Dr. Cyril Wecht is accustomed to working in a laboratory, slicing into the bodies of dead victims that have suffered gun wounds or knife wounds. He is a forensic pathologist and plays a crucial role in a crime scene investigation. In the past, Dr. Wecht served as County Commissioner, Coroner, and Medical Examiner of Allegheny County where he examined various corpses to determine the causes of death. Currently, he heads a prestigious board of trustees: the American Board of Legal Medicine.
However, Dr. Wecht stepped out of his comfort zone on Thursday, May 30th, as he spoke in front of a large group of students at Bethel Park High School. For Bethel, this was a big thing. It’s a once and a lifetime opportunity to see Dr. Wecht speak. Dr. J encouraged all students, faculty members, and teachers to rush down to the auditorium and see Dr. Wecht’s presentation.
A vast variety of students were present at this monumental assembly to see Dr. Wecht. Forensic and Law-and-You students were peppered throughout the auditorium. Jokingly, Dr. Wecht addressed everyone and said that everyone’s here to just get out of class. Wisps of whispers transcended through the halls prior to the presentation, as students said, “Dr. Wecht is coming to speak. Did you know he’s internationally famous?” That’s right, he’s notoriously noticed for his findings in the investigation and autopsy of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Mostly, he was criticized by the government, because he was one of the firsts to come and bash the Warren Commission’s “Single Bullet Theory.”
Getting to see Dr. Wecht speak at any school is extremely difficult. He’s a busy man and runs on a very tight schedule. In fact, this was all a coincidence; Mr. Render, a history teacher, saw an opportunity floating in front of his eyes and grabbed it. Mr. Render says that he owes it all to his student Chris Wilson and his mother, Denise.
“I was showing a PowerPoint in class about the assassination of JFK,” said Mr. Render. “Once I got to Cyril Wecht, they did a little one or two minute spiel on this video that I showed, because he’s an expert on the JFK assassination. A student of mine, Chris Wilson, raised his hand and said, ‘my mom knows him. My mom works with his son.’ So, I told him to call his mom right then and there in class and see if she could get him in to come and speak.”
Shortly after seventh period, everyone was getting situated in the auditorium. Then, Dr. J escorted Dr. Wecht to the stage. Bethel Park welcomed Dr. Wecht with a warm, self-assuring round of applause. Being 82 years old, Wecht gingerly walked up the stairs neatly dressed with a primp suit.
His presentation flowed very nicely and consisted of a PowerPoint presentation showing the actual photographs from Kennedy’s autopsy and the footage from the acclaimed Zapruder film that caught the “bullet” in action. Bullet was previously put in quotations, because Dr. Wecht strongly disagrees with the Warren Commission and their report that states Kennedy was killed with one bullet, “The Single Bullet Theory.” Likewise, Dr. Wecht’s presentation really showed that he disagreed with Earl Warren and the panel’s report. His words reverberated throughout and whenever he brought up the Warren Commission, the pitch of his voice suddenly rose.
Similarly, Dr. Wecht’s presentation kicked off with him giving some background of himself and then transitioning into the main topic: the JFK assassination. Shortly after giving his credentials and professional background, Dr. Wecht became very passionate about the topic. In regards to his opinion about the Warren Commission’s “Single Bullet Theory,” he exclaimed, “You don’t have to be a sinner, you don’t have to be a critic of either this current administration or the previous one of George W. to know that just because the government says something doesn’t mean that it’s the unimpeachable truth.”
Dr. Wecht continued, “The government had the opportunity to call on the four most prominent forensic pathologists in the country. The two pathologists that were called on to do this autopsy, Humes and Boswell, have never examined a single gun shot autopsy in their entire careers. I just want you to let that sink in.”
Dr. Boswell and Dr. Humes were medical pathologists, not forensic pathologists; they examine bodies that are plagued with diseases. A forensic pathologist is extremely different, as Dr. Wecht explains that he has experience in both medical and forensic pathology.
Moreover, Dr. Wecht’s presentation rolled on and he showed graphic images of JFK’s blood-splattered body. His presentation, at times, became comical as he jokingly pointed the laser at students and at the wall and ceiling.
At the end of his presentation, Bethel Park gave him a huge round of applause and Dr. Wecht welcomed additional questions after everyone funneled out of the auditorium. After the presentation, in regards to federal government releasing information, Dr. Wecht stated, “We’re still learning about things that happened in Vietnam. They’re keeping things hidden. You think we know everything, no way.”
All in all, it was an honor for Bethel Park to have Dr. Wecht come and speak, as his expertise with the JFK assassination is internationally acclaimed.
