April 14th, 1979
On the morning of Saturday, April 14th, 1979, a body, believed to be that of Theresa Allore, is transported from the coroner’s office in Sherbrooke, Quebec to the Laboratoire de medicine legale de Montreal. The medical facility is located in the main headquarters of the Surete du Quebec on Parthenais street in the east end of Montreal. Before Mr. Allore arrives, Theresa’s former roommate from Point Claire, Joey Nice is brought to the lab to see if she can make a positive identification on the body. Joey Nice is unable to determine whether the body is that of Theresa. At the same time, Corporal Gaudreault shows Nice the green garbage bag of clothing that was found at the entrance to the Gagnon farm in Compton. Joey Nice states that the women’s clothing does not belong to Theresa.
Mr. Allore - along with his wife and two sons - arrive at the SQ headquarters at 11:30 am. Corporal Gaudreault leads Mr. Allore into the medical lab where the corps lies on a stainless steel table. Mr. Allore observes the earrings. He observes the corpse, which is in an advanced state of decay. He notices a scar on the forehead, similar to one where he accidentally struck his daughter with a snow shovel when she was a little girl. Mr. Allore identifies the earrings as those of Theresa, but he is unable to recognize his daughter.
Corporal Gaudreault gently asks if Mr. Allore if he will permit the examiners to perform a dental analysis. The procedure is gruesome. It will require that they remove the lower jaw and cut out the entire oral cavity. Mr. Allore grants the request. He is escorted from the medical lab. He tells his family that he is almost certain it is their daughter.
The autopsy commences at 12:15 pm under the supervision of Teresa Sourour, pathologist with the Laboratoire de medicine legale. The autopsy is performed by Claude Payette and Normand Boissee. Corporal Gaudreault stands by to observe the autopsy. At Sourour’s request, 2 x-rays are taken, as well as 11 colored pictures of the body. Sourour observes that the body is in a state of putrefaction, or advanced decay. Sourour observes a brassiere, white underpants, and earrings. The items are removed and given to the chief investigator, Corporal Gaudreault.
Sourour observes the body of a young Caucasian woman, 5’7”, weighing 115 lbs, with auburn hair. The body is in an accelerated state of adipocere, making the skin thick and soapy. The skin is macerated. The fingers and toes are missing nails. The hair disengages itself easily. Sourour observes several, old scars on the arms and forehead. She observes that the teeth are natural, and authorizes the removal of the upper and lower maxillaries for dental identification by odontology expert, Dr. Robert Dorion. Sourour observes the absence of visible traces of external traumatic lesions on the body.
Sourour examines the head. There is no trauma to the scalp. There are no fractures to the skull. There are no visible traces of trauma to the mouth, ears or nose. She examines the neck. There are no visible signs of fracture or trauma. Sourour continues to the chest area. There are no lesions to the ribs or collar bone. There are signs of mucous in the trachea and bronchia. The gullet contains “a little vomiting matter”. The lungs show no signs of trauma. Nether does the spine. She exams the abdomen, and observes extensive adipocere. The stomach contains a small mass of solid food, digested or decomposed. The intestines are void of matter. The uterus, ovaries, vagina and external genital organs are “without noticeable particularity”.
Before concluding the autopsy, Sourour authorizes the transportation of the liver, spleen, kidneys and lungs to the chemical laboratory so that they may be examined for toxicology analysis. The autopsy is finished shortly after 3:00 pm. The results and conclusion of the autopsy are to follow in a matter of weeks.
Later that afternoon Corporal Gaudreault, Coroner Durand and Mr. Allore convene at the SQ headquarters to discuss the case. Everyone agrees that the body is almost certainly that of Theresa Allore. Gaudreault assures Mr. Allore that, despite the decomposition, the autopsy will determine what happened to Theresa. For now, Gaudreault is leaning towards a possible suicide; perhaps a drowning or possible drug overdose. Durand mentions the bruises under the armpits. What was the explanation for that? Gaudreault does not know, but he doubts that Theresa was the victim of a sexual predator. Gaudreault points to the underwear as evidence. If she were raped, her underwear would have been torn. The underwear on the body was in pristine condition. Gauldreault and Durand do not make mention of the strangulation marks that were observed earlier. Before departing, an inventory of the belongings found on the body is taken. Gaudreault produces the earrings from the autopsy, and the ring and watch, which he has kept in his possession. Mr. Allore releases these objects back to Gaudreault as evidence. The transfer is witnessed by signature by Coroner Durand.
Saturday evening Mr. Allore places a call to private investigator Robert Buellac. Buellac is already aware of the situation. They discuss how the body was found; face down in the water near Compton, in her panties and bra, the state of decomposition, the absence of signs of physical trauma. Buellac assures Mr. Allore that the autopsy will determine the cause of death. Whether it was a drowning or not. Whether there were drugs and alcohol involved or not. Buellac consoles Mr. Allore. He suggests that the matter may be resolved very quickly if they find intoxicating levels of drugs or alcohol in her system. He tells Mr. Allore that the worst is over.
posted by John Allore @ 4/14/2007 11:59:00 PM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home