Doubt cast on forensic rulings
Pathologist’s conclusions ‘unreasonable’ in 13 of 14 cases
The outcomes of several local homicide cases have been cast into doubt by the findings of an expert panel that questions work done by a former Calgary forensic pathologist.
An independent panel asked by provincial officials to review the findings of Dr. Evan Matshes in 14 cases found his conclusions “unreasonable” in 13 of them, Alberta Justice and Solicitor General revealed Thursday.
The findings are prompting provincial prosecutors to reexamine three criminal deaths among those reviewed by the panel — as well as 14 additional homicide cases handled by Matshes that weren’t part of the review.
It’s the second time in less than two years that questions about the findings of a provincial forensic pathologist working in Calgary has led to reviews of their work by justice officials, prompting a representative of the city’s defence lawyers to call for a broader look at the operations of the medical examiner’s office.
“This causes some grave concern about the adequacy of oversight by Alberta Justice,” said Ian Savage, copresident of the Calgary Criminal Defence Lawyers Association.
“It’s time for the minister of justice to step up and publicly indicate his department will do an overall review and, if necessary, hold an inquiry into the system in Alberta,” Savage said.
Justice Minister Jonathan Denis said the latest findings are “concerning,” but added there’s no indication of a wider problem in the medical examiner’s office.
“People can have confidence in the system because this was caught as a result of the existing checks and balances,” Denis said.
For his part, Matshes released an emailed statement saying other independent reviewers have supported his findings in several of the cases in question.
“I am confident that my conclusions will be supported by qualified experts in possession of all the relevant information,” said Matshes, who is currently chief of pediatric forensic pathology at the office of the medical examiner at the University of New Mexico.
Last year, another former Calgary forensic pathologist went under the provincial microscope for inaccurate findings: Dr. Michael Belenky.
An investigation determined Belenky erroneously classified a toddler’s accidental death in 2009 as a homicide — but a resulting review of 16 additional criminal files found no reason to overturn his findings in those cases.
“This does not appear to be a systemic issue,” Denis said.
In March, the province changed protocols in the Calgary and Edmonton medical examiner’s offices, making it mandatory for all homicide files to be peer-reviewed before autopsy results are forwarded to prosectors.
Concerns about Matshes’ work surfaced before then, when an insurance company raised questions about his findings in an accidental death case.
That prompted an internal probe that led to officials sending three of Matshes’ files to U.S. pathologists for peer review — prior to the step becoming mandatory.
The peer reviewers said “evidence did not support the conclusions” in two instances.
Questions raised by that smaller sample led the province to commission the panel review released Thursday, which re-examined 13 deaths and one case involving a living patient who was injured.
Although 11 cases weren’t criminal, one was a homicide case that has been concluded and two others remain before the courts.
The panel, made up of three American pathologists, upheld Matshes’ find-ings in one of the non-criminal cases.
On the criminal side, Crown prosecutors are now reviewing the panel’s findings in those three cases — as well as 14 additional criminal cases handled by Matshes that weren’t reviewed by the panel.
“Prosecutors will have to assess the impact of the panel’s findings and provide disclosure (of new evidence) to the accused and their lawyer,” said Justice and Solicitor General spokeswoman Michelle Davio.
“They’re also considering what their disclosure obligations are in cases not reviewed by the panel.”
Calgary defence lawyer Adriano Iovinelli represented the defendant in a 2009 homicide reviewed by the panel.
The accused, Butch Chiniquay, was initially charged with second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his girlfriend, Charmaine Wesley, at his home on the Stoney reserve.
Instead, Chiniquay pleaded guilty in January to the lesser charge of manslaughter. The plea agreement came about due to the Crown’s inability to
This does not appear to be a systemic issue. JUSTICE MINISTER JONATHAN DENIS
prove murder, partly because Wesley had suffered some facial injuries in a car crash two days earlier.
“If there was any difficulty with (Matshes’) methodology, it was to the benefit of the accused,” Iovinelli said, adding he hasn’t heard if the Crown plans to revisit the case.
Another lawyer, Alain Hepner, confirmed he has a case that wasn’t part of the panel’s review, but is now being reexamined by prosecutors as a result of its findings.
A jury acquitted Patrick Striker Holloway of seconddegree murder, but convicted him of manslaughter in June for the stabbing death of Gino Powderface during a New Year’s party at a Stoney reserve home in 2011.
Although Matshes conducted the initial autopsy, his findings were backed by another medical examiner who testified in court.
“I’m not sure in this case, a lot will change,” Hepner said.
Davio stressed neither the panel’s findings nor the Crown’s internal review of the additional cases has scuttled any criminal cases.
“No criminal prosecutions have been reopened, nor have any been lost to date solely as a result of the medical evidence Dr. Matshes provided,” she said.
During his 13 months working at the Calgary medical examiner’s offices, Matshes conducted 426 death investigations: 262 autopsies and 164 external exams.
In his statement, Matshes said a separate probe conducted by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta dismissed a complaint against him.
The college review had two cases in common with the Alberta Justice panel’s probe — and in both, the regulator supported his conclusion, Matshes said.
Matshes added all his cases in New Mexico have been subject to peer review.
“No errors have been found,” he said.