaker 1: not suspicious that there isn't a crime lab seal on 490 00:32:54,045 --> 00:32:58,445 Speaker 1: the X ray. But then one of the pathologists says, this, 491 00:32:59,325 --> 00:33:02,605 Speaker 1: I have a certain suspicion, and a greated the lateral 492 00:33:02,685 --> 00:33:10,525 Speaker 1: film that you should be the color true daughter. He says, 493 00:33:11,405 --> 00:33:14,325 Speaker 1: I have a certain suspicion the lateral isn't your daughter. 494 00:33:14,965 --> 00:33:18,445 Speaker 1: In fact, I think it might be a male. So 495 00:33:18,845 --> 00:33:21,165 Speaker 1: did the crime lab even give the Wards the correct 496 00:33:21,325 --> 00:33:30,325 Speaker 1: X ray? The pathologists changed Janey's death certificate. Cause of 497 00:33:30,405 --> 00:33:34,485 Speaker 1: death is no longer listed as a neck and spinal injury. Instead, 498 00:33:35,085 --> 00:33:39,485 Speaker 1: just like the manner of death, it's undetermined. But the 499 00:33:39,605 --> 00:33:43,365 Speaker 1: Wards couldn't convince officials to do a second autopsy, at 500 00:33:43,445 --> 00:33:48,325 Speaker 1: least not yet. In two thousand and four, an independent 501 00:33:48,405 --> 00:33:52,485 Speaker 1: medical examiner based in San Diego agreed to review Janie's death. 502 00:33:54,045 --> 00:33:57,565 Speaker 1: He would come to a completely different conclusion. He said 503 00:33:57,965 --> 00:34:02,485 Speaker 1: that Janey was murdered. I'm Catherine Townsend and this is 504 00:34:02,525 --> 00:34:13,565 Speaker 1: Helen Gone. Helen Gone is a joint production between School 505 00:34:13,605 --> 00:34:17,525 Speaker 1: of Humans and iHeartRadio. It is written and recorded by me. 506 00:34:17,845 --> 00:34:22,125 Speaker 1: Katherine Townsend. Taylor Church and Gabby Watts are our producers 507 00:34:22,245 --> 00:34:27,045 Speaker 1: and story editors. Executive producers are Brandon Barr, Brian Lavin, 508 00:34:27,205 --> 00:34:30,125 Speaker 1: and L. C. Crowley for School of Humans and Connell 509 00:34:30,165 --> 00:34:34,005 Speaker 1: Byrne and Chuck Bryant for iHeart our Field. Producer is 510 00:34:34,085 --> 00:34:37,925 Speaker 1: Miranda Hawkins. Theme and original score are by Ben Sale 511 00:34:38,725 --> 00:34:42,045 Speaker 1: available wherever you get your music. Please visit us at 512 00:34:42,085 --> 00:34:46,045 Speaker 1: helen gonpodcast dot com or follow us on social media. 513 00:35:01,885 --> 00:35:02,725 Speaker 1: School of Humans