Dr. Cyril Wecht - BIO

CYRIL H. WECHT, M.D., J.D.

         Cyril H. Wecht received his M.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and his J.D. Degree from the University of Maryland.  He is certified by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology, and is a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists, the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, and the National Association of Medical Examiners.  Dr. Wecht is a Charter Diplomate of the American Board of Disaster Medicine and has served as Vice Chairman of that Board.   He is a Charter Diplomate of the American Board of Legal Medicine and has served as Chairman of that Board.  

             Dr. Wecht was formerly the Chairman of the Department of Pathology and President of the Medical Staff at St. Francis Central Hospital in Pittsburgh.   He is actively involved as a medical-legal and forensic science consultant, author, and lecturer.   He served as the elected Coroner of Allegheny County for a total of 20 years.

             Dr. Wecht is a Clinical Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health; an Adjunct Professor at Duquesne University Schools of Law, Pharmacy, and Health Sciences; Distinguished Professor of Anatomy and Pathology at Carlow University; Professor of Law at Aristotle University School of Law; and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law at Duquesne University School of Law.   He has served as President of the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and also as Chairman of both the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Legal Medicine and the American College of Legal Medicine Foundation.   He is also Chairman of the Executive Committee of the American College of Forensic Examiners International. 

             Dr. Wecht is the author or co-author of 530 professional publications; an editorial board member of 16 national and international medical-legal and forensic scientific publications; and editor or co-editor of 44 books, including a 5 volume set, FORENSIC SCIENCES (Matthew Bender), and two 3 volume sets, HANDLING SOFT TISSUE INJURY CASES and PREPARING AND WINNING MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CASES (Juris Publishing Co.).

Dr. Wecht has organized and conducted Postgraduate Medical-Legal Seminars in more than 50 countries throughout the world in his capacity as Director of the Pittsburgh Institute of Legal Medicine.  He has personally performed approximately 17,000 autopsies, and has supervised, reviewed, or been consulted on approximately 36,000 additional post-mortem examinations, including cases in several foreign countries. 

             Dr. Wecht has testified in more than 1,000 civil, criminal, and workers' compensation cases in state and federal courts in more than 30 states.  He has also conducted post-mortem examinations and testified in several foreign countries.

             Dr. Wecht has appeared as a frequent guest on numerous national TV and radio shows, discussing various medicolegal and forensic scientific subjects, including medical malpractice; alcohol and drug abuse; assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Reverend Martin Luther King; death of Elvis Presley; Sam Sheppard case; O.J. Simpson case; JonBenet Ramsey case; Diallo case; Chandra Levy death investigation; Jayson Williams and Laci Peterson homicide.  These cases, as well as those involving Mary Jo Kopechne, Sunny von Bulow, Jean Harris, Dr. Jeffrey McDonald, the Waco Branch Davidian fire, Vincent Foster, O.J. Simpson, Scott Peterson, Anna Nicole Smith, Daniel Smith, and many others, are discussed from the perspective of Dr. Wecht's own professional involvement in his books, Cause of Death, Grave Secrets, Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?, Mortal Evidence, Tales from the Morgue and A Question of Murder.

 Dr. Wecht and his wife, Sigrid, have four children and eleven grandchildren, all of whom reside in Allegheny County.  He has received numerous awards and honors from various professional, community, and governmental organizations, including County Detectives Association of Pennsylvania, Deputy Sheriffs' Association of Pennsylvania, Vectors, New York Society of Forensic Sciences, American College of Legal Medicine, National Junior Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion, and the Pittsburgh Shriners.

             He has been invited as a Distinguished Professor to lecture in several foreign countries, and is an Honorary Life Member of the National Academies of Legal Medicine of France, Spain, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Mexico, Columbia, and Brazil.

             Dr. Wecht has lectured at numerous medical, law, and other graduate schools, as well as many colleges and universities, numerous professional organizations and governmental agencies, including Harvard Law School, Yale Medical School, the FBI Academy, and the Medical Division of the CIA.