AUTOPSY REVIEW FINDS NO EVIDENCE OF WRONGDOING IN MAYS DEATH

Abnormal Heart led to Mays Death
No Evidence of Strangulation, Asphyxia
Milwaukee Medical Examiner Participates in Review
Original Autopsy Finding 100% Accurate

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld

By Michael Horne
and the Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

A reopened autopsy conducted by a pathologist to determine the cause of death of Mequon surgeon Bradley Mays confirms the original diagnosis of heart disease and finds nothing suspicious in the case.

Dr. Brian L. Peterson, Milwaukee County Deputy Medical Examiner [License 49701-20] who has performed over 7,000 autopsies, reviewed the Autopsy Protocol [A08-095], toxicology report, digital photographs, preserved tissue samples, 27 microscopic slides and 27 tissue blocks from the July 21st, 2008 procedure on Mays, who had died earlier that day. [Peterson CV]
Peterson confirmed in every respect the original diagnosis of Dr. Mary Mainland, [License 38063-20] then the Kenosha County Medical Examiner.

Peterson also reviewed the microscopic sections with Dr. Christopher Happy, [License 52088-20] the Medical Examiner of Milwaukee County. Both concurred with the pathologist's original finding of death due to Hypertrophic Cardiomyapathy.
"We agree that there are a number of abnormalities [in the heart and tissue samples]," Peterson wrote in a report to Atty. Steve Kravit, who commissioned the study on behalf of his client, Carolyn "Carrie" Mays, widow of Dr. Mays.
“In summary, Dr. Mays had an abnormal heart. The increased heart weight plus clear microscopic changes support a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and also suggest hypertensive cardiovascular disease. Please note that such changes can occur in completely asymptomatic individuals and even in those with a history of normal blood pressure readings – and of course, sudden death in the presence of such changes is not unexpected."

The report goes on to state, "Characteristic findings of manual strangulation, smothering, ligature strangulation or other forms of violent asphyxia are simply not present in this case."
The original report was disputed, for reasons known only to himself, by the brother of the late physician, who called Mequon police with his preposterous and unfounded doubts on July 26th.
[See "Widows and Orphans Latest Belling Target," Milwaukeeworld.com November 20th, 2008.]
The brother, non-practicing doctor Truman Mays, of Austin, Texas, an artist who also goes by the name of Truman Marquez, took his story to the press where he found a gullible accomplice in radio talker Mark Belling who turned the case into a cause celebre and, by doing so, invaded the privacy rights of the widow, according to Kravit.

“The untimely death of Bradley Mays was a tragedy for his wife Carrie, and his daughters, ages 8, 6 and 3. That tragedy has been compounded by the unjustified, unrelenting invasion of their privacy by the media and Bradley’s brother, who have made demonstrably false statements, and have deliberately portrayed Carrie Mays in a false light, as somehow being involved in a crime or a cover up. It is time for Bradley’s brother Truman and whoever else is behind him to back off. It is time for the media to move the spotlight somewhere else.”

Kravit added: “On behalf of Carrie Mays, we delivered a cease and desist letter to WISN Radio, Clear Channel and Mark Belling. We sent retraction demand letters to Conley Publications (GM Today) and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. We are reviewing claims arising from the irresponsible conduct of the media and Truman Mays, and will be vigilant to make sure that no further violations occur. Any inference that Carrie Mays was involved in a crime associated with the death of her husband is false, and publicity given to such an inference is highly offensive to any reasonable person. There is no public interest in this matter, and there never has been.”

MEQUON OFFICIALS ASK EXAMINER TO CONDUCT REVIEW, APPARENTLY UNAWARE HE ALREADY HAS DONE SO

Apparently yielding to Belling's demands, City of Mequon and Ozaukee County officials sent the Mays autopsy samples to medical examiner Happy on Friday, asking he "review all aspects of the Bradley Mays autopsy." They were apparently unaware he had already done so in consultation with Dr. Peterson
In an announcement quoted in the Journal Sentinel, outgoing Mequon Mayor Christine Nuernberg said, "We welcome this additional review, and we remain open to whatever outcome and findings that the Milwaukee County medical examiner may determine."
--Michael Horne

EXAMINER FAULTS OUTSIDERS' REPORT, FAILURE TO INSPECT DATA

Belling based some of his claims on a cursory review by Dr. Barry J. Maron, a Minnesota pathologist hired by Truman Mays - Marquez to comment on the autopsy report. Although he did not have access to the tissue samples and slides, Maron ventured an opinion on the original autopsy, including his erroneous assumption that there was no enlargement of the late physician's heart.
As the Journal Sentinel reported on November 3rd, 2008, "'Therefore, with this suspicious confluence of findings, Dr. Mays is either a "first" or this is a very misleading autopsy report, which is almost certainly incorrect,' Maron wrote."
The Journal Sentinel report also quoted another pathologist, Barbara Weakley-Jones, who issued an opinion based only on a reading of the written autopsy protocol.

In his report to Attorney Kravit, Dr. Peterson, the Milwaukee Deputy Medical Examiner stated, "It is simply unfair to ask an expert to render an opinion without providing a complete basis for that opinion, particularly in this case in which a number of important findings are microscopic." Weakley-Jones was "at even more of a disadvantage basing her opinion on the autopsy report and Dr. Maron’s consultation report – a compounding of errors, if you will.”
-- Michael Horne
[See also Mays Brother Refuses to Accept Medical Examiner's Findings from today's Milwaukeeworld post, November 24th, 2008]

Update Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

CONLEY PAPERS RUN BELLING RETRACTION IN ALL PRINT AND INTERNET EDITIONS

Conley Publishing Group, the West Bend media company that publishes the Waukesha Freeman, the West Bend Daily News and the GM Today website has run a prominent retraction of the false claims made in Mark Belling's columns of November 12th and November 19th.

• "We apologize for the errors and any suggestion that, by questioning the autopsy findings along with some members of Dr. Mays' family, Belling had accused Carrie Mays by inference with commission of a crime or a cover up or any inappropriate conduct," the Retraction read.

The Retraction, measuring 2-3/4" by 4-3/4" in the print editions, was prominently set off by a bold border and a prominent headline reading, simply, "RETRACTION."

It appeared in the papers on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at the top of the Opinion page of each of the publications. "Of course, Mr. Belling's columns had been published on the Opinion page," wrote David R. Olson, [U Minnesota '63] General Counsel for Conley Publishing Group. This prominent placement follows established policy for dealing with corrections made in opinions and editorials. The principle is that a correction should appear on the same page as an editorial or recurring column where the error first appeared so that it will likely receive the greatest attention.

The electronic correction is similarly elaborate, and was engineered to remain connected to the columns containing Belling's falsehoods whenever accessed from or linked to the archive."That is," Olson wrote, "by clicking on the November 12 column in the Archives, you not only see the November 12 column but you will also see the retraction. That column, and the November 19 column, appear on the Web site after the retraction. Finally, once the November 19 column appears in the Archives, it will also be linked to the retraction so that both columns will be linked to the same retraction."

This also follows the best practices of the industry and helps to ensure that the article does not have a life in cyberspace unaccompanied by the publisher's retraction of its errors and falsehoods.
--Michael Horne

[Below please find a pdf document including facsimiles of the print and electronic editions of the retractions of the inaccuracies in repeated columns by Mark Belling. --Ed.]

081125.Conley retractions.pdf