Posted on 04/01/2005 9:28:56 PM PST by Slyfox
A toxicology test comes back negative, but officials still aren't sure what caused five puncture marks on her arms.
CLEARWATER - Terri Schiavo returned to her assisted living home Tuesday after a hurried round of hospital tests were conducted to determine the cause of five puncture marks found on her arms.
A toxicology test came back negative, meaning there's no evidence that Schiavo, 40, was secretly injected with a foreign substance.
Clearwater police "have found no evidence of a crime and no evidence of an attempted crime," said spokesman Wayne Shelor.
And Schiavo's personal doctor, summoned to her bed in the assisted living facility Monday night, said Tuesday that he's not "100 percent sure" the marks were even made by a needle.
But the marks remain unexplained, the latest twist in the long, strange right-to-die case of Terri Schiavo.
"It could be that the skin was broken, maybe by someone's fingernail or jewelry," said Schiavo's physician, Dr. Stanton Tripodis. "There was just an unusual appearance to these marks."
George Felos, an attorney for Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, suggested in a news release that her parents might have stuck her repeatedly with a needle during a visit to her room earlier that day.
After Felos issued his news release, ABC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, the Canadian Broadcasting Network and numerous newspapers peppered Clearwater police for details.
"In 15 years, I have dealt with everything from (dead Scientologist) Lisa McPherson to the Virgin Mary (window image)," Shelor said, "and I have never consulted with this many media on a national level in one day."
George Tragos, who represents Schiavo's parents, denied that they stuck their daughter with a needle.
"They have no idea what (Felos) is talking about," Tragos said. "This is an outrageous abuse of the process. To issue a press release about something there was no evidence about was basically an outrageous method to get some kind of judicial advantage."
Schiavo collapsed 14 years ago and exists in what the courts have called a "persistent vegetative state." Michael Schiavo, her guardian, wants to remove the feeding tube that keeps her alive. Judges agree with him.
Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have fought to keep her alive. They have found an ally in Gov. Jeb Bush, who wants to reopen the court case and review the evidence.
Tuesday morning, Bush asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to monitor Felos' needle allegations. FDLE spokesman Rick Morera said Clearwater police have not asked for help and will continue to be the lead investigative agency.
The Schindlers visited their daughter for about 45 minutes Monday afternoon at the Park Place assisted living home in Clearwater, where she lives while her permanent home at Hospice of the Florida Suncoast undergoes renovations. The Schindlers typically see her about twice a week.
After they left, an aide noticed that Schiavo was disheveled, Felos said. Her feeding tube was wrapped around her back. An armband was higher than usual on her arm.
"The aide knew something was wrong immediately and called the head nurse to come in," Felos said. "Somebody noticed a couple of marks on her arms." A purple needle cap was found on her gown.
Tripodis, Schiavo's doctor, was called to examine her. Tripodis said the marks were fresh puncture wounds "consistent with little needle marks."
Schiavo receives medication through her feeding tube and had not had any blood drawn recently, he said. So the marks were unexplained, and she was sent to Morton Plant-Mease Hospital.
"I really can't say what is the most likely explanation. I'm not a forensic scientist," Tripodis said.
Felos said he got his information from his client, Michael Schiavo, who could not be reached for comment.
Tragos, the Schindlers' attorney, noted that an off-duty Clearwater police officer is stationed outside Schiavo's room, a security measure paid for by the hospice. When people visit, the door to her room remains open. On Monday, a nurse stopped by at least once during the Schindlers' visit - hardly an atmosphere for skulduggery, he said.
"To suggest that these people who have given their lives to save (their daughter's) life would do anything to harm her is an absurd idea," Tragos said.
Toxicology tests at Morton Plant ruled out the prospect that someone injected something harmful into Schiavo. Felos said he didn't know whether any tests were done to determine whether blood had been drawn from her, which could qualify as a crime of battery.
Clearwater police intend to interview the Schindlers, Michael Schiavo, medical staff "and anyone who had any contact with Mrs. Schiavo," Shelor said. "We have no evidence of any crime but will continue an inquiry."
During the investigation, Michael Schiavo is not allowing his wife to have visitors - including her parents.
The neat thing about insulin, from the standpoint of a potential murderer, is that it is a totally natural substance, produced by the body itself, which vanishes after it interacts with blood glucose.
It would be nice to see Congress subpoena all of them to testify to what they saw.
Felos said he got his information from his client, Michael Schiavo, who could not be reached for comment.
If anyone actually does have the gonads to come forward, I figure it wouldn't be long before s/he wound up dead under mysterious circumstances !!!
Unless they are using the new glucometer the marks would have been on her fingertips not her arm.
Greer has controlled the Schiavo case since 1998.
Interesting. Why? Because, not too long after that the FL state legislature passed a law making it easier for Terri to recieve a forced dehydration death sentence. Felos was undoubtedly chomping at the bit to find an unwilling victim. Preferably, one who could not talk back.
What do they call it when two or more people plan a murder in advance?
The whole thing stinks to high heaven. Let us all stay glued to this. Terri and her blood family deserve some justice.
Just goes to show ya Michael doesn't have a brain in his head.... To throw an insulin vial and syringe in the garbage is really wacko... especially for him being a nurse, and then trying to hide the evidence with wads of paper over it. Syringes NEVER go in the garbage, but in a sharps container. Only a guilty person in a hurry would do something like this.
When the appeals court reviewed the case, the appeals court sent the case back to Greer's court.
Even with the newer glucometers which permit sample collecting on the arm, when checking for a blood glucose drop (hypoglycemia) one needs to test on the finger, because it is more vascular and the result will be more up-to-the-minute. The nurse who reported finding her sugar dangerously low after Michael's visit would certainly have stuck her finger.
Needle sticks on her arm could certainly have been caused by injecting her with insulin, which as mentioned by others, would leave no chemical trace in her blood. His trying to turn it around and blame her parents is typical of his whole approach, and a ridiculous attempt to cover his own guilt.
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