Public records are like pulling wisdom teeth
A zag for subscribers
Reporter: Steven Saint
In the course of my investigation into Kyle Zoellner's story, I started with press reports and worked my way back into other public records and sources. One public record I would like to see is David Josiah Lawson’s autopsy. The autopsy’s wound profile and weapon analysis might help establish exactly how Lawson was killed, whether or not the knife found at the scene was, in fact, the murder weapon and what Lawson’s toxicology looked like.
Lawson’s autopsy was conducted by an out-of-town pathologist named Dr. Mark Super three days after the stabbing. Although Arcata policemen Devon Nilsen and Eric Losey attended the post-mortem, the report was not finished in time for Zoellner’s preliminary hearing. Losey simply told the court that the cause of death was “a stab wound to the chest.”
Kyle Zoellner, Without Prejudice (so far)
And that's all we know, publicly. To date, all inquiries to the Arcata Police, District Attorney, County Sheriff and County Administration about the autopsy have been dead ends. The Arcata Police Department told me autopsies are the purview of the County Coroner's office – and the coroner's office told me it's up to law enforcement to authorize their release. The APD then told me that since the case is considered an “ongoing investigation,” they will not release information. Sometimes. Apparently, the APD gave (or authorized release of) a copy to the National Police Foundation, which cites the autopsy in its footnotes. The Foundation told me that supporting documents for its reviews, however, are not stored once their report is issued.
Getting records is like pulling wisdom teeth – in the end, a lot of pulling for not a lot of wisdom. Open wide, if you’re interested in digging more…