Monrovia – Dr. Roger Mitchell on Tuesday, August 13 conducted the long-awaited autopsy on the body of Odell Sherman after staying 82 days at the St. Moses Funeral Parlor in Gardnerville Township.
Odell was pronounced dead on June 21 after she was unconsciously found in the home of Rev. Emmanuel Giddings at his Duazohn, Margibi County and taken to the ELWA Hospital.
According to a release from the Ministry of Justice, the Council of Churches and the deceased family witnessed the conduct of the autopsy.
The report is expected to be out in two weeks, according to Dr. Mitchell.
Dr. Mitchell, Jr. is a Chief Medical Examiner of Washington, D.C. – a position he has held since February 2014, family sources say.
Dr. Mitchell has performed over 1,400 autopsies in his career and has testified as an expert in numerous cases.
Dr. Mitchell came in after the Government disqualified Dr. Rockefeller Cooper who was not a licensed to practice in Liberia.
Before Dr. Rockefeller, Dr. Benedict B. Kolee was to conduct the autopsy but the family insists that they do not trust the government’s handling of the investigation and will resist any further exclusive investigation of the corpse by the government.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Justice from Odell’s family signed by Alphonso O. Sherman – father of the deceased – the family lauded the GoL “for the attention and commitment made to pay for the independent pathologist that was hired to conduct an autopsy on the remains of our late daughter, Odell P. Sherman.”