LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office has performed autopsies in many high-profile cases, including that of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who singer D4vd is charged with killing, and the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo talked to The Associated Press about how his office handles its work and reaches its headline-making conclusions.
Why the cause of death is not always the most obvious option
Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home in October 2023 and initial reports speculated that he had drowned.
Two months after his death, Ukpo’s office determined the main cause of his death was acute toxicity of the surgical anesthetic ketamine and that drowning was a secondary cause…