By: E. Geedahgar Garsuah
MONROVIA: Barely a week after the Liberia National Police (LNP) made public the post-mortem examination results on the remains of Charloe Musu, the twenty-four years old daughter of former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, Gloria Musu-Scott, a Liberian Forensic Scientist based in the United States of America (USA), Dr. Rockefeller F. Cooper, has diametrically differed with the preliminary results of the autopsy conducted on the remains of Charloe Musu, as released by Dr. Benedict Kolee.
According to Dr. Rockefeller, the outcome of the initial autopsy conducted on the lifeless body of Charloe Musu is “designed to birth a range of doubts” that has the proclivity to undermine what he termed as “true justice.”
The Charloe Musu, a graduating senior of the Starz University College in Sinkor, Monrovia, met her end on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, reportedly at the Brewerville residence of her mother, ex-Chief Justice Gloria Musu-Scott.
Since the incident occurred, there have been mounting calls from several groups including women advocacy organizations and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) for the Government of Liberia (GoL) through the Ministry of Justice to ensure the alleged perpetrators are brought to book.
Owing to the increased outcries from the various pressure groups, the Government of Liberia, through Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean, ordered that an autopsy be conducted on Charloe’s lifeless body so as to ascertain the actual cause of her death.
According to the autopsy findings which was released on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in the edifice of the St. Moses Funeral Parlour, situated on the Japan Freeway, one of Liberia’s two known Pathologists, Dr. Benedict B. Kolee, who carried out the process disclosed that the preliminary autopsy established that Charloe died as a result of “severe exsanguination or a massive loss of blood.”
Dr. Kolee added that severe hemothorax or chest trauma tied to collapse in the left lung of the deceased after excess blood clotting defects also contributed to the cause of Charloe’s death.
“She drained most of her blood out, and that bleeding came mostly below the rib which caused the blood inside the chest as you know she was stabbed multiple times, and so much blood inside the chest caused the death,” the known Liberian pathologist asserted.
According to Kolee, “That is what we have gathered from the preliminary results of the autopsy, with all of the needed evidence we need.”
But in stern reaction to Dr. Kolee’s findings, Dr. Rockefeller outlined his disagreements in a write-up, captioned: “An analysis of the Charloe Musu’s Autopsy Preliminary Findings, Another Blind Walk into the Wilderness.”
In his analysis of Dr. Kolee’s autopsy report on Charloe’s remains, Dr. Cooper erected what he described as red flags which he says “support the fact that the autopsy carried out is destined to give birth to a barrage of doubts and a misrepresentation of the crime to an extent that any medical professional mind would term it as highly nonsensical.”
Dr Cooper further asserted that “As a result of this autopsy, like many others performed in the past by Dr. Kolee whose ability to conduct forensic autopsies is highly questionable, we can argue the expectancy of another botched result based on his focus on the particular and fatal stab wound which led to the death of Ms. Charloe Musu, an act which was judgmental and bias.”
According to US-based Forensic Medicolegal Death Investigator (FMDI), who is also said to have vast experienced in Forensic Postmortem Examination (FPE), Dr. Kolee’s findings which indicate that Charloe’s death was caused by severe hemothorax or chest trauma as captured in the autopsy are totally far from the facts.
“Your findings, as to the cause of death, as mentioned in the preliminary report are incorrect. Giving the undisputed facts in this case, there can be no correlation between the said autopsy report and the investigative facts due to the lack of both medical and forensic merits,” Dr. Cooper declared.
“As you have already given a cause of death with semi-pathophysiological summary in reference to the left lung collapsing due to arterial injury caused by a stab wound, what other scientific evidence do you expect to find, now that you have spoken prematurely about the cause of death? Are you sure that indeed the autopsy was performed based on the standards of forensic autopsies? “He wonders.
Dr. Cooper, in his analysis of the Dr. Kolee’s autopsy report further states, “Your assumption that your cause of death in this case, will be the same cause derived from another examination conducted by a qualified individual or if the body was sent elsewhere in the world would give the same result is false and misleading.”
“Hopefully, after reading this paper, you will appreciate your own misconception. This is because a proper forensic examination was not done by you. Arguments will be presented later after you have submitted a final report,” the opposing medical doctor vowed.
“In conclusion,” he furthers, “I recommend that you read this document carefully, especially the above seven points. I have not gone into details since your current finding is “provisional” and therefore, it is only professional that I wait your final report. As stated in the subtitle of this document, this is Part 1 and you can rest assured that more critical information shall be released, pending discrepancies in your final autopsy report,” Dr. Rockefeller F. Cooper concluded.
