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Autopsy Ties Boy's Death to
Boot Camp
By CHRISTINE JORDAN SEXTON
Published: May 6, 2006
Martin Lee Anderson, a 14-year-old boy who died
in January a day after entering a boot camp in northwest Florida,
died from suffocation and not sickle cell trait, a new autopsy
released yesterday concluded.
The initial medical examiner in Bay County
contended that the boy had died from the rare condition of sickle
cell trait despite a video that showed guards at the boot camp
beating him. But State Attorney Mark Ober, who was appointed by Gov.
Jeb Bush to investigate Martin's death, ordered a new autopsy.
Mr. Ober released the autopsy results, but did
not make any arrests yesterday and said in a statement that he had
no "timeline" for completing the investigation.
At a press conference in Tallahassee the boy's
parents, Gina Jones and Robert Anderson, and their lawyer, Ben
Crump, thanked Governor Bush, Mr. Ober and the Hillsborough County
medical examiner, Vernard I. Adams, a medical doctor who conducted
the second autopsy.
"The truth is out," Ms. Jones said. "We all
knew how Martin passed away so I am relieved and happy today. It's a
beginning. Justice needs to be served."
Dr. Adams concluded that the beating on Jan. 5
by boot camp guards left bruises but did not directly cause Martin's
death. Guards punched and choked the boy after he said he was unable
to finish running laps. The beating was captured on tape.
"Martin Anderson's death was caused by
suffocation due to actions of the guards at the boot camp," Dr.
Adams said in a release.
He added, "The suffocation was caused by manual
occlusion of the mouth, in concert with the forced inhalation of
ammonia fumes that cause spasms of the vocal cords, resulting in
internal blockage of the upper airway."
Dr. Adams consulted with several pathologists
as well as a pediatric critical-care specialist and a pediatric
hematologist. He also asked NASA to improve the quality of the
videotape, and it reduced glare and inserted a digital clock.
While the parents were satisfied with the
release of the second autopsy, members of the Florida Black
Legislative Caucus expressed anger that no arrests had been made.
"If the guards caused his death, then they need
to be arrested immediately," said State Senator Frederica A. Wilson,
a Democrat from Miami, who added, "We can't accept that."
The death has sparked protests and was partly
to blame for the sudden resignation of one of Florida's top
law-enforcement officials. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement
executive director, Guy Tunnell, resigned after the discovery that
he had sent e-mail messages to the Bay County sheriff discussing the
continuing investigation into the death. After the discovery, Mr.
Ober removed Mr. Tunnell's agency from any role in the
investigation.
Governor Bush appointed Mr. Ober after
criticism of the initial autopsy done by the Bay County medical
examiner, Dr. Charles Siebert. It concluded that Martin died from
complications of sickle cell trait.
Dr. Siebert said yesterday that he stood by the
findings of his autopsy.
"I am still sticking to my findings at this
point, since I don't have any proof of his findings, said Dr.
Siebert, who added that he had ruled out suffocation as a cause of
the boy's death based on hospital reports that, Dr. Siebert said,
indicated that the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood were low.
Dr. Siebert said that there was an "automatic"
assumption that Dr. Adams's results were correct and that "is very
premature at this point." He also said he expected the Florida
Medical Examiners Commission to assemble a probable-cause panel to
review if there was any wrongdoing and whether his licenses should
be revoked.
"I don't see a way of avoiding it," Dr. Siebert
said.
Mr. Bush said in a release that he considered
the actions of the Bay County boot camp guards "deplorable" and that
he was committed to providing any resources Mr. Ober might need to
complete the investigation "as quickly as possible."
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