If You Only Knew Read Online Free PDF Page A

time before the call had been made. Lividity took twenty minutes to begin and Don had “severe lividity and rigor mortis” clearly already set in. The lividity, especially, was obvious. Lividity is the pooling of blood, which is heavier than tissue. As gravity works its magic, the blood in the body is drawn downward. Don had dark red “splotches” on the bottom of his face closest to the floor, and also on his back. Blood, after death, finds the lowest point on the body and settles. Don also had what is called “cyanosis,” the bluing of the lips. Blood drains from a dead person’s lips and they subsequently turn blue.
    â€œPerfect,” the paramedic told Tullock. “He looks to be laid out perfect, like he himself laid down on the ground.”
    â€œAnd . . .”
    â€œIt’s unusual.”
    The paramedic explained that he had been to “hundreds” of death scenes throughout his years of being a medic and he had not ever run into someone in this position with their legs crossed, lying on the floor almost as if placed there.
    On top of that was the lack of any trauma to Don’s body. Generally speaking, when an unexpected death occurred, the person fell and hurt himself as he fell down. There should have been some bruising or abrasion, at least on the elbows or hands as instinct took over and Don’s body tried to break the fall. But not a scuffed knee or an obvious bruise was on him.
    â€œEspecially with a person this old—they’re more brittle.”
    Apparently, a seventy-four-year-old, one-to-two-gallon-a-day vodka drinker had fallen on a hard surface inside his kitchen and had not suffered one bump or scrape.
    An investigator for the office of the Oakland County Medical Examiner (OCME) arrived next. Robert Allegrina was responsible for making the decision whether to bring the body in for further examination, or to release it to the family for burial. The OCME’s protocol here was simple: “As a general rule,” Allegrina said later, “we observe the scene, photograph the body, document the evidence, talk to the family and witnesses and make a determination. . . .”
    When Allegrina spoke to Billie Jean, she said her husband had not been to a doctor for as long as she could recall. He was one of those manly men who didn’t think he needed a doctor. He’d rather not know what was wrong with him.
    â€œLook over there,” Billie Jean said. She pointed to the carpet. They were upstairs in Don’s bedroom. Vonlee was there by her aunt’s side, ready to lash out at the detective if he became too aggressive.
    There were “spots on the carpeting that appeared to be fecal matter, could have been dried blood.”
    Allegrina wrote it down, documenting everything he saw.
    â€œAre you opposed to an autopsy,” Allegrina asked, “under any religious reasons?” The doctor later explained he often asked that question because there were a lot of Jewish families in the area and he wanted to be mindful of their beliefs.
    Billie Jean said no.
    Allegrina’s job was to report what he found at the scene to the medical examiner—and so that’s what he did. And as long as the family wasn’t opposed, an autopsy was probably warranted here. It was important for the state to understand how and why this man had died. There was plenty of evidence indicating he likely perished because of natural causes—rectal bleeding from ulcers in his stomach or colon cancer, severe alcoholism and maybe a host of other medical issues associated with those conditions or other medical issues that no one knew about. Yet both TPD officers and the detective on call had questions. With any luck, the medical examiner could clear them up and sign off on Don’s death as natural causes.
    After law enforcement cleared out of the house and Don’s body was taken away, Billie Jean and Vonlee sat in the living