Systematically, the doctor moved down the body, noting that the outer appearance looked fairly normal. When he got to the arms, however, he stopped. “There are small round lesions on both the right and left forearms consistent with skin popping, and several puncture wounds near the veins.”

He paid close attention to both wrists and found what he was looking for on the right one. “There are black marks on the right wrist consistent with gunpowder residue,” he said. “There’s also some bruising on the webbing between the thumb and index finger.”

After examining the lower extremities and the back of the body, he noted that the remainder of the body looked normal.

“Let’s get him on the table,” the doctor said. “We need to expedite this one.”

The technician rolled the gurney into the autopsy room, where another technician was waiting. They washed their hands thoroughly and donned latex gloves and masks before pouring water onto the stainless steel autopsy table and sliding the body into place.

One of the men placed a four-by-four under the shoulders while the other placed two scalpels, four pairs of scissors, a Stryker saw, a large knife, and a long needle on an instrument tray.

The senior technician picked up the scalpel and began his first incision at the left clavicle, cutting across to the right clavicle, then down around the chest and back up to the top. Next, he made a long incision from the sternum to the pubic area and peeled back the skin, exposing the lower organs.

He used the Stryker saw to cut down both sides of the rib cage, and the smell of blood and burning bone filled the room as the saw did its work. With the scalpel, he cut away the muscle holding the ribs in place, then removed the ribs, exposing the upper organs.

As they extracted the organs and placed them in a pan, blood ran along the stainless-steel table and disappeared down a drain at the end. With a swipe of the scalpel, the technician cut out the dead man’s tongue and placed it in the pan as well.

“You gentlemen just about ready for me?” the doctor asked as he entered the room.

“Just about,” the lead technician said as he made an incision across the top of the head from ear to ear.

When the cut was complete, he pulled half the skin forward over the face, and the other half backward to the base of the neck. With the skull exposed, he used the Stryker saw to cut a circle around the head. Then he removed the top of the skull and reached down into the space at the back of the brain to cut the spinal cord.

He put the brain into the pan while the second technician weighed the remaining organs. Next, a needle was inserted into the bladder to remove a urine sample and the testicles were removed from the scrotum.