Renowned forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht dies

Known as much for his brilliant mind as his profanity, for his controversial opinions as his work ethic, for his love of family as his inflated sense of self, Dr. Cyril H. Wecht was a portrait in contrast.

While the forensic pathologist — who also had a law degree — made a name for himself nationally working on high-profile cases like the JFK assassination, JonBenet Ramsey and Nicole Brown Simpson, Wecht was a larger-than-life personality in Pittsburgh.

From serving as coroner to county commissioner to making a run for federal office, Wecht lived nearly all of his adult life happily in the public eye, often seeking out the intense media attention he got.

“I’m not one to tell colleagues in my field to engage the media as much as I do. That’s entirely up to them,” Wecht wrote in his biography, The Life and Deaths of Cyril Wecht published in 2020. “But if any of them who, because of their passivity, shyness or arrogance, believe that I appear in the media too often, screw them.”

Wecht, who grew up in the Lower Hill District and lived for decades in Squirrel Hill, died on Monday.

He was 93.

‘He had a hell of a life’

Wecht was born in Bobtown, Greene County, as the only child of Jewish immigrant parents. According to his biography, he always knew he would grow up to be a doctor. But he also had an interest in the law and found a way — through forensic pathology — to follow the two pursuits together.

He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree and medical degree and later earned his law degree at the University of Maryland.

Wecht served in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in 1959 at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, where he was able to continue his work in pathology.

It was there, according to his biography, that he met his future wife, Sigrid Ronsdal.

After two years of military service, Wecht moved to Maryland where he finished law school and completed a fellowship in forensic pathology.

Cyril and Sigrid were married in Pittsburgh at Temple Rodef Shalom in 1961. The Wechts moved back to Pittsburgh in 1962 and stayed.

They had four children, David, Daniel, Benjamin and Ingrid.

Wecht began working as a pathologist and in 1964, was hired to be an assistant district attorney and medical-legal advisor in the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office.

He became chief deputy coroner in 1966 and was elected to the position himself in 1970, serving 10 years then, and again from 1996 to 2006. Wecht served one four-year term as county commissioner in 1980 and made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate.

Wecht lost his bid in 1999 to become the county’s first elected executive.

In addition to his work as coroner, Wecht also founded his own consulting business, Wecht Pathology Associates, in the late 1960s.

Wecht gained celebrity status in 1978, when he testified before Congress in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, debunking the single bullet theory.

Wecht — who has been nicknamed the Godfather of forensic pathology — has worked on and reviewed countless high-profile cases, including those of O.J. Simpson, Kurt Cobain, Elvis Presley and Jeffrey Epstein.

‘He was able to capture his audience’

Dr. Michael Baden, who first met Wecht in the mid-1960s, said Wecht remained one of the leading forensic pathologists in the country across seven decades.

“He contributed a great deal to the field in his writings, books, lectures and public statements,” Baden said.

But one of the most important things he did, he continued, was to make forensic pathology understandable.

“He had a way of bringing forensic science to the public,” Baden said. “He was able to capture his audience.”

Wecht was able to connect with jurors at a level that they could understand the science without overcomplicating it.

“He was an amazing orator,” Baden said. “He was able to continue talking and not take a breath better than any person I knew.”

Wecht served as president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in the 1970s and continued as an active leader for 60 years, Baden said.

Wecht was never afraid to take on controversial cases, or to disagree with his friends and colleagues.

Wecht and Baden were on opposite sides of the JFK assassination.

“He felt the autopsy was improperly done by people not competent,” Baden said.

Wecht believed there were two shooters.

Baden said he believed the findings confirmed that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone shooter who fired twice.

“Cyril never agreed with the final results,” Baden said.

It was Wecht’s work with his private consulting firm – in conjunction with his elected position – that ultimately led to federal criminal charges being filed against him in 2006.

Wecht, who had been appointed to serve as the county’s first medical examiner just a month earlier, was indicted on 84 counts of misusing his public office for private gain.

The charges, for fraud and theft, alleged that Wecht had used county-paid employees and resources to benefit his private business. The charges also included allegations that Wecht gave bodies to Carlow University in exchange for lab space.

He resigned as medical examiner the day of the indictment.

The federal charges were dropped more than three years later – but not before taking a huge toll on Wecht and his reputation.

Though he’d often been embroiled in controversy in his work – including butting heads with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. over Wecht’s use of the coroner’s inquest to investigate potential police misconduct – it was the federal charges filed against him that really angered him.

Particularly, said Jerry McDevitt, the criminal defense attorney who represented Wecht in his federal trial, the de minimis nature of them.

“I don’t think he ever got over that,” he said.

