President George Weah has directed Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean to make available the remains of the late Princess Cooper for the conduct of a second autopsy.
The decision, according to President Weah, is to offer support to the bereaved family, in their quest end the circumstances surrounding the death of their daughter along with concerns raised by some citizens with the initial autopsy.
President Weah said the government will fund the conduct of the second autopsy and called on the family to designate a pathologist of their choice, who possesses the necessary credentials and qualifications.
President Weah in the directive urged Minister Dean to ensure that all civil society, political and other interest groups and individuals who have been involved with advocacy in the case cooperate with the family and send the name of a designated qualified pathologist to the government in the soonest possible time for the conduct of the second autopsy
The Liberian Chief Executive reiterated his condolences to the bereaved family, saying the death of any Liberian, whether by natural or unnatural causes, is concerning to the government.
The President has however called on the public to respect Liberian professionals. He reminded them that the pathologists who carried out the initial autopsy were trained to international standards by the Government of Liberia with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
What did the first autopsy say?
The government of Liberia through the Ministry of Justice requested Pathologists Dr. Benedict B. Kolee and Dr. Zoebon B. Kparteh to conduct an autopsy on the body of Princess Cooper on who found dead at the back of a Fawaz Building Material Store at the ELWA Junction on March 24, 2022. The autopsy was conducted at Liberia biggest referral Hospital the John F. Kennedy Medical Center on March 31, 2022.
Revealing the much-awaited result of the post-mortem examination on Monday, the pathologists said Princess Cooper died of natural causes.
They named the causes as “Hemorrhagic shock – a condition of reduced tissue perfusion (the passage of blood, a blood substitute, or other fluid through the blood vessels or other natural channels in an organ or tissue), Massive hemorrhage (excessive blood loss) from ruptured Rasmussen aneurysm and erosion of bronchial vessels and Progressive Secondary Pulmonary Tuberculosis In our professional and expert opinion, the manner of death is natural.”
In simple terms, the Pathologists disclosed that she died of natural death as the result of tuberculosis she suffered from.
Dr. Benedict B. Kole said that team did not have any proof that Princess was hit and that there was no trauma on her chest nor bruises concluding that she died from Micro Bacteria Carbohydrates disease.
“The scientific causes of Princess Cooper’s death are Hemorrhagic shock, massive hemorrhagic from the ruptured Rasmussen, and progressive secondary pulmonary tuberculosis. In our professional and expert opinions, the manner of death is natural” he added
According to Dr. Kole, Cooper went to the hospital two days prior to her death and she was found to be suffering from fever.
From the report, there was no wound on her body but a little over two liters of blood was in her stomach. In addition, no specimen was in her virginal. After all of the scanning she had blood on her lung, Dr. Kole furthers.
“We found massive blood in the lung of the late Princess,” Dr. Kole said. The Liberian Pathologist said the specimen of Princess was taken to many labs both in and out of the country and her body was free from any harmful substances. He challenged individuals who will not believe the autopsy report to hire a pathologist and do another autopsy on the remains of the late Princess and if such person finds anything other than the report his team presented, he and his team of pathologists should be killed.
“If you doubt the finding, if you anywhere in or out of Liberia –come and redo the autopsy and if we lie, crucify us,” he said.
Princess Family cause President to Act
Hours after Government’s report in a press conference, the family, through representative, Dr. Abel Momo, rejected the report said they were consulting with its team of lawyers to decide the next move.
“We feel that what was reported is not consistent with the normal happenings of our sister, and we think that the report, as from the family standpoint, we cannot take such a report from the Liberian Government. We are still discussing as a family, what is the way forward, but we think the report and what came is not consistent with the pattern of death,” Dr. Momo said.
He further said that prior to the announcement, the government did not inform the family, and they only learned about the release of the autopsy report on social media.
According to him, there was no official communication sent to the family, nor through our lawyer that they would have announced the report. “We only saw it on Facebook posts and heard it from media practitioners. So we were not formally informed. And based on that, we got the information at the 11th hour through heresy or they say.”
He also revealed that although communication was sent to the family to witness the autopsy, the family did not attend because all of the concerns they raised were not adhere to by the Ministry of Justice. He however felt short of telling the media what concerns hey raised with the Ministry.
What is TB?
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person.
It mainly affects the lungs, but it can affect any part of the body, including the tummy (abdomen), glands, bones and nervous system.
Left untreated, TB can kill approximately one-half of patients within five years and produce significant morbidity (illness) in others. Inadequate therapy for TB can lead to drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis that are even more difficult to treat.
