Tales of Forensic Pathologist

About the Book

Over the last 22 years in the New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Schmuter performed thousands of autopsies and testified in courts hundreds of times. Many of these cases present interest for a general reader, especially given the attention to this profession in the last decade in movies, TV shows and fiction books.

The first chapter of this book is dedicated to the evolution of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner over the last 20 years, its transformation to one of the largest and best in the world. This tale is presented throughout the prism of the author’s individual experiences and closely intertwined with her professional life. It lays the foundation for the following 25 chapters of challenging cases from the author’s personal experience. Many of them include captivating stories of homicide investigation with court testimonies. The truth, however, is that the crime related deaths cover fewer than 15% of all cases performed by medical examiners. This book brings up and creates public awareness of many important issues beyond the traditional topic of homicides, among them drug intoxication death, child negligence and abuse, sudden death of young people, misdiagnosis, prophylactics of sudden infant death.

About the Author

Zoya Schmuter, M.D. was born, educated and worked in the USSR. After emigration in 1975, she lived and worked as pathologist in Israel and later as medical examiner in the USA. In 2007 she published her memoir “From Russia with Luck.” She and her husband live in New York.