Question 3: In September 2006, in your interview for the fifth estate documentary, you said that the damage to Duncan’s limbs was similar to damage you had seen on glacier corpses. However, you then stated: “But the injuries themselves, I could not examine exactly.” Why could you not examine the injuries exactly? What hindered you?
We did not unclothe the body and reconstruct the remaining bone fragments because the damage that could be seen without unclothing was similar to other glacier corpses.
Question 4: In the same interview, you said that you never unclothed the body. However, we know from your photographs that you handled and saw Duncan’s amputated limbs, which were not clothed. Though you mentioned a cut to the left side of Duncan’s head in your ID report, you did not mention the trauma to his limbs. Why not?
In my report I mentioned that parts of the body were in different bags and that the head was completely severed. The clothes were heavily damaged, so we could take samples for DNA-analysis without unclothing the whole body.
Question 5: If you assumed that the limb amputations and fractures were caused by the sheering force of ice flow, why didn’t you note this in your report?
The examination was ordered just to identify Duncan.
Question 6: Over the last few years, we have shown the photographs and radiographs of Duncan’s corpse to a number of forensic doctors, forensic anthropologists, radiologists, trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, and an alpine accident investigator, and all of them agree that the injuries on Duncan’s limbs have the characteristic injury patterns of contact with machinery. Given your extensive training and experience in forensic medicine, it is hard for us to understand why you didn’t share this perception—at least enough to recognize that the injuries to Duncan’s limbs warranted investigation. According to the Innsbruck public prosecutor Richard Freyschlag, you never contacted his office to express concern about the injuries to Duncan’s limbs. Did you really see no cause for concern that these injuries were caused by machinery, and not by glacier ice movement?
Usually the police has the contact with the public prosecutor—so in Duncan`s case too. I am still convinced that the damage to Duncans body originated from the movement of the glacier.
Question 7: You told us that in your estimation, Duncan probably died from non-asphyctic suffocation. Did you rule out the possibility that he had died as a result of the massive trauma to his limbs? If so, how did you rule this out?
I cannot imagine a situation where (only) injuries to the limbs (both arms and legs) and the cervical spine (decapitation) occur without any fracture of ribs, skull or pelvis. The assumption of the cause of death was made according to my general experience.
Question 8: If you were not authorized to perform a forensic examination of Duncan’s body at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, how were you authorized to requisition a CT scan of the body from the Uni-Klinik’s Department of Radiology?
I was not officially authorized to order the CT scan. Because of your request I contacted my colleague Dr. Waldenberger and he made it possible to do the CT of Duncan.
Question 9: After the CT examination was performed on July 31, 2003, why did you not promptly send us the complete set of images and the radiologist’s report?
I did not get the report earlier. In November 2003 I wrote an e-mail and mentioned that I did not get the x-rays until then.
Question 10: When you finally did send us four digital radiographs on November 21, 2003, why did you not include an image of Duncan’s destroyed left leg?
Because Dr. Waldenberger just made CT-scans from the torso. I think this had technical reasons and the main question was whether serious injuries of the thorax, pelvis or spine occurred or not.
Question 11: According to Dr. Waldenberger, you requested the CT examination solely for us, as Duncan’s case was officially closed. This suggests that you knew in advance that the CT scan would not reveal anything suspicious or inconsistent with a simple crevasse fall. Yet you told us that the CT examination could help to determine how Duncan had died, or at least to confirm that he had not died from violent actions that are often associated with bone fractures. Likewise, Dr. Knapp at the Bezirkshauptmannschaft told our Vice-consul William Douglas that the CT scan was performed to determine the possible presence of fractures. This gave us and our consular representative the impression that the cause of Duncan’s death was being investigated. Can you explain the discrepancy between what you told Dr. Waldenberger and what you told us?
I requested the examinations just for you without any previous suggestion. Dr.Knapp had nothing to do with this CT.
Question 12: Given that Duncan’s limbs had, in fact, sustained multiple, segmental fractures, why weren’t these fractures scanned in the CT examination and analyzed in a report? If these fractures were scanned and analyzed, where are the images and report?
See Q10
Question 13: Why was Duncan’s radiological examination filed under the alias “Wissenschaft Waldi” and the false birthdate of July 13, 2003?
Every CT-examination is registered. For the system a patients name and birthdate is needed. For scientific reasons (“Wissenschaft”; “Waldi” is the abbreviation for Waldenberger) examinations can be made by the radiologists without an invoice by the hospital.
Question 14: According to Dr. Jaschke, in cases such as Duncan’s, “the Department of Radiology reports all findings to the Department of Forensic Medicine.” Where is Dr. Waldenberger’s report, and why didn’t you send us a copy of it?
I did not get an official report because this was not an official investigation. Dr. Waldenberger told me his scientific opinion and this is what I told you (and Derrick).
Question 15: In a letter to Vice-consul Douglas, dated March 26, 2004, Dr. Knapp stated that “the exact cause of death was established by the Innsbruck Institute of Forensic Medicine.” Do you know the source of Knapp’s information?
No, this is not true.
Question 16: In his interview with the fifth estate, Werner Pürstl, Justice Ministry Section Head for Penal Law, stated: “The body was of course examined externally; there were no indications of a violent act against the deceased and there was a very obvious explanation for the events.” Do you know the source of Pürstl’s information?
No. I never had contact with Pürstl.
Question 17: In your emails of December 5, 2003 and October 6, 2004, you discouraged us from filing a lawsuit against the Stubai Glacier because you claimed that “the definite cause of death remains unclear.” Given that knowing the cause of Duncan’s death was critical for building our case against the Stubai Glacier, and given that we repeatedly told you our desire to learn the cause of death, I come back to Question 1: Why didn’t you tell us that we had the right to order a private forensic examination of our son’s body?
See Q1
Sources
This book is the result of two and a half years of intense research, building on decades of inquiry by Lynda and Bob MacPherson, plus research conducted by seasoned investigative reporters for the fifth estate, and by the Austrian investigative journalist Florian Skrabal. Lynda MacPherson’s meticulous notes, which she took at every phase of her twenty-year quest, are an invaluable record, as are her email correspondence and the hundreds of pages of External Affairs and Interpol cables, memos, and letters that she obtained through her Access to Information requests.