We may not ever get answers about Michelle Trachtenberg’s death, all because her family opted not to have an autopsy done.
Days after news broke that the 39-year-old actress was found dead in her apartment, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office revealed her loved ones objected to an autopsy, so the medical examiner could only do an external examination of her body. Since they did not conduct a postmortem examination, that meant the cause and manner of her death were listed as “undetermined.” And in the wake of the announcement, one thing people want to know is: Why would the family decline to have an autopsy completed? They have not come out to explain their reasoning, but a legal expert is offering some insight now.
Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Lawyers, told People on Friday that an autopsy is “not required by law unless the circumstances of the death are suspicious.” If foul play was suspected in Michelle’s death, the attorney explained a medical examiner would be required by law to perform one in order to hold a possible suspect accountable. However, her death isn’t. Police previously confirmed that “criminality is not suspected.” So, because the autopsy is not legally required, the Gossip Girl alum’s family got to decide whether they wanted one done — and they chose not to!
Related: Michelle Trachtenberg’s Childhood Co-Star Writes The Most Beautiful Tribute
According to Neama, there are several reasons why her loved ones declined. The one he often sees? The family is hoping to have “privacy,” especially if the autopsy will reveal something “bad” about the deceased. He said:
“If it’s a suicide, if it’s a natural death [or] those types of cases where no one’s going to be prosecuted, the autopsy is not required by law. The problem is sometimes we’ve seen autopsies become public, and the family members will actually file lawsuits to keep autopsies private because sometimes there’s information in the autopsy that can cast a bad light on the deceased.”
Think along the lines of alcohol or drug-related deaths. In those instances, unless it’s imperative to the case, the family may want to keep that from getting out to the public. Of course, there are other reasons to reject an autopsy. Neama pointed out it could be for “ religious reasons or privacy reasons” — that has nothing to do with stopping information from coming out that could paint the person in “a bad light.” Sometimes, the lawyer noted the family doesn’t want to draw out the grieving process, and an autopsy can take a long time:
“Some of it is because of religious issues, privacy issues, closure. [In the case of] natural death or even suicide, the family may not want to prolong the process of the burial and the wake.”
That said, Neama mentioned that an autopsy would need to be performed if there is a potential prosecution for murder — no matter the religious circumstances:
“You can’t destroy evidence. If they think that someone’s been killed, it’s a homicide. The family can’t cremate a body right away. That would be just like any other type of evidence. That body needs to be preserved for a medical examiner who’s going to prepare a report, then he or she will testify at trial.”
Again, that is not the situation with Michelle’s death. Thank goodness. We don’t know exactly why the family objected to an autopsy, but if you ask us? It most likely was for privacy reasons, and we all ultimately have to respect that. And although we won’t get answers about her cause of death, we have learned more about what was going on in her life over the past couple of years. Sadly, it sounds like she was not doing well.
As we previously reported, ABC News police sources claimed Michelle had a liver transplant and may have suffered from complications. She reportedly “told friends she was struggling” with “health issues” and “really, really sick.” The situation was so dire a friend said Michelle ultimately “knew that death was a high possibility.”
So, so sad…
Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments.
[Image via Adriana M. Barraza/WENN]
Related Posts
