Examinations at the scene were carried out by Guyana's leading
pathologist, Dr Mootoo. According to Jim Hougan, a journalist and
producer of a documentary of The People's Temple, Motoo claimed to have
given the medical evidence to a foreign service officer at the U.S.
Embassy. That evidence has never surfaced, nor has the officer. Mootoo
refused to talk to the press and leading forensic pathologists have
commented about the absence of autopsies and use of embalming at the
scene.
Many of the dead were identified by survivors, while others wore plastic
wrist-bracelets. All of these i.d.'s were ordered removed just before
the dead were eventually shipped back to the US and they arrived,
anonymously, in body-bags. No-one knows why. The Guyanese records were
destroyed in a fire set by local politicians, who pleaded guilty to the
crime without explaining it. Forensic records are unprofessional and
incomplete.
Every qualified pathologist knows samples for toxicological analysis
must be taken and handled in a particular manner. If there is the
slightest possibility of criminal action, the samples must be
meticulously labelled and identified, placed into the appropriate tube
then immediately labelled with the deceased's name and date.
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Autopsy kit supplied by British home Office Forensic Service for collection of toxicological samples. There are tubes for liver and stomach contents, containers for blood and urine and a bottle for blood alcohol.
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