Thomas Noguchi

Thomas Noguchi is a Japanese-American forensic pathologist who served as Los Angeles County chief medical examiner-coroner. He conducted autopsies in several high-profile deaths, including those of Marilyn Monroe and Robert F. Kennedy.

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Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe was an American actor and model who died in 1962 from an overdose of barbiturates. Noguchi performed her autopsy and classified her death as a probable suicide.
Forensic pathology: Forensic pathology applies medical knowledge to investigate deaths with legal significance. It is the specialty Noguchi practiced as a medical examiner.
Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner: The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner investigates deaths within its legal jurisdiction. Noguchi led the office as chief medical examiner-coroner from 1967 to 1982.
Forensic science: Forensic science applies scientific methods to questions arising in criminal and civil law. Noguchi’s autopsies made medical findings part of widely followed legal disputes.
Robert F. Kennedy: Robert F. Kennedy was an American politician and former attorney general who was assassinated in 1968. Noguchi conducted the autopsy and testified about the fatal gunshot wound.
Autopsy: An autopsy is a systematic examination of a body after death to determine its cause and circumstances. Noguchi’s examinations supplied anatomical findings for death investigations.
Cyril Wecht: Cyril Wecht is an American forensic pathologist and former elected coroner of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Like Noguchi, Wecht brought forensic pathology into prominent public controversies.
Conspiracy theory: A conspiracy theory explains an event as the result of a secret plot by powerful actors. Disputes over high-profile deaths examined by Noguchi became subjects of conspiracy claims.
Natalie Wood: Natalie Wood was an American film actor who died by drowning near Santa Catalina Island in 1981. Noguchi performed her autopsy before the circumstances of her death were reexamined.
Cause of death: Cause of death is the disease or injury that initiates the chain of events leading to death. Determining it was a central task in Noguchi’s autopsy reports.