Famed Pathologist Michael Baden Oversees Second Arturo Gatti Autopsy … “Unexpected Details” … “There were some surprises”

The second autopsy on former boxing champion Arturo Gatti has been performed at the request of his family. According to preliminary results, homicide has not ben ruled out in the death of Gatti.

Dr Michael Baden, the former chief pathologist for the New York State Police and host of the HBO cable TV show “Autopsy” was in attendance and oversaw the autopsy. Baden stated following completion of the second autopsy, “that an autopsy performed by Quebec coroners found that an investigation by Brazilian authorities was incomplete.”

The second autopsy came two days after Brazilian police classified Gatti’s death a suicide.

“There were definite injuries that had not been seen by the Brazilian authorities, but one needs a lot of additional information, including a toxicology which isn’t available yet, to come to a conclusion as to whether it’s homicide or suicide,” Baden said.

The second autopsy was requested by Gatti’s family after Brazilian police said that Gatti’s death was a result of a suicide, rather than the initial homicide they had stated. Brazilian police then released Gatti’s wife, Amanda Rodrigues, from jail after having initially being charged with suspicion of murder.

Second autopsy of Gatti’s body revealed unexpected details, says pathologist

Baden described  the two Canadian pathologists conducting the second autopsy as “first-rate.”

Bruising on the body of slain fighter Arturo Gatti was overlooked by the Brazilian authorities who conducted the initial autopsy, a celebrity pathologist hired by the ex-boxing champ’s family said Saturday after a seven-hour forensic follow-up.

“There were some surprises,” Dr. Michael Baden said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

“The first surprise was that it was a partial autopsy, and not a full autopsy; the second was that there were some important findings, like the injuries that had not been identified.”

Partial autopsies are unusual in suspected homicides, said Baden, who described the overlooked injuries as bruises that weren’t cited in the initial forensic report.