Antonin Scalia: Another Texas Death With No Autopsy

MORE LONE STAR STATE SECRETS?

On November 22, 1963, the course of American history changed suddenly, substantively and irrevocably when John F. Kennedy was murdered in broad daylight on the streets of Dallas, Texas.

Kennedy – who would pass for a conservative in today’s political world – was killed because he intended to move America in a direction the status quo feared.  And while he was clearly no saint … the vast majority of the changes he was pushing for would have benefited the nation.

Less foreign interventionism, more tax cuts, more liberty … to name just a few.

So … who killed Kennedy?  We’ll probably never know … in large part because there was no autopsy performed on his body in the immediate aftermath of his assassination.  A military autopsy on Kennedy’s body was performed later at Bethesda Naval Hospital – although its findings have been widely debunked.

Many believe Kennedy was killed by his own government … and cite the Bethesda autopsy as evidence of a cover-up.

Anyway, last weekend another death in Texas sent shock waves across the American political landscape.

Antonin Scalia – a conservative icon and the longest-serving member of the U.S. Supreme Court – was found dead at ranch resort in West Texas.  His death is likely to mark a seismic shift in the ideological direction of the high court – potentially opening the door to a flood of left-leaning opinions benefiting the agenda of liberal U.S. president Barack Obama.

The 79-year-old Associate Justice was in Texas for a private retreat – and reportedly remarked to witnesses that he felt ill on Friday evening.  The following morning he never emerged from his suite, and was discovered “unresponsive” at around 11:00 a.m. EST on Saturday.

With a pillow over his face …

Presidio County judge Cinderela Guevara declared Scalia dead at 1:52 p.m. EST on Saturday, February 13 – via a spotty cell phone connection to the Cibolo Creek Ranch, which is where he passed away.

Guevara was called by local sheriff Danny Dominguez.

“Judge, I’m at Cibolo Creek Ranch, and a Supreme Court Justice has just passed away, and I need someone here immediately,” Dominguez told her.  “Both justices of the peace are out of town at this time.”

“Sheriff, what did you say?” Guevara responded. “Which Supreme Court Justice died at Cibolo Creek Ranch?”

The cell phone line then went dead.

Eventually, the call was reconnected – at which point Dominguez told Guevara that there were “no signs of foul play” related to Scalia’s death.

While Guevara and Dominguez struggled with shoddy cell reception, U.S. Marshals Service officers were descending on the scene along with officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety.  Guevara was ready to drive to Cibolo Creek Ranch herself to examine the body, but was discouraged from doing so by Marshals.

“It’s not necessary for you to come, judge,” one Marshal her.  “If you’re asking for an autopsy, that’s what we need to clarify.”

Was she? 

“As part of my investigation, one of the things I did ask the sheriff and the U.S. Marshal: ‘Were there any signs of foul play?’ And they said, ‘absolutely not.’ At that time, I still wanted to be careful, and asked them if (Scalia’s) physician would call me,” she told WFAA TV 8 (ABC – Dallas, Texas).

After conferring with Scalia’s physician at 8:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, Guevara decided against ordering an autopsy.

Why?

“I felt comfortable what I knew was going on with him physically,” she said.

So comfortable, in fact, she ruled Scalia died of natural causes without even viewing his body.

Some reports indicated Guevara declared Scalia died of a heart attack, but she disputed that characterization – saying her diagnosis of “myocardial infarction” merely meant that his heart stopped beating.

Wow …

We are not suggesting foul play was involved in Scalia’s death.  It’s far more likely than not that he died of natural causes in his sleep as Guevara concluded.  Nor are we suggesting an autopsy and toxicology screening would have turned up any evidence to suggest that foul play was involved.

But the cavalier mishandling of such a notable death is simply inexcusable … especially given Texas’ history in these matters.

Seriously: We have a spotty cell call.  A federal official telling a local judge it is “not necessary” for her to examine the body. And most importantly: We have a judge basing the cause of death on one phone call with a physician hundreds of miles away.

To say these facts provide fertile ground for conspiracy theorists would be a colossal understatement.

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