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Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Fact: Nicholas Berg Was Not Alive When His Head Was Cut Off

1:02 AM

After a typical knee-jerk reaction to the video of Nicholas Berg's murder, I had a nagging sense that something just wasn't right. So, I went back and reviewed the video over and over again. Actually, with some emotional distance, it didn't take very long for me to realize how stupid my anger had rendered me. Since then, I have been leaving the story alone even as it bubbled and boiled with controversy in blogdom--indeed, it was particularly for that reason that I removed an earlier post and kept my silence. Why? Because it is a no-win situation for anyone to state the obvious: he will be vilified from every viewpoint. However, for various reasons, I have decided to state it here in brief and see the tenor of the discussion it brings.

As a journalist who has specialized in murder, and the forensics of murder, let me simply say this: Nick Berg's heart was not pumping when his head was cut off. If it had been, the arterial gushing would have been massive, very much like an old-fashioned oil-well coming in. Blood loss would have been so forceful and plentiful that it would have dominated the video. But, it did not.

There are several other reasons to believe that Nick Berg was already dead when his head was cut off, but the absence of arterial gushing is all one needs to note to prove it. It in no way lessens the brutality of the crime; and I am offering no opinions on what else a careful study of the video tells me--which is plenty. I will sit this out in further silence until some rationality will be possible in the discourse.

For those who wish to confirm the obvious, the video can be viewed HERE.

1:02 AM / Editor / permalink 1 comments

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1 Comments:

There's an article on the subject at Asia Times Online that comes to the same conclusion.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FE22Ak03.html

chriswaugh_bj

www.livejournal.com/users/chriswaugh_bj

By Anonymous, at 12:51 PM

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