Dr. Cyril Wecht, a renowned forensic pathologist and former Allegheny County coroner, passed away at the age of ninety-three.
Dr. Cyril Wecht was a renowned forensic pathologist and former Allegheny County coroner who passed away at the age of ninety-three. He gained notoriety for his work on high-profile cases involving the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and JonBenet Ramsey and Anna Nicole Smith. Born in rural Greene County in March 1931 to immigrant parents, Wecht grew up in McKees Rocks and later the Hill District, where he attended Fifth Avenue High School before graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 1956 with a medical degree. Following three years in the Air Force, he graduated from the University of Maryland with a law degree and started a career in forensic pathology that would influence the rest of his life and take him through decades of involvement in some of the most high-profile criminal cases in the country.
He began serving the public in Allegheny County in 1965 as a deputy coroner. In 1970, he was elected coroner, and in 1980, he was appointed commissioner. He worked for many years as a consultant on matters involving the Manson family killings and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. In addition to providing expert witness testimony in criminal prosecutions and assisting on situations such as the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, he was re-elected as coroner in 1995. Occasionally, his conclusions turned him into an iconoclast or the accused.
He was the sole forensic pathologist who provided testimony to the House Select Committee on Assassinations, arguing against the possibility of a “lone gunman” killing JFK. District Attorney Stephen Zappala in Pittsburgh released his own medical opinion and faced federal prosecution for allegedly using the coroner’s office for personal gain after he “declined” to prosecute Pittsburgh police officers who Wecht determined were accountable for Charles Dixon’s suffocation death. There were claims that his prosecution was politically motivated after it ended in a mistrial.
Numerous lawyers attribute Wecht’s advancement of forensic pathology research in trials and investigations. In addition, he wrote twelve books and played the lead in a Las Vegas production based on well-known crime cases. He also worked on a number of television and film projects, including the critically acclaimed pictures “JFK” and “Concussion.” “He loved Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and, although he traveled the world, he never would consider living anywhere else (save for his two years of military service and his brief time in Baltimore after discharge),” the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts stated about Wecht.
Above all, Cyril was devoted to his family, placing the happiness, health, and education of his spouse, kids, and grandchildren at the forefront of his priorities.” Following Wecht’s passing, Duquesne University President Ken Gormley issued the following statement: “Dr. Cyril Wecht was an internationally renowned forensic pathologist, a talented politician, and an amazing supporter of Duquesne University.” His long tenure as a lecturer at the Duquesne Kline Law School was a blessing to the Duquesne community.
The Cyril H. Wecht Forensic Science Collection’s resources and the academic activity of the Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law both bear witness to his ongoing influence. I was honored to have worked with him for many years. His professional skill, engaging narratives, and sharp mind will be greatly missed by the people of Duquesne, the area he so devotedly served, and the entire globe that acknowledged him as one of the greatest forensic pathologists of our time.
More importantly, though, Cyril has been a reliable friend since the start of my profession. He was blunt, colorful, and endowed with a golden heart. Dr. Cyril Wecht is and will always be one person. His death creates a permanent emptiness in our hearts.” In 1961, Wecht wed Sigrid Ronsdal, and the two of them raised four children, Justice David Wecht of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court among them. In addition, he leaves 11 grandkids behind.
The Jewish mourning period known as shiva, along with his funeral and burial, will all take place in secret, according to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. On the other hand, a public memorial ceremony is scheduled for a later time.
Dr. Cyril Wecht was a renowned forensic pathologist and former Allegheny County coroner who passed away at the age of ninety-three. He gained notoriety for his work on high-profile cases involving the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and JonBenet Ramsey and Anna Nicole Smith. Wecht was born in Pittsburgh in 1931 and raised in Bobtown, McKees Rocks and the Lower Hill District.
