As I am very interested in the "stungun" debate, I decided to purchase Stephen Singular's book about Gerald Boggs' murder. It arrived this morning and it confirms that Michael Doberson was indeed the pathologist who failed to recognise the stungun marks on Gerald Bogg's body. What's more, it actually reveals a surprising little gem in the tale - and one which I've never read before..... read on.... From Charmed to Death, Stephen Singular pb. I am paraphrasing this, but if anyone specifically wants quotes, I can provide them. I'm just wary of copyright. Basic facts according to Stephen Singular:- 1. Michael Dobersen conducted Gerald Boggs' autopy on October 23, 1993. 2. Boggs had been dead approximately 2 days when he was autopsied 3. Dobersen noted a "a circular area of redness near the victim's right ear and some minor abrasions on the ear itself. " 4. Dobersen did not attach any particular significance to these marks. 5. In the months which followed, police and prosecutors were struggling to find a piece of physical evidenec which linked the suspects to the murder of Gerald Boggs. 6. CBI agents retrieved a stungun from one of the suspects' cars and they wondered if it could have been used to torture the vctim. 7. (I love this bit) They contacted an expert on Stunguns - none other than Dr Robert Stratbucker who suggested that they conduct experiments on a pig to see if this particular stungun caused these particular marks. 8. In July 1994, Dr Stratbucker then travelled to Denver where he and Dobersen conducted said experiments. (Strabucker was an established expert on stunungs and experiments on both pigs and humans) 9. The stungun did produce similar marks but more examinations were required. 10. Keen for a resolution, the Boggs family agreed to an exhumation. 11. Michael Dobersen conducted a second autopsy and concluded that the marks were consistent with a stungun and he believed that Boggs had been exposed to a stungun assault on his face of a minute or more. EDITED TO CLARIFY - The ASSAULT on his face lated for more than one minute he didn't say that the stungun had been applied for more than a minute. i.e. Doberson believed that Boggs had endured more than a minute of electrical shocks - each lasting between 2 and 5 seconds. 12. Dr Dobersen was fiercely challenged in the courtroom. So there we have the RST "expert" - Dr Dobersen. Famed for identifying stungun marks on Gerald Boggs...... oh no...wait...that would have been Dr Robert Stratbucker!!! EDITED TO ADD - Interestingly, the alternative explanation for the mark on Bogg's face was that it had been caused by the muzzle of the .22 calibre gun which killed him being pressed against his face. This post may not be copied and pasted elsewhere without permission!
As anyone who reads of the Boggs case and Dobersen's relationship to it can see, Dobersen is not, in any way, to be considered an expert on stun guns. No matter how many years have passed since Dobersen first began to research the subject, Stratbucker has the years before that to add on to his own experience level, and Stratbucker has the advantage of having aggressively researched the effects of electricity on the human body. Dobersen, on the other hand, has been a reactive researcher. He has only sought to learn as much as he needed to know to answer specific questions posed by law enforcement. Stratbucker has wanted to learn because that area of medical knowledge is his passion. Stratbucker is the true expert. Dobersen is an amateur.
More An alternative suggestion for the mark on Bogg's face had been that it was caused by the muzzle of the .22 calibre gun which killed him being pressed against the side of his face. The information in the book explains why Dobersen said that you can't really tell from a photograph. According to Singular, during the second autopsy, Dobersen closely examined the circular area of redness again and noted that they were in fact like small burns.
Of course, JonBenét's body was flown away from Boulder as fast as the Ramseys could get it out of there, WY, and away from any type of stungun tests which could have been performed, or any other internal examinations. Talk about being privileged over the common herd (?). I'll say they were. Thank you Jay and Why_Nut for the interesting posts. I don't know about the Bogg's case, but it seems to me, the experts can't agree on these stun gun marks.
I was going to ask the sherriff what effect a Tazer would have on a small child, but I didn't get the chance. It's an interesting-looking instrument - looks like a yellow stapling gun or something. I think it may have a small camera attached to it. I just didn't have the opportunity to find out. Maybe next time around.
Jayelles, Can you please send to me at my e-mail addy I gave you recently, the "full" quotes from this section of the book you are referencing here on this thread? I would be most interested in this, Thank you ACR
