Janis Amatuzio

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Janis Carol Amatuzio (born 1950) [1] is an American forensic pathology specialist. [2] [3] She has authored books and has practiced forensic science for 20 years. [4] Amatuzio is known as the "compassionate coroner". [5]

Contents

Early life

Amatuzio was born in Minnesota and is Italian American. Her father was Donald Amatuzio, a physician who died in 2006. [6]

Career

Amatuzio trained at the University of Minnesota and the Hennepin County Medical Center before founding Midwest Forensic Pathology in Minneapolis. [7] [8] She was the Medical Examiner in Anoka County [9] [10] and served as coroner in a number of counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin until 2009. [11] [12]

A protégée of Amatuzio, Dr. A. Quinn Strobl, performed the autopsy of the famous singer Prince in 2016. [13]

Other work

Amatuzio has appeared on the crime TV series Deadly Women and Forensic Files . [14]

Personal life

Amatuzio lives in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. [15]

Books

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forensic pathology</span> Medical speciality

Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some jurisdictions. Coroners and medical examiners are also frequently asked to confirm the identity of remains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coroner</span> Government official who confirms and certifies the death of an individual

A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autopsy</span> Medical examination of a corpse

An autopsy is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; or the exam may be performed to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present for research or educational purposes. The term necropsy is generally used for non-human animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical examiner</span> Post-mortem investigation forensic pathologist

The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions that investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictions to initiate inquests. They are necessarily trained in pathology.

Michael M. Baden is an American physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths and as the host of HBO's Autopsy. Baden was the chief medical examiner of the City of New York from 1978 to 1979. He was also chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations' Forensic Pathology Panel that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Baden's independent autopsy findings are often in conflict with the local authorities' opinions; as such, many consider him to be a headline-seeking physician as opposed to a legitimate source of information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuropathology</span> Study of disease of nervous system tissue

Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole-body autopsies. Neuropathologists usually work in a department of anatomic pathology, but work closely with the clinical disciplines of neurology, and neurosurgery, which often depend on neuropathology for a diagnosis. Neuropathology also relates to forensic pathology because brain disease or brain injury can be related to cause of death. Neuropathology should not be confused with neuropathy, which refers to disorders of the nerves themselves rather than the tissues. In neuropathology, the branches of the specializations of nervous system as well as the tissues come together into one field of study.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Noguchi</span> American coroner

Thomas Tsunetomi Noguchi is the former Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles. Popularly known as the "coroner to the stars", Noguchi determined the cause of death in many high-profile cases in Hollywood during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He performed autopsies on Marilyn Monroe, Albert Dekker, Robert F. Kennedy, Sharon Tate, Inger Stevens, Janis Joplin, Gia Scala, David Janssen, Divine, William Holden, Natalie Wood, and John Belushi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyril Wecht</span> American forensic pathologist

Cyril Harrison Wecht is an American forensic pathologist. He has been the president of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American College of Legal Medicine, and headed the board of trustees of the American Board of Legal Medicine. Wecht served as County Commissioner and Allegheny County Coroner and Medical Examiner, serving the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. He is perhaps best known for his criticism of the Warren Commission's findings concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autopsy of John F. Kennedy</span> Autopsy of John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The autopsy of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was performed at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. The autopsy began at about 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 22, 1963—the day of Kennedy's assassination—and ended in the early morning of November 23, 1963. The choice of autopsy hospital in the Washington, D.C. area was made by his widow, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who chose the Bethesda as President Kennedy had been a naval officer during World War II.

Joshua Perper was a noted forensic pathologist and toxicologist. He served as the Chief Medical Examiner of Broward County, Florida for seventeen years, during which time he conducted autopsies on a number of famous individuals, including Anna Nicole Smith. Prior to his appointment to that position, he served as Allegheny County's Coroner serving metro Pittsburgh.

Charles Randal Smith is a former Canadian pathologist known for performing flawed child autopsies that resulted in wrongful convictions.

Cedric Keith Simpson was an English forensic pathologist. He was Professor of Forensic Medicine in the University of London at Guy's Hospital, Lecturer in Forensic Medicine at the University of Oxford and a founding member and President of the Association of Forensic Medicine. Simpson became renowned for his post-mortems on high-profile murder cases, including the 1949 Acid Bath Murders committed by John George Haigh and the murder of gangster George Cornell, who was shot dead by Ronnie Kray in 1966.