The case took a toll on Wecht.

“You get to take a measure of somebody when they’re under that kind of stress,” he said.

Wecht never stopped working the whole time.

“Even during the trial, he was doing autopsies,” McDevitt said. “He had a great love for what he did.”

McDevitt said he remembered talking to Wecht, who was waiting in the green room before making an appearance on a national program. As they spoke on the phone, Wecht was using every expletive in the book about the U.S. Attorney who brought the charges against him.

Then, a few minutes later, McDevitt saw him fill his television screen.

“He’d switch to this eloquent forensic pathologist,” he said. “It’s an interesting dichotomy of a man.

“He had a hell of a life.”

After the federal court case ended, Wecht continued his work, including conducting autopsies for several counties in Western Pennsylvania, including Westmoreland, Armstrong, Fayette and Greene. In 2017, he moved to the Westmoreland forensic center in Hempfield. He appeared in an HBO documentary entitled “One Nation Under Stress” in 2019 with CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta.

Wecht served as the key witnesses for Westmoreland County prosecutors in dozens of homicide cases over the last half century.

“Proof of cause of death is of critical importance in prosecuting criminal homicide cases and his testimony was remarkably credible and persuasive. He was the quintessential expert in those types of cases,” said former Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck. “It was rare when anyone would challenge his observations and when they did they were never successful.”

Peck said it was not unusual for spectators to gather in the courtroom to watch Wecht testify.

“Many people I would meet in passing would bring him up and I came to realize how popular he was in western Pennsylvania,” Peck said.

Ken Bacha served as elected coroner for two decades. His father, Leo Bacha, preceded him as coroner and served 24 years in office. Both Bachas hired Wecht to perform autopsies for Westmoreland County. Ken Bacha arranged for Wecht to relocate his autopsy business in 2017 from Carlow College in Pittsburgh to a newly built morgue at the county’s Forensics Center in Hempfield.

The county cut ties with Wecht in 2021, citing concerns about his age and his ability to continue his current level of work.

Wecht was a character, according to Bacha.

“I’d do an F-bomb tally when I talked to him,” he said.

But he also praised Wecht’s expertise, his gravitas and his dedication to the work.

“He was a person I could pick up the phone and call anytime for the entire 20 years I was in office,” Bacha said. “I always joked about him that when asked if Cyril Wecht is as good as he says he is, ‘I said yes, just ask him.’”

“We always knew having him on our team was essential. It kept him from being on the other team,” Bacha said.

Westmoreland County Commissioners cut ties with Wecht in 2022, partially because of his age. Commissioners approved a one-year contract with Wecht’s former assistant, Jennifer Hammers, to do autopsies for county Coroner Tim Carson.

Carson told TribLive in December 2022 that the decision to cut ties with Wecht was a difficult one he weighed heavily. Wecht said he was blindsided by the decision.

Author and film-maker Jeff Sewald met Wecht when he was working on a piece about him for Pittsburgh Quarterly.

One day, over lunch, as Wecht regaled Sewald with stories from his life, they agreed they should do a book, and Wecht’s biography was born.

“It took years,” Sewald said.

He estimates that he interviewed Wecht on at least 15 separate occasions – each lasting an hour or two.

Sewald said that Wecht was always forthright and sincere with him. He described his subject personality as honest but pugnacious, gracious and fun – “prickly on the outside and soft on the inside.”

Each time they met, as was his habit – even with people he may not have liked – Wecht asked Sewald about his wife and kids before they talked about anything else.

“It was almost like a reflex,” Sewald said.

Wecht remembered details about them and their families.

Sewald recounted Wecht’s prolific letter-writing – he was famous for sending snide, loquacious letters to local reporters and editors frequently.

But Wecht also answered letters from school-age children, and college students looking to potentially enter the field of pathology, Sewald said.

An Amazing Family

One of things about Wecht that always struck Baden, he said, was how much time he was able to spend with his family.

“His devotion to them and his religious feelings put me to shame,” Baden said. “The results show.”

McDevitt called it an amazing family.

He remembers watching Cyril and Sigrid leaving federal court during Wecht’s trial.

“They were very close,” McDevitt said. “They walked out holding hands like they were teenage lovers.”

The Wechts and their children and grandchildren had regular Sunday dinners and often traveled together.

“The only thing that bothered him about dying was that he wouldn’t be around to see what happened to his kids,” Sewald said.

In addition to his children, Wecht is survived by his wife and 11 grandchildren.

Funeral, burial and shiva will be private. A public memorial service will be announced in the future. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Cyril’s memory can be made to Stand With Us, www.standwithus.com , PO Box 341069, Los Angeles, CA 90034.