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Autopsies done on 3 cases
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Posted on Jan 17 2020
A forensic pathologist flew in early this week to help the Department of Public Safety with some
unresolved cases in the past year by determining the cause of deaths of the victims.
Dr. Rachel Lange, a forensic pathologist based in Hawaii, flew in last Tuesday and did an autopsy on the bodies of Li Na Lim, 43, and Linhua Cui, 53. Both were found dead inside the Rice Cake Best Food Restaurant in San Antonio in the morning of Dec. 13, 2019; and the decomposing body of a still unidentified man found in a cove of Bird Island in Marpi in Nov. 25, 2019.
The body of Sergio Apostol, 62, victim of a fatal car collision in Puerto Rico on Dec. 16, 2019, was also among the bodies to be examined but recent police investigation determined speed as a factor in the crash that claimed Apostol’s life.
Lange has been a forensic medical examiner for 10 years and previously conducted her practice in New York before moving to Hawaii.
Based on Lange’s autopsy report on Lim and Cui, the two women who were found dead in an establishment in San Antonio back in December 2019 were both shot. There is no suspect yet behind the shooting incident. DPS is officially ruling the deaths as a homicide.
The bodies of Lim and Cui will be released to their families once they arrive on the island.
Lange also did an autopsy on the decomposing body that was found near Bird Island back in November 2019 and ruled the cause of death as undetermined. However, possible causes of death are by falling or drowning.
The identity of the victim still remains unknown, as there are no missing person reports and no dental or medical records available to be compared to. However, an X-ray of the victim’s teeth and DNA have been documented, in case any records are shared for comparison in the future.
Lange indicated in her autopsy report that the victim had a fractured clavicle and several fractured ribs on his right side, which are consistent with injuries in a fall.
The report also indicated that the victim’s body had been in the water for some time.
