Summary

The autopsy reports on the two bank robbers involved in the North Hollywood shootout answer some, but not all of the questions

Source CONUS Archive
Record ID 20115
Story Slug NORTH HOLLYWOOD SHOOTOUT AUTOPSIES (04/11/1997)
Location North Hollywood, California
Format Pkg No Tag
Date 04/11/1997
Archive Time 9:57
TRT 2:05
Supers North Hollywood, California Scott Carrier, LA County Coroner's Office Randy Paige, Reporting
Video Description file of bank shootout, autopsy reports, still of Matasareanu and Phillips, file of shootout, sot, cu of coroner's report, sot, file of alleged suicide, sketches of shooting
Description The autopsy reports on the two bank robbers involved in the North Hollywood shootout answer some, but not all of the questions
Script LEAD: Six weeks ago, we watched the wild North Hollywood bank shootout on live t-v Two gunmen died before our eyes But do we really know how they died? Autopsy reports may surprise you Randy Paige reports SCRIPT: Another chapter in the investigation into the North Hollywood bank robbery is now written; two autopsy reports released by the coroner's office, which answer questions about the deaths about two heavily armed bank robbers, Emil Matasareanu, and Larry Phillips Neither gunman was under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs But the sedative phenobarbital was found Enough, according to one doctor, to take the edge off, which may partially explain their apparent nonchalant demeanor Emil Matasareanu was wearing a bullet-resistant vest He was vulnerable from the waist down when he was confronted by a carload of SWAT officers He was hit 29 times before he collapsed Police drew criticism for not allowing paramedics in to treat Matasareanu He can be seen alive, moving his head, more than 45 minutes after the shooting stopped Paramedics were not allowed in until an hour and a half after the shooting The coroner concludes none of the 29 gunshots pierced any vital organs Emil Matasareanu bled to death from a massive wound in his upper thigh (SOT) Randy Phillips was covered from head to toe with body armor Many of the police rounds simply bounced off It appears he took his own life, when he put a nine-millimeter pistol against his chin and pulled the trigger Indeed, the coroner's report shows that self-inflicted wound went right through his brain But another round fired by police hit the base of his neck from behind, severing his spinal chord Both rounds were fired almost simultaneously (SOT) We now know about every nick and scratch on the bodies of these two gunmen But these autopsy reports cannot answer one of the most fundamental questions of all, was Larry Phillips killed by a police bullet, or did he take his own life TAG: If the drug phenobarbital sounds familiar, it's the same drug the Heaven's Gate cult used in large dosages to commit suicide
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Keywords

shootout
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