Richard SimmonsThe death was ruled accidental, caused by the “blunt traumatic injuries” he suffered in a fall.
But the fitness guru’s final days have been shrouded in mystery since his own autopsy report revealed he had scrapes and bruises all over his body, as well as a broken leg, when he died the day after his 76th birthday.
In response to readers seeking clarity on the report’s disturbing details: RadarOnline.com spoke to an expert who reviewed the medical examiner’s findings and offered his perspective on the puzzling case.
Simmons, who disappeared from the public eye in 2014 after a blossoming career as a TV fitness instructor, became found dead at his Hollywood Hills home on July 13.
The Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office released the notice autopsy report on August 29, the ruling ruled that the injuries Simmons suffered in a “fall at ground level” on an “unknown date” main cause of his death. Coronary artery disease was also mentioned as a contributing condition.
Along with an illustration showing the injuries covering Simmons from head to toe, the report stated: “There are multiple abrasions and contusions [scrapes and bruises] on the body.”
He also had a “palpable fracture” to his left femur, meaning his femur was broken.
Dr. Ron Graeser, a retired forensic pathologist who has worked as a medical examiner in three Michigan counties, does not believe these injuries were serious enough to have killed Simmons. He is confident that the details in the autopsy report point to a natural death from heart disease.
Simmons had “terrible coronary arteries,” said Dr. Graeser, and therefore “severe, severe coronary sclerosis”.
He noted that the report showed one artery was 80% blocked and another was 70% blocked, calling these “horrendous numbers.”
Dr. Graeser told it us: “When it’s that bad, you’re often nauseous, you may have pain in your neck and jaw, but you’re definitely upset down to the intestines, and very often people vomit.”
Presenting his theory on Simmons’ grim final moments, the expert said: ‘So he was in bed, he got nauseous and threw up. That’s why there’s some of this brown liquid on the bed and floor.”
He suspects that Simmons then got out of bed to throw up in the bathroom, and on the way back to bed fell and broke his femur.
“It’s common to break there, especially in older people,” he explained. “The bones become weak and brittle and you can just walk, maybe twist a little wrong, and boom, snap.
“So then he’s on the ground, and it’s really hard to move with a broken hip. The pain would be terrible. And he threw up some on the ground.”
Dr. Graeser continued, “So he’s laying there…and his heart gave out,” adding, “I guess he died quickly.”
Regarding the injuries to the body, the medical professional said: “There are not enough places to kill you. The injuries shown are not fatal. For example, the fracture of the femur. You don’t die from a fracture of the femur.”
The autopsy report showed an abrasion on Simmons’ forehead and a bruise on his scalp, but Dr. Graeser said, “This is nothing. If I bump into a cupboard, I get this much.”
He continued: “If you have injuries that are fatal, for example to the head, then there would be bleeding in the brain. When they opened the head, there was no bleeding in the brain at all. When they opened the chest, nothing. When they opened the abdomen, nothing.
‘Those are the kinds of traumatic injuries that kill you. You’re not going to die if you get hit on the elbow or something like that.’
Dr. Graeser also said the abrasions and bruises were “probably caused when he bumped into things.”
He explained: “When he finally broke his femur, he probably fell, and that’s definitely an abrasion and bruise.
“You know, you don’t feel so good when you have a heart attack and vomit. So I can well imagine that he has run into something.’
When asked if he thinks Simmons could have done that all injuries sustained in one single fall the doctor replied, “Well, I don’t know if you’d get them all, because they’re all over his body.
“But if he fell into the door frame, then fell into a chair, then fell to the floor, you’ve got three or more injuries there.”
Finally Dr. Graeser, however, concluded that there were “not enough injuries to declare him dead.”
He said it can be difficult to detect a heart attack because “if the heart attack happens and you die quickly, you can’t really find much at autopsy or even under the microscope.”
When we discussed Dr. Graeser to the LA Medical Examiner’s Office, a spokesperson wrote in an email response: “The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner continues to stand by her final determination in the case of Mr. Simmons.”
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