Charles Sidney Hirsch was an American forensic pathologist who served as the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City from 1989 until 2013. He oversaw the identification of victims from the World Trade Center attacks in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Pathologist's Office</span> Branch of the Department of Justice in the Republic of Ireland

The State Pathologist's Office is a branch of the Department of Justice in the Republic of Ireland. Its function is to provide independent expert advice on matters relating to forensic pathology and to perform post-mortem examinations in those cases where foul play is suspected. This function includes providing post-mortem reports to the relevant coroner in appropriate instances, as well as attendance at coroners' inquests and at any court proceedings arising out of the Garda investigation into a death. The office also provides advice to coroners on cases which are not the subject of a criminal investigation, but which nevertheless give rise to complex questions of forensic pathology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bennet Omalu</span> Nigerian-American pathologist

Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu is a Nigerian-American physician, forensic pathologist and neuropathologist who was the first to discover and publish findings on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American football players while working at the Allegheny County coroner's office in Pittsburgh. He later became the chief medical examiner for San Joaquin County, California, and is a professor at the University of California, Davis, department of medical pathology and laboratory medicine. He is currently the president and medical director of Bennet Omalu Pathology.

In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinction is made between the cause of death, which is a specific disease or injury, versus manner of death, which is primarily a legal determination versus the mechanism of death which does not explain why the person died or the underlying cause of death and can include cardiac arrest or exsanguination. Different categories are used in different jurisdictions, but manner of death determinations include everything from very broad categories like "natural" and "homicide" to specific manners like "traffic accident" or "gunshot wound". In some cases an autopsy is performed, either due to general legal requirements, because the medical cause of death is uncertain, upon the request of family members or guardians, or because the circumstances of death were suspicious.

Joseph Lawrence Cogan is an American coroner who served as acting Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles from 1990 to 1992.

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Judy Melinek is an American forensic pathologist and writer. She is a pathologist at the Wellington District Health Board and Chief Executive Officer of PathologyExpert Inc.

References

  1. "Dr. Janis Amatuzio, MD – Red Wing, MN | Pathology on Doximity". Doximity. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  2. "Dr. Janis Amatuzio, MD | Minneapolis, MN | Healthgrades". www.healthgrades.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  3. "Janis Amatuzio, MD". www.newworldlibrary.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  4. Dec 17th 2009 - 12am, Carolyn Lange |. "Meeker County Board of Commissioners approves budget and levy for next year". West Central Tribune. Retrieved 2020-10-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. "A coroner of compassion: The Anoka County medical examiner Dr. Janis Amatuzio's approach helps the families of the dead to grieve". Twin Cities. 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  6. "Donald Amatuzio - Obituary". www.legacy.com. 14 August 2006. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  7. "Midwest Forensic Pathology :: About Dr. Janis Amatuzio MD". midwestforensicpathology.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  8. "MINNESOTA: New ways to study death offer glimpse of future life". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  9. Tatting, Jon (5 October 2005). "Coroner reveals trends on local death". MessAge Media. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  10. "Dr. Janis Amatuzio". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  11. "Well-known Anoka County coroner is retiring, won't be replaced". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  12. "Janis Amatuzio, MD". www.newworldlibrary.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  13. "This Is Who Is Doing Prince's Autopsy". 2paragraphs.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  14. "Deadly Women : Investigation Discovery". 2011-08-15. Archived from the original on 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  15. "Janis Amatuzio Facebook, Twitter & MySpace on PeekYou". www.peekyou.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  16. "Beyond Knowing - by Janis Amatuzio (Paperback)". Target. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  17. "Thoughts on Letting go and Forever Ours by Dr. Janis Amatuzio". Blue Star Visions. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  18. Amatuzio, Janis (2007). Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a Forensic Pathologist. New World Library. ISBN   978-1577315995.
  19. Amatuzio, Janis (2008). Beyond Knowing: Mysteries and Messages of Death and Life from a Forensic Pathologist. United Kingdom. ISBN   978-1577316343.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